Young Guns was a great film, and a perfect entry in to the Western genre of movies. It had a great cast, and is one of my absolute personal favourites of the genre, even now I can go back and watch it over and never get bored.
The film told the tale of Billy The Kid and his band of outlaws and how they go from being ranch hands to on the run for murder. It has some great scenes and sequences, along with some brilliant comedic lines to raise a smile, so join me as we look back at the film with some facts about it you probably didn’t know…
1. Emilio Estevez was unhappy during the shoot
During the filming of Young Guns, Emilio Estevez was actually very down and depressed for much of the shoot (excuse the pun), as he had just recently broken up with his girlfriend and was inconsolable.
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2. Lou Diamond Phillips wanted to cheer his pal up
Seeing how down Emilio Estevez was during the shoot, Lou Diamond Phillips decided to take matters in to his own hands to try and cheer him up. Phillips had the wardrobe department put some make-up on a sheep and then put the sheep in Estevez’s room!
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3. Terence Stamp was actually too old for his role
The part of John Tunstall is often portrayed as an older gent in any productions based on the Lincoln County War, but in reality Tunstall was only 24 when he was murdered and was actually younger than all of the Regulators except for Billy The Kid himself!
4. There’s a reason Doc’s face is covered in the Spirit World
When the Regulators go through the Indian Village Doc is at the front of the group with a cover over his face. The reason? Kiefer Sutherland’s child was born that morning so he had already left and they had to get a stand-in for Doc at short notice.
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5. They were pals when they weren’t filming!
Between days of filming, the stars of Young Guns would often get together to play music, sing and drink. When they were drunk they would even get Lou Diamond Phillips to perform a rendition of La Bamba!
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6. Charlie Sheen wasn’t a natural rider
Charlie Sheen seriously struggled with riding his horse, to the point when in one scene, as guns started going off, his horse took off and he had no idea how to get it to stop! He also fell off his mount several times during the production.
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7. Estevez plays more than one role!
Did you know that it’s not just Billy The Kid that Emilio Estevez plays in Young Guns? In the final shoot out, when Estevez was not needed to play Billy, he dressed as a bad guy and so was shooting for the other side at times in the film!
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8. The producers wanted to make it look like Estevez was ad-libbing
In the scene when Billy is in the bath and Doc is taking down a letter than Billy is dictating, they wanted it to look like Billy was making it up on the spot and so cue cards were used by crew out of shot to deliver the lines to Estevez to read!
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9. Steve didn’t die!
Contrary to the occurrences in the movie, “Dirty” Steve Stephens did not die during the Lincoln County War. Following the war, he survived and relocated, he said he was going to Denver, Colorado, but after this point he simply vanishes from history so no-one actually knows what happened to him or where his final resting place is.
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10. That wasn’t Peyote they were having (thankfully!)
In one sequence the Regulators take peyote, and the cast portrayed it so convincingly they often get asked if they really took peyote in the sequence. the answer is no, it was actually mushroom soup!
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Were you a big fan of Young Guns, and is it a film you can re-watch today? Who was your favourite of The Regulators, the cocky, but brilliant, Billy The Kid, the kind-hearted poet, Doc, or the Native American, Chavez? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments as always!
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