3/24/15

The Outlaw Shot in BETTER CALL SAUL, BREAKING BAD and THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY


Edwin Porter's 1903 western THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is best known for a gimmicky closing shot: a bandit aims his pistol at the camera and fires. This trope gets used in dozens of movies, here Martin Scorcese explains why he used the outlaw shot as the coda in GOODFELLAS


The outlaw shot is also seen in television -- especially in shows by Vince Gilligan. Here are all the times someone points a gun at the camera in BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL




Walter White prepares for a showdown with the police. 
(Breaking Bad: Pilot. Season 1, episode 1)  
Jesse shows Jane his drawing of Kanga-Man (half-man, half-kangaroo.)
(Breaking Bad: Grilled. Season 2, episode 10)
"You don't have to do this," Gale tells Jesse.
(Breaking Bad: Full Measure. Season 3, episode 13)
Walt buys a handgun and practices his draw.
(Breaking Bad: Thirty-Eight Snub. Season 4, episode 2)


Jesse visits Walt to ask about a cigarette.
(Breaking Bad: End Times. Season 4, episode 12)
Walt's gun practice pays off in the lab.
(Breaking Bad: Face Off. Season 4, episode 13)
Walt and Walter Jr. watch SCARFACE on TV.
(Breaking Bad: Hazard Pay. Season 5, episode 3) 
Bob Odenkirk says that Aaron Paul once needed 5 minutes to
 "work his mind into a state of fear and anxiety for a scene." Could this be that scene?
(Breaking Bad: Confessions. Season 5, episode 11)
ASAC Schrader will not stand down.
(Breaking Bad: To'hajilee. Season 5, episode 13)
"Opie-eye motherfucker" Todd shoots to kill.
(Breaking Bad: Ozymandias. Season 5, episode 14)
Tuco Salamanca aims at Jimmy McGill while Abuelita talks about seltzer.
(Better Call Saul: Mijo, Season 1, episode 2)

Mike Ehrmantraut pulls the trigger.
(Better Call Saul: Five-O. Season 1, episode 6)
BONUS:

Breaking Bad promotional photo.

The gun is slightly off, so this one doesn't count.
Ironically this is the ending of the episode where they rob a train.
(Breaking Bad: Dead Freight. Season 5, episode 5)
Both BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL fit into what Scorcese calls "a tradition of outlaws" in America. Did we miss any examples from Vince Gilligan's shows? Maybe something from THE LONE GUNMEN? Tell me in the comments. 

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Click here for another gallery of OUTLAW shots in films. 

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