Chatting with Drink last night, he suggested something that hadn't occurred to me. I assumed the title referred to the fact that Frayling is going through the film, in sequence, analyzing each separate camera set-up as he comes to it. That may in fact be what the book does, but Drink's idea is that there is a play on words going on. Given the fact that Angeli Novi's on-set photographs are being featured, each of the "shots" referred to could be those. And of course, being a film with a lot of gun-play, the title could even be referencing the discharge of firearms. It will be interesting to see what it is that finally gets published.
CJ, can you move this thread to the OUATITW board? i think that's where it belongs
I assumed the title referred to the fact that Frayling is going through the film, in sequence, analyzing each separate camera set-up as he comes to it. That may in fact be what the book does, but Drink's idea is that there is a play on words going on. Given the fact that Angeli Novi's on-set photographs are being featured, each of the "shots" referred to could be those.
And of course, being a film with a lot of gun-play, the title could even be referencing the discharge of firearms. It will be interesting to see what it is that finally gets published.
18. Actually, this last one is a movie-making question, not a character-motivation one: Does the camera linger on Harmonica at the end (and the music switch to Cheyenne's playful theme) to make us wonder if Harmonica is going to turn around? There is a moment when their path veers to the left...is that a tease, or are they just avoiding something in their way?
I watched OUATITW again last night...there are so few films I can watch multiple times over just a few weeks. I realize "shot by shot" is a pun, but I do hope Frayling gets into the profoundly complex character motivations and actions, which a scene-by-scene analysis could really explore:1. Why does Harmonica make an appointment with Frank rather than just seek him out?2. What is Jill really doing when she ransacks the bedroom? Is she that craven to just be looking for money? She settles down when she finds the mementos from her wedding, but surely she wasn't that frantic just to find her dress and bouquet?3. Why does Cheyenne question Jill about Harmonica as though they had not seen him together at the posado?4. Why does Jill tell Cheyenne he can keep any money he finds, and then act like she's giving it all up to go "back to civilization," when just the day before she seemed so dedicated to building a life out of her new circumstances?5. Is Harmonica's quoting of Cheyenne to Jill ("one more killing") supposed to suggest that Harmonica is slightly supernatural? Of all his actions, that's the only one (eavesdropping on that one line) that seems completely unrealistic. If not, doesn't it make him seem kind of creepy? What is the actual point of his lurking around the night before?
6. Does Harmonica rip the frills off Jill's dress to reduce her to her true nature as he knows it, so that she can be "real"? (He's been researching things, even if only an afternoon has passed, and Frank knows her history.) Or is he trying to make her look sexy to attract the bad guys outside? Or does he know she will become the water-bearing Queen Bee of a new city, and he's just getting her dressed for it?7. Does he send her out for water to bait Frank's men, or to get her used to fetching water because he knows the purpose for Sweetwater?8. Why does Cheyenne (who's shown holding his rifle as if prepared to use it) let Frank's men get so close to Jill rather than doing away with them before they pose such an imminent threat?9. Does Jill approach Wobbles because she's angry and means what she says, or is she getting him to lead Harmonica to Frank? (The latter option is what I assumed upon first viewing, especially because of their conspiratorial acknowledgement of each other afterward, but only if Jill truly expects to deal with Frank herself does later plot development make sense, as discussed below.)10. Why does Cheyenne, who has a gang, sneak onto Frank's train by himself, like Harmonica does? Why not just attack it, as they do later?
12. Why is there an old railroad track buried at Sweetwater (as discovered by Cheyenne)?