A fantastic post modern premise this short is hilarious and masterfully crafted. Quick and straight to the point this surprisingly action packed quickie has the potential for a full scale film and I highly recommend a watch
23 Reviews
Worth your time.
arie-vanloon31 January 2016
Normally I don't watch short films, but this one was definitely worth the exception. The concept with the narrator may not be entirely new, but it is played out very well.
The running gag (the all knowing narration) is accompanied by a few nice jokes will make you grin. The film doesn't take itself too serious, which helps.
Acting is good, camera work is good. A must see when you want to kill some time in a way you won't regret (which is rare these days with all the big productions that put massive special effects in front of decent acting and good plots).
The running gag (the all knowing narration) is accompanied by a few nice jokes will make you grin. The film doesn't take itself too serious, which helps.
Acting is good, camera work is good. A must see when you want to kill some time in a way you won't regret (which is rare these days with all the big productions that put massive special effects in front of decent acting and good plots).
So good, please watch this!
logicproreviews6 September 2018
So funny! Saw this hidden gem on YouTube, I don't want to give any spoilers so here goes. This clever short takes the Western formula and tips it on it's head. We have a narrator to help us along. It makes for a hilarious narrative. Please make this into a feature, the world needs it!
Very funny and keeps the joke moving well
bob the moo23 June 2014
I'm not a big fan of narration in films since too often it seems to be a tool to tell the audience what the film isn't able to deliver without help. In this case we have a gunslinger enter a saloon in the ol' West – he does so and is surprised to find that his every thought is being spoken out loud by an unseen voice. The narrator continues this with the others in the saloon, which seems only to increase the tensions and the chance of a balletic shootout of death occurring.
There is really one joke to this short film and it becomes very clear early on what that joke is. Basically we have the narrator talking through everyone's intentions as if he were writing them and providing the context and detail only an author would know. This means the intentions of those in the saloon start to come out – so for example when a character denies planning to kill someone, the narrator adds "he lied" at the end. So this is the joke and looking at the 10 minute running time, I did wonder if it could make it, since I saw that I had 'got it' only 3 minutes in.
Fortunately the film is funny enough and creative enough with the idea that it makes it work for the whole time. The breaking of the genre and fourth wall plays very well as it manages to have its cake and eat it, with a genre heart while the rest break convention in various ways. It helps that it plays it well as a western, with a good feel for the genre and a professional production all round. The performances make the most of the well-written material but it is the unseen Offerman (Parks & Rec) that gets the best of it, and his delivery and timing is really well done (although of course the timing is helped by the edit). Those in the scene play it out well, with comedic performances and generally good delivery of their lines.
It may be one joke but it is a joke that is played with and delivered in a creative and engaging way, making it a funny and entertaining short film with good solid laughs throughout.
There is really one joke to this short film and it becomes very clear early on what that joke is. Basically we have the narrator talking through everyone's intentions as if he were writing them and providing the context and detail only an author would know. This means the intentions of those in the saloon start to come out – so for example when a character denies planning to kill someone, the narrator adds "he lied" at the end. So this is the joke and looking at the 10 minute running time, I did wonder if it could make it, since I saw that I had 'got it' only 3 minutes in.
Fortunately the film is funny enough and creative enough with the idea that it makes it work for the whole time. The breaking of the genre and fourth wall plays very well as it manages to have its cake and eat it, with a genre heart while the rest break convention in various ways. It helps that it plays it well as a western, with a good feel for the genre and a professional production all round. The performances make the most of the well-written material but it is the unseen Offerman (Parks & Rec) that gets the best of it, and his delivery and timing is really well done (although of course the timing is helped by the edit). Those in the scene play it out well, with comedic performances and generally good delivery of their lines.
It may be one joke but it is a joke that is played with and delivered in a creative and engaging way, making it a funny and entertaining short film with good solid laughs throughout.
It told a lone joke...
MrGKB6 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
...almost as dusty as the streets it walked in from, but it told it with style and impeccable craftsmanship.
"Did not!"
Oh, yes, it did. And it made its viewers smile, and occasionally laugh.
"It didn't!"
Did, too. Plus an occasional guffaw.
