Posted by MMMMarcia on February 05, 2000 at 20:29:24:
In Reply to: Duncan throwing himself down the hill? What is up with that! posted by Mohican Girl on February 05, 2000 at 17:34:31:
Hi, Mohican Girl! Guess I'll lead off in responding to your questions. Everyone else seems kinda quiet tonight.
1. Regarding Duncan throwing himself down the hill: what is not made clear in the movie (nor do I remember seeing it shown any more clearly in the dvd) is the fact that Duncan has just been shot in the leg. We know this from our own Soldier #2's explanation of what actually ocurred there, even though you don't get a clue of that from the movie. This is why Duncan is suddenly flung backwards. All further references to his injury seem to be missing from the movie, too, but that's the scoop on what was happening there.
2. Hawkeye is shown running in slow motion, and begins his run quite a bit before Cora is being held under the knife. Things do get a mite confused there, as he closes the gap between them, so it's hard to tell exactly how long Cora is in imminent danger before he arrives. I do not think, though, that his blow to the Huron's head would have caused him to slice through her throat at all. Remember, the Huron hears Hawkeye shouting "Cora!" and looks up, hesitating. When Hawkeye bashes him (yay, Hawkeye!), he would surely be knocked away from Cora, and lost his grip on the knife. Just my opinion, there.
3. Colonel Munro may have been holding his sword when his horse is shot, but don't forget, the horse landed on TOP of him, pinning him to the ground. I don't know for certain, but I think it would be very difficult to kill Magua from that position, even if one wasn't in excrutiating pain. I mean, how effective could his flailing around with his sword have been while he's lying pinned under the horse? This, assuming he didn't drop the sword when the horse fell on him in the first place. He could, perhaps, have gotten in a good jab or two at Magua's knees...;o) Seriously, I will watch that scene one more time (oh, no!!) and see if I can imagine him being able to put up much of a fight from under the horse.
What bothers *me* more about that moment is how peculiar the other Hurons look as they stand, sorta hunched over, glaring around the perimeter of their circle, whilst Magua does his dirty deed. I've always thought they looked a little odd.
Well, while I'm watching Munro's demise again, you could watch Duncan one more time, and see if you can imagine that a bullet has just passed through his leg. We both need another excuse to watch the film again, anyway...don't we? Let's call it Important Research, shall we?
Post some more thoughts, Mohican girl. We haven't done any scene analysis around here in awhile.
MMMMarcia