Brief by Central Staff
Media – October 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
The movie Silver City, which was partly filmed in and around Leadville last fall, should be coming soon to a theater near us; it was scheduled for release on Sept. 17 after premieres the preceding week in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Santa Fé.
Directed by John Sayles, the film features Daryl Hannah, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Murphy, and Chris Cooper – and you may see someone you know among the extras, who were recruited in Leadville and Denver.
The plot revolves around the gubernatorial campaign of Dickie Pilager (Cooper), an ex-alcoholic tongue-tied son of a powerful senator (Murphy) who puts his team in total charge of the campaign.
The Hollywood Reporter called it “a sociopolitical portrait” of Colorado, “in which picturesque environments are fractured by divisions of culture and class.” That paper also observed that “Sayles’ transparent portrait of a corrupt political dynasty bears more than a passing resemblance to the Bush family.”
“There will be some guy who says it’s a polemic,” Murphy told the Colorado Springs Gazette, “but I think it goes far beyond that. I suppose we’ll be criticized for that, but I think it’s much more.”