Appaloosa is a 2008 American Western film based on the 2005 novel Appaloosa by crime writer Robert B. Parker. Directed by Ed Harris and co-written by Harris and Robert Knott, Appaloosa stars Harris alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons. The film premiered at 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in selected cities on September 19, 2008, then expanded into wide release on October 3, 2008. This movie has won four different awards, including the Western Heritage Award in 2009.

Plot

In 1882, the town of Appaloosa, New Mexico is terrorized by rancher Randall Bragg, who kills the town's marshal and his deputies when they attempt to arrest two of Bragg's men for rape and murder. The town's leading citizens hire lawman Virgil Cole and his deputy Everett Hitch to restore order, authorizing Cole to lay down the law as the new marshal of Appaloosa.