Wild Wild West

This article is about the 1999 film. For other uses, see Wild Wild West (disambiguation).

Wild Wild West
Two 19th century gentlemen (an African American and a Caucasian), each wielding guns and behind a gigantic metallic "W" are facing the viewer. Beneath them is a giant flame-spewing mechanical spider, the film's title and credits.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay by
Story by
Based onThe Wild Wild West
by Michael Garrison
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byJim Miller
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
companies
  • Peters Entertainment
  • Sonnenfeld-Josephson Worldwide Entertainment
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • June 30, 1999 (1999-06-30) (United States)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$170 million[2]
Box office$222.1 million[2]

Wild Wild West is a 1999 American steampunk Western film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story conceived by Jim and John Thomas. Loosely adapted from The Wild Wild West, a 1960s television series created by Michael Garrison, it is the only production since the television film More Wild Wild West (1980) to feature the characters from the original series.

The film stars Will Smith (who previously collaborated with Sonnenfeld on Men in Black two years earlier in 1997) and Kevin Kline as two U.S. Secret Service agents who work together to protect U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (Kline in a dual role) and the United States from all manner of dangerous threats during the American Old West. The film features a supporting cast consisting of Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, Ted Levine, and M. Emmet Walsh, as well as an orchestral film score by Western film score veteran Elmer Bernstein and extensive visual effects courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic.

Released theatrically in the United States on June 30, 1999 by Warner Bros. and produced on a $170 million budget (making it one of the most expensive films ever made when adjusting for inflation at the time of its release),[3][4] Wild Wild West was a commercial failure, grossing only $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million. Receiving largely negative reviews from critics, the film was nominated for eight Razzies and won five at the 20th Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Original Song (for the song "Wild Wild West" by Smith).

  1. ^ "Wild Wild West (12)". British Board of Film Classification. June 22, 1999. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Strauss, Gary (July 15, 2004). "Sci-fi searches for a new angle". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  4. ^ Time staff (August 28, 2009). "Top 10 Disappointing Blockbusters: Wild Wild West". Time. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2009.