| Wild Wild West | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | |
| Based on | The Wild Wild West byMichael Garrison |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Ballhaus |
| Edited by | Jim Miller |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $170 million[2] |
| Box office | $222.1 million[2] |
Wild Wild West is a 1999 AmericansteampunkWesterncomedy film directed byBarry Sonnenfeld and written byS. S. Wilson andBrent Maddock alongsideJeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story conceived byJim andJohn Thomas. Loosely adapted fromThe Wild Wild West, a 1960s television series created byMichael Garrison, it is the only production in the franchise since thetelevision filmMore Wild Wild West (1980).
The film starsWill Smith (who previously collaborated with Sonnenfeld onMen in Black two years earlier in 1997) andKevin Kline as twoU.S. Secret Service agents who work together to protectU.S. PresidentUlysses S. Grant (Kline in adual role) and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats during theAmerican Old West. The film features a supporting cast consisting ofKenneth Branagh,Salma Hayek andTed Levine, as well as anorchestralfilm score byWestern film score veteranElmer Bernstein and extensivevisual effects courtesy ofIndustrial Light & Magic.
Released theatrically in the United States on June 30, 1999 byWarner Bros. and produced on a $170 million budget (making it one of themost expensive films ever made when adjusting for inflation at the time of its release),[3][4]Wild Wild West was acommercial failure, grossing only $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million. Receiving mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, the film was nominated for eightRazzies and won five at the20th Golden Raspberry Awards, includingWorst Picture andWorst Original Song (for the song"Wild Wild West" by Smith).
In 1869, four years after the end of theAmerican Civil War,U.S. ArmyCaptain James T. "Jim" West andU.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon indisguise cross paths in an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend ex-ConfederateGeneral "Bloodbath" McGrath. At theWhite House,PresidentUlysses S. Grant informs West and Gordon about the disappearances of important scientists and assigns the task of finding them together.
Aboard their trainThe Wanderer, the duo examine the severed head ofMIT scientist Thaddeus Morton, discovering a clue which leads them toNew Orleans. They infiltrate aplantation where Dr. Arliss Loveless, a legless ex-Confederate officer in awheelchair, is hosting a party for foreign officials. West investigates Loveless and McGrath's plans, while Gordon rescues an imprisoned woman named Rita Escobar, who asks for help rescuing her father Guillermo - one of the kidnapped scientists.
Loveless demonstrates hisamphibious steam-poweredtank. Accusing McGrath of betrayal for surrendering atAppomattox, Loveless executes McGrath's soldiers and also shoots him before leaving by train. Gordon, West and Rita arrive soon after to find the carnage and a dying McGrath, who says Loveless was responsible for the massacre, here and at New Liberty. Upon catching up with Loveless onThe Wanderer, a panicked Rita accidentally incapacitates West, Gordon and herself withsleeping gas disguised asbilliard balls.
West and Gordon wake up entrapped with magnetic collars in acornfield as Loveless pulls away inThe Wanderer, announcing his intention to capture President Grant at thegolden spike ceremony. After a narrow escape, West tells Gordon about his parents' murder at New Liberty. The following day, West and Gordon find Loveless' private railroad, leading to his desertcomplex atSpider Canyon, where they witness Loveless' ultimate weapon: an 80-foot-tall mechanicaltarantula armed withnitroglycerin cannons. Loveless captures Grant and Gordon, while West is shot and left behind.
At his complex, Loveless announces plans to dissolve the United States and divide the territory amongGreat Britain,France,Spain,Mexico, theNative American people, while keeping some land for himself. When Grant refuses to surrender, Loveless orders Gordon to be executed, but West appears in disguise as abelly dancer to distract Loveless, allowing Gordon to free the captives; however, Loveless escapes with Grant.
Gordon, describingBernoulli's principle, introduces his flying bicycle to West; they use it to catch up to Loveless' spider, where West battleshenchmen before confronting Loveless himself. As the spider approaches a cliff, both West and Loveless fall; West survives by catching a chain dangling from the machinery as Loveless plummets to his death into the canyon below.
