Silver City
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	John Sayles
Produced by	Maggie Renzi
Written by	John Sayles
Starring	Danny Huston Chris Cooper Richard Dreyfuss Maria Bello
Music by	Mason Daring
Cinematography	Haskell Wexler
Editing by	John Sayles
Distributed by	Newmarket Films Columbia TriStar
Release date(s)	May 13, 2004  Sept. 11, 2004  Sept. 17, 2004
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Spanish
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Silver City is a 2004 political satire and drama film written and directed by John Sayles. Download high resolution version (492x732, 56 KB)Promotional poster for Silver City, deemed This work is copyrighted. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ... Danny Huston is a Hollywood film director, the brother of actress Anjelica Huston, the son of legendary director John Huston, and the grandson of Academy Award-winning actor Walter Huston. ... Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Oscar-winning American actor. ... Maria Elaine Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress. ... Mason K. Daring (born September 21, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. ... Haskell Wexler (born February 6, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois) is an award-winning American cinematographer and director. ... Newmarket Films is an American film production and film distribution company which is a subsidiary of Newmarket Capital Group. ... Columbia Pictures logo, used only in the early-1990s Columbia Pictures, now Columbia-Tristar Pictures after their merger with the former Tristar Entertainment, is a film production company, and part of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (134th in leap years). ... // Please note that these are the top grossing films that were first released in 2004; because they may have made most of their income in a later year, they may not be the top-grossing films for calendar year 2004. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada_(bordered). ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // Please note that these are the top grossing films that were first released in 2004; because they may have made most of their income in a later year, they may not be the top-grossing films for calendar year 2004. ... Political Cinema in the narrow sense of the term is a cinema which portrays current or historical events or social conditions in a partisan way in order to inform or to agitate the spectator. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ...

The film stars Chris Cooper, who portrays an inept Republican gubernatorial candidate, a character that was noted for similarities to U.S. President George W. Bush.^[1] The film's ensemble cast includes Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Huston, Maria Bello, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Kay Place, Thora Birch, Tim Roth, Billy Zane and Daryl Hannah. Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... For other uses, see Governor (disambiguation). ... The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... The word ensemble can refer to a musical ensemble an ensemble cast (drama) a statistical ensemble in mathematical physics, for example a thermodynamic ensemble a quantum ensemble a fluid mechanical ensemble a Climate Ensemble ensemble forecasting (meteorology) ensemble averaging a distribution ensemble (maths) a neural ensemble a DAB ensemble Ensemble... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Oscar-winning American actor. ... Danny Huston is a Hollywood film director, the brother of actress Anjelica Huston, the son of legendary director John Huston, and the grandson of Academy Award-winning actor Walter Huston. ... Maria Elaine Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Mary Kay Place as The West Wings Surgeon General Millicent Griffith Mary Kay Place (b. ... Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. ... Tim Roth (born 14 May 1961 as Timothy Simon Smith) is an English film actor and director. ... Billy Zane (born William George Zane, Jr. ... Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American film actress. ...

The film is a "murder mystery [linked] to a political satire^[2]; according to Sayles, it is "about electoral politics, but also about the press."^[3]

Plot

Dickie Pilager is running for governor of Colorado. He is an inarticulate son of a senator, with no political experience. The campaign falters when Pilager reels in a corpse during the making of a political advertisement about the environment. Pilager's campaign manager, Chuck Raven, hires Danny O'Brien, a former journalist who works as a private investigator, to examine the case. Raven urges O'Brien to find potential links between the body and Pilager's potential enemies. Colorado Territory State of Colorado Categories: Lists of United States governors | Governors of Colorado | Lists of United States territorial governors | Government of Colorado ... A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ...

O'Briens job is to essentially intimidate Pilager's enemies, and he has numerous revealing conversations with various people. He learns that business mogul Wes Benteen is using Pilager to promote his own money-making agenda. The interviews also reveals further corruption where politicians, land developers, and mining companies have come to an agreement, where environmental issues have been completely ignored. He also learns about illegal migrant workers, as well as a potentially damaging affair. Mogul may mean: a bump in the snow in alpine skiing, a Mongolian the Mughal empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty by extension, any ruler or powerful person, such as a industrial mogul or media mogul a railroad steam locomotive type called the Mogul the largest size light...

