♪ MTV ♪
[music]
[exhales]
[grunts]
[hooves approaching]
[Union solders marching past]
[stirrups clinking]
[music]
MAJOR-GENERAL MEADE: Captain...
[sigh]
[stammers]
I know..
[Dutton sobbing]
ELSA: My father won't speak of the war
When men ask if he fought, he says no
I've seen fellow soldiers call out his name on the street
He turns and walks the other way
He spent three years in a Union prison
When he came home, my mother said
he weighed ninety-seven pounds
[music]
[opening credits]
[music]
DUTTON: Gonna need a cook...
Or two
THOMAS: Why do we need a cook?
Because your passengers are feasting like it's Christmas
and somebody needs to ration their food
because when they run out, they're coming after my food...
Or your food
THOMAS: Gon' bring a herd of beef with us
Food ain't gonna be a problem
BRENNAN: Yeah, it will
Add a cook to the list
You feel like moving some cows?
DUTTON: Somebody's gotta watch after these folks
If these folks can't survive six hours sitting by a river,
I'd rather know it now
[sigh]
JOHN: What are you looking at?
ELSA: Nuthin'.
How come I ain't got no hair?
Ain't got no?
Been in Texas six days, you already forgot how to speak
How come?
You will
When you're older
How come not now?
Well, I don't know 'how come not now'
Maybe 'cos it makes you easier to tickle
[giggles]
DUTTON: Elsa
Where's your mother?
ELSA: Don't know
We're going to go round up some cattle
Be back in the afternoon
I want you to stay in camp,
I want you to keep an eye on your brother,
and don't wander off
All right
[music]
Cool air rises from the ground and sends a shiver through me
Then the sun finds my face, and I am warm
The world here plays parlour tricks on your senses
I do not know what the word "Texas" means
But to me it means magic
RANCH AGENT: Look, these here cattle,
they're going to Kansas
unless you can pay Kansas prices
DUTTON: What are Kansas prices?
Well, you can get forty dollars a head
for these son of bitches up there
Those New Yorkers sure do love their steaks
BRENNAN: We can't pay that
RANNCH AGENT: Well, I don't blame you... I wouldn't either
I tell you what, I'll put a bee in your bonnet
There's still wild cattle down there on the Brazos,
if you got the stones to go get 'em.
We got the stones, we just don't have the men.
THOMAS: Could saddle up some of them wagon horses,
stick them Germans on them
Surely they can hold a line
Don't bet on it
[horse neighs]
Let's push them in the sell barn, lot four.
WADE: Ain't changed our mind yet, Cap'n
BRENNAN: We're going to round some up. Can I hire you for that?
Where you holding 'em?
Ain't found them to hold them.
ENNIS: You hunting wild cattle?
I'll give you a dollar apiece for every one you gather.
How many you trying to get together?
Hundred or so.
ENNIS: You need ten hands
And I mean good hands
How 'bout three good hands and twenty who ain't worth a shit
WADE: They ain't worth a shit...
we ain't gonna get nuthin' and we ain't gon' get paid
BRENNAN: I'll pay you ten dollars apiece
whether we wrangle any or not
WADE: You're wasting your money
Aw, come on, Wade
You're handy enough for all of us
ENNIS: Yeah, there's still some wild cattle around Fort Griffith
That's a pretty good ride though
We're ready when you are
WADE: Yee-haw. [clicks tongue] BRENNAN: Yee-haw.
RANCH AGENT: C'mon, boys. Y'all got cattle to sort...let's go
ENNIS: Oh, we'll be back for them cattle, don't you worry!
Hyal! [clicks tongue]
[music]
It seems even trees are new to this place
They scatter about in clusters, like little villages.
And everywhere, treasures.
Everywhere there is a bounty
just waiting to be scooped up
[gasps]
When I looked out over this land,
I only saw the freedom it promised
I knew nothing of the horror that hides in freedom's shadow
[gasps]
[settlers groaning, vomiting]
[sighs]
CLAIRE: Let me see them
[sigh]
Put them in the pot
[sighs] Fools!?