Grant designates Gordon and West as first agents of the newly establishedSecret Service, before departing onThe Wanderer. Rita reveals Professor Guillermo Escobar is actually her husband, disappointing Gordon and West, who ride into the sunset on the mechanical spider together.
Variety first reported in January 1992 thatWarner Bros. had optioned thefilm rights toMichael Garrison's television showThe Wild Wild West, and hiredRichard Donner to direct a film adaptation written byShane Black, withMel Gibson in the role of Jim West (Donner coincidentally directed three episodes of the original series). However, Donner and Gibson left the project to work ona film adaptation ofMaverick (another film based on a Western television series) in 1994. Despite this, the project continued in the development stage, withTom Cruise rumored for the lead in 1995. Cruise instead starred ina film adaptation ofMission: Impossible the following year.[5]
Discussions withWill Smith andBarry Sonnenfeld began in February 1997 after the two had wrapped up production onMen in Black forColumbia Pictures the same year.[6] Smith declined to do the lead role inThe Matrix in order to star inWild Wild West.[7] Warner Bros. pursuedGeorge Clooney to co-star with Smith as Artemus Gordon, withKevin Kline,Matthew McConaughey andJohnny Depp also in contention for the role while screenwritersS. S. Wilson andBrent Maddock (best known for writing theShort Circuit andTremors films) were hired by Warner Bros. to script the film between April and May 1997.[8] Clooney signed on the following August after dropping out ofJack Frost, while the Wilson-Maddock script was rewritten byJeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (best known for writing the filmsWho Framed Roger Rabbit andDoc Hollywood).[9] However in December 1997, Clooney was replaced by Kline after an agreement with Sonnenfeld: "Ultimately, we all decided that rather than damage this project trying to retrofit the role for me, it was better to step aside and let them get someone else."[10]
The film featured several significant changes from the television series. For instance, Dr. Loveless, as portrayed byKenneth Branagh in the film, went from adwarf to a man without legs who uses a steam-poweredwheelchair (similar to that employed by the villain in the episode "The Night of the Brain"); his first name was also changed from Miguelito to Arliss and was given the motive of a Southerner who sought the defeat of the North after the Civil War. Kevin Kline plays Artemus Gordon in the film, whose character is similar to the show's version of him portrayed byRoss Martin, except that he is much more egotistical than Jim West. The film depicted Kline's Gordon creating more ridiculous, humorous, and implausible inventions than those created by Martin's Gordon in the original series, as well as having an aggressive rivalry with West, unlike in the television series where he and West had a very close friendship and trusted each other with their lives. While Gordon did indeed impersonate Grant in three episodes of the series ("The Night of the Steel Assassin", "The Night of the Colonel's Ghost" and "The Night of the Big Blackmail"), they were not played by the same actor. Additionally, West was originally portrayed byRobert Conrad, a Caucasian rather than anAfrican American, which serves a critical plot point as West's parents were among the victims of Loveless's massacre at New Liberty.
Jon Peters produced the film alongside director Sonnenfeld. In a 2002 Q&A event that appears onAn Evening with Kevin Smith, filmmakerKevin Smith talked about working as a screenwriter for Peters on afifth potentialSuperman film in 1997. He revealed that Peters demanded, among other things, thatSuperman fight a giant spider in the third act.[11] AfterBatman directorTim Burton came onboard, Smith's script was scrapped and the film was never produced due to further complications. He noted thatWild Wild West, with Peters on board as producer, was released a year later with the inclusion of a giant mechanical spider in the final act.[12]Neil Gaiman also revealed that Peters insisted that a giant mechanical spider be included in a proposed film adaptation ofThe Sandman.[13]
Principal photography was set to begin in January 1998, but was pushed three months later to April 22, 1998.[14] The interior sequences on the trains of both Artemus Gordon and Dr. Loveless were shot on sets at Warner Bros. Burbank Studios, 4000 Warner Boulevard,Burbank, California, while the exterior sequences were shot inIdaho on theCamas Prairie Railroad.The Wanderer in the film is portrayed by the Baltimore & Ohio 4–4–0 No. 25, one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S. Built in 1856 at theMason Machine Works inTaunton, Massachusetts, it was later renamed TheWilliam Mason in honor of its manufacturer.[15] During preproduction, the engine was sent to the steam shops at theStrasburg Rail Road for restoration and repainting.[15] The locomotive is brought out for the B&O Train Museum in Baltimore's "Steam Days". TheWilliam Mason and theInyo (which was the locomotive used in the original television series) both appeared in the 1956Disney filmThe Great Locomotive Chase.
