Wild Bill

Running time: N/A

More than ever, it seems, in spite of the red flags and other warning signs surrounding them, fame and celebrity continue to be lusted after like some modern-day Holy Grail. But, as Walter Hill so ably demonstrates in his rough and tumble Wild Bill being famous isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Set against the back drop of the Old West and through the legendary character of James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickock, Hill shows us time and again what an uncontrollable force inadvertent or cultivated notoriety can easily become. With the self-assured and wonderful Jeff Bridges in the lead role, Wild Bill paints a colorful portrait of the frontier hero, using a bold and lively palette of recorded history, hazy recollections, and tall tales, all of which may or may not be true. Little matter. What we have here is a man who, somehow or other, by accident or design, becomes a legend in his own time, relishes it for a while, then ultimately canO-t help but wonder what happened when everything seems to go to hell; when those things of value, like love, seem to have disappeared beyond the horizon. Is it fate, or did Hickock create his own twisted version of his destiny where everyone, it seems, is literally out gunning for him? Using a treasure chest of rich performances and a wide expanse of superb production values, Wild Bill spins this uniquely American tale in the greatest of storyteller traditions. --Pete Crane