Back to trending
Purgatory

Purgatory

Fantasy · Western · TV Movie · 1999

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

Movie details

Purgatory

1999 Fantasy · Western · TV Movie 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Purgatory?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Dead Man

Dead Man

Drama · 1995

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Western · 2007

Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, the story is told through two unique perspectives: Charles Eastman, a young, white-educated Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation, and Sitting Bull the proud Lakota chief whose tribe won the American Indians’ last major victory at Little Big Horn.

The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil's Arithmetic

TV Movie · 1999

An American-born Jewish adolescent, Hannah Stern, is uninterested in the culture, faith and customs of her relatives. However, she begins to revaluate her heritage when she has a supernatural experience that transports her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941. There she meets a young girl named Rivkah, a fellow captive in the camp. As Rivkah and Hannah struggle to survive in the face of daily atrocities, they form an unbreakable bond.

The Spirit of Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas

Romance · 2015

A woman falls in love with a man who is somewhat unavailable.

Bonanza: The Return

Bonanza: The Return

Western · 1993

A man with a grudge against the late Little Joe seeks revenge on the Cartwrights and attempts to take over the Ponderosa.

The Good Witch's Family

The Good Witch's Family

Drama · 2011

A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.

The Good Witch

The Good Witch

Family · 2008

A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".

Borrowed Hearts

Borrowed Hearts

Drama · 1997

Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.

The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

Horror · 2007

Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"

Love's Long Journey

Love's Long Journey

Drama · 2005

Missie's surprise pregnancy sets her on a new course that is both thrilling and terrifying. After all the planning and dreaming, she and her husband Willie are headed west in a covered wagon, leaving behind the prairie home of Missie's parents. Now, caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again, Missie copes with the challenges, and cherishes the rewards, of her new homestead.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Uli Edel

Written by

Gordon T. Dawson

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard

Sheriff Forrest / Wild Bill Hickock

Eric Roberts

Eric Roberts

Blackjack Britton

Randy Quaid

Randy Quaid

Doc Woods / Doc Holliday

Peter Stormare

Peter Stormare

Cavin Guthrie

Brad Rowe

Brad Rowe

Leon 'Sonny' Miller

Donnie Wahlberg

Donnie Wahlberg

Deputy Glen / Billy the Kid

JD Souther

JD Souther

Brooks / Jesse James

Court is in session

Put Purgatory on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.