Based on the novel by William Dale Jennings, Mark Rydell delivers a timeless western classic: The Cowboys (1972). An old rugged cowboy, Wil Anderson (John Wayne), desperately hires a group of teenage boys to assist him on a 400-mile cattle drive from Montana to Belle Fourche, South Dakota. For the shot by shot critique, I have selected a key eight shot sequence (30:20-31:13) in the beginning of the film, which adequately utilizes traditional film techniques: spatial continuity, true origins, sound, and close ups. Furthermore, in my analysis I will synopsize the sequence and examine how these traditional film techniques embellish on-screen action and the mise en scène of the sequence.
Preceding the sequence for analysis, Anderson’s employees have abandoned him, opting to dig for gold instead. Anderson is left helpless for his upcoming cattle drive, which is imperative for his financial sake. In this scene, Anderson has offered the job to a group of teenage boys at the schoolhouse and is explaining the guidelines of the job.
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Shot one of the sequence begins after Anderson’s proposal speech, and is a quick two-second over the shoulder (of the boy) shot at lower angle looking slightly up at Wil Anderson. By framing Anderson at an upward angle, it establishes an eye line camera match between with the boy and Anderson’s persona of the “boss” role. Within the shot, viewers clearly see the boy’s hand rise in the center of the frame, as well as the boy on his right.
Shot two is a shot reverse shot of shot 1, a shot from Anderson’s point of view. Interestingly, shot two’s angle is vertically opposite of shot one’s angle. Shot two looks down at the boy from Anderson’s perspective while maintaining the 180-degree rule and the eye line matches; this provides a unique narrative context by altering the vantage point between angles of the boy’s and Anderson’s. In shot two, the young boy is centered in the frame, and hesitantly asks his question to Anderson. Viewers further see the boy’s old books and clothes illuminating the time period. On-screen timing is perfect for the cut; after the youngest boy asks the question the boy sitting to his right turns his head and looks to Anderson. The boy to the right looks to Anderson, what he turns to look at triggers the motivation for a cut to shot three, this exemplifies the sequence’s true origin, the cause of the image.
Next in shot three, the viewer is back to the same angle seen in shot one. Notice the 180-degree rule is never broken through this quick shot reverse shot sequence. Shot three marks the first time the camera moves in the sequence, as the boy gets up the camera horizontally follows him to the left and then remains set. Now viewers see more of the traditional chalkboard, as the boy stands in front of Anderson. The boy stands as tall as Anderson’s belly, this framing used reemphasizes the drastically different characters (young/old and small/big). Anderson reaches out to grab the boy’s shoulders, which leads into the next shot.
A new angle is introduced in shot four and is framed differently. Here viewers are unable to see Anderson fully, but instead just a head shot of the boy against the chalkboard with Anderson’s hand drawing the chalk line. This particular framing allows for a more appropriate scale to see Anderson drawing the minimum height line above the boy’s head. As the boy nervously looks to the board, western harmonica based music is introduced (at 16 second mark) which compliments the feeling of the boy’s disappointment, the guilt of Anderson rejecting the boy, and the overall western mise en scène.
Anderson’s guilt is further built upon in shot five. Shot five is a close up clean single framing of Anderson who has a priceless look of guilt on his face. The hat enables portions of his face to be hidden through a shadow ring. Anderson quickly rids his culpable expression and puts on his game face as he turns and to escape the scene of the crime he’s just committed, in a sense. The music picks up with new instruments being introduced that additionally build upon the chagrin in the room.
The shot to shot motivation, or true origin, withholds as Anderson crosses the frame in shot five the angle changes to shot six. In shot six, viewers have a full room view of Anderson’s exit. This new angle provides a more complete perspective of the schoolhouse and the rest of the boys as Anderson trudges out the door. The music remains consistent with shot five’s. The big-boarded desks, the clothing of the boys, and the coats and hats in the back of the room combined with the music reiterate the western feel. As Anderson exists the room, many of the boys watch in surprise.
Shot seven, returns to a brief upper-body clean single from the waist up of the boy against the chalkboard still standing in misery after being denied a chance to become a real cowboy. Though it is off-screen, viewers hear Anderson slamming the door as he leaves. The boy looks down at the floor in shame. The music continues its negative but still western vibe.
The longest shot of the sequence, shot eight is another new angle, which focuses on the back of the classroom specifically two of the older boys in the class on the left side of the picture. As one of the older boys nudges the other and they get up, the music changes pace yet again (at 34 second mark), but this time the sound creates a sense of hope just as the boys get up from their desk to approach the front of the classroom. For the second time in the sequence, the camera noticeably moves with the boys’ movement and is shooting at angle slightly looking up at the two older boys walking towards the chalkboard. The camera continues to move down with the two older boys as they move the books out from under the legs of the chalkboard. The camera is likely on a dolly as it moves down to the bottom of the chalkboard and steadily moves up while simultaneously zooming in on the younger boy. The viewer and the younger boy together see that he now meets the height of the line. As the boy smiles, the music progressively builds positive momentum to match the emotion of the boy and the audience, the pinnacle of uplifting sound and on screen emotion conclude the sequence.
The piece follows classical continuous editing to perfection with ideal spatial continuity. Interestingly, within the properly done shot reverse shot (shots 1-3) the angles match supplementary to provide narrative context of the camera position. The 180-degree rule is always followed. Cuts follow traditional rules too; they are made on static camera movement to static camera movement in the next shot. But yet it brings out old school in even more ways. The sequence would likely be considered “classical” according to some influential film critics. David Bordwell wrote in Classical Hollywood Cinema, “… classical (narration) is most concerned to motivate style compositionally, as a function of syuzhet (plot) patterning (26).” In The Tutor-Code of Classical Cinema, Dayan defines true origin as a representation of the cause of the image. This sequence reflects both as cuts come with clear motivation from shot to shot remains, thus making true origin consistent.
But yet, detail serves an essential role in the sequence too. In The Close Up, Balász emphasized the importance of close ups, stating, “ …a good film with its close-ups reveals the most hidden parts in our polyphonous life, and teaches us to see the intricate visual details of life as one reads an orchestral score.” In my mind, two close ups and their sound orchestration really define the sequence: Anderson’s close up in shot five and the little boy’s close up in the end of shot eight. This duo of close ups clearly reveal emotions and enable viewers to see Anderson breaking his typical tough character by feeling remorseful for a second (shot 5) and the uplifting emotion of the young boy and viewers together seeing he meets the line mark (shot 8). These close ups are integral pieces to the work by allowing audiences to see specific emotions of characters, which allow the audience to better relate to the characters.
Even with a dominant standardized approach, the sequence has its own flair. The props, traditional lighting, and music fuse together to provide unique mise en scène, which allows the film to withhold its western roots. Viewers see many elements that create the old schoolhouse feel: the cone sitting on the chair (shot one), the chalkboard with traditional cursive, the characters clothes and old and entirely wood boarded walls and desks. Perhaps most crucial of all is the music. The classically edited film thrives off its classical western music. The mood changes of the music are imperative to the scene and without it the piece loses power and significance. Sound even foreshadows on screen actions, such as in shot eight as the boys approach the board.
On a side note, John Wayne does deserve some credit for his perfect tough cowboy charisma and making the piece powerful and unique. Overall, the sequence illustrates pure continuous editing and ideally incorporates music to beautifully compliment on screen action, which makes the piece a benchmark for classical film editing techniques and the western genre.
