Critical response Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received mostly positive reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 78% based on reviews from 36 critics, with an average score of 6.8/10. The consensus reads: "Boasting rich detail and a well-told story,
Silverado is a rare example of an '80s Hollywood Western done right." On
Metacritic, it has a
weighted average score of 64% based on 14 reviews. Impressed, she exclaimed: "
Silverado is a sweeping, glorious-looking Western that's at least a full generation removed from the classic films it brings to mind." In a mixed review,
Gene Siskel of the
Chicago Tribune, said that the film was "a completely successful physical attempt at reviving the Western, but its script would need a complete rewrite for it to become more than just a small step in a full-scale Western revival." Jay Carr of
The Boston Globe noted that
Silverado "plays like a big-budget regurgitation of old Westerns. What keeps it going is the generosity that flows between Kasdan and his actors. It's got benevolent energies, but not the more primal kind needed to renew the standard Western images and archetypes." Giving
Silverado four out of five stars, author Ian Freer of
Empire, thought the film was the "kind of picture that makes you want to play cowboys the moment it is over." He exclaimed, "Whereas many of the westerns from the '70s try a revisionist take on the genre,
Silverado offers a wholehearted embracing of western traditions." The staff at
Variety reserved praise for the film, stating that the real rewards of the picture lie in its "visuals", and saying that "rarely has the West appeared so alive, yet unlike what one carries in his mind's eye. Ida Random's production design is thoroughly convincing in detail." Julie Salamon writing for
The Wall Street Journal, voiced positive sentiment joyfully, exclaiming that
Silverado "looks great and moves fast. Mr. Kasdan has packed his action well against the fearsomely long, dusty stretches of Western plain." Describing some pitfalls, David Sterritt of
The Christian Science Monitor said: "When pure storytelling takes over after an hour or so, the picture becomes less original and engaging."
Total Film viewed
Silverado as a creation of the "Kasdan brothers' ebullient love letter to the horse operas of their youth", while throwing in "every Western cliché imaginable. It's not as rousing as it thinks, despite the efforts of Bruce Broughton's strident score, but looks terrific - all big skies and wide-open spaces." In an entirely negative critique, film critic Jay Scott of
The Globe and Mail said the all-too-familiar "manipulative
Star Wars-style score is the only novelty on tap in
Silverado, which has a plot too drearily complicated and arid to summarize". Dave Kehr of the
Chicago Reader, commenting on director Kasdan's style, said that his "considerable skills as a plot carpenter seem to desert him as soon as the story moves to the town of the title." As far as the supporting cast was concerned, he dryly noted, "none of them assumes enough authority to carry the moral and dramatic center of the film." Sheila Benson, writing for the
Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review: "For all its mosaic of nice details,
Silverado is still a faintly hollow creation-constructed, not torn from the heart."
Richard Corliss of
Time didn't find the picture to be compelling, stating how the film "sprays the buckshot of its four or five story lines across the screen with the abandon of a drunken galoot aiming at a barn door. Though the film interrupts its chases and shootouts to let some fine actors stare meaningfully or spit out a little sagebrush wisdom, it rarely allows them to build the camaraderie that an old cowhand like Gabby Hayes exuded with no sweat." The staff at
TV Guide described how "Lawrence Kasdan bloats the plot with dozens of side stories that, in painfully predictable detail, show how each of our heroes has a reason for being in
Silverado and why they decide to stick their necks out. Though much of the running time is devoted to these expository passages, it's all very basic and shallow."
Box office The film premiered in cinemas on July 9, 1985, in wide release throughout the United States. During its opening weekend,
Silverado opened in seventh place, grossing $3,522,897 at 1,168 locations. The film
Back to the Future came in first place during that weekend, grossing $10,555,133. The film's revenue increased by 3% in its second week of release, earning $3,631,204. For that particular weekend, it moved up to fifth place, screening in 1,190 theaters.
Back to the Future remained in first place, grossing $10,315,305 in box-office revenue. During its final release week in theaters,
Silverado opened in a distant 11th place, with $741,840 in revenue. It went on to top out domestically at $32,192,570 in total ticket sales through an 11-week theatrical run.
Accolades At the
58th Academy Awards,
Silverado was nominated for
Best Music (Original Score), and
Best Sound (
Donald O. Mitchell,
Rick Kline,
Kevin O'Connell, and
David M. Ronne). In 1986, the film received a nomination for the Artios Award in the category of Best Casting for a Feature Film (Drama) by the
Casting Society of America. The film is recognized by
American Film Institute in these lists: • 2005:
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated • 2008:
AFI's 10 Top 10: • Nominated Western Film == Home media ==