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Blackthorne
Cinemagenic 131
Capriccio
“Come not between the dragon and his wrath.”
--William Shakespeare.
1(sound cue) a shot shattered the tranquility,
cracking like a stick of dynamite.
2(close-up) a bullet passed through the top of his
hat. parting his hair.
3(medium wide shot) Buck spurred the soot gelding
and flattened out on its neck.
4(sound cue) snare drum and coronet.
5(one-shot) the jail door swung open and the Sheriff
staggered out onto the boardwalk, carrying a shotgun.
6(sound cue) Two more shots blasted out of the
shadows over a blues slide chord.
7( cut to wide shot--slow motion) In front of Buck, as he
gallops toward the camera.
The hunter’s steed collapsed under him, its heart
bursting with a bullet. As the horse went down, Buck
kicked out of the stirrups, diving into darkness. He
rolled on his shoulder and landed on his stomach,
peering through the dust made by the gelding’s fall.
8(return to real time) He drew his pistol.
9(cut to crane shot) lights came on in the saloon, the
hotel, and the Wallace’s.
10(sound cue) French horn and guitar.
11(medium wide shot) a dark figure raced across the
alley between the saloon and the warehouse. It was
silhouetted against the sun for a moment.
12(close-up) Buck on the ground firing his pistol; the
Thunderer barked twice.
13(one-shot) The gunman dove onto his face in the
dust.
14(sound cue) horses screaming, doors slamming,
people yelling.
15(medium close-up) Joe Hop, blood streaming down
the side of his face, his eyes glazed.
16(one-shot) Buck quickly lizard-crawled up to the
fallen gelding, using it as cover. He holstered his
handgun, and jerked the Sharps out of the carbine
boot. Hop struggled to hold and aim the shotgun.
Cheewa jumped up to the right of the Sheriff.
Startled, Hop snapped off a shot. The big black
dog yelped once as he was hit, lifted up in the
air and landed dead. Buck drew and fired his
pistol. The shot hit Hop in the elbow, and the
shotgun clattered to the boards below. The
Sheriff folded, going down slowly, crumpling
up into a bloody heap on the planks, no
longer feeling the chill of the morning air.
17(close-up) Hop: Fuck me.
18(close-up) Buck: Goddamn you, Joe!
19(sound cue) Several gunshots, pistols and
rifles over snare drum and bass drum.
20(one-shot) Buck dove forward, rolling toward
the jail porch. The dun mare bucked and tugged
at her wrapped rein. Bullets peppered the ground
around Buck as he scooted. He heard loud, voices
from all quarters. He halted directly under the
horse. She tried to kick him, as he rose up to his
knees, A bullet hit the hitching post next to his ear,
and it felt like a wasp sting. The air stank of death
and gunpowder.
Buck! BUCK!! someone screamed.
It was Salina.
21(medium wide shot) Buck leaped to his feet, pulled
the rein free, and swung up into the saddle with the
Sharps at arm’s length. He kicked the mare’s sides
toward the flatness of the prairie, into the sun, ducking
into an alley. Dark dust twirled up under the horse’s
hooves as, she galloped into the shadows. A dozen
guns roared behind them, ripping off siding and
breaking windows.
22(sound cue) staccato coronet, French horns and
harmonica huffing over galloping hooves.
23(one-shot) Buck lie on the side of the mare’s neck,
talking in her ear, coaxing for more speed.
Frustrated lead raced past them. She moved like
a war horse, fast and untouchable, sprinting straight
into the mouth of the molten morning sun as it rose
from its mountain sepulcher, a great flaming maw
that soon swallowed them up, leaving only golden
hoof prints in the cold dust.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub OLN
11 comments:
This was packed with action, and I feel sorry for the faithful dog and the gelding... I hope Buck can come back and correct things, but it seems like he has a future as an outlaw.
Goodness such fantastic heart-stopping imagery in this one, Glenn! I could visualize everything from; "horses screaming, doors slamming, people yelling," to "Dark dust twirled up under the horse’shooves as, she galloped into the shadows. A dozen guns roared behind them, ripping off siding and breaking windows." Wow! It looks like Salina is in for the long haul with Buck as he sprints into the mouth of the molten morning sun. 💝 Eagerly waiting to read what happens next!!
Suspenseful. I am in awe of the tightness of your action sequences. Glad to find your site from tonight's OLN.
An action scene if ever there was one! You definitely can't claim 'no animals were hurt in the making of this film!' A fantastic ending with Buck 'sprinting straight/into the mouth of the molten morning sun.'
Another action-packed episode of Blackthorne, Glenn, which started straight away with the shot through the hat and continued at a pace. I like the slow-motion shot of Buck galloping toward the camera, which I pictured in my head, but then my heart sank when the horse collapsed and the dog was hit. I hate it when awful things happen to animals, even if it’s fictional. When will things let up for Buck? He seems to always be in the thick of it.
Where have you been, Glenn? My fb handle got hijacked/suspended and I had to create a new one (Li Jade.) When I read this chapter my heart sinks as Buck (and so many others!) has been victimized by the fat cat's family and now Buck is the one running from the law. I wish he hadn't shot Hop, as there is no way he will be able to rest now. The question in my mind: Will Salina follow him???
"7( cut to wide shot--slow motion) In front of Buck, as he
gallops toward the camera."
I used to be a Western fan in my teens . I remember how dramatic we thought the above scene was
Happy Thursday
Much💜love
Wow--chock full of action. (But the animals made me sad, too.)
Yes, dear readers, Buck is always "in the thick of it". I wrote an "existential Western" that trampled on many of the Western cliches. It is not Little House on the Prairie, and it it is not a white hat/black hat typical oater. I wanted the reader to be thrilled, shocked, and attracted to the realistic and adult situations.
Was watching 'A few dollars more' the other night and admiring the fast paced editing - much like this episode of Blackthorne. Am whistling Moriccone's theme as I'm reading this.
It feels like a dramatic ending to Buck's saga...or will there be more episodes? Love your decimation of the cliche "riding into the sunset" :)
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