Young Guns Special Edition

From the twangy guitar score that plays over the solarized opening credits, to the stylized scruff on the faces of its hip stars, Young Guns is an MTV Western through and through. Of course, what made this tale of Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez) and his band of outlaws (including Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland, and Dermot Mulroney) so popular in 1988 is exactly what makes it so frequently annoying today. A simple, and periodically factually correct, saga of revenge, brotherhood, and the unlimited legend-making capacity of the open frontier, Young Guns features a cast whose every mannerism reeks of anachronism, with Estevez a gaping charisma-free hole in the middle. Still, there are reminders of why this film was so popular with teenyboppers (Phillips adds spark to his stereotypical hot-blooded mystic character and Sutherland does good work despite a blatantly racist romantic plot with a laundry-working china doll), and early scenes between the British rancher played by Terence Stamp and Jack Palance as his nasty rival, coupled with Dean Semler's iconic, sunset-heavy cinematography, occasionally lift director Christopher Cain's film above its rock 'n' roll-influenced origins. Sporting a decent widescreen anamorphic transfer, the disc's extras include audio commentary (with actors Phillips, Mulroney, and Casey Siemaszko), trivia track, and an interesting documentary on the real Billy the Kid. A strong optional purchase. (D. Fienberg)