Wild Wild West is a 1999 American Western action comedy film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, produced by Jon Peters, and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John Thomas (best known for creating the Predator franchise). Loosely adapted from The Wild Wild West, a 1960s television series created by Michael Garrison, it is the only production since the television film More Wild Wild West (1980) to feature the characters from the original series.
The film stars Will Smith (who previously collaborated with Sonnenfeld on Men in Black two years earlier) and Kevin Kline as two U.S. Secret Service agents who work together to protect U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (Kline again, in a dual role) and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats during the American Old West. The film features a supporting cast consisting of Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, Ted Levine, and M. Emmet Walsh, as well as an orchestral film score by Western film score veteran Elmer Bernstein and extensive visual effects courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic.
Released theatrically in the United States on June 30, 1999, by Warner Bros. and produced on a $170 million budget (making it the most expensive film ever made when adjusting for inflation at the time of its release), Wild Wild West was a commercial disappointment, grossing only $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million. At the 20th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film was nominated for eight Razzies and won five, including Worst Picture and Worst Original Song (for the song "Wild Wild West" by Smith).
Storyline[]
Plot[]
One day in the wild, wild west, a famous scientist is found dead. Or better: Decapitated by a devilish device, as it seems. Special Agent Artemus Gordon, quite inventive himself, finds out about the man's last sight and is forced to team up with James West, a man who relys on nothing but his gun. They first suspect General "Bloodbath" McGrath to be responsible for the killing, but as he's not bright enough to invent the flying decapitation device himself, a more evil mastermind behind the scenery is soon proven to exist. Dr. Arliss Loveless, who, by the way, has kidnapped the nation's best scientists, seems to plan on taking a major part of the country as his personal property. But Dr. Loveless did not spend enough thoughts about possible intervention from two men, who may get a little distracted by the sudden appearance of beautiful Rita Escobar, daughter to one of the abducted scientists.
Genres[]
- Western
- Steampunk
- Comedy
- Adventure
- Action
- Science fiction
- Buddy
- Epic
Motion Picture Rating[]
- Atp (Argentina)
- PG (Australia)
- M (Australia) (South Australia)
- 12 (Brazil)
- PG (Canada)
- G (Canada) (Québec)
- K-12 (Finland)
- Tous publics (France)
- 12 (Germany)
- IIA (Hong Kong)
- L (Iceland)
- UA (India) (re-rating)
- A (India) (1999, original rating)
- 15 (Ireland) (original theatrical rating)
- 12 (Ireland) (re-rating, on appeal)
- T (Italy)
- G (Japan)
- U (Malaysia)
- 12 (Netherlands)
- PG (New Zealand)
- 12 (Norway) (VOD)
- 15 (Norway) (1999, cinema rating)
- Apt (Peru)
- PG-13 (Philippines)
- M/12 (Portugal)
- PG (Singapore)
- PG13 (Singapore) (TV rating)
- 12 (South Korea)
- T (Spain)
- 11 (Sweden)
- 12 (Switzerland) (canton of Geneva)
- 12 (Switzerland) (canton of Vaud)
- 12 (United Kingdom)
- 12 (Ukraine)
Images[]
Cast and Crew[]
Director[]
- Barry Sonnenfeld
Writing Credits[]
- S.S. Wilson (screenplay)
- Brent Maddock (screenplay)
- Jeffrey Price (screenplay)
- Peter S. Seaman (screenplay)
- Jim Thomas (story)
- John Thomas (story)
Cast[]
- Will Smith as US Marshal / US Army Captain Jim T. West
- Kevin Kline as US Marshal Artemus Gordon / President Ulysses S. Grant
- Kenneth Branagh as Dr. Arliss Loveless
- Salma Hayek as Rita Escobar
- Ted Levine as General 'Bloodbath' McGrath
- M. Emmet Walsh as US Marshal Coleman
- Frederique Van Der Wal as Amazonia
- Musetta Vander as Munitia
- Bai Ling as Miss Mae Lee East
- Sofia Eng as Miss Lippenreider (a play on "Lip-reader")
- Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon as Belle
- Rodney A. Grant as Hudson
- Gary Carlos Cervantes as Professor Escobar, Rita's husband
- Michael Sims as Professor Thaddeus Morton
- Jerry Potter as Plantation Owner George Washington at Gala
- Ian Abercrombie as British Dignitary
- Ismael 'East' Carlo as Mexican Dignitary
- Orestes Matacena as Spanish Dignitary
- Christian Aubert as French Dignitary
- E.J. Callahan as Allan Pinkerton
- Debra Christofferson as Dora Lookalike
- Scott Sandler as Young Joe Finnegan (uncredited)
- Derek Mears as 'Metal Head' (uncredited)
- David Lea as Thug With Knife (uncredited)
Producers[]
- Tracy Barone (executive producer)
- Tracy Glaser (executive producer)
- Barry Josephson (executive producer)
- Kim LeMasters (executive producer)
- Joel Simon (executive producer)
- Bill Todman Jr. (executive producer)
- Jon Peters (producer)
- Barry Sonnenfield (producer)
- Graham Place (co-producer)
- Neri Kyle Tannenbaum (associate producer)
- Chris Soldo (associate producer)
Details[]
Country[]
- USA
- UK
Language[]
- English
- Russia (Russian prints)
Release Dates[]
- June 30, 1999 (Canada)
