Michael Cimino’s bleak anti-Western, based on events in 1890’s Johnson County, Wyoming, is likely the first Western to celebrate the role played by Central and Eastern Europeans in the settlement of the American West. Sheriff James Averill attempts to protect immigrant farmers from wealthy cattle interests, and also clashes with a hired gun, Nathan Champion, over the woman they both love, Ella Watson. Both men find themselves questioning their roles in the furious conflict between wealthy landowners and Eastern European immigrants, which culminates in a brutal battle. The film features a first-rate cast, including Sam Waterson, Christopher Walken, Kris Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert and Joseph Cotton.