Much of the Wild West footage was shot aroundSanta Fe, New Mexico, particularly at the western townfilm set at the Cook Movie Ranch (nowCerro Pelon Ranch). During the shooting of a sequence involving stunts and pyrotechnics, a planned building fire grew out of control and quickly overwhelmed the local fire crews that were standing by. Much of the town was destroyed before the fire was contained.[16] The scene of the spider tank attack destroyed most of the buildings built forSilverado. As a homage, a chimney reading "Kasdan Iron Monger" afterSilverado directorLawrence Kasdan is briefly shown at the start of the scene.[17]
The orchestralfilm score, including its main theme, was composed and conducted byElmer Bernstein, a veteran of manyWestern film scores such asThe Magnificent Seven. The score mainly follows the Western genre's symphonic tradition, while at times also acknowledging the film's anachronistic playfulness by employing a more contemporary music style with notablerock percussion andelectronic organ. The score also briefly incorporatesRichard Markowitz's theme from the original television series in one cue (uncredited in the film and not included on the album); ironically, this was one of the film's few elements that were faithful to the series, which also did not credit Markowitz for the theme. Additional parts of the score were composed by Bernstein's sonPeter, while his daughter Emilie served as one of the orchestrators and producers.
Like most of his films during this period, Will Smith recorded ahip hop song based on the film's plot, also titled "Wild Wild West". "Wild Wild West" was a number-one hit on the U.S. pop charts, though it also won aGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song. It was produced byRob Fusari, who lifted asample fromStevie Wonder's 1976 hit "I Wish". The song also features guest vocals fromR&B groupDru Hill, and was a star-making vehicle for Dru Hill lead singerSisqó.Old-school rapperKool Moe Dee had previously recorded a"Wild Wild West" single of his own in 1987, to which he re-performs the chorus from his old "Wild Wild West" as the chorus of this new "Wild Wild West". A performance of the song by Smith, Dee, Dru Hill, and Sisqo at the 1999MTV Movie Awards also included Wonder performing a reprise of the chorus onpiano.[18]
All music is composed byElmer Bernstein, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Main Title" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "West Fights" | 1:14 |
| 3. | "Dismissal" | 2:13 |
| 4. | "East Meets West" | 1:15 |
| 5. | "Of Rita, Rescue and Revenge" | 5:43 |
| 6. | "Trains, Tanks and Frayed Ropes" (Composed byPeter Bernstein) | 4:03 |
| 7. | "The Cornfield" | 1:09 |
| 8. | "Loveless's Plan" | 4:45 |
| 9. | "Goodbye Loveless" (Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 4:33 |
| 10. | "Ride the Spider" | 2:14 |
| Total length: | 30:12 | |
All music is composed byElmer Bernstein, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blade" | 0:51 |
| 2. | "Main Title" | 2:09 |
| 3. | "Punch" | 0:28 |
| 4. | "West Fights" | 1:13 |
| 5. | "Of Rita, Rescue and Revenge" | 5:43 |
| 6. | "Cliffhanger" | 0:35 |
| 7. | "Whirly Girly" | 1:19 |
| 8. | "Punch Up" | 1:17 |
| 9. | "Washington" | 0:54 |
| 10. | "Dismissed" | 2:11 |
| 11. | "Man's Head" | 1:53 |
| 12. | "Waltz First Mansion" | 2:52 |
| 13. | "Polka" | 2:33 |
| 14. | "East Meets West" | 1:14 |
| 15. | "Reeling" | 2:34 |
| 16. | "Boobies" | 0:22 |
| 17. | "Rescue" | 1:12 |
| 18. | "Tank" | 0:41 |
| 19. | "Tank To Catch" | 2:56 |
| 20. | "Exit McGrath" | 1:29 |
| 21. | "Ritaless" | 1:18 |
| 22. | "Missing Something" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed byPeter Bernstein) | 1:59 |
| 23. | "Train Attack" (Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 2:08 |
| 24. | "The Cornfield" | 1:08 |
| 25. | "Fear" | 0:42 |
| 26. | "Memories" | 0:23 |
| 27. | "Spider Canyon" | 1:46 |
| 28. | "Big Ride (originalThe Wild Wild West television theme)" | 0:27 |
| 29. | "Coincidence" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed byPeter Bernstein) | 0:51 |
| 30. | "Captured" | 1:05 |
| 31. | "The Plan/America" | 2:25 |
| 32. | "She Dances" | 2:18 |
