your analysis reminds me of a buddhist story: One day a monk was walking in the forest when a tiger came. The monk ran and ran but then falls off a cliff. He manages to grab hold of a vine to stop his fall. The monk looks up and sees the tiger waiting for him. He then looks down and sees another tiger waiting for him at the bottom. But then sees a wild strawberry growing on the vine. Oh, how sweet it tasted.
Algodones is also a village in New Mexico- and the first hanging judge even mentions that they are in New Mexico.. Think you went a bridge too far, there, pard...
It's Algodones, N.M. just north of Bernalillo and Albuquerque. The cowboy passing judgement does mention New Mexico and the bank is in Tucumcari which narrows it down some
While watching the Near Algodones chapter, it somehow made me remember the "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" but I couldn't explain why back then. Now, when I saw your explanation on this I got really surprised, but it feels nice to see the connection now. Thanks :)
Man, you really tie all this together so well. I never saw any of this when I first watched the movie. I was somewhat close with "mortal remains", somewhat still being not very close, but I was just enjoying the movie at the time. Of course, the line "First time?" blew me away and I realized that the bank robber just wasn't that into what was happening to him but I never extrapolated that through the entire story much less tied it to the other stories. The Coens are brilliant!
one of the themes of both the movie and the coens generally is people practicing for dying, in a very flannery o'connor way- both in what is revealed about them in extremis, and in a larger metaphysical sense that all of life is practice for dying. how people feel about death, how people chose to live their lives up until death, and what people expect after death occurs are all vital questions for everything from blood simple to macbeth- and to some degree, one of their overriding themes is that nobody ultimately has power over death, and whatever grander scheme exists in the universe, it will never really be comprehensible enough to make your decisions based on your reading of it. everyone is as helpless as the orator. if anything contradicts that theme, it's the title character in the buster scruggs segment- a man who seems to live and die in a way that all makes perfect sense to him, and goes to heaven when he dies. it feels like deliberate irony, though- one of his final remarks is about how there must be a heaven, because if there weren't, what're all the songs about?- gets at the role of fiction, of storytelling, in trying to grapple with what it means to live and die. we have to tell ourselves something to try and make sense of it, and eventually, we are so used to the things we tell ourselves that we believe they must have some metaphysical importance
All great analysis. One critique is the location of Algodones. Algodones is a town in New Mexico. The bank he is robbing is in Tuccumcari, NM. And the cowboy hanging him mentions the New Mexico justice system.
Franco might not run because he's not aware of what's going on. Just puzzled as to why his partner suddenly leaves for apparently no reason. It doesn't necesssarily mean he submits to his fate. Also, he does plead for his life for his second trial, trying to explain that he wasn't guilty. Watch it again.
Thanks for your very insightful analysis. You definitely should keep up your work and carry on. I dug in all your videos about Buster Scruggs and each one is brillantly thougt over and flawlessly executed. So many points you figured out I didn't. You are indeed a very smart and attentive observer Chapeau!
This is great. All film fans and students alike will appreciate this channel. Looking forward to more. There’s an endless number of films to dive into that would make for great content. Well done.
Your descrition of Owl Creek reminds me of two scenes from two different pictures: 1) The whole Lobotomy/Escape/Ever After scenes from the movie Brazil and 2)When Richard Harrow razes that house and "returns home" in the series Boardwalk Empire PS I live in Yuma, AZ, right near the border. 👍
Interesting take on 'Buster Scruggs'. There is a Algodones in central N.M. which the cowboy made reference to before he attempted some frontier justice. Enjoyed the video.👍👍
DUDE I have been wondering what that film was for like 15 years (owl creek bridge). I watched in back in hs on the xbox 360 randomly and it really stuck with me. Never thought I was going to find out what it was called. Loved this breakdown and really enjoyed getting to watch the ballad of buster scruggs the other night. Keep up the great analysis =-)
This vignette also seems to be a tribute to the Leone Spaghetti westerns genre as well- just as the Tim Blake Nelson opening story seems to be an homage to the romancizing of the western that occurred in the studio system films of the 20s, 30s, 40s and early 50s, this seems to have the motifs and stylizations of the Italian genre's output. Even so, an astute viewer will catch the name of the bank as Tucumcari, which is the bank and town in (my opinion) the best and most underated of the Leone westerns, For a Few Dollars More.
Very interesting analysis. I did find it odd that the cowboy is apparently unconscious throughout his arrest, trial and sentencing, and only “wakes up” when he is actually sitting on a horse waiting to be hanged.
Thank you again, Sir, for an intelligent and enlightening analysis. Might in this connection mention Mark Twain's novel 'The Mysterious Stranger', which he worked on for many years, never finishing it, apparently because its theme disturbed him too much. It is about what might have happened instead if what did happen hadn't happened. From memory I remember one of the happenings being the drowning of a friend of the two boys from whose point of view the story is told. The mysterious stranger then tells them that if the boy had survived, he would have been sickly and miserable for years because of the near-drowning. Ref also your essay on 'The Gal Who Got Rattled'.
