1911's 9mm's, and Pulp Fiction

[CaesarI]

If you learned everything you did about guns from hollywood... you'd think all 1911's were 9mm's. One of my favorite movies, "Pulp Fiction" has a scene where Samuel L. Jackson refers to his 1911 (HC, pearl? grips) as Mr 9mm...

(after opening up his copy of the script, and finding the scene where it says, "And Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous a** in the valley of darkness. ")

hmm... looks like I'll have to watch the movie again.

Few questions. He, and Travolta both have 1911's right? I'm not crazy right? I'm pretty good at finding'em. Does anyone else think he refers to his gun as "Mr 9mm"? It's at the end of the movie, in the final scene where he buys Pumpkin's life for $1500.

-Morgan

[tony.s]

You know, this has been a gripe of mine for a looong time. Glad someone feels the same way...

Yes, you are absolutely correct. He talks about "Mr. 9mm" here - and at the same time the camera angle gives you a real good view of the customer-end of a .45ACP 1911... I've always thought it was really stupid to make him say that line. "And Mr.45 here..." would have worked just as well IMHO.

[Apeach]

Yeah, they were 1911's in the movie that Travolta and Jackson carried, but I couldn't specifically tell that they were .45 ACP. And it is possible to get a 1911 in 9mm. But anyways, it was a badass movie, and I try not to think about these things too much. It seems like a waste of time to criticize hollywood on every poor choice of words and little mistake they make.

[branrot]

I catch all kinds of things like that in various movies, and try not to think about it too much. However, last night I actually caught myself saying "oh god" out loud... and I was home alone.

It was some B movie on late at night on Skin-e-max as I was flipping through the channels, and some guy is giving his girlfriend a handgun for protection (it was obvious that she had recently been attacked or threatened). What kind of gun, you ask? Well, it looked EXACTLY like my Marksman BB/Dart gun. You know, the same one they've sold at K-Mart for 19 bucks for 10 years, including the target dartboard. You'd think that even on a B-movie, they could at least get something that looked real.

[Walt Sherrill]

This came up on another forum. If you look at the guns closely, and I've seen clips from the movie, you'll see that they're not really 1911s, but 1911-like guns. They appear to be Star Model A's or something similar. (The grip is slightly different, as is the extractor.)

[glockorama]

I have it on DVD and they sure look like 1911's. And the muzzles are definitely bigger than a 9mm.

[George Hill]

Did those characters seem to be gun experts to you?
Cool flick... Love it.

"Thats a tasty burger!"

On the cover of the video, it sure looks like a Beretta 92 INOX. It sure didn't look like one in the movie though. I think Mr. Jackson referred to it as Mr. 9mm because it sounded more "gangstaish".

[MK11]

I agree. They probably thought "9mm" sounded hip while ".45" makes the great unwashed think of cowboys and Indians. And somebody probably thought the Beretta looked cooler. I still like the flick, though.

You see Berettas substituted a lot on movie posters for what they actually used in the movie. DeNiro has what looks like a Beretta on the cover of my "Ronin" DVD, but he used a 1911 and a Sig in the movie.

[Couch Potato]

There is actually a web site dedicated to moveis and their firearm blunders. It details specific scenes in movies where dialogue doesn't match the reference to the gun (as was pointed out in Pulp Fiction). It points out movies that are showing revolvers being fired and you can hear the empy brass hitting the ground. Lots of rounds fired mistakes (hollywood mags and clips). Empty single actions making the clicking sound of empty double actions, etc. I'll try to find the address and post it. It's pretty comical and frustrating at the same time.

[SlackO]

here's the link: it's at rec.guns.com

http://www.recguns.com/MovieGuns.html

[tony.s]

If you don't like bad gun handling in a movie, do not watch Plan 9 From Outer Space! I never knew a human being could fit under the sofa cushions, but once that one cop adjusted the hat on his head with the barrel of his revolver - keeping his finger firmly on the trigger of course - all I heard was a scream from my girlfriend vanishing into the sofa and I was suddenly all alone...

(In case you don't know it, it's supposed to be the worst movie ever made... Everything from high-tech cardboard props to actors who can almost speak English. It is kinda fun though if you like to watch b-movies. )

[CaesarI]

I LOVE the movie. Not that I like the politics... but I think it was very well done, well written, and the acting was spectacular. I just wanted to get a confirm, cause I was pretty dang sure he said, "Mr 9mm" The funny thing is the script says he should say "Mr .45" hence, no faulting QT.

I was aware of the existence of 9mm 1911's, but I don't think professional hitmen would be caught DEAD with 9mm 1911's (and I'm a 9mm guy).

The gun on the box is definitely a Beretta, which is never in the movie as far as i can tell.

The movie is just fantastic though. It's deep, it has action, good script. The only other one I know of is Fight Club.

This movie, and Clausewitz are my new hobbies.

No they don't look like gun experts. But at least they knew that if they were going up against 5 guys in a small room they should have shotguns...

-Morgan

[johnAK]

I like Samuel's quote in movie something-Brown
"AK-47, absolutely, positively, when you gotta ,,,,, in the room, accept no substitute"

[CaesarI]

"Jackie Brown" another movie written and directed by QT.

-Morgan
gun-nut, movie-nut, car-nut, Star Trek-nut... what can I say? I've got nuts.

[Cthulhu]

CaeserI-
Jackie Brown was directed by QT, but was written by Elmore Leonard, author of Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and the Paul Newman classic Hombre, among others.
Jackie Brown was originally titled "Rum Punch".

BTW
Did anyone notice that ATF agent Ray Nicolette was played by Michael Keaton in both Jackie Brown and Out of Sight? Interesting bit of casting there.

I'm surprised no one mentioned a movie that shows exemplary firearms handling, The Way of the Gun. If you've never seen it, you should. Written and directed by Brian McQuarrie, the creator of the Usual Supects, it is an excellent crime drama, fast paced and extremely gritty. The two main characters, played by Ryan Philleppe and Benicio Del Toro, illustrate skilled weapons handling and CQB tactics, learned under the watchful eye of McQuarrie's brother, Doug, a Navy Seal. Their one handed 1911 reloads are fantastic!

[CaesarI]

re: The Way of the Gun

Way nice movie. Excellent fight scenes, but it lacks the depth of Pulp Fiction, Fight Club. Still I haven't watched it often enough to wear me out. Perhaps Friday's rental?

re: authors

Elmore Leonard, aka Dutch, lived in my old neighborhood. The Book Jackie Brown is based upon was written by Elmore Leonard, but Quentin Tarantino is in the writing credits as well. I'm too lazy to check out the details, but that would seem to imply the screenplay was adapted from the novel by QT.

-Morgan

[ATeaM]

"I think Mr. Jackson referred to it as Mr. 9mm because it sounded more "gangstaish"."

Gangstaish...yea, that's the word I was looking for .

I hate it when actors make their own edits, trying to control their character. Perfect example.

[viesczy]

Way of the Gun is a great movie.

One flaw at the very start; if Taye Diggs and the other guy were truly protection specialist, they would have not went in front of Julia Lewis to engage Ryan Phillipe. They would have stopped in their tracks and took their charge to safety. Personal security normally doesn't require the protection officers to leave the charge unattended (either on the elevator or standing behind them) to engange a threat.

Oh yeah, everytime I see Ryan Phillipe I think of Reese Witherspoon in a string bikini. . . that lucky son of a. . .

Derek