MARGARET: I'm going to go warn him CLAIRE: Don't bother
Better they die up here
than do something on the trail that gets us killed
Only cure for stupid is reaching the gates of heaven
Funny, I don't recall the word "stupid" anywhere in the Bible
[Elsa panting]
Oh, look what the cat drug to camp
ELSA: Across the river... people...
Nausea has a number of them to their knees
[ELSA catching her breath] CLAIRE: You were across the river?
Your dress is dry, so you didn't swim
Either you learned how to fly
or you rode the back of one of those Germans
I don't know which image is more upsetting
There's a sand bar...
..and a log
Mystery solved then
[sneers] They don't even boil it
Just drink it like it's from a faucet.
Cholera will run through the lot of them.
What's my mother doing?
She's wasting her time
MARY ABEL: I'm done with berries
Your turn
Mind the thorns
[music]
WADE: Don't see any saddle horses
DUTTON: I've got a few
Got a few saddles, too?
These sons of bitches are plow drivers.
BRENNAN: We warned you.
Hell, we're better off without 'em.
ENNIS: Can any of 'em ride?
DUTTON: I got one can ride.
[clicks tongue]
[crying; clutching abdomen]
ELSA: It's the water
You have to boil it before you drink it
[speaks German]
Don't drink it
[groans]
[cries]
DUTTON: Go saddle Lightning
She's sick From the water
They all are
Go saddle Lightning
[groaning]
DUTTON: You making them tea?
MARGARET: These poor people don't know to boil water
I'll be gone 'til tomorrow...late
Be careful
Shotgun's under the buckboard if there's trouble
[laughs] I have Claire if there's trouble
Claire usually makes things worse
I'm taking Elsa...
You're what?
This bunch is short on riders and we need her.
I'd object, but it sounds like you're not asking my permission
No, ma'am, I am not
How am I supposed to make her a lady
when you keep treating her like a man?
DUTTON: Plenty of ladies in this world
Pretty short on decent men, though.
[clicks tongue]
MARGARET: How am I supposed to respond to that?
DUTTON: Sun'll be fierce.
[Elsa laughs] It'll blow off.
Here, tie it down.
What's that for?
Not sure
But I'd sure hate you don't have it when we find out
Stay close to me
[chuckles]
[music]
ENNIS: They're back early.
WADE: Yep.
BRENNAN: Who are they?
A stroke of luck there, Captain.
[clicks tongue]
COWBOY: Goddamn, Wade
If there's a better way to get shot, I don't know it
Chargin' in here like a bunch of fucking bandits.
[sniggers]
WADE: We've seen you shoot, Grady I think the bandits are safe
GRADY: Y'all hunting strays?
BRENNAN: Wild ones. Seen any?
Yeah, some
Them wild bulls pester them English cows pretty good
Must be the way they smell
They smell the same to me, but I ain't a bull
RIDER: Your crew's pretty light to gather wild cattle
Could use the help We'll pay
No need We need to clear some out
Y'all best come on up to camp
Come on.
[music]
'Good to see you, Wade'
'Almost fucking shot you' [laughing]
COWBOY #1: Whoo, yeah, I got you one.
GRADY: What you got here?
COWBOY #2: I bet you double.
WADE: Woo.
I'm surprised you got anything to bet at all after Abilene.
That town is hard on a cowboy's wallet.
GRADY: We stay away from that 'sum bitch.
Suck on you like a tick.
'COWBOY #1: You better bat your eyes...'
THOMAS: Even if we get a herd to the wagons, can't hold on to it
Can't leave till we've hired some guns and some hands
BRENNAN: These Germans gotta learn to hold their own, Thomas
Or they won't survive the trip
None of us will
They barely surviving the river...
..ain't camped five miles from town
There ain't no one to hire
Then we don't go
You can stay I'm going
I want to see it one last time
Before it's settled
Before it's ruined
After you see it, then what?
Then I don't care
The world can open up and eat me
I don't give a shit
[sniffs]
ELSA: What's that for?
DUTTON: Well, it's for snakes.
They won't cross it.
What about you?
Honey, I'm so far away from a bath
ain't no snake gonna curl up next to me.