| 33. | "Eight Ball" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 1:14 |
| 34. | "Avante/Air Gordon" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 1:19 |
| 35. | "Flying Attack" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 1:59 |
| 36. | "Knife Guy" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 2:30 |
| 37. | "Tin Man/Four of a Kind" | 2:41 |
| 38. | "Last Fight" (Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 2:43 |
| 39. | "Bye Loveless / Whoopin'" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 1:27 |
| 40. | "The End (Ride The Spider)" | 2:12 |
| 41. | "Main Title (alternate version)" | 2:09 |
| 42. | "1M3 Take 119 (not used in the film)" | 2:06 |
| 43. | "Whirly Girly Stop (not used in the film)" | 0:30 |
| 44. | "4M3 R Take 165 (not used in the film)" | 1:04 |
| 45. | "Flying Attack (alternate version)" (Theme by Elmer Bernstein, Music Composed by Peter Bernstein) | 1:51 |
| 46. | "The End (Ride The Spider) (alternate version)" | 2:12 |
| 47. | "Blood on the Saddle / Arise (instrumental)" | 1:38 |
| 48. | "Camptown Races/Oh Susanna" (Composed byStephen Foster) | 2:21 |
| Total length: | 75:09 | |
Upon release on June 30, 1999, alongside theR-rated filmSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, another Warner Bros. film that came out (Paramount Pictures distributed the film in the United States), several news reports arose stating that adolescent moviegoers purchased tickets into seeing the PG-13-ratedWild Wild West in theaters, but instead went to see theSouth Park film.[19] This was a result of a film industry crackdown that made sneaking into R-rated films tougher for children, as proposed by U.S. PresidentBill Clinton at the time in response to themoral panic generated by theColumbine High School massacre, which had occurred two months before the release of both films.[20]
Warner Bros. heavily promotedWild Wild West as an anticipated summerblockbuster instead ofBrad Bird's animated filmThe Iron Giant, which was released two months afterWild Wild West. This sparked controversy asThe Iron Giant was becoming more critically successful than the critically-pannedWild Wild West upon release, despite eventually underperforming at the box office due to the studio deciding to spend their money on marketing forWild Wild West among other films.[21][22]
The film was released onVHS andDVD on November 30, 1999, onLaserDisc on December 28, 1999,[23] and onBlu-ray on May 29, 2011.[24]
Wild Wild West grossed $27,687,484 during its opening weekend, with a total of $40,957,789 for theIndependence Day weekend and ranking first at the North American box office.[25][26] It dropped into second place belowAmerican Pie in its second weekend, making $16.8 million.[27][28] The film ended its theatrical run on October 10, 1999 after five months, having grossed $113,804,681 domestically and $108,300,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $222,104,681 against a production budget of $170 million, making it commercially unsuccessful.[2]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 16% of 131 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Bombastic, manic, and largely laugh-free,Wild Wild West is a bizarre misfire in which greater care was lavished upon the special effects than on the script."[29]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[30] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[31]
Roger Ebert ofThe Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one star out of four, writing that "Wild Wild West is a comedy dead zone. You stare in disbelief as scenes flop and die. The movie is all concept and no content; the elaborate special effects are like watching money burn on the screen."[32]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying that the film "leaves reality so far behind that its storytelling would be arbitrary even bycomic-book standards, and its characters share no common ground or emotional connection."[33]
