Set in the quasi-Biblical splendor of the Mormon Dixie of central
Utah, Sure Fire follows the trajectory of an American archetype,
the small town entrepreneur seized by visions of fortune. Wes, eager
to sell out the local grandeur to the wealthy hordes of Southern California,
wheels and deals in real-estate, but more fundamentally he hones in
directly to the get-rich-quick schemes for which America is famed. Sweeping
up family and friends into his monomania, Wes' zealotry leads inevitably
to tragedy.
1988-90 | 16mm blown-up to 35mm | Color | Sound |
86 minutes
Writer, director, editor cinematographer : Jon Jost
Producer: Jon Jost, co-producer Henry S. Rosenthal
Music: Erling Wold,
Jon A. English
With: Tom Blair, Rober Ernst, Kristie Hager,
Kate Dezina, Kaye Evans, & Dennis Brown
Received the Caligari Prize in Berlin, shared with All the Vermeers
in New York.
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"It's clearly an American masterpiece... Sure Fire burns
slowly, then explodes."
- Georgia Brown, Village Voice
"Spare and disturbing, but with dark comic touches, Sure Fire,
like the work of David Lynch, taps into the noxious underbelly of the
picturesque American landscape."
- Variety
"Visually inventive and striking, as Jost's films always are, this
is as good as his All the Vermeers in New York, and given the
landscapes and manias on display here, perhaps even more authentic "
- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
" With David Lynch and Gus Van Sant, Jon Jost is one of the three great U.S. filmmakers currently working..."
- Dennis Grunes's review. Read more
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