True Grit

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twhidd

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I saw the Coen brothers' remake of True Grit today. Pretty good movie. There's a glaring mistake that kind of bothers me though. John Wayne wore the patch over his left eye. Jeff Bridges wears it over his right, which makes it difficult if not darn near impossible to aim a rifle when shouldering it right handed. I know it's just Hollywood, but I think someone should have caught that.
 
I read the book, but I cannot remember the issue being addressed. I haven't seen the movie yet, but the trailer showing Bridges firing a rifle (1866 winnie I think), shows him firing right handed but aiming with is left eye.

I've a problem that way myself, and have given in to using my less dominant, deteriorating right eye, as I cannot teach myself to shoot left handed. I came to shooting late in life, and am useless with my left arm.
 
Reminds me of a guy I used to work with.

We went shooting guns and rifles one weekend and he was a very good shot with both.

I noticed he was right handed but sighted with his left eye.
Asked him about it and that is when he told me that he had a glass eye.
Never knew it until he told me :D

Clarence
 
wife & I caught the new grit movie yesterday too.

then watched the john wayne version on cable that evening.

man! what a world of difference!

producers today go to greater effort to portray correct historical clothing & language than the movies of yesteryear. more money is dedicated to offering the audience a historically correct film creating realism & a learning experience instead of just a story line filled in with cast & off the shelf non-researched clothing, equipment, & diction. ...and i would like to think most people, even those not appreciative of history do enjoy the effort.

the older version was nothing more then a longer weekly T.V. western program.

BTW i'm left eye dominate too. i read in a gun magazine that somewhere closeto 40 % or more right handed folks are left eye dominate!

sewerman
 
I'm also left eye dominant. But when I shoot rifles or shotguns I am forced to close my left eye and aim with my right. I can't seem to focus on the sights otherwise.
 
My youngest daughter (26) is:

Left handed - shoots right handed - is left eye dominent.

Watching her shoot a lever gun kinda makes me dizzy, but she hits what she's pointing it at!!
 
my sons the same way, right handed, shoots left handed, closes left eye, he also hits what he aims at generally. i'm lucky enough to be able to shoot either way though.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

I had a friend who was cross-dominant and it did not affect his trap shooting one bit. He never let me forget it either!
 
Just returned from seeing the movie, and also watched the John Wayne version last night.

The Coen brothers version follows the novel (written by Charles Portis) more closely than the 1969 version.

This movie is full of great weapons; single action army revolvers, Colt Dragoon, Sharps rifle, Henry rifle, and various lever action and shotguns.

This movie is great, see it if you can!
 
I saw or read an interview in which it was mentioned that John Wayne had the prop folks make him up an eyepatch that didn't actually obstruct his vision. Although it appeared to be black it was nearly transparent from the inside. So he could actually see out of both eyes for the movie.

I noticed one commercial clip from the current movie which appeared to show Jeff Bridges sighting a pistol with his left eye. I wonder if the eyepatch they gave him is actually functional?
 
i am left eye dominant but was right handed, i taught myself to shoot totaly left handed at a young age. but i still do every thing else right handed. it was hard for me but it was worth it. eastbank.
 
One of those method actor things, I reckon. Jeff Bridges will probably slap himself when he finds out. :)

I used to be stigmatic in one eye and myopic in the other. Now, my eyes are starting to switch on me. I use a cpap machine and I sleep on the left side of the bed, so I hold my books on that side and my left eye is the one I use to read with, because the mask blocks my right eye.

Now I keep wanting to aim with my left eye and close my right eye even when I'm using a scope. Hopefully a lamp in the middle of the bed will fix it.
 
Did they get the surroundings better than the original?

Having spent some time in the Ozarks between Fort Smith & the Oklahoma border I can say I never saw snow capped majestic peaks in the entire time I was there.:D

My buddy, who lives in the area rented the John Wayne version & the first question his wife asked him was "Which Ozarks did they film this in & why haven't you ever taken me to them"?:eek:
 
I'm right handed and was right eye dominant until I started having some vision prombems - now I don't have much central vision in my right eye so I have to shoot rifle left handed. You learn to adapt. I still aim pistol in a right hand stance but aim with left eye - as I said, you adapt.

In regards to which eye had the patch over it in the "old" True Grit and the "new" . . . . cheer up! He could have had a patch over both eyes and I'm sure Hollywood would have worked that out as well! :D

Was glad to hear all of your comments on the new movie. I've seen the ads for it and am looking forward to seeing it. Let's face it . . . WE NEED MORE GOOD WESTERNS!!!!! :)
 
Beyond the historical accuracy, it was a crackin' good movie. We saw it last night. My wife had to keep up a running translation of "Western" to "American" for my sister, who just never go the hang of westerns, despite being born and raised in Idaho.

She still wants to know why Dick had such a tight hatband.
 
No disrespect for the Duke but I thought it was much better than the original. My only complaint is the grammar and pronunciation was too good.
 
I thought so, too, Hawg, but reading letters from my forebears going back to around 1810 make me wonder. They were beautifully written, not just in penmanship, but grammar. The spelling tended to be pretty atrocious, but the language was really quite prosaic. These were folks who had a grade school education, if they were lucky, but they were all fairly well read - if nothing else, they had all read the family Bible cover to cover.

I also have a recording that my great uncle made of my great grandmother in the early 1970's. She was born in 1880 and spoke quite eloquently about her life as a child in Idaho City.

So I'm not sure about the language.
 
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