[groan of relief]
[Elsa laughs]
[clears throat]
Mm.
[sighs]
Thank you
For bringing me
Hm. Bringing you ain't a gift
We need you
So, thank you
These cattle are wild
These bulls will hook you
Don't get caught up in the brush with one
You push the ones that want to be pushed,
the rest we leave behind
I need you to hear me on that
(Yes)
I trust you
ELSA: Know what today is?
[laughs] I don't know
Thursday, maybe?
Eighteen years ago on this day,
Lee surrendered to Grant in the home of Wilmer McLean
in the village of Appomattox
A year later, I was born.
It was Monday, April 9th, 1883
Monday was my birthday
ELSA: Yeah, Thursday
I think you're right
DUTTON: (Hey. Wake up)
We gotta go
He's already saddled
DUTTON: I'll follow you
ELSA: I can't see
Follow the horse in front of you
and watch its hooves sparking off the rocks
[music]
GRADY: We'll ride out in a line from here.
I'll drop you off as we go
When I'm set, I'll call out
The next man in line does the same
Drive due west
When you hit the river, don't cross if you don't see tracks
It's boggy enough to swallow horse and rider both
When you get to the meadow,
wait for the men in the south to fold north
Hold your line and we'll push 'em right into camp
GRADY: Stay here. This is your hole
The rest, follow me
ELSA: What do I do? DUTTON: You follow
[music]
GRADY: In the back, hold...
[horse snorting]
[music]
[yipping]
[shouting]
[shouts]
(Come on, buddy)
[bull snorts]
[smooches]
ELSA: Hey!
[smacks horse lightly] Hut... hutt!
[music]
[cattle running, horses galloping]
[men shouting]
[cattle low]
[whooping]
'Push 'em up, push 'em up!'
Come on!
Get!
[whoops] Keep 'em comin'
Whoa! Come on, cow!
Come on.
[bull lows]
COWBOY: They're coming out of the south with a few more.
We'll marry them here, and push em on.
Makes you wonder what the rich folk are doing, huh?
ELSA: Well, they ain't doing this
No, ma'am, they ain't. [laughs]
I looked to my right and saw my father,
somehow riding vertically toward the earth
Beyond him, cowboys and cattle pushed toward us,
dust following them like a cloudy shadow
The light was soft and pale and pink...
like God decided to light this day with candles
and the whole of Texas spread out before me.
It was the most magnificent thing I'd ever seen
DUTTON: Well, that went better than I expected.
[ELSA laughs]
You having fun? Yeah.
BRENNAN: We got to get someone to the mouth of that draw,
so they don't leak into it
Someone else to push from the rear
ELSA: I'll do it
[looks at Dutton] Can I do it?
You can do it. [chuckles]
[clicks tongue]
[music]
'All right, boys... let's get moving'
Yip!
Freedom...
To most, it is an idea
An abstract thought that pertains to control
That's not freedom...
That's independence
Freedom is riding wild over untamed land
with no notion any moment exists
beyond the one you are living
[music around campfire]
JOHN: They gonna play music all night?
MARGARET: It looks that way
When do they sleep?
That is a question yet to be answered
But I know when you sleep You sleep now!
Yes, ma'am
CLAIRE: Godless noise
We could be listening to cicadas and frogs
by the river, but instead we're listening to this
MARGARET: For once, we're in agreement
But I don't mind the song
I mean, it's sad...
But I suppose I'd be sad too
if I was a world away from my home
CLAIRE: You ARE a world away from your home
I don't know what he expects to find in these mountains,
or wherever it is we're headed
but I'll tell you what we won't find
Ee won't find civilisation
We won't find a church for prayer
or a house with wood floors or painted walls,
restaurants or friends or schools for our children
We just left it all behind
MARGARET: I don't recall anyone forcing you on the train, Claire
Fate forced me...
when it robbed me of a husband
and robbed my child of a future with him
What was I to do, beg on the street?
CLAIRE: (scoffs) Don't recall anyone forcing me...!?
Who the hell do you think you are?!
(exclaims exasperatedly) I...
What is so funny?
