FALL 2019
Swearengen(playedbyIanMcShane),who
spoutedwhatcouldonlybedescribedas
“colorfuldialog.”Whiletechnicallyanach-
ronistic,asmuchofthedialogintheseries
featuredquitetobitofmodernprofanity,
thiswasactuallytocreatea levelofshock
valueandhighlightthecrudenessoflifein
thenear-lawlessminingcamp.Atthetime,
suchslangwouldhavebeenseenasmore
blasphemousthanscatological,andthecre-
atorswiselyoptedtouseourmodernpro-
fanityoverperiodslang,whichcouldhave
comeoffassatiricaloralmostcartoonish.
Theseriesfurtherdifferedfromother
Westernsinthattherewasnotruevillain
tohate—nostrongman,banditorgang.
Instead,itwasa showthatwasn’tsoblack
andwhite,atleastnotinthe
firstseason.Thechiefanti-
heromayhaveplottedand
schemedattheexpenseof
others,andevenkilledfor
greed,butnobattlelineswere
drawn.In fact, by theend of
seasonthree,Swearengenwas
oneofthecamp’sprotectors.
Thegoodguysalso
weren’tsogood.Instead
ofactuallycleaningupthe
town,SethBullock(Timothy
Olyphant)andSolStar(John
Hawkes)couldonlybringa
semblanceoforderfromthe
lawlesschaos,whileother
seemingly“goodmen,”such
asWildBillHickok(Keith
Carradine)andWhitney
Ellsworth(JimBeaver),typi-
callyendedup6 feetunder.
ringing
t ack
aired, HBO had opted not to
renew the show, and instead
planned to wrap up events
with a two-hour movie that
would have a more open
timeframe and allow for a
broader narrative. Then noth-
ing happened. Time passed and some of
the sets were destroyed in a fire—which is
ironic considering the actual Deadwood
camp was damaged in a fire and rebuilt.
However, Deadwood: The Movie might
not have happened at all had HBO not
scored a hit with Westworld, which had used
the same sets, but more importantly sparked
interest in the Western genre. While no
blueprints from the original series had been
sa ved because it was cancelled so abruptly,
within just a few months the town was rec-
reated and ready for the massive production.
“We shot on the same muddy streets and
set, on the same backlot, and it’s all instantly
recognizable,” said Dave Klein, the project’s
cinematographer. “I re-watched the entire
three seasons just before we started prepar-
ing, but the time jump is easy to negotiate if
you’ve recently watched the final season.”
The setting should feel like a familiar
destination to viewers, yet it was differ-
ent enough to highlight that 10 years
had passed. The town features stone and
brick buildings, a train, telegraphs and
even the telephone.
On the production front, Deadwood was
notable in that, unlike many Hollywood
productions that have exteriors in one
location and interiors on a soundstage, the
buildings are real inside and out. The only
exception is Swearengen’s two-story Gem
Theater, which was built on a soundstage
due to the complexities of its interior.
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 17
