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Blackthorne
Cinemagenic Sixty-Eight
Valor
“Valor is stability, not of legs & arms, but of
courage & the soul.”--Michel de Montaigne.
1(sound cue) trumpet, kettle drum, & seed rattle.
2(medium wide shot) there, about 60 yards from
Buck, stood the ancient white bull, up on his
unsteady feet, shaking his great shaggy head.
3(close up) red saliva mist pelted the air, his chest
and jaw was saturated in steaming blood.
4(tight medium shot) He caught Buck’s scent again
and lurched toward him.
5(sound cue) blues guitar slide & French horn.
6(medium close-up) Buck snapped off a reflex shot,
aiming or the brute’s spine, but gut shot him too.
7(medium wide shot) the big bored Sharps knocked
the bull flat, its front legs first, skidding in the dust,
then its hind quarters.
8(overhead drone shot) Buck getting to his feet, the
albino bull down, like it was in prayer--the lanky black
cow, oddly, did not move.
9(medium close up) the cow’s face was placid, its
eyes strangely calm. The albino calf was shaking,
but it stood with its mother.
10(medium wide shot) Buck began walking slowly
toward the bison group.
11(sound cue) Voice Over--I know that all three bulls
will have to be shot again, but for now they aren’t
going anywhere.
12(overhead drone shot) He dropped two more of
the cows, one with a brain shot, the other through
the heart.
13(sound cue) Again there is a blood-curdling bison
bellow to his right
14(medium close up) Buck swung the Sharps around.
15(close up) Buck, a lump in his throat, a look of
astonishment.
16(sound cue) strident piano chords & saxophone.
17(medium wide shot) The white bull was up again,
not forty feet from him, staggering slow, its head
down, shaky, gasping for breath, foaming at the
mouth, his pink eyes blood red, his steaming
entrails hanging beneath him obscenely.
18(medium close up) Buck took a knee, and
steadied the Sharps, as he snapped off a shot.
19(sound cue) the rifle’s report, as loud as a
piece of field artillery, cracking like demons
screaming.
20(medium close up) It was a heart shot. The
bull pitched forward like someone had dropped
a barn on him--but miraculously he would not die.
He lie there in a crushed broken heap, eyes
open, watching the hunter.
21(overhead drone shot) the last two cows and a
ginger calf ran back toward the first fallen young
bull, down on its front knees, its butt bobbing in a
semicircle, trying to get up. Buck shot a leg out
from under the lead cow. She went down, but
seemed to bounce back up, her momentum had
been so great. He shot her once more, and she
stayed down.
22(sound cue) rock guitar riffs & snare drum.
23(medium close up) Buck’s face, snarling like a
Viking berserker mid-battle. He swung his hot
barrel to the left in order to deal with the others.
24(medium wide shot) The remaining cows, the
ginger calf, and the younger albino calf, were
gathering speed, running like hell, low to the
ground, flat out.
25(sound cue) coronet & kettle drums & bison’s
thundering hooves.
26(two-shot) over Buck’s shoulder as he pulled
down on the snow calf.
27(sound cue) Voice Over: Enough !!
28(medium close-up) Buck did not shoot. He
raised the hexagon barrel, blinked and the
bison disappeared.
29(wide shot) the flatness of the prairie, a dust
cloud floating to ground.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN
16 comments:
Oh what bloodshed... and I wonder if that calf will come back having grown to a bull.. a very very intense piece of writing Glenn.
I truly dislike the murdering of the buffalo. It makes my stomach curl remembering what wild beasts we were to the Indians and to all the creatures. wish I could say I enjoyed this entry into your cinemagenics.
Oh those poor animals. Wouldn't that be difficult to film?
Well we know that the buffalo nearly became extinct from all of the killings...amazing how many were killed. I'm not sure of the purpose of the killings done in your piece. It seemed more of pure brutality than need for sustenance.
Bjorn-very intuitive of you--the albino bull bison that doubles as narrator & observer, is in fact that young calf fully grown, haunting Buck. Toni--Sometimes when writing a war poem, protest poem, or other action episode--the violence becomes very graphic, which appeals to many--like the graphic scenes in Samurai & martial arts films. But I care about & respect your views & reactions.
Kim--With CGI techniques today, these scenes would not be hard to shoot--just might be hard to watch--like Spielberg's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. As a movie buff & poet, I strive for the synthesis os each to the other.
'He raised the hexagon barrel, blinked and the bison disappeared, the flatness of the prairie, a dust cloud floating to ground' .. my goodness the closing line is so powerful! Thank you for the insight (explaining the significance of the albino bull bison) the saga continues to grow even more intriguing. Beautifully penned!
Are there still buffalo and bison or did they all die?
Alison--yes, ranchers all over America raise bison, like cattle--so much so that bison meat is sold in many markets across the country, They grow huge, over a ton; quite majestic,
You writing is so very real......I'm afraid I did skim part of this Glenn. You remember my reaction to the last post where the shooting of the herd began. I LOVE and adore how real your writing is. I did read the end....and it appears that some escaped? Magnificent animals....it is this way today with those who hunt elephants for their tusks, killing the magnificent. I relish the day when we get back to more of the human interaction with humans...but yes, this was the way of the Old West. Not to many writers who can make you absolutely visualize, hear and smell their writing. You my friend, are an artist in that realm.
You have described a cold-blooded massacre. I assume these sorts of things happened so it is good to get a clear reporting of them even as fiction.
Very intense and gripping scene Glenn ~ to me it's the sounds that stand out like this one:
the rifle’s report, as loud as a piece of field artillery, cracking like demons screaming. 20(medium close up) It was a heart shot.
...
ZQ
A riveting piece. Hard to read about such slaughter and I hope the bull haunts him till death.
Oh, no! That's a bit graphic!
Especially when that bull in your picture is so gorgeous and photogenic!
"snarling like a
Viking berserker mid-battle"'''and other lines had me on the edge of my sofa. Takes me back to old TV westerns, only this is better.
How did I miss this segment? You are certainly a master of imagery and sound. As, I was reading this it felt more like a vision to me, I cried as I felt the Buffalo spirit. I have a hoop drum made of Buffalo hide. The drum has a strong voice much like the buffalo in your story. You are a wonderful storyteller.
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