- June 30, 1999 (USA)
- July 9, 1999 (Brazil)
- July 16, 1999 (Colombia)
- July 17, 1999 (South Korea)
- July 23, 1999 (Switzerland) (German speaking region)
- July 23, 1999 (Iceland)
- July 23, 1999 (Malaysia)
- July 23, 1999 (Norway)
- July 28, 1999 (Belgium)
- July 28, 1999 (Sweden)
- July 29, 1999 (Germany)
- July 29, 1999 (Israel)
- July 29, 1999 (Netherlands)
- July 29, 1999 (Singapore)
- July 30, 1999 (Austria)
- July 30, 1999 (Denmark)
- July 31, 1999 (Taiwan)
- August 4, 1999 (France)
- August 6, 1999 (Spain)
- August 6, 1999 (Portugal)
- August 12, 1999 (Argentina)
- August 12, 1999 (Hong Kong)
- August 13, 1999 (UK)
- August 13, 1999 (Ireland)
- August 18, 1999 (Malta)
- August 20, 1999 (Uruguay)
- August 25, 1999 (Kuwait)
- August 25, 1999 (Philippines) (Davao)
- August 26, 1999 (Hungary)
- August 26, 1999 (Thailand)
- August 27, 1999 (Estonia)
- September 1, 1999 (Slovenia)
- September 2, 1999 (New Zealand)
- September 3, 1999 (Italy)
- September 3, 1999 (Poland)
- September 9, 1999 (Australia)
- September 24, 1999 (Finland)
- October 7, 1999 (Slovakia)
- October 27, 1999 (Greece)
- November 12, 1999 (Turkey)
- December 4, 1999 (India)
- December 4, 1999 (Japan)
- March 7, 2000 (Russia)
Home Media Release Dates[]
- November 30, 1999 (US) (VHS)
- November 30, 1999 (US) (DVD)
- October 30, 2000 (UK) (VHS)
- October 30, 2000 (UK) (DVD)
Reception[]
Box office[]
Wild Wild West grossed $27.7 million on its opening weekend, ranking first at the North American box office. The film closed on October 10, 1999, after five months, having grossed $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million against a production budget of $170 million.
Critical response[]
Wild Wild West was met with mostly negative reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 17% based on reviews from 131 critics, with an average rating of 4.06/10. The site's critical 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." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 38 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one star out of four, stating, "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." Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying the film "leaves reality so far behind that its storytelling would be arbitrary even by comic-book standards, and its characters share no common ground or emotional connection."
Company Credits[]
Production Companies[]
- Peters Entertainment
- Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment
- Todman, Simon, LeMasters Productions
- Warner Bros.
Distributors[]
- Warner Bros. (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
- CBS (2003) (USA) (TV)
- Warner Bros Pictures (1999) (India) (theatrical)
- Warner Bros. (1999) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Warner Bros. (1999) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Warner Bros. (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Warner Bros. (1999) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Warner Bros. (1999) (UK) (theatrical)
- Warner Roadshow Film Distributors (1999) (Greece) (theatrical)
- Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
- Argentina Video Home (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
- HBO Max (2020) (USA) (video) (VOD)
- Italia 1 (2016) (Italy) (TV)
- Sandrews (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)
- Warner Bros. (all media)
- Warner Bros. (France) (all media)
- Warner Home Video (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
- Warner Home Video (2011) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
- Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
- Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (all media) (laserdisc)
- Warner Sogefilms S.A. (Spain) (all media)
Special Effects[]
- Anatomorphex (special effects)
- Cinesite (Hollywood) (additional visual effects) (as Cinesite)
- Cinovation Studios (special effects makeup)
- Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (special visual effects)
- New Deal Studios
- Pacific Motion Control (motion control)
Other Companies[]
- Central Casting (extras casting)
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment (camera cranes)
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment (camera dollies)
- Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment (techno telescoping crane)
- Clairmont Camera Film & Digital (camera systems)
- Crest Digital (post-production)
- Direct Tools & Fasteners (expendables)
- Flying Pictures (gyrosphere aerial camera system) (as Flying Pictures USA)
- Imaginary Forces (main titles)
- Interscope Records (soundtrack)
- Movie Movers (production trailers)
- Movie Movers (star trailers)
- Overbrook Entertainment (soundtrack)
- Pacific Title/Mirage (titles and opticals)
- Sabron Payroll Services (payroll: orchestra) (uncredited)
- Strasburg Railroad Company (railcars)
- Strasburg Railroad Company (train engine)
- Truck Brokers (logistics management)
Technical Specs[]
Runtime[]
- 106 mins
Color[]
- Color
Aspect Ratio[]
- 1.85:1
Trivia[]
This is the second movie in which Kevin Kline played the President of the United States and the man impersonating the President. The first was Dave (1993).
Connections[]
References[]
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Ghostbusters (1984)