Great analysis! I have also wondered if the woman he sees right before his death represents, in a sense, the life he could have had if he hadn't become an outlaw. It's as if she is telling him that he should be down there with her among the crowd of people who, having remained obedient to the law, are witnessing the punishment of the lawbreakers. At least that is how I interpreted it...
After watching your video about the Mortal Remains, I can't help but wonder if the girl is intended to be Thigpen, being the distraction before the end. Even her blue dress ties to the blue lighting in the Mortal Remains.
When I saw end of Near Algadones, I drew parallels with a Zen Koan of Tigers and Strawberry. There also in the end man is bound to die hanging on a cliff by a measly vine of strawberries with one tiger atop and one tiger below. In that moment, he grabs the strawberry and exclaims its deliciousness!
Let’s not look to deep into a shallow well. The Algadones referred to in the movie (and by judge in black - Ralf Ineson) is in the middle of New Mexico.
Note the judge at the second trial is sitting on the steps of the "House of Sin" whorehouse (which also conspicuously offers fortune telling). The rooming house offers accommodation complete with the best view of the gallows, and across the street is the Raven Billiard Hall. Poe reference? Chance v skill? Or maybe its all just some local colour. One other thing - 4 men on the gallows but they are a coffin short.
whoa, that Ambrose Bierce fantasy of rushing home to loved ones during a time of trial, is used in Danny Boyle's 127 hours, also featuring James Franco. weird.
I like your videos. One thought, though. The only Tucumcari I have found (the name of the bank indicates it serves a place with this moniker) is in New Mexico. There is also a place named Algodones in New Mexico. They aren't exactly near each other but, broadly speaking, they are in the same region of the state (Algodones is between Santa Fe and Albuquerque).
It would have been cool if everything that happened after the outlaw made his "only" decision was the equivalent of the imaginary escape. It's kind of a "what if" scenario that plays out as he's trying to make his decision. Just an idea.
I am still thinking about the significance of the 'bank in the middle of nowhere' and the contaminated water well to it's front. Likewise, why did the outlaw park his horse so far away from the bank? Hardly ideal for a quick getaway.
there are 2 characters in the same film that completely undermine the main thesis of this video essay. oddly the exact same film used as the main support of the thesis: Maude and Donny. Maude the contemporary feminist artist is presented only as a woman who lives in the present moment, neither angry or sad or disturbed by the world around her. she is a woman of pop culture....and if any part of Near Algadones, she would be the pretty lady in the blue bonnet. it's hard to imagine her any different than the outlaw, not an acceptance of death but rather appreciating a distracting yet calming beautiful part of nature. Donny on the other hand spends most of his character being constantly ignored or interrupted. his character is so passive that he's almost not even there. he is quiet and contemplative, but remains loyal. (spoilers ahead) Donny's death is literally a panic induced heart attack from being shot at. it's almost self sabotage. Donny's meekness, but also his loyalty is why he dies, and why he has to die. he has to die because Walter's hubris needs to be shattered, and he needs a moment to be vulnerable...that all his verbose anger about Vietnam is a mask to hide his insecurities about death. Donny doesn't scream or cry, he doesn't plead for life...he just doubles over and dies in the parking lot of a bowling ally. death just comes for him whether he fights it or not. all the same as death comes for the outlaw, and fighting it is a waste of time. oh, btw....there's another story of a man who escapes the hangman's knot twice. i guess technically more than twice....but all the same. his story has nothing to do with the American west or the Antebellum south, or any of that. it's Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. maybe not as relevant to this film, this story, these characters, or these themes. just pointing out "there's only 1 other story i know of where a man gets hanged twice" SEEMS like it's off the mark considering the pop culture success of the Pirates movies and Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Captain Jack Sparrow character. maybe "there's only 1 other RELEVANT story" would've been a better choice of words. i know i'm being pedantic....but all perception of art is subjective, so if being pedantic gets the point across that i do not abide by using 1 person's perception of a piece of art as fact to draw conclusions and make hard factual statements about said piece of art, then so be it.
The 1866 winchester was a lot of firepower back in the day holding up to 14 cartridges and 45 colt should stop anything under 200lb with one center-mass shot
If you're referring to the rifle that Mr. Arthur uses to defend himself and the girl against the "savages"... It wasn't an 1866 Winchester, it was the Winchester's predecessor, the Henry rifle, which wasn't chambered in 45 Colt, nor even .44-40... That is what the 1866 Winchester was chambered in (the first Winchester chambered in 45 Colt was the 1873 model, since the 45 Colt cartridge didn't exist until 1873, as it was introduced with the 1873 Single Action Army revolver). The original Henry rifle was only chambered in 44 rimfire, comparatively a very weak cartridge, which is why it needed to hold so many. However, yes, the 1866 Win chambered in .44-40 was certainly capable of killing most men with a well placed shot... as was the 1873 Win chambered in either .44-40 or 45 Colt, although it only held 8 or 9 rounds of the latter.
That's the wrong Algodones. The one in the movie is the New Mexico Algodones. That's why the bank says Tucumcari, NM and the Judge talks about justice in New Mexico.
She clearly likes him. But his choices in life led him to the gallows. Could have been different if he had fallen in love ❤. Maybe he be a better different good man. But it wasn't meant to be.
