Shoot the Sun Down (1978)

Movie Overview
"Shoot the Sun Down" is a Western movie launched in 1978, directed by David Leeds and featuring an ensemble cast that consists of Margot Kidder, Geoffrey Lewis, Christopher Walken, and Bo Brundin. The film, embeded in New Mexico in 1836, is centred around four diverse, equally desperate drifters who are brought together by situation.

Main Plot
The film opens with a British captain named Captain Lightfoot (Bo Brundin), on an objective to discover the famous gold of Montezuma. He is signed up with by a motley team: an enigmatic Mr. Rainbow (Christopher Walken), Scalphunter (Geoffrey Lewis), a brutish man who deserted the U.S army, and a female called The Woman from England (Margot Kidder), who has been abandoned by her travelling party.

The quartet starts the adventurous journey through the desert, competing with extreme weather, hostile native people, and personal demons. They are pursued ruthily by a group of Spanish deserters led by Friar Dominguez who also wants to find Montezuma's gold.

Character Development
Christopher Walken's character, Mr. Rainbow, begins as a dispassionate gunslinger who gradually develops into a more caring person. In contrast, Captain Lightfoot's obsession with the mythical gold deepens, leading him to make some questionable choices along the way. Scalphunter, though enormous at first, starts showing tips of knowledge and charity as the plot unfolds. The Woman from England, represented brilliantly by Margot Kidder, undergoes a substantial transformation, from a helpless lady to a decisive character.

Climax and Conclusion
Their pursuit of Montezuma's gold pitches them against each other and propels the story towards a violent climax, befitting the Western genre. The paths of all four characters and the Spanish deserters converge at the place believed to hold the legendary gold. A disorderly battle takes place, leading to a terrible ending with casualties.
In the aftermath, the surviving characters are left to challenge their individual identities. What remains of the gold ends up being unimportant in the face of their essential self-realization and growth experienced throughout the journey.

Total Impact
"Shoot the Sun Down" is an engaging exploration of human motivations and improvement anchored in the traditional quest for evasive treasure. The diverse cast brings depth and complexity to the characters and their social characteristics which, paired with the climatic desert setting, leads to an abundant story. The cinematography wonderfully records the hardship of the desert and extreme realities of the Old West. The film, nevertheless, differs the traditional Western tropes by diving deeper into the introspective journeys of the characters.

The film didn't draw big crowds throughout its original release but has since acquired a cult following among traditional Western movie enthusiasts. In spite of its non-traditional approach and blended critiques, "Shoot the Sun Down" remains a noteworthy title in 1970s movie theater, specifically for those who appreciate a psychological examination within a historical adventure.

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