"Nobody guffaws any more. You don't know what you're talking about!"
Perhaps not. Nonetheless, you'll be doing yourself a favor by seeking it out on YouTube---
"That's a purloined copy!"
Fine. Go look for it on Vimeo, then. You won't be sorry. It truly is worth the effort. Don't take my voice-over for it; see for yourself.
"Did not!"
Oh, yes, it did. And it made its viewers smile, and occasionally laugh.
"It didn't!"
Did, too. Plus an occasional guffaw.
"Nobody guffaws any more. You don't know what you're talking about!"
Perhaps not. Nonetheless, you'll be doing yourself a favor by seeking it out on YouTube---
"That's a purloined copy!"
Fine. Go look for it on Vimeo, then. You won't be sorry. It truly is worth the effort. Don't take my voice-over for it; see for yourself.
Loved it!
LoneAssassin17 June 2021
Browsing Amazon Prime Video I came across this brilliant gem. I thought it was a movie and wondered how they could keep the premise going, but sadly it's a short 9 minute film. The whole thing is hilarious from start to finish complete with the trope of a stranger walking into town, the reward for the capture of someone in the saloon, the standard saloon prostitute, the bartender, the token black guy. It's worth a watch and I'd love to see more.
The Best Short Film i've ever Seen.
Marwan-Bob22 April 2019
happened upon this and it's great
cherold23 July 2019
I watched something on youtube and then this popped up as a suggestion with one of those ridiculous click-bait titles like "FUNNIEST THING EVER" which I know to ignore. But I was bored so I hit play.
It's a simple set up; a western where a guy walks into a bar while a narrator explains his purpose. Only everyone in the bar hears the narrator. From there it just gets crazier and crazier, and is super funny and clever. It really is one of the best shorts I've seen on YouTube.
It's a simple set up; a western where a guy walks into a bar while a narrator explains his purpose. Only everyone in the bar hears the narrator. From there it just gets crazier and crazier, and is super funny and clever. It really is one of the best shorts I've seen on YouTube.
The Voices Inside My Head
mihai_alexandru_chindris15 April 2018
I think this is the first short with narration that I see. Quite nice. The characters are goofy and the actors play the roles pretty good. I like the way the so-called narrator tries to spice up the scene and make each kill one another. It was funny. A short western worth remembering.
Ballet of Death
SendiTolver29 August 2018
'The Gunfighter' is pretty refreshing little movie. Mysterious gunfighter walks into saloon, and then a voice (smooth and cool narration by Nick Offerman) warns him about creeping danger. Or does it? As all the people in the saloon can hear the voice thus they can hear eachother's thoughts and most deepest secrets, it is soon clear that the mysterious voice just wants to see the bloodbath. Can the saloon patrons out smart the voice and each other?
The jokes are are all shot into the same spot - mostly they have something to do with sex. As the film is barely 9 minutes short the jokes don't get repetitive or stale. Great short film that is definitely worth your time.
The jokes are are all shot into the same spot - mostly they have something to do with sex. As the film is barely 9 minutes short the jokes don't get repetitive or stale. Great short film that is definitely worth your time.
Funny and sleazy western parody
Horst_In_Translation23 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"The Gunfighter" is a 9-minute award-winning western comedy short film from last year. The title character steps into a bar and we hear the narrator telling us what is happening. However, he is not only telling us as the people inside the western bar can also hear what he says. So we find out pretty much for the rest of the movie who did it with whom and in the end, it seems everybody is angry at everybody because they have been sleeping with each other's sisters, wives and sheep. The narrator is Nick Offerman, so this may be a particularly interesting watch for fans of "Parks & Recreation". I do not know any of the actors in here, which may have hurt my viewing experience a bit as it was simply too fast to know who is who. However, it was a decent watch nonetheless and even if it was the same joke for the entire film, it was not yet at a point where it had dragged. Maybe this could have been the case at the 15-minute mark. Anyway, the director here is Eric Kissack, a prolific editor, for example on Sacha Baron Cohen's works. Good little movie and I recommend it.
