Discussion
Watching the Q&A on The Rest is Entertainment today a question came up which was "What is your favourite example of Checkov's Gun in film? " Marina Hyde went on to speak passionately about the opening scenes in Back to the Future!
It got me thinking that given The Seagull was written in 1895, it seems strange to me that the commonly cited early example is Citizen Kane, which came out in 1941... Surely there must be some earlier examples than that?
So what is your favourite example of Checkov's Gun in film (or TV!) and do you know of any earlier examples than Citizen Kane?
It got me thinking that given The Seagull was written in 1895, it seems strange to me that the commonly cited early example is Citizen Kane, which came out in 1941... Surely there must be some earlier examples than that?
So what is your favourite example of Checkov's Gun in film (or TV!) and do you know of any earlier examples than Citizen Kane?
Warhavernet said:
Might be best to explain wot you meen.
It’s something in a film that seems insignificant, but later turns out to be highly relevant to the story. Basically the opposite of a red herring. In Signs, the kid leaves glasses of water all over the place, the baseball bat is nearby and Mel Gibson’s wife’s final words are “ tell ……. (Can’t remember his name) to keep swinging.” All irrelevant at the time, but highly relevant in the end.
DeejRC said:
Super Sonic said:
Countdown said:
Super Sonic said:
When you see the shark in Jaws. Later, the shark eats people, and tries to eat the boat.
Wait .. it s the SAME shark???Warhavernet said:
I see.
Interesting, would the big thingy on the beach at the end of Planet of the Apes fit the bill ?
Not really. That's kind of the opposite of Chekhov's gun - it's something revealed right at the end of the story that retrospectively impacts everything that's happened (that the 'planet of the apes' is actually Earth). Interesting, would the big thingy on the beach at the end of Planet of the Apes fit the bill ?
Chekhov's Gun is now defined as a plot element or bit of worldbuilding that is present throughout a story (or introduced early in it) which seems insignificant but which suddenly gains significance later on.
It's not actually the principle of plotting and storytelling that Chekhov meant. Chekhov's example was that every element of a story must be in some way narratively useful - that if a character carries a gun or if a gun is shown as part of the set dressing, then the gun must be fired during the story. If the curtain opens on a play and the set shows a room with a gun mounted over the fireplace, then the gun should have a purpose or part in the story.
From that came the modern pop-culture-analysis version, which is that in that example of the play with the gun over the fireplace, in the closing moments of the story a character (established by the script as a skilled hunter and marksman, perhaps) seizes the gun down and shoots it to provide the dramatic climax. The gun was there all the time, but its significance was not realised until the end.
Brasshande said:
The Winchester rifle in The Winchester in Shaun Of The Dead
Wright and Pegg's work is full of Chevhovian Guns - often literally. Hot Fuzz is an incredible bit of scriptwriting and arc creation, because virtually everything every character says or does in the first half, however innocuous, is actually directly setting up something that pays off in the second half. There's nary a word that's narratively or comedically wasted. Whether it's Bill Nighy offhandedly relishing how Police Inspectors can make people disappear in the opening minutes, to every one of Danny's questions that Nicholas answers 'No' to on their first meeting turn to a 'Yes' by the end, to the tip-off that, indeed, everyone is packing around Sandford, including the farmers' mums. Hot Fuzz is basically 'Chekhov's Gun: The Movie' (or, perhaps 'Chekhov's Machine Gun.').
Super Sonic said:
When you see the shark in Jaws. Later, the shark eats people, and tries to eat the boat.
Dodging the facetious reply, Jaws actually has a very tight example - Brody incompetently lets loose some compressed air tanks early in the at-sea part of the film, with Hooper cautioning him that they're liable to blow up if not properly handled. That's how the shark is dispatched at the end - Hooper's warning provides Brody (in-universe) and the audience (in-reality) with the setup. As mentioned, the sledge in Citizen Kane is another very clear example. It is seen very early in the film, but no specific attention is drawn to it and it exists as a prop while (seemingly) more important dialogue and events are happening. Only in the last seconds of the film is it revealed to have been the key object setting the events of the film in motion.
Right near the start of Knives Out, the father tells his son that he 'wouldn't know the difference between a real knife and a fake one' - which proves to be the son's undoing right at the end.
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