Revolvers are making a comback on screen.

Status
Not open for further replies.
It's nothing new...

Take the "Back to the Future" movies, as a non-action movie example. Part 1 had Doc (trying to) use a revolver to shoot at the Libyans. Part 2 had Evil Biff try to kill Marty with a snubnose.

Revolvers have always been popular on screen, for all the reasons people have stated. They look more impressive than autos, since the cylinder isn't covered by the actor's hands. Autos sometimes end up looking like just a black rectangle on film (part of the reason directors sometimes use Desert Eagles for more impressive firepower).

Even today's "gangsta" culture embraces the revolver; "don't mess with that guy because he only needs six shots to do the job."

I just picked up my first revolver this past summer, and there is a peculiar satisfaction in owning and shooting one.
 
Revolvers have unquestioned reliability, superior accuracy in most cases, and the ability to fire over-powered, buffalo stomping ammunition that automatics can't. Autos only work with ammo in a specific power range thanks to compromises between recoil/gas strength and spring strength... things that don't come into effect with a revolver.
This is why the US Navy still has .357 Magnums in inventory for their SEAL teams... or so I've been told by Navy guys.
The revolver is far from dead... which is why most of Taurus' new guns are all revolvers.
Look at size and weights... you can pack a Walther PPK is in .32 or .380 with 6 or 7 shots (I forget) or you could pack a .357 magnum with 5 shots. I don't know about you guy's but I'm taking the maggie.
 
I would rather see a wheelgun in a movie than a Desert Eagle. After all, people in real life still use wheelguns, but how many actually carry Desert Eagles?

I understand about the visual impact of the Desert Eagle on the screen, but they always look silly to me.
 
I don't think it was any kinda political thing with Doc and Biff -- Doc had a SAA as I recall -- a perfect foreshadowing for the "Old West" segment. :)

But yeah, revolvers do seem to be getting more screentime lately. Kinda neat, actually. Maybe we'll get more westerns next! :D
 
Dirty Harry always had enough to get the job done, the bad guys with UZI's were just wasting ammo, and he never put ketchup on a hot-dog. :D
 
From a cinematic perspective, most autos are just blue/black hunks of metal. Even the big autos, aside from the Desert Eagle's, have no real sense of style. A Glock is visually unappealing. However, as I was watching I Love The 80's 3-D last night, and saw Hawk on the bit about Spencer for Hire, and again began drooling over that Colt Python (nickle or stainless), it had a definite visual appeal, and a screen presence you cannot find in an auto.
 
Skimming this thread, WarMachine, I find that your last post raises questions that I really don't think I want the answer to.

Disproportionately large single-actions?

Spurs and BDUs?

Two pistols, one on strongside and the other one evidently crossdraw and primary?

Narrow little belts?
 
And while I've nothing against the actual pistol model, if I NEVER see another Desert Eagle in a movie or schlocky TV show again, I'd be plenty happy. They especially like to put them in the hands of cute females, for the contrast.

Frankly, if a director wants to make an impact to me that the protagonist knows what he or she is doing, he'll have them use safe gun-handling skills, use cover when available, reload when possible, observe their front sight and take aimed shots, and take controlled shots. Talk about a formidable opponent!
 
Anybody ever see "Mother, Jugs and Speed"? It's a black comedy about LA ambulance personnel made in 1976. Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, Larry Hagman and the actor* who played the pimp in Taxi Driver is in it. It's so-so, but there's a great scene where Cosby uses a nickel plated Colt Python with a six inch barrel.

Actually Taxi Driver has some great wheelgun action in it as well. Who can forget Deniro with his mohawk and that Model 29 with the 8-3/4 barrel? "You talking to me?"

Gotta love the seventies. 44 magnums, disco and Richard Nixon. Cool.:cool:

*The actor's name is Harvery Keitel. He's still around.
 
James Caan used a revolver in The Way of the Gun. With the all the other weapons in the movie, it seemed to be a part of his old-school character more than anything.

Great quote in the movie too... [pause for quick trip to imdb.com]...

Joe Sarno: The only thing you can guess about a broken down old man is that he is a survivor.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top