-opening shot: head framed by mountains
-music: combination of western/traditional
-shot of feet
-howling wind (used several times)…emphasizes isolation
-fork in the road; represents indecision, lack of ties/commitments
-fast-paced conflict of the men contracts with the woman’s slow, steady weaving and speech
-wipe transition (total wipes in film: 7)
-isolation again…camera focused on Sanjuro rather than background, which is slightly out of focus
-dog with hand, cut to reaction shot
-”Business is booming. Can’t make coffins fast enough.”
-corrupt lawmen (just like traditional westerns!)
-leaves blowing, other characters at a distance (isolation again)
-”I’ve broken every law.”
-”Cooper, two coffins.        No, maybe three.”
-”There …

I found our class discussion very surprising. I think the most interesting thing I learned was about lighting cigarettes as a sign of sexual entanglement and/or desire. Wasn’t aware that the meaning of the gesture was quite as overt as that. I’m not surprised about the sexual subtext in an old film–often, older movies have a greater amount of sexual suggestion than newer ones. Sure, they actually SHOW sex in new movies, but they’re not nearly as suggestive nowadays. I’m constantly shocked when I go back to old films I …

-as we expected, many more invented lines
-”Ed” (to Janet): “I don’t want you around because I’m liable to start making passes at you.” Oh my.
-hospital nurses: (1) are good at detective work, and (2) fall for their patients in a highly unprofessional way on a regular basis, especially if the film’s producers think it will appeal to audiences.
-It doesn’t matter that the protagonist flirts shamelessly with anything female that moves…he’s still a good person because that’s what the filmmakers tell us.
-Never too much eye sex.
-Just in case we didn’t …

According to Hollywood, that is. I think that’s the one thing that amused me most (yes, it was hard to pick out of so many delightful film-book continuity lapses) in the movie so far.
Film notes:
-The opening scene is very different. I especially enjoyed the self-righteous slap delivered to Paul’s face by Janet. Also the way he was turned on by it.
-”Ed”.
-”Nick”.
-Many scenes were combined. Hey, as long as they at least keep it in, I don’t care how they rearrange plot points. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have …

I did some googling for the origin of the word “heel”, and came up with this explanation:
“HEEL began its life in the U.S. underworld 1) meaning a sneak thief, perhaps a) from the idea that a heel was as low as one could get on the human anatomy, and this type of petty criminality was considered one of the lowest forms of criminal – close to the bottom of the barrel – among criminals themselves. b) because it describes an informer, which was considered to be the lowest of the …