No Country for Old Men (2005) is a novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The novel was adapted for the movie by American film-making brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, who also produced and directed the movie. No Country for Old Men won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Picture.
It comes from the first line of the poem "Sailing to Byzantium", written by the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. In it, an elderly man at the end of his life contemplates death and wonders what the afterlife will be like. This theme is seen in Sheriff Bell, who is nearing retirement, and ponders what it will be like in his "afterlife," i.e, his life when he is no longer a lawman.
That's Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) from Terrell County in Southwestern Texas.
The film suggests that Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) was caught trying to sneak into the country. In the book, Chigurh tells Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) that he had allowed himself to get arrested to see if he could escape. Chigurh had murdered a man in a bar fight the previous night; the man had insulted him. According to Chigurh's description, he had either snapped the man's neck or strangled him.
The story takes place in June 1980. When Chigurh tosses the coin for the gas station proprietor, he says that the date on the coin is 1958, and it took 22 years to get there. The phone bill Chigurh picks up is dated 1980, and 1980 is the date of death on one of the graves.
Chigurh uses a captive bolt pistol, which is also known as a cattle gun. The tank itself is pressurized air. Releasing the air valve powers the bolt when triggered and it retracts automatically. Chigurh probably uses it to avoid leaving any evidence with his victims like powder burns or a bullet. Sheriff Bell makes a reference to this device in his first conversation with Carla Jean Moss (Kelly Macdonald), but does not appear to consciously connect the dots.
The most likely explanation is that he loads his own ammunition and so he re-uses spent cartridges. It's also possible he will just sell the spent brass. Lastly, no need to litter.
A sound-suppressed Remington 11-87 Semi-Auto shotgun with a sawed-off barrel. The suppressor is probably custom-made, perhaps by Chigurh himself, who likely has military training and may have learned how to make one. The shotgun itself is anachronistic since it was released in 1987, while the film clearly takes place in 1980.
Though shotgun silencers and silenced shotguns do exist, they are not nearly as effective at reducing the muzzle report as pistol or rifle silencers. The silencer Chigurh has attached to his shotgun is intended only for cinematic effect and would actually do very little to reduce the muzzle report of the shotgun he uses. Generally the noise of gunshots (silenced or otherwise) are added to a film's audio after filming, as microphones do not accurately record the sound very well.
Two possibilities exist:
(1) It was just Wells giving another "attempt at humor" because most buildings that have enough floors that go in to the double-digits will have the floor number 13 removed. Next time you go into a high-rise check the elevator and see if there's a "13" button. Many modern buildings have a 13th floor, but older buildings were built with superstition in mind. So when Wells said there was one missing, he was referring to the 13th floor. Which is why The Man Who Hires Wells looks at him rather irritated and just says "We'll look in to it." returning the sarcasm.
(2) Wells is intelligent, aware, and intuitive. He displays this behavior through-out the film (finding Llewlyn in merely 3 hours and knowing his familial circumstance, etc.). It would be fair to assume that, since he was to be hired to track down Chigurh and the money, he would want to know his employer and their business. While doing so, he noticed a discrepancy between the building's exterior having more floors than what the the elevator button panel showed (less floors, one being 13 as in answer one and an additional separate missing floor). If this is true, then a floor is in fact missing. What occurs on that floor is open to interpretation (i.e drug trafficking). This could also explain how the business came to deal with losing money and it being the hands of drug traffickers. A similar exchange occurred in Raw Deal (1986) when Joey Brenner tells the operator "down" to which he responds, "there is no down" until Joey took out a roll of cash then the elevator operator smiled and let him in. "Down" was a secret floor that had an illegal gambling casino.
(1) It was just Wells giving another "attempt at humor" because most buildings that have enough floors that go in to the double-digits will have the floor number 13 removed. Next time you go into a high-rise check the elevator and see if there's a "13" button. Many modern buildings have a 13th floor, but older buildings were built with superstition in mind. So when Wells said there was one missing, he was referring to the 13th floor. Which is why The Man Who Hires Wells looks at him rather irritated and just says "We'll look in to it." returning the sarcasm.
(2) Wells is intelligent, aware, and intuitive. He displays this behavior through-out the film (finding Llewlyn in merely 3 hours and knowing his familial circumstance, etc.). It would be fair to assume that, since he was to be hired to track down Chigurh and the money, he would want to know his employer and their business. While doing so, he noticed a discrepancy between the building's exterior having more floors than what the the elevator button panel showed (less floors, one being 13 as in answer one and an additional separate missing floor). If this is true, then a floor is in fact missing. What occurs on that floor is open to interpretation (i.e drug trafficking). This could also explain how the business came to deal with losing money and it being the hands of drug traffickers. A similar exchange occurred in Raw Deal (1986) when Joey Brenner tells the operator "down" to which he responds, "there is no down" until Joey took out a roll of cash then the elevator operator smiled and let him in. "Down" was a secret floor that had an illegal gambling casino.
"Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels.
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- How long is No Country for Old Men?2 hours and 2 minutes
- When was No Country for Old Men released?November 21, 2007
- What is the IMDb rating of No Country for Old Men?8.2 out of 10
- Who stars in No Country for Old Men?
- Who wrote No Country for Old Men?
- Who directed No Country for Old Men?Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
- Who was the composer for No Country for Old Men?
- Who was the producer of No Country for Old Men?
- Who was the executive producer of No Country for Old Men?
- Who was the cinematographer for No Country for Old Men?
- Who was the editor of No Country for Old Men?Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
- Who are the characters in No Country for Old Men?Ed Tom Bell, Anton Chigurh, Llewelyn Moss, Carson Wells, Carla Jean Moss, Wendell, Loretta Bell, Ellis, Man who hires Wells, El Paso Sheriff, and others
- What is the plot of No Country for Old Men?Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
- What was the budget for No Country for Old Men?$25 million
- How much did No Country for Old Men earn at the worldwide box office?$172 million
- How much did No Country for Old Men earn at the US box office?$74.3 million
- What is No Country for Old Men rated?R
- What genre is No Country for Old Men?Crime Drama, Crime, Drama, and Thriller
- How many awards has No Country for Old Men won?164 awards
- How many awards has No Country for Old Men been nominated for?303 nominations
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