Honestly, Claire...
I don't have the energy or the interest
to continue this conversation
Well
[scoffs]
He's a dreamer, Margaret
Always has been
And they never come true
It's coming true, Claire
No
This is not the dream
This is the nightmare...
..you'll see
[music]
MARY ABEL: You drink coffee?
MARGARET: It's not for me
No one else here
You lied!
1 did, didn't I?
What kind of a woman drinks coffee?
MARGARET: I can't wait to hear this lecture on womanhood
This coffee is for him...
after a long night
Someday, if you're lucky to find a man...
or simply find a man who is extremely unlucky,
you will learn coffee is a welcome treat after a hard ride
[drinks appreciatively] Mmmm
[hooves approaching]
RIDER: Take it easy there now, just a little bit
BARKER: Where's the wagon boss?
MARGARET: He camps to the south
[laughs] Fucking gypsies
Gypsies don't travel with much, I've learned...
but you, uh...
you Irish, you usually travel well stocked
BARKER: I'll ask again, where's your wagon boss?
MARGARET: You'll be meeting him soon enough
Uh-huh
CLAIRE: We have nothing to offer you, sir. Be gone!
Be gone, she says.
JOSEF: What do you want here?
Last I checked, ain't nobody owned the river
[sarcastically] Be gone
Hell...
[panting]
BARKER: God dammit.
CLAIRE: Go! You're not welcome here! Go!
Go!
[gasps]
You ARE the devil!
I see you! I SEE YOU!!
[screaming]
BARKER: And to think, all I wanted to do was water the horses
Ain't all I want to do now!
[shotgun cocks]
MARGARET: It'll be the last thing you do
There's a dozen guns with sixty bullets
between 'em out here
BARKER: You've only got two MARGARET: And they're both for you
[shouting] [gunshot]
'Aw! Get off me!'
[horse grunting]
[grunts]
[gunshots]
[shouting]
MARGARET: John?
John?
[gunfire, screaming]
[screaming]
No! No! No, no!
[screaming in German]
'Let's git!' [bandits gallop off]
MARGARET: John! John!
Mama? John!
Oh my God, oh my God!
[music]
[sobs]
[cries]
ENNIS: Hey. That's a girl
WADE: Yep Dress sort of gave it away
Pretty handy
Got around good
Not awful to look at either
WADE: Hard to tell with that hat hanging over her head
like elephant ears
ENNIS: Hey! [clicks tongue]
[whistling] 'Come on'
ENNIS: Hey
Thirsty?
There you go Careful
ENNIS: Would you take off your hat?
Wanna get a better look at you
ELSA: Why get a better look?
ENNIS: Well, there's a fair chance you're too pretty for me
If you are, I'd rather know now so I don't waste my time
Maybe you're too pretty for me
[laughs]
Well, shoot.
I mean, if me being purdy is the problem,
then we ain't got a problem
Shoot.
Yep.
Too pretty for me.
Dang it.
[laughing]
And just like that, horror steps from the shadows...
And our freedom was gone
[sombre music]
BRENNAN: We're gonna ride into town with Josef
and meet the Marshal
I'd like you with us
DUTTON: Somebody needs to be here in case they come back
THOMAS: Cowboys are here.
They done dealt with their share of bandits.
[music]
ELSA: I'm so sorry
CLAIRE: What are you sorry about?
You didn't shoot her
Well, I'm still sorry
Are you? [scoffs in derision]
Yes
You don't know what that word means
But you're going to learn
All of you are going to learn
MARGARET: Going after them?
DUTTON: Yeah
They were rough and they were rude,
and they were looking for it...
But I can't say they started it
It don't matter who started it
I'm just saying...
Not sure there's justice in it
DUTTON: I believe in you, and I believe in that boy,
and I believe in our daughter,
That's all.
Justice don't factor into it...
DUTTON: You know that gun that's in your saddle bag?
ELSA: Yes, sir?
You sleep with it.
[music]
[cocks rifle]
SHERIFF COURTRIGHT: You think they came to town?
BRENNAN: Where else would they go?
Well, if they're here, they'll be at the White Elephant.
