Film-Ennis vs. Story-Ennis and Film-Jack vs. Story-Jack

[welliwont]

 ......when Jack says, "Tell you what, sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." and Ennis does nothing.  I always thought that was strange, almost cold on his part.
 

Hi Rayn:

I am posting this very long post in reply to what you said.  I, like you, was very put off by the fact that Ennis did not even deign to reply to Jack when he bared his wounded heart.  It seems that there was an earlier version of the screenplay where Ennis did not stay silent after Jack's heartfelt admission.

Here is my post from IMDb:

Sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it   

I just went to check out e-Bay and I came across the following, I think it is interesting, it sure would have made a difference if Ennis had responded after Jack said the line above, intead of just dead silence.

brokeback mountain shooting script screenplay April 04

This rare shooting script is a reprint of a master copy of an April 04 revision of brokeback mountain. On the front page dated "31 March 2004 Draft, Revisions 7 April 2004". This is one of the earlist version which is different than the "Story to Screenplay" that you can get from the store. IT ALSO CONTAINS LINES AND SENCES WHICH WERE EITHER NEVER SHOT, OR DELITED OUT OF THE FINAL VERSION.

For example, when Ennis says "You know I ain't queer." and Jack replies "Me neither." In this shooting script Jack replies "WHO SAID YOU WAS?

Another example, in the film Ennis says nothing after Jack says "Tell you what, truth is, I miss you so much sometimes" but in this script, Ennis replies "I KNOW THE FEELING".

Some other differences include the order of the shirts hanging in Ennis's closet is reversed in this shooting script. The final shot of the film is different in this shooting script. During the tent scene in which Jack and Ennis get intimate, the camera pulls out of the tent and the viewer gets to look at the landscape while they listen to Jack and Ennis making love, when they're finished, the camera goes back inside the tent and the audience sees them falling asleep. This shooting script also include the extensive sence, which according to Heath Ledger that was wasted a week of shooting time and was completely cut out from the version you've seen in theatres. THIS IS THE SCENCE WHERE JACK AND ENNIS RESCUING A GROOUP OF PEOPLE FROM A VAN WHICH DRIVES INTO A RIVER (pg. #105). There are more differences lines/scences from this script than the film. This shooting script is 113 pages and printed on one side. Measures 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inch on white paper.Winner pays $15 shipping /handing in USA and Canada only. International will be $25US. I accept paypal, international money order or cash only and no bidder with negative feedback please. Thank you and happy bidding.

Here is the link if you want to look at it yourselves:

http://cgi.ebay.com/brokeback-mountain-shooting-script-screenplay-April-04_W0QQitemZ7618771452QQcategoryZ18833QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[serious crayons]

Wow, J, interesting. I guess I would have liked to see the "I know the feeling" in there, because I am also saddened by Ennis not responding to Jack's touching admission.

But the rest of the stuff on that screeenplay, I'm glad they didn't do.

[Rayn]

That has always bothered me, too. But others have suggested it's because he feels guilty, knowing that he has to tell Jack he won't be back til November. He does look grim, rather than indifferent or incommunicative. Still, I wasn't sure until I watched the final argument/quit you scene today. Now I'm pretty convinced -- he looks so nervous before breaking the news and waits until literally the last possible moment, as Jack is climbing into his truck. Obviously he has been dreading it. And rightly so!



Another difference: Story Ennis seems much less internally homophobic.

Hmmm good point on the guilt and nervousness in Ennis the night before.. yeah.   And I too think you're right on about Story Ennis... Thanks,

Rayn

[starboardlight]

OK, here's one. Both Movie Ennis and Movie Jack are far more handsome than their story counterparts. In that sense, the story is more realistic; chances seem pretty slim that two randomly selected cowboys would both be that hot. The descriptions in the story sound a lot more like real-life cowboys would probably look.

Anybody here wish the movie had been more faithful to the story in that respect?

Also, the movie versions are also much less colloquial in their speech. Which is fine with me. The colloquialisms of the story are colorful and well-written and evoke a sense of place, but to me they are also a bit distancing.

i am curious to see how it would work out. I think of Beautiful Thing, where the two boys, though beautiful in their ways, are not "hot" in the conventional sense. Yet the audience still fell in love with the two characters. I do think that Ang Lee could have pulled it off with two less handsome actors, if they were as talented.

