Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- elegiac
- dreamy
- brooding
- western marathon
- historical drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film ambitious and visually distinctive, with Jeff Bridges' performance providing vitality, but considered its crowded storytelling and uneven pacing muddled.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Walter Hill frames Wild Bill Hickok's life as an elegiac, stylized legend narrated from his graveside.
Hickok's gunfights, traveling-show career, and folk-hero reputation shape the film's central conflict.
Charley Prince recounts Hickok's life while sitting at his friend's graveside.
Hickok's idiosyncratic justice and repeated gunfights eventually lead toward personal tragedy.
Films like Wild Bill, and why
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
revisionist western atmosphere, legendary gunfighter protagonist, and elegiac treatment of frontier mythology
Tombstone
stylized western violence, historical outlaw mythology, and morally complicated central gunfighter
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
revisionist western storytelling, iconic frontier figures, and tragic meditation on fame and violence
The Left Handed Gun
biographical western subject, doomed romance, and mythmaking around a violent historical figure
Movie Details
- Director
- Walter Hill
- Release Date
- 1995-12-01
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (183)
Cast
- Jeff Bridges
- Ellen Barkin
- John Hurt
- Diane Lane
- Keith Carradine
- David Arquette
- Christina Applegate
- Bruce Dern
- James Gammon
- Marjoe Gortner
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Wild Bill about?
- Walter Hill reshapes the Wild Bill Hickok legend into a stylized, tragic portrait of a gunfighter trapped by his own myth.
- What is Wild Bill like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Wild Bill as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Wild Bill violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Wild Bill as brutal.
- What did critics think of Wild Bill?
- Critics broadly found the film ambitious and visually distinctive, with Jeff Bridges' performance providing vitality, but considered its crowded storytelling and uneven pacing muddled.
- Which films are like Wild Bill?
- Films with a similar feel include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Tombstone, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and The Left Handed Gun.
- How long is Wild Bill?
- Wild Bill runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch Wild Bill?
- In United States, Wild Bill is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