COURTRIGHT: You're the only one without a badge.
DUTTON: Will a badge make me shoot better?
Doubtful.
But it'll keep a rope off your neck if things go sideways.
Raise your right hand.
Ain't I gotta swear to something?
You just did.
JOSEF: Wh-What about me?
What did you say?
Me. What about me?
You just keep your trap shut 'til I tell you to open it.
[ominous music]
[piano playing] C'mon, keep up.
C'mere
[indistinct chatter]
You see any of 'em, you point 'em out, all right?
All right, any more?
That back table.
Yeah, I know this crew.
COURTRIGHT: Clyde Barker!
What's this business on the Trinity?
We were just watering horses and these immigrants..1
[shoots] [scream]
COURTRIGHT: Is there any more?
Don't JUST sit there shaking, are there ANY MORE?
COWBOY: I ain't armed...
Them immigrants took my guns
I can see that [shoots]
COURTRIGHT: If you want to dance with the girls?
Dance with the girls.
If you want to drink at the bar? Drink at the bar.
But if anybody here fancies himself a gunman...
you're in the wrong town
There's only one killer in Fort Worth and that's me
[indistinct chatter]
BRENNAN: We're gonna head north first thing in the morning
DUTTON: They ain't ready
They'd better get ready
'Cos everybody in this town is gonna be looking for us,
and if they find us, they're gonna hang us
from a fucking tree.
God damnit
[music]
MARGARET: Did you find them?
DUTTON: We found them.
And?
We murdered them
[sighs]
BRENNAN: Keep 20 feet between you
At water, you wait to cross
until the wagon in front of you has crossed
Do not let your children ride on the buckboard...
they will fall off
Hold your children and mind your animals
GRADY: I figure we'll see you up to the Red
Ain't got nuthin' better to do
'sides, there's a few widows among them now
BRENNAN: You change your minds as well?
WADE: Well, it's the chivalrous thing to do
Earn your keep
This ain't no travelling fucking carnival
WADE: We know what this is better than you do
ENNIS: We know what we're getting into, Captain
and we'll earn our keep
[music]
MARGARET: It's time
CLAIRE: No...
..don't touch me
DUTTON: Go help them hold the cattle.
Let me talk with her.
DUTTON: You don't want to go?
CLAIRE: Where are you going, James?
What do you think is waiting for you out there?
Eden?
Eden is a garden
There are no gardens here
DUTTON: You plant gardens... you build them
No, gardeners plant gardens, James...
..we are not gardeners
You'll die here.
You say that like it's a warning.
CLAIRE: What do I have left to live for, James?
I have had seven children...
[music]
and they have all ended up just like this one
in the dirt I kneel beside
I am done kneeling
I am ready to lay down
Well, I can't just leave you here
Well, it's a free country, remember?
It is not your decision to make It is mine... And I have made it.
Goodbye, Claire.
God damn you, James.
God damn you and your dreams.
[music]
[sobbing]
BRENNAN: Move 'em, Thomas!
[music]
THOMAS: Let's go.
MARGARET: You let her stay?
DUTTON: I didn't let her do anything That choice ain't mine
Don't look back
What are you gonna do?
I'll catch up
Stay in the wagon, son
[music]
ENNIS: Figure I'd stick around
Make sure you don't drown in a river
ELSA: Thought I was too pretty for you
You are, but I'm pretty short on common sense, so...
I've painted a picture of my husband in my mind
..he don't look like you
Well, I'm a cowboy, ma'am
We don't look like nobody's husband...
but we're the ones you think about
when your husband's ain't around
[turns away and snickers]
C'mon..
[sniggers with memory]
[sobs]
[gunshot rings out]
BRENNAN: No way to stop her?
DUTTON: For what?
I've dug my share alone
So have I, and wouldn't wish it on anybody
I admire her courage
DUTTON: It wasn't courage BRENNAN: Yes, it was
[music]
ELSA: What began as a journey had become a retreat...
into the unknown
We were backing into the abyss,
so worried our sins would follow us,
we didn't bother watching where we walked
And behind us was a cliff
[music]