did shane die???
in the final shots of him riding off, we see him leaning over on his horse??? did he die???
sharein the final shots of him riding off, we see him leaning over on his horse??? did he die???
shareIt looked as if he was shot on the left side of his body. His left arm was just hanging there at the end when he road off. Making me think that he was shot in the collarbone shoulder area, which is where all your important sh!t is.
So even though we see him at the top of the hill smiling as Joey shouts to him in the last frame, I still think he died. But what kind of ending is that? Seeing Shane fall off his horse after all that would have been a overly sad ending. This way it was ambiguous, so anyone can make any claim they want.
But I'm a full grown adult that understands human anatomy. Shane died at the end.
"Shane" will live forever.
share"he was shot in the collarbone shoulder area, which is where all your important sh!t is"
lol, no, gut shot or centre of the chest maybe. He wasn't shot through the lung,and wasn't bleeding out nearly fast enough to indicate a ruptured artery. You should be careful about myths with anatomy, your heart is not in your left shoulder, it's not even close.
"World needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door."
Yes, there isn't any prove that shane die but maybe there is some clue.
The fact that we discoverd that shane got shot only when he say goodbye to the boy, can indicate that he knew he will dying, so he breaks up with him before he will finds out that his hero is going to die. also the boy shout two sentences about the shoting, again maybe it's a hint about the importance of this injury.
"he was shot in the collarbone shoulder area, which is where all your important sh!t is"
lol, no, gut shot or centre of the chest maybe.
The fact that he is wounded and bleeding leaves an open field to interpret that he may die shortly afterwards, but that's something for the viewer to decide. However I found in the FAQ section this comment from the IMDB, which so well expresses my own thoughts about this matter, that I'll be just quoting it:
Others circumvent the argument entirely by pointing out that it matters little whether or not Shane dies from his wound. The movie itself is an allegory saying that the gunfighter, like the free range cattle rancher, are dying breeds. The West is being settled, civilized and developed. It's giving way to a new era where the rugged individual was being replaced by families... where peace would prevail and gunfighters no longer had a place.
The idea that Shane dies at the end is basically a 21st century creation, as perfectly summed up by this quote:
The key to this end is when Shane tells Ryker that the time for his kind has ended, and Ryker asks him what about his kind, and Shane replies that the difference is he knows it. This has led to some people speculating that Shane actually dies at the end of the film, but this is nonsense. Shane rides over the ridge, tall in the saddle, nit slumped, and still obviously in control. And, unlike, say, the end of El Cid, there is no mechanism to hold his body- live or dead- in place. So, the claim that Shane is dead is pure bunkum, and recent bunkum, culled from the end of a mediocre 1998 action film, called The Negotiator, in which two of the characters argue this point. It simply has nothing to do with the real ending of the film. Shane is shot, but clearly not hurt, and given the realism about guns the film endorses, were Shane really mortally wounded, he’d not have been able to hide it from Joey.
Quirt1 - I like that post - I always thought it was really weird, this whole idea of Shane dying. I've been watching the movie ever since I was a kid in the 70's, and this relatively recent argument that Shane died at the end was just so odd to me - I just kept thinking, where is this coming from? Just seemed to be coming from nowhere. I never remember hearing or reading anything about people thinking he died at the end until relatively recently. I never got that impression AT ALL from watching it, Shane just gives NO indication of being seriously wounded.
Just as an aside, and this might not mean anything to anybody but me, but Lux Radio Theatre did a radio version of Shane in the 50's with Alan Ladd and Van Heflin reprising their roles, and the program ends with Shane riding off and Joey calling after him - no narration or anything to indicate that Shane is slumping over, dying, seriously wounded, in trouble, etc. I would think that if we were meant to wonder about whether Shane is dying at the end, it would have been important enough to have been part of the audio dramatization of this movie.
Also - I think the ending of Shane riding off and the boy calling after him is so poetic and beautiful and heartbreaking.
If you throw the idea of Shane dying into the mix, it just ruins the poetry - you're left thinking of the logistics. If he dies as he's riding off, how far is he going to get? Will he die in sight of the town? Will his horse stop when he dies? Will he fall off his horse? Are the townspeople going to come running out to get him? Will there be a big funeral there in town?
Kinda messes up the beauty of the ending of Shane just riding off, and Joey calling after him.
"Come back, Shane!"
Quirt1 - I like that postI liked it too when I read it. Thanks goes to the person that wrote it so well.
Just as an aside, and this might not mean anything to anybody but me, but Lux Radio Theatre did a radio version of Shane in the 50's with Alan Ladd and Van Heflin reprising their roles, and the program ends with Shane riding off and Joey calling after him - no narration or anything to indicate that Shane is slumping over, dying, seriously wounded, in trouble, etc.I've heard it many times. You make a good point.
If you throw the idea of Shane dying into the mix, it just ruins the poetry - you're left thinking of the logistics. If he dies as he's riding off, how far is he going to get? Will he die in sight of the town? Will his horse stop when he dies? Will he fall off his horse?Even worse, what if little Joey is the one who sees this and is the first to get to Shane?
Kinda messes up the beauty of the ending of Shane just riding off, and Joey calling after him.
Shane knew his death was lnevitable. He rode off into the sunset or whatever so the boy wouldn't witness it. He didn't die during the movie or he would have fallen off the horse. He knew the end was near and probably found a peaceful place to meet his maker.went out like a hero, thinking about others. I have always believed this. 😢
shareI 'm afraid that the implication was that he was dying . We last see him riding through the cemetery, arm hanging limp. Not very subtle .
shareThen again , watch the last few shots in slow motion freeze frame. Shane grabs his right shoulder. That would explain his arm hanging limp . He lives!
shareAgain, the power of guns and the damage they could do (knock people over) was one of the main messages of the movie.
If Shane was struck solidly by a bullet in the bar he would not have been able to walk away dripping a little blood, kneel down & talk to Joey, then get on his horse and ride away.
It bears repeating...
So, the claim that Shane is dead is pure bunkum, and recent bunkum, culled from the end of a mediocre 1998 action film, called The Negotiator, in which two of the characters argue this point. It simply has nothing to do with the real ending of the film. Shane is shot, but clearly not hurt, and given the realism about guns the film endorses, were Shane really mortally wounded, he’d not have been able to hide it from Joey.
Yes he died later. One theme in this film is the myth of the unsettled stranger, the gunfighter living outside of respectable society, no home, no roots, a killer who must always move on after he kills because no one wants him around.
Shane plays a type at the end of it's life cycle, as does Wilson. The Rykers of the West are gone, there is no longer any need for the wandering killers to do what settled people can't do.
Analagous to the Dark Knight trope. A hero, but one that can never be accepted into civilized society because of the terrible but necessary deeds he carries out. Sort of like the scapegoat concept. Lay the sins of the community on Shane, and drive him out, never to return.
<<Yes he died later.>>
Of course he died later. If he didn't, he'd be like a hundred and fifty years old today.