[TJ]

If you wish to discuss the importance of Annie Proulx's Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar and her original short story and its impact on gays and lesbians BEFORE the movie was made, go to this link: http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=1225.0

[TJ]

i am curious to see how it would work out. I think of Beautiful Thing, where the two boys, though beautiful in their ways, are not "hot" in the conventional sense. Yet the audience still fell in love with the two characters. I do think that Ang Lee could have pulled it off with two less handsome actors, if they were as talented.

I had a friend visit yesterday and he looks a whole lot like Annie Proulx described Ennis Del Mar in her original short story. Ron is not handsome at all and he does have an arched nose. He is 6' 3" tall.

I am only 5' 5" tall and I am actually built more like Ms. Proulx described Jack Twist.

Ron had not seen Brokeback Mountain before and we watched it together on my main entertainment center setup yesterday.

I have the leg length of the "average" person who is more like 4' 11" tall. If Ron and I are sitting on the same level surface, I appear to be at least a couple of inches taller than him. He has noticed that, too.

We were discussing how tall Annie Proulx wrote that Jack was and the fact that he was bull rider. Ron said, "Most professional bull riders are about an average of 5' 6" tall."

I told him that I have the documented statistics of the riders who are with the Professional Bull Riders rodeo outfit and what he said is definitely true. I have that information because I am a member of PBR's official fan club, "Team PBR," and I get a regular subscription to the PBR magazine.

I wouldn't know if Ron has any acting ability; but, I do have some amateur theatrical experience and I was a non-speaking extra in two scenes of the TV mega-mini-series,"War and Remembrance." I was a civilian war correspondent.

[nakymaton]

Katherine, I think I've got to apologize to you.

So I've been arguing up and down that, while I think that Jack's pretty different in the story and the movie, that Ennis is essentially the same character.

But as I was trying to argue that the story's emotional distance was a way of developing the character, I realized I was wrong about Ennis. In the story, I still think Ennis is disconnected from his feelings, even though he talks about wringing it out and shouldn't a let you out a my sights and stuff like that.

But in the movie... you know, what got me thinking was all those times that we see tears in Ennis's eyes. That doesn't look like a guy who's out of touch with his feelings. Ennis looks like a guy who feels too much, and whose feelings conflict with one another so much that it just hurts. A lot.

So, anyway. Sorry about arguing with you about it.

[serious crayons]

Thanks, Mel, although don't think I was secretly seething about that or anything. I think you're right, though. In fact, I believe Movie Ennis is very much aware of his feelings, even though they're often mixed up and he may not always respond to them appropriately and is usually trying desperately to hide them.

One of the best examples is the alley puking scene. Story Ennis claims (and this makes so little sense I wonder if we're even supposed to think he means it) that it took him a year to figure out why. I think Movie Ennis knew why from the get-go. OK, so it may have been a confusing jumble of conflicting feelings that he might not have fully sorted out at the time. But at least he knows approximately what it's about, and it's sure as hell not bad food at the diner.

[jpwagoneer1964]

Wow, J, interesting. I guess I would have liked to see the "I know the feeling" in there, because I am also saddened by Ennis not responding to Jack's touching admission.

But the rest of the stuff on that screeenplay, I'm glad they didn't do.

.
Remember the very next scene is in the tent asleep With Ennis's arm around Jack.Very significant I think that makes up for any lack of words on Ennis's part

[Brown Eyes]

Remember the very next scene is in the tent asleep With Ennis's arm atound Jack.Very significant I think that makes up for any lack of words on Ennis's part

I agree that the display of quiet, physical intimacy is lovely here.  I also love that the image of Ennis with his arm over Jack like that mirrors the very first moment when Jack pulls Ennis's arm over him in TS1.  This time though, Ennis is happy to leave his arm there all night and he probably initiated the hug himself.

But, I think there's a difference here between the physical love that Ennis is showing here and Jack's verbal admission.  While the evidence here of their love making is great, it's what's expected.  That's why they're there... they have sex all the time and have been doing so for 20 years.  And, they would have had sex/ cuddled, etc. whether or not Jack had said what he said.  Not to diminish the importance of this continuing aspect of their relationship, of course.  But, Jack's verbal "I miss you so much" is something new.  He's going out on a limb...   He's almost saying "I love you."  The kind of statements that I think Jack is almost desparate to hear from Ennis. Having sex with Jack was "going out on a limb" for Ennis in '63, but now it's par for the course for both of them.  So, I'm glad there's the cut from Jack's comment to the sweet tent scene... but it still leaves Jack hanging a bit in terms of emotional reassurance.  But, to give Ennis lots of credit... He really only is shown expressing his love/emotions physically in the film... so this visual/ physical indication of his love is definitely within his character (as it is shown in the fim... and the story too I guess).