Angelica Houstons part??????????
The movie was good. The movie would have been fine without Angelica Houstons part. That was weird and useless. Anybody else agree?
shareyou obviously did'nt get that part at the end
shareCould you explain that part to me?
shareRent the DVD. They explain her part in the special features. She essentially was the devil, here are your options guys. The symbolism at towards the end got a bit heavy but imo it pulled it all together without being to absurd.
shareYou guys did see her name on the back of the wagon didn't you? There was a little sign that said:
Louise
C
Fair
prop.
Louise C Fair = Lucifer.
I actually caught that during the movie, it is not onscreen long though.
David.
wow, cool, I didnt catch that during the first watch - but I was under the impression that she was the devil or a metaphor at least.
very cool ;-)
****SPOILERS****
So, what? They both died in the desert? And when they split paths, one went to heaven and one to hell?
Thank you for voting Democratic.
^^That's a cool theory, but not really what's implied.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion is the worst anime show ever created.
What was implied?
*SPOILERS***
How else would they have met the Devil? They got woozy and disoriented, and at that moment the Devil appeared to each of them. Then are we expected to believe a gut-shot Neeson could walk out of the desert?
Thank you for voting Democratic.
They both made a deal with the Indian and Louise so it would be absurd to think one went to hell and the other to heaven. And yeah, it could be possible for them to survive. But as for their fate after walking away we have no idea.
I like going into depth on movies too, but I think people are just going to wind up confusing themselves with this one. It's a great and simple Western that didn't get the wide release it deserved, and for me that's basically all it is.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion is the worst anime show ever created.
I had some mixed feelings...
There's always dabs of symbolism, but more subtle, especially for a western depicting a bit of realism.
****SPOILERS BELOW***:
...so when she came as the devil (I didn't catch the name, but with the temptation of revenge over life--pretty obvious symbolism there alone), I thought it got a bit too much...what was she doing out there anyways and having one bullet?
Overall, enjoyable...I love westerns--all kinds!
But, lol, my favorite part was the jumping out of the horse part, LOL, I was laughing minutes on end with my brother, we even rewinded it and did it in slow motion...LOL I'm thinkin' about it now...LMAO...CLASSIC!
I had some definite mixed feelings too. I thought it was completely odd that the makers of this film (which I mostly enjoyed) just jumped into this super-surreal mode with both the old man at the pool and Mrs. Addams as the devil (which I, like you, thought was pretty obvious). It just didn't fit, IMO. You can have a movie full of symbolism but I thought it was weird that they went to the extent that they did with it after almost an entire movie with no surreality/obvious plot-bending symbolism. The ending was good though.
I'm Bill Pardy.
http://www.editred.com/bionicRod
I thought it made sense. By the time the two reach the desert, they are both delirious with rage, hunger, thirst, exhaustion and guilt. A torrent of emotions and physical need. So it isn't strange that they would start to see hallucinations and feel a bit insane. I think that part of the money made perfect sense and truly expressed the desperation that both characters would feel at a time like that.
As for them dissappearing into thin air, I think it is a way of expressing that it doesn't matter what happened to them next. What is important in the context of the film is that they made their peace with themselves and with each other after long last. That is the crux of the film. Not whether or not they survived.
I thought this was a very well done film.
So it isn't strange that they would start to see hallucinations and feel a bit insane.
I guess, but the fact that they both saw the same woman, "the Devil", means that they were neither experiencing insanity or hallucinations, doesn't it? Anyway you're right, it's a good movie, but the ending just doesn't make a lot of sense to some people. Me included.
I'm Bill Pardy.
http://www.editred.com/bionicRod share
Wow, and I was wondering were Angelica Huston was. I just watched a cut version of the film, (at a theatre, no less) and there was no Angelica Huston at all. And I was very confused about what happened. Anyway, I need to see the whole movie on DVD I guess.
And yes, Neon Genesis Evangelion sucks.
Where did you see this cut version? How many minutes did it run? The U.S. version was 111 or 112 min. (though some places state 115 min)
shareWhen you introduce the 'devil' in a western (in the last 5 minutes) selling a 'cure all' under the name of Louise C Fair, being played by Angelica Houston, the last description it could be given is great and 'simple'.
