Factual error: When Gene Hackman is shot at the end he looks down and sees the hole in his shadow. However if he was shot from someone at the same level as him, the hole would be straight, parallel to the Earth's surface. So if he could he the reasonably proportioned shadow the angle of the sun wouldn't show any hole in him at all.
criffic
14th May 2002
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: First, it is reasonable to assume that Hackman is significantly taller than Stone, and, given that she is firing from a hip draw the angle of entry for the fatal gunshot would be on a upward trajectory. This generally upward bullet trace combined with the evening or late day sun could be reasonably expected to cast a shadow if you suspend disbelief initially to allow that this type of wound is practically plausible.
The fact that she is shorter is irrelevant given the distance between them. For the angle of the light showing through him to make sense (and that's assuming it makes sense for it to show through him at all) she would need to be kneeling directly in front of him. The fact that, as you say, suspension of belief is required demonstrates the original mistake is valid.
Suggested correction: He doesn't see the hole in his shadow. We see him look downward slightly, then we see the shadow slightly from the side, not the view he would see. We then see him looking down at himself. It's easy to assume he is looking at his shadow, but we don't see him doing that. He could simply be staring into space, with the shadow presented for dramatic effect for the viewer.
27th Aug 2001
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Corrected entry: At the end of the film, Gene Hackman's character realizes that he has been shot by looking at his shadow and seeing the sunlight shining through the bullet hole in his body. Oddly enough, when you see the front of his shirt, he's not bleeding. There might have been a one or two second delay, but he would have been bleeding profusely from such a wound.
Correction: Not necessarily from the entry wound - even in real life, entry wounds from large caliber pistol rounds usually appear as singed holes, the real catastrophic damage is in the body cavity, with devastating exit wounds.
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