An Experimental Western? You Better Believe It
Screen_O_Genic24 June 2019
Cowboys have never been known to be intellectuals but when a voice tells them what to do you know the stereotype is pushed even further. Frisky gunslingers, a black bartender and a lady of the night are the cast in this funny Western where individuals rail against their fate and end up inevitably in a situation they've been trying to avoid in the first place. Clocking in at a little under ten minutes, this short is a giggle of a nugget.
Funny, But It Is Just a Short "Stranger Than Fiction"
timothygartin25 November 2019
This short film was fun to watch, but it really has only one joke. It is the same gimmick as the long film "Stranger Than Fiction." It does not pull the gimmick off as well.
I did like the acting and the creativity. It just kind of got old.
I did like the acting and the creativity. It just kind of got old.
Everyone has secrets
sreeragmeppadath29 May 2019
Incredibly funny and well done.
pahvou8 March 2020
The only thing more fun and more amusing than actually watching this incredible short film would to have been a member of the cast. I bet there were some historical out-takes and bloopers while filming this little gem.
Hilarious! Do not miss this one
rgrun-679-4661646 September 2021
Let's not get carried away...
Kitahito15 April 2021
One of the most creative and funniest short films I've ever seen. We get the most typical westen situation possible, twisted with a single little idea. It's just brilliant. A combination of good humor, great screenplay and correct acting performances gave birth to this gem. I would trade three randomly selected Marvel movies any day of the week for one more like this (with the proviso that Captain Marvel and Black Panther are included... ). I'm not joking.
If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out!
If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out!
provocative
Kirpianuscus15 February 2018
A voice. and a lot of secrets. a saloon. and precise portrait of characters. dirty facts, the truth as the gun and seed of hate. and the strange humor doing a story who has great chances to become boring a provocative one. because it seems a sort of version of "Decameron". facts, sins, hate and ...the surviver. a challenge film. for see a so familiar genre. in a different light.
Great short, but a few critical comments...
lividemerald-5389117 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I have watched "The Gunfighter" many times, and always get a kick out of it. I give it one star short of 10 only because I do have a couple of quibbles.
(1) "The weary gunfighter walked slowly through the saloon. The long miles from Cheyenne had taken their toll." / "It was a good speech, and things might have turned out differently if the crowd never found out that the gunfighter had just last night shot and killed the youngest son of John McCullers..." (Narrator)
COMMENT: At first, you think the Gunfighter has just arrived in town from Cheyenne. And he's weary... But he actually arrived the day before, apparently. And he had enough energy in him to shoot John McCullers' son dead.
(2) "That music. Seems kinda ominous, don't it?" (Sally)
COMMENT: Yet the story starts out with music that continues as the Gunfighter walks into the saloon and walks over to the bar. It only stops when the Narrator begins to speak. No one hears this music.
(3) Sally is standing throughout the short.
COMMENT: Except from 6:19 to 6:22, when she's sitting at the table, gun in hand. At 6:32, she's back standing again.
(4) "Little did she know that she would be mauled to death by a rabid wolf the very next day." (Narrator)
COMMENT: But if Sally is aware of this "fate" a day in advance, can't she just stay inside or do whatever it takes to avoid this death?
(1) "The weary gunfighter walked slowly through the saloon. The long miles from Cheyenne had taken their toll." / "It was a good speech, and things might have turned out differently if the crowd never found out that the gunfighter had just last night shot and killed the youngest son of John McCullers..." (Narrator)
COMMENT: At first, you think the Gunfighter has just arrived in town from Cheyenne. And he's weary... But he actually arrived the day before, apparently. And he had enough energy in him to shoot John McCullers' son dead.
(2) "That music. Seems kinda ominous, don't it?" (Sally)
COMMENT: Yet the story starts out with music that continues as the Gunfighter walks into the saloon and walks over to the bar. It only stops when the Narrator begins to speak. No one hears this music.
(3) Sally is standing throughout the short.
COMMENT: Except from 6:19 to 6:22, when she's sitting at the table, gun in hand. At 6:32, she's back standing again.
(4) "Little did she know that she would be mauled to death by a rabid wolf the very next day." (Narrator)
COMMENT: But if Sally is aware of this "fate" a day in advance, can't she just stay inside or do whatever it takes to avoid this death?
Hilarious
aliensexgod11 September 2021
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