Silverado: The Western Overflowing with Genre Traditions
There’s no holding back when it comes to Lawrence Kasdan’s 1985 film Silverado. From sharpshooting cowboys to big country landscapes to dusty western towns run by corrupt sheriffs, this genre revival packs anything and everything western into one fast-paced film.
But is it really a revival?
Many film critics seem to think so: Ian Freer from Empire Online said that while many westerns of that time tried revisionistic takes, “Silverado offers a wholehearted embracing of western traditions.” And Janet Maslin from The New York Times called Silverado a “glorious-looking western that’s at least a full generation removed from the classic films it brings to mind.”
Sure, there’s no denying Silverado covers just about every western stereotype there is, but here’s the thing: the genre tropes themselves are what makes the film a revision, not a revival — there’s just way too many of them!
In the film world, there are two big labels you can attach to a director: a METTEUR EN SCENE and an AUTEUR.
A metteur en scene is someone who is a “very good, technician, they merely adapt material given to them rather than making it their own.”
An auteur is “a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.”
In the case of Silverado, director Lawrence Kasdan may seem at first glance like a metteur en scene simply constructing another classic western, but in reality he’s more of an auteur in his choice to pack in way more genre traditions than any traditional western film.
Kasdan uniquely configured Silverado in 4 main ways:
1. Main characters
Fans of the classic western genre are well familiar with single star cowboys dominating the film; but Kasdan casts no Shane or John Wayne character. Silverado presents us with not one, not two, but four gunslinging cowboy character archetypes in the spotlight. (One just wasn’t good enough anymore for 80s audiences, I suppose).
2. Visual Iconography
Kasdan pours on familiar western iconography with a heavy hand. There are rowdy saloons, wagon convoys, slot canyons, wide shots of Midwest landscapes, rumbling cattle stampedes, cowboy hats and boots, galloping horses, sheriff badges, quick slinging guns, and dusty main streets, just to name a few.
Kasdan never finds the sweet spot of western visuals — rather, he bombards us with these classic cowboy images, making his movie anything but a balanced classic.
3. Genre Values Iconography
Silverado plays with many of values and actions that are specific to the realm of westerns. Homesteaders, such as Mal’s family, are considered celebratory while those who try to force them off their land are considered immoral. Paden gets his just revenge — which, in this realm, is considered just — by killing the man who stole his black cowboy hat. The main quartet of characters search for and save a kidnapped child.
Western films usually center on one or two of these realm-specific values, such as Shane with its storyline of righteous homesteaders versus evil oppressors, or The Searchers with Ethan and Martin’s quest for retrieving an innocent kidnapped character. But, of course, Silverado crams in as many as it can in a 2-hour timeframe.
4. Racial themes
Most classic westerns have underlying themes of race — in Silverado, it’s not so underlying, and it’s not connected to the race typically portrayed in Westerns. No Native Americans appear in the film; instead, African American Mal and his family are the subject of racial issues, and there’s nothing underlying about it. Mal restates consistently, “that aint right,” to the racist situations he finds himself and his family in throughout the film.