Day: January 18, 2020

Red Rock West @the Hollywood with Director John Dahl

More blurry pictures from the person who needs glasses!

However, this night was too good to not include.

The Hollywood Theatre has a Cage on Cage series where they’ve been screening Nicolas Cage movies. The crown jewel in the series (in my opinion) was the showing of Red Rock West followed by a talkback with director John Dahl.

Aside from getting to watch Red Rock West for the first time since the 1990s, (review here) it was fun to listen to the troubles of distribution (it’s a movie that doesn’t fit in to a solid genre—Noir-Western not really being a thing) and when Dennis Hopper adlibbed.

Red Rock West is the Best Noir Western

The review:

John Dahl’s Red Rock West was a film I watched in the mid-90s* and remember enjoying, but wasn’t sure how it had aged. I’m here to tell you that this film still retains all that was good in the 90s, is the best Noir/Western you will ever watch and has a Cage performance that is the perfect amount of Cage, plus Dennis Hopper being creepy in a fun way, not in a Blue Velvet way.** If you can find your way to this little gem, do partake.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $15.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theatre, with a Q&A by director John Dahl as part of the Hollywood’s “Cage Uncaged” series.

Consider also watching other peak Cage:

  • Face/Off
  • The Rock
  • Leaving Las Vegas
  • Gone in 60 Seconds
  • Matchstick Men
  • Wild at Heart
  • Adaptation

The lack of links is an indication that this movie blog and Peak Cage have not overlapped. I’ve seen all of those films, but prior to 2008. Here’s Roger Ebert’s review of Matchstick Men

Further sentences:

*It was recommended by my then-roommate, with whom I had almost nothing in common. Her father, however, watched a lot of good movies which meant some of those good movie trickled down to her.
**Props also to J.T. Walsh who is excellent as bar owner Wayne. Or “Wayner” as Hopper calls him.

Questions:

  • Have you seen Red Rock West?
  • What is your favorite Nicolas Cage role?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Dwight Yoakam brought his own pistol for his role as the truck driver. His hit single, “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere,” is used during the film’s closing credits. The version used is a studio demo recording, not the one from the album This Time.

(According to the Q&A I attended, Yoakam asked if Dahl needed an end-credits song, Dahl said yes, and 15 minutes later Yoakam called and played the song.)

Red Rock West