Original series star Robert Conrad was critical of the film adaptation. While he had no problem with changing Jim West to be African-American, he felt that Will Smith was wrong for the part and would have preferred someone with "aWesley Snipes body with aDenzel Washington head". He also would have preferred eitherKevin Spacey orGary Sinise for Artemus Gordon, and despised changing Dr. Loveless from a dwarf to an amputee.[34]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | March 25, 2000 | Worst Actor | Kevin Kline | Nominated |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Kenneth Branagh | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Salma Hayek | Nominated | ||
| Kevin Kline(as a prostitute) | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screen Couple | Will Smith and Kevin Kline | Won | ||
| Worst Original Song | "Wild Wild West" | Won | ||
| Worst Screenplay | S. S. Wilson | Won | ||
| Brent Maddock | Won | |||
| Jeffrey Price Peter S. Seaman | Won | |||
| Worst Director | Barry Sonnenfeld | Won | ||
| Worst Picture | Won | |||
| Jon Peters | Won | |||
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards[35] | 2000 | Worst Picture | Warner Bros. | Won |
| Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million Worldwide (Using Hollywood Math) | Won | |||
| Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy | Won | |||
| Worst Resurrection of a TV Show | Won | |||
| Least "Special" Special Effects | Nominated | |||
| Biggest Disappointment | Nominated | |||
| Worst Sense of Direction | Barry Sonnenfeld | Nominated | ||
| Worst Actor | Kevin Kline | Nominated | ||
| Worst On-Screen Couple | Will Smith and Kevin Kline | Nominated | ||
| Worst Song | "Wild Wild West" | Nominated | ||
| ASCAP Awards | 2000 | Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures | Won | |
| Top Box Office Films | Elmer Bernstein | Won | ||
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | May 9, 2000 | Favorite Supporting Actress – Action | Salma Hayek | Won |
| Favorite Villain | Kenneth Branagh | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Action Team | Will Smith and Kevin Kline | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Song from a Movie | "Wild Wild West" | Nominated | ||
| ALMA Awards | April 15, 2000 | Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film | Salma Hayek | Nominated |
Wild Wild West later ranked in the listed bottom 20 of the Stinkers' "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list (which noted the 100 worst films of the 20th century) at #2, but lost toBattlefield Earth.[36][37]
A soundtrack containing hip hop andR&B music was released on June 15, 1999, byInterscope Records andOverbrook Music. It peaked at number four on both theBillboard 200 and theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Anaction-adventurevideo game titledWild Wild West: The Steel Assassin was developed and released bySouthPeak Interactive on December 7, 1999, almost six months following the film's release.
In 1997, writerGilbert Ralston sued Warner Bros. over the upcoming feature film based on the series. Ralston helped create the original television seriesThe Wild Wild West and scripted the pilot episode "The Night of the Inferno". In a deposition, Ralston explained that in 1964, he had been approached by producer Michael Garrison, who "said he had an idea for a series, good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could glue the idea of a Western hero and aJames Bond type together in the same show".[38] Ralston said he then created the Civil War characters, the format, the story outline and nine drafts of the script that were the basis for the television series. It was his idea, for example, to have a secret agent named Jim West who would perform secret missions for a bumbling President Grant.
Ralston's experience brought to light a common Hollywood practice of the 1950s and 1960s when television writers who helped create popular series allowed producers or studios to take credit for a show, thus cheating the writers out of millions of dollars in royalties. However, Ralston died in 1999 before his suit was settled, resulting in Warner Bros. paying his family between $600,000 and $1.5 million.[39]
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| Preceded by | Razzie Award for Worst Picture 20th Golden Raspberry Awards | Succeeded by |
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