Character Introductions 010 - The Villain (John Herod)

The Quick and the Dead and the Villain Makes Four

When you write a script, you pick pertinent character details to exposit: grizzled or baby-faced, 26 or 62, stubborn or cowardly, bald or brunette, short or Elizabeth Debickian.

When characters appear on screen, style and some attributes are immediately obvious, but personality traits, relationships, ethos, etc. are more shown than told.

This is part of a series of iconic character introductions, and what that first-all-important-impression tells us.

The Quick and the Dead

We talked about the film’s (anti?)hero, now to introduce the villain!

Seen first as a shadowy figure with fire blazing around him, then a shot of his spurred boots which pans up his body to show his darkened face flanked by gun-toting henchmen . . .

a gust of wind blows through as we see cuts to others reacting in fear before not one but two closeups on his ornate boots, with the spurs giving a dramatic little spin as they hit the wooden floor . . .

and finally — after a full 30 seconds of foreplay — another pan up from toe to head to reveal Mr. John Herod, who takes time to leer at a by stander before he speaks to ask his first line “How many brave men do we have?”

Now here’s a man who knows how to make an entrance!

Takeaways

And Sam Raimi knows how to shoot him doing so.