MovieChat Forums > Unforgiven (1992) Discussion > Undignified Death

Undignified Death

posted 9 years ago by joeparkson
8 replies | jump to latest

The poor slob in the outhouse. That wasn't fair. I hope if death comes when I'm on the throne, I have time to at least pull up my pants.
Civil War soldiers on both sides had a special hatred for snipers, who were fond of picking off any soldier relieving himself. After a while, it must have been hard to leave the safety of your trench or foxhole when the need arose.

The Schofield Kid: The first man he ever killed, taking a dump, looking at him full in the face, begging for his life. What a terrible image to carry for the rest of your life. That actor played the hell out of that scene. There wasn't enough whiskey in the bottle to wipe it from his mind.
Soy 'un hijo de la playa'

[–] Errington_92 9 years ago

This scene along with its impact upon the Schofield Kid's psyche is pivotal in representing Unforgiven's context. The mythical Wild West, emphasised by English Bob's lies of his gun for hire career, are contrasted with psychological damage that Will and later the Schofield Kid experience as a result of the Wild West's brutal reality.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

[–] dominicd 9 years ago

The poor slob in the outhouse. That wasn't fair ...

Absolutely, as there was no honor in assassinating him that way, and however horrific, it illustrates just how downright bent they were for the bounty. In as far as "The Kid," he laughed at first, then he thought about it ... as he would carry that memory well into his grave; or if karma serves dying in an equal or more undignified manner.

- DominicD

"Always make the audience suffer as much as possible." - A. Hitchcock

[–] strntz 8 years ago

First, great comment by Errington_92 above.

As for Karma Dom, I don't believe in it, but if I were to, I'd say that Karma would ignore the Kid since his conscious was punishing him plenty as you pointed out.

Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

[–] silentmovie 8 years ago

Fair's got nothing to do with it.

[–] armhammer 8 years ago

Getting shot in the back was the most common form of gunfight in the actual wild west.

The iconic scene of two gunfighters squaring off, outdrawing one another in the middle of the street is mostly Hollywood embellishment, hardly ever experienced.

[–] Burning_Sosobra 8 years ago

Exactly right. If you look at how most gunfighter's died back then, it was mostly from ambush. John Wesley Hardin was shot in the back of the head by John Selman, who was also killed by ambush himself a year later. Wild Bill Hickock, shot from behind. Jesse James, shot from behind. Dallas Stoudenmire, killed in ambush. That's just how it was. Most of the time one or both combatants were blind, stinking drunk. You lived by the sword, you died by the sword. Or in this case, the gun.

Most men were armed and drank heavily. As we all know, booze and guns are never a good combination. There were only a small handful of historically recorded gunfights that were similar to the Hollywood style showdown. One classic gunfighter vs gunfighter showdown that comes to mind was the gunfight between Luke Short and Jim Courtright. They faced each other down and Short drew his gun a little faster, taking Courtright down for good with a few quick shots of his six shooter. But showdown's like that were rare, most were from ambush and surprise attacks.

There's a lady I know...If I didn't know her, she'd be the lady...I didn't know.

[–] southpawtarp 8 years ago

OP you completely missed the point of the scene. He killed him becuse he was using Charmin, not Ultrasoft, on his hiney.

[–] MaximRecoil (4782) 5 years ago

They lifted that scene from Young Guns (1988), though, unlike the Schofield Kid, Billy the Kid had no qualms about it at all.