Okay, Ed fell at the top of the cliff and was injured by one of his own arrows. The hillbilly had a gun. Somebody shot the hillbilly from the back. Lewis, the only other archer we know of, is injured, at the base of the cliff. So, who shot the hillbilly? Or did I miss something?
shareYou're right. The guy was facing Ed, so the arrow should've went into his chest, not his back. Only thing I can think of is that the guy flinched and turned around when he saw the arrow coming, and it got his back.
shareI think this was just an error in the movie. I noticed it as well, I was not even sure which way the arrow was facing at first but it sure looked like it was coming out from the back. I suppose we can just assume the hillbilly turned or flinched but it seems like a reach.
"Why couldn't the monkey arrange this from INSIDE the garbage can?"
Just finished watching this, the arrow was correct...through the front out the back. No error.
shareExactly. I had the contrary impression when I first saw it moments ago, but I rewound and the arrow points in the correct direction.
shareYes, you can see the arrowhead in the background while he's examining the dentures.
shareThere's no hidden meaning going on in this scene, it's just a little shoddy editing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z55W6ihUY-c
Moderators are terrorists.
Yeah, editing.
Their ultimate gaol was probably just get the story across.
It was probably shot several ways and the one shot we see that made it into the final cut
made it for no better reason than it looked best at first glance.
If the people who made the film knew that people would still be talking about it 45 years later
, they might have thought more about such a minor matter of continuity.
http://tinyurl.com/9-simple-easy-guacamole-recip
Watched the scene and took a good look, it can be seen that the arrow's knock is protruding from the
the guy's chest and the arrowhead is sticking out his back.
It was a shot to the front.
http://tinyurl.com/9-simple-easy-guacamole-recip
That's right we were all amazed that Ed got his target especially Ed. He shot that guy clear through.
shareI just watched this movie today and that was the one thing about it that bugged me, I was half expecting some twist that maybe the boy with the banjo or someone like one of the police officers had fired the mystery arrow.
shareEd shot the "hillbilly" straight through the windpipe FRONT TO BACK. I watched that scene several times to make sure. Also. this the same guy that said "he's sure got a pretty mouth" and got away after Lewis killed the rapist mountain man. I've wondered about the side of the river several times over the years, it's one of those things that we as viewers are expected to accept. The guy that wrote the book also wrote the screenplay. He was from that area. The director & Ed's son (John Boorman's own son) Charlie are both English. I read the book before seeing the movie in 1972 & had never heard of a man being raped until this. I've always believed that Drew was shot, that Ed fell on his own arrow, & that Ed killed the "hillbilly" with one arrow shot because they were all in the book & they are actually in the movie. Also, Ed went up the cliff because Lewis pointed it out after the canoes wrecked.
If you buy the Deliverance dvd (or Blu-Ray) then watch "Special Features" - you'll be amazed at the amount of answers that available are right there. MANY answers. But the question here was whether or not Ed shot the "hillbilly" from the front. I just pulled out the movie & scrolled to that scene & the arrow almost exited from the rear. It entered from the front. And it is definitely Cowboy Coward that Ed examines. He does not have on the ball cap & has his two top false teeth in place. This gives him a pretty much different look at first glance, but when he's laying there & being examined by Ed, I can see that it's him from the angle of the camera. At first the director tries to confuse but then he angles the camera to the right position.
Again, watch "Special Features" on this dvd & you'll get many, many answers.
I've always wondered why Ed was so alarmed when he discovered that maybe he shot the wrong hillbilly. Hell, the guy drew a bead on Ed, raper or not, shooting was really the only option Ed had if he wanted to stay alive. I could understand being surprised that he wasn't the guy he thought he was but he really had no other option where the hillbilly with the rifle certainly did but decided to shoot instead - in that an arrow, although very fast and deadly, can be dodged by just dropping to the ground and shouting to the guy with the bow 'you have the wrong man" or similar. I'd even say that once one drops his weapon most likely so will the other man (if both are in the woods, armed, to hunt animals that is).
shareIronman - Ed did shoot the wrong guy. The man with the gun from earlier had no front teeth, and when Ed checked the man he killed, he discovered that he did have front teeth.
And Ed certainly did not need to shoot that man. Ed pulled a weapon on him first. He could have just hidden behind the rock. He killed him because he was delusional and upset and wanted justice for his friend's suicide.
Did you not notice he had removable teeth?
shareThe arrow went through the guy's neck and out the back.
~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.
After Ed shoots the hillbilly at close range he falls backwards. I slow motioned the tape way back and another arrow goes into his side as he falls but you can plainly see that it is lying on the rock and the next frame shows it in his side. Poor editing but who cares.
shareI don't think it's poor editing. There is a lot of confusion going on for the characters. Was Drew shot? Is someone following them from the cliffs? Ed's confusion and state of mind has him miss fire and put an arrow in his own leg. I think its edited for us the audience to see things as if we are the characters, not really sure what we are seeing. I think its a bold choice to tell the story that way, but it sure put me in that river with the guys.
I just watched this scene again to be sure and here is what happens... Ed wakes up, sees the man with the gun (I believe to be the same toothless hillbilly from earlier, just now wearing his falsies and no hat with a new shirt on.. he had to go home to get another rifle as his was taken from him in the woods during the initial confrontation), as Ed freezes up drawing down on him, hillbilly aims the rifle at him and they both let go at the same time.. You can see if you watch it frame by frame that then Ed does in fact fall on his quiver of arrows when he slides down the rocks a bit after the first duel. As the hillbilly walks over to Ed's position to try and shoot at him again Ed is pulling out his knife and you can see an arrow already protruding from the hillbilly's throat from the first shot. He succumbs to his wound at the time of his second gunshot attempt which is why he misses. Also, to put an end to the discussion of half the arrow went this way and half that.. Firstly without the fletching it would never travel that distance, certainly not straight enough to hit anything... and secondly, you can see plainly that when Ed falls on his arrow it is a full length arrow, not a portion.
share