Cast

• Danny Huston as Danny O'Brien
• Chris Cooper as Dickie Pilager
• Richard Dreyfuss as Chuck Raven
• Maria Bello as Nora Allardyce
• Thora Birch as Karen Cross
• David Clennon as Mort Seymour
• Alma Delfina as Lupe Montoya
• Miguel Ferrer as Cliff Castleton
• James Gammon as Sheriff Joe Skaggs
• Daryl Hannah as Maddy Pilager
• Kris Kristofferson as Wes Benteen
• Sal Lopez as Tony Guerra
• Michael Murphy as Senator Judson Pilager
• Mary Kay Place as Grace Seymour
• Tim Roth as Mitch Paine
• Billy Zane as Chandler Tyson

Danny Huston is a Hollywood film director, the brother of actress Anjelica Huston, the son of legendary director John Huston, and the grandson of Academy Award-winning actor Walter Huston. ... Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Oscar-winning American actor. ... Maria Elaine Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress. ... Thora Birch (born March 11, 1982) is an American actress. ... David Clennon (born May 10, 1943, Waukegan, Illinois) is an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Miles Drentell in the ABC series thirtysomething. ... Miguel Ferrer (born February 7, 1955) is an actor of Puerto Rican-Irish-American descent who is often cast in movies as a villain. ... James Gammon (born April 20, 1940 in Newman, Illinois) is an American actor. ... Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American film actress. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other people of the same name, see Michael Murphy Michael Murphy (born May 5, 1938) is an American character actor. ... Mary Kay Place as The West Wings Surgeon General Millicent Griffith Mary Kay Place (b. ... Tim Roth (born 14 May 1961 as Timothy Simon Smith) is an English film actor and director. ... Billy Zane (born William George Zane, Jr. ...

Reception

Critical reception

Silver City had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market during the Cannes Film Festival. Multiple critics noted the similarities between the character portrayed by Chris Cooper and George W. Bush^{[1][3][2][4][5]}, with some also seeing parallels between Richard Dreyfuss' campaign manager and Karl Rove.^[1][2] Cannes Film Festival logo. ... Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Oscar-winning American actor. ... Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. ...

In general the film fared poorly with critics, earning a rating of 46% (rotten) among 123 of them at Rotten Tomatoes.^[6] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film but said it likely wouldn't change any votes in the 2004 election. "America is familiar with the way [George W. Bush] talks, and about half of us are comfortable with it. That's why Silver City may not change any votes. There is nothing in the movie's portrait of Pilager/Bush that has not already been absorbed and discounted by the electorate."^[2] Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize winning American film critic. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ... Presidential election results map. ...

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "wildly uneven" with "dull" stretches. "But the movie comes alive when Cooper is in it, especially his scenes with Richard Dreyfuss as Dickie's savvy campaign manager," Stein wrote.^[5] Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ...

Caryn James of The New York Times called the film's script and direction "exhilarating", characterizing the film as "a Bush-bashing work that is more than Bush-bashing" which "goes beyond election-year satire to reach broader themes of corporate power, campaign double talk and journalistic responsibility."^[4] James notes it is also a "detective story with a half-dozen major characters and a twisty Chinatown plot that begins when the environmentally hostile Dickie is filming an environmentally friendly campaign ad and fishes a corpse out of a river."^[4] The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Bush as TIME Person of the Year for the 2nd time in 2004. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Chinatown is a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski featuring many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. ...

Limited U.S. release

Silver City had a limited release in the United States, where it was marketed as a comedy about an "intellectually challenged, poorly spoken politician."^[3]. Sayles commented on that marketing approach in an entertainment interview for CNN:

You basically give it to the company, and they advertise it the way that gets the most people in the theater. [When it plays in] other countries, [they] may emphasize the Chinatown aspects (aspects also noted in a New York Times article^[4]. The problem with all my movies, because they're complicated, is they don't boil down to two sentences, so you emphasize this part or that part of it.^[3]

The film played in 162 theaters at its widest, and earned US$1.4 million in U.S. box office.^[7] Chinatown is a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski featuring many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. ...

References

September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic way. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Silver City (film)

• Silver City at the Internet Movie Database