It actually begs for 'confusion' and 'depth'.
I really, really liked it, but I think it could have quite easily done without the existentialism at the end.
Carver isn't gut shot. If you look carefully, it looks as though Gideon's shot mostly wings Carver in his right side. You can see where the blood is on the edge of the shirt. Also it isn't until after Gideon lifts Carver's shirt to have a look that he offers him water and then helps him up.
It might also help to remember that at the beginning, Carver's men assume Gideon is "gut shot" too, when in reality it's just his shoulder.
The top-hatted Indian and the diabolic snake oil saleswoman came out of left field to put an unwelcome sophomoric finish to a really well made movie up to that point.
The screenplay writer could surely have devised a plausible denouement more in keeping with the style of the movie. This looked like they had found a couple of pieces from Alice in Wonderland and glommed them on to get the thing finished rather than take a couple of days to write something better. A quick phone call to Clint Eastwoo0d would have been a good plan if he was really stuck.
Photography was terrific and excellent performances from the two Irishmen (not Scots!), Brosnan and Neeson, as well as a good cameo from Angie Harmon.
"A quick phone call to Clint Eastwoo0d would have been a good plan if he was really stuck."
It differs depending on eveyrone's interpretation but HIgh plains drifter is basically about an avenging angel punishing people for their sins. He pushed to make it more ambivalent too which shows that Eastwood clearly isn't again some fantasy elements in his westerns either. Speaking of Eastwood films, the part where the soldiers "raid" Carver's farm reminded me a lot of the beginning of The outlaw josey wales.
I hadnt caught the name on the wagon but i found the devil symbolism to be evident.
Not implied???
**SPOILER***
Well, lessee...
- She's wearing black
- She appears out of nowhere and vanishes just as quickly
- The place she appears in is hot... dare I say hotter than hell (in fact the whole movie is a descent into hell: they start in the snow, remember)
- She trades them their life (or the one thing that can give them life: water and a ride out) for death (guns and bullets).
- Oh yeah, and her wagon has a phonetic "Lucifer" painted on the back.
I don't see how it could be anymore obvious short of having "SATAN" tattooed on her forehead.
It's pretty easy to figure out what Angelica Huston is supposed to represent. It's not so easy to figure out exactly what happens to Gideon and Carver once the credits roll.
And it's freaking difficult to figure out exactly why the makers of a fantastic, down-to-earth, grim and gritty western thriller decided to wrap things up with ham-fisted metaphorical hoodoo.
Guys, you get the part about the metaphorical figures and symbolism, but you still think Neeson got shot? Think. He had one bullet... he used it on Wincott when Brosnan was holding him. Then Brosnan got his pistol... no bullets left. Neeson never got shot, because a metaphorical devil cannot produce a real, physical, bullet. Neither of them had anything to shoot anybody with when they got out there.
shareThe sign on the back of her wagon (in addition to Louise C. Fair) was something like "cleanses the blood" and "absolution of the bowels". They both traded what would save their lives to her, for one bullet and the chance for revenge. In real life, it wouldn't make sense to a normal thinking person to give up a horse for a bullet when you are in the middle of a desert. But it was a beautiful metaphor for the single-minded madness that overtakes one, when revenge is sought.
I loved it, and I loved her part. If anyone saw High Plains Drifter, Eastwood's character was also the devil who appeared without warning, didn't seem to sweat in the hot sun, and always had something to trade to the townspeople (whom he made to choke on their own collective guilt), and they willingly agreed to the foolish decision. There were tons of Eastwood movie references (i.e. the duplicitous preacher from "Pale Rider", and dropping the knife on the bad guy from up high, like he knocked out the bad guy from up high in "Joe Kidd"), and this was a great one.
This movie really impressed me, but if I had not seen all the Eastwood movies and the many Clint points therein, then it might have been a little slow. I hope it does great on DVD.
If Angelica Hueston is the devil I want to go to hell if only she could make herself twenty years younger.
shareNeither character took the cure all potion.
They shared their water.
They were near the edge of the desert.
I see no reason why they did not survive and go their separate ways.
That's all.
What was the cure all potion about? What did it symbolize? And what would have happened if they had drank it?
share