Deleted Scenes - The Rifle

The Rifle
Photo by Kimberley French.
TheRifle_gM
Contributed photo
Location: Hwy 1X, Seebe
GPS:   51d 6m 31.2s    -115d 2m 48.42s
Map / Satellite Image: Google Link
Scene Name: The Rifle
 

Travel Directions:
Access to this site is no longer possible due to road closure. To reach the general area: From Hwy 1 (Trans-Canada Hwy), take Seebe Exit 114A, pass the “Leaving Bow Valley Provincial Park” sign, cross the bridge, and take an immediate right (hairpin) turn, cross the one-lane bridge and go as far as the security gate.

[Alternately, from Buffalo Paddock, turn left (west) onto 1A, proceed 8.8 km, turn left (south) onto 1X, go 2.1 km, turn left at the “Seebe” sign, cross the one-lane bridge, and proceed as above.]

Remarks:
The Rifle Scene is set at the picturesque Seebe Cliffs, the same place where Ennis and Jack made their memorable reunion plunge in 1967. Only a short bit of it (the best part) made it into the film.

107   EXT: BIGHORN MOUNTAINS, WYOMING: CAMPSITE: NIGHT: 1973:   107

ENNIS

Look what I brought.

He offers a small brown paper bag.

JACK weighs it in his hands, opens it: a couple cans of

(CONTINUED)

107   107   CONTINUED:   107   107

beans.

JACK

Beans.

ENNIS

And I’m gonna fix ’em just the way you like ’em, spoon ’em cold straight from the can.

JACK smiles.

JACK

I’ll eat ’em from your hand, if you’re willin’ to breath the consequences after that tent gets zippered up tonight.

A beat.

JACK

I got somethin’ for you too. I was gonna wait till our last morning.

He gets up, opens a duffle bag, finds a package, a long box.

JACK

C’mon.

ENNIS looks tentative. Then opens the box. It’s a spectacular, custom finished hunting rifle.

JACK

That’s gold plate on the back there. See the engraving. Limited edition.
[etc. -- he points out all the features]

ENNIS is stunned.

JACK

I knew you’d like it!

ENNIS

Jack. I can’t take this.

(CONTINUED)

107   107   CONTINUED:   107   107

JACK

What do you mean? Of course you can.

ENNIS

I can’t take this. I can’t take this home. This is two, three month’s wages.

JACK

It’s a gift, don’t worry about it.

ENNIS
(anger rising)

You don’t get it. Alma sees this ... You just don’t get it. Alma, me and my shit jobs, then struttin’ home with this in my hands, with her goin’ on about this an’ that we can’t afford for the girls.

JACK

Hey, you need some help ...

ENNIS

I don’t need your help! ... You got that?

A long pause.

JACK

I got it.

He puts the gun back in its case. Looks up at ENNIS’S face.

JACK

I got it, partner. I do.

ENNIS

OK.

JACK

OK. Now go fetch a can opener and let’s have our dinner.

[Script excerpt]

The Rifle Scene was originally scripted to address the issues of money and infidelity. Jack’s gift of an expensive firearm illustrates his newfound prosperity and persistence. In rejecting the gift, Ennis underscores the intense financial burdens and family pressures he feels. His rationale, which is rooted in concern over Alma’s reaction, sounds much more like the calculation of a cheating husband than that of a troubled man struggling with “a force of nature.” It is possible that the Rifle Scene was abbreviated because of this emphasis.

Like so many scenes in the film, the Rifle Scene captures much more than it pretends to. True to character, Jack brought a flashy rifle and Ennis brought beans, reviving one of the film’s most memorable symbols. In a meeting of the extraordinary and the plain, confidence encounters fear. Jack suggests, Ennis rejects.

Important:
Always obtain appropriate permission before entering private property. Under no circumstances should one attempt to dive from the cliff or swim at this site.

Quotation:
“I don’t need your help! You got that?”

Pictures of surrounding area:

TheRifle_bS

TheRifle_cM

TheRifle_dS

TheRifle_eM

TheRifle_fS

   

TheRifle_gS

   

For more pictures taken at this location see
DVD Chapter 12,
01 09 28, 01 09 38.

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  Revised 24 September 2009