Purgatory (1999)

Please don't spend money on this.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Purgatory starts is set in the old Wild West where Blackjack Britton (Eric Roberts) & his gang rob a bank in a town, soldiers unexpectedly show up & after a shoot-out that leaves both soldiers & some of the bank robbers dead Blackjack & his gang flee the town with an angry posse in hot pursuit. Blackjack & his gang without rest & eventually come across the small town of Refuge where no-one carries a gun, even Sheriff Forrest (Sam Shepherd) & his Deputy (Donnie Wahlberg) are unarmed. Blackjack & his gang see Refuge as easy prey, they intend to rest up there for a while & then rob the place when they leave. Howeversomething about Refuge isn't quite right, why are the townsfolk so peaceful? Why are there no guns? Why do so many of the townsfolk resemble famous dead outlaws?Made for & originally shown on telly (by the TNT Network) this fantasy Western was directed by Uli Edel & while the premise of an old American Wild West town that acts as a half way stop for dead criminals who during their lives at least had some humanity to prove that themselves fit to enter Heaven rather than spend eternity in Hell doesn't exactly sound brilliant I was surprised at how good Purgatory was. Don't get me wrong though, Purgatory isn't any sort of forgotten masterpiece or even approaching that but as a quirky little oddball mix of genres & styles I did like it. The character's are strong here, by the time the final stand-off came & the final shoot-out blasted into action I was really into the offbeat story & likable character's. Various famous Wild West outlaws are featured, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid & Wild Bill Hickock all make an appearance & are seen trying to save themselves from spending eternity in Hell but to do so they must spend ten years in Refuge & not so much as lift a gun let alone use one. The story unfolds gradually, we learn little bits & pieces at a time rather than one big reveal which is alright but once the town's secret does finally come out the films almost over & we haven't had that big twist where the whole story is thrown up in the air so the final realisation is maybe a little flatter than it could have been. Also there's no real explanation why Refuge is out in the middle of the desert or if the townsfolk are already dead how they can be killed again by Blackjack & his gang. At 90 odd minutes long it doesn't outstay it's welcome & there's enough time for the story to take shape & unfold.Some may be put off by the lack of action or horror elements, there's a couple of shoot-outs but nothing amazing. The film has really good production values, the sets & costumes & effects are really good with shots like dozens of men on horseback riding along firing guns although there is a silly CGI computer effect at the end which seems very at odds with the old Wild West setting. Despite featuring several real historical figures Purgatory obviously makes no serious attempt to be factual or realistic.Very well made with a rock solid cast of pros including Eric Roberts, Sam Shepherd, Randy Quaid, Peter Stormare & Donnie Wahlberg while Purgatory was one of the last feature film appearance's by R.G. Armstrong. The cast all give good performances.Purgatory is a surprisingly entertaining & sometimes touching little fantasy Western that really had no right to be as good as it is, on paper it sounds like a disaster but in reality Purgatory is a good solid offbeat film that won't appeal to all but is much better than many would expect.

A large and capable cast is thrown into a spiritualistic western, with very little character development being it's most obvious flaw. You can tell the bad guys from the good guys, but care very little about the outcome. There is nothing wrong with attempting to mix genres, however after a bang-bang beginning, "Purgatory" grinds to a slow crawl for the middle thirty minutes. The ultimate confrontation is nothing more than a prolonged, tedious gun battle that you have seen many times before (pick any western). More dialog between the combatants would have benefited the movie, especially the Eric Roberts and Sam Shepard characters. Somewhat unique, but still nothing more than a marginal missed opportunity. - MERK

Sorry it is the wrong actor ,it is not Sam Elliot,it is actually Sam Shepard who plays the sheriff.I have looked up both actors and I am a fan of both and It is Sam Shepard not Sam Elliott. How such a mistake could slip past IMDb I do not know but it makes me question the accuracy of any other information.Yet to put this info up I must write ten plus lines to correct their mistake. This film is on right now on channel nine Melbourne Australia. I welcome any comments from anyone who has seen this film as to who they think the sheriff is..............................Sam Elliott or Sam Shepard. I personally believe it is actually Sam shepard

Sam Elliot or Sam Shepard?Sam Elliott .... Sheriff Forrest/Wild Bill Hickock Eric Roberts .... Blackjack Britton Randy Quaid .... Doc Woods/Doc Holliday Peter Stormare .... Cavin Guthrie Brad Rowe .... Leo 'Sonny' Dillard Donnie Wahlberg .... Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid J.D. Souther .... Brooks/Jesse James (as John David Souther) Amelia Heinle .... Rose/Betty McCullough Shannon Kenny .... Dolly Sloan/Ivy John Dennis Johnston .... Lamb/'Lefty' Slade Saginaw Grant .... Gatekeeper Richard Edson .... Euripides Gregory Scott Cummins .... Knox John Diehl .... Badger R.G. Armstrong .... Coachman