In the end, when Cleef says "good luck, son", he is referring to the fact that Bill is HIS son, right? My friend did not think so, but since I read there was supposed to be a suprise ending, I took it for granted that this was the suprise. I am right, right??
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Your reading WAY too deep into this. The 'son' remark was just how he referred to him, kind of like how some guys call their buddies as their 'brothers'. It's just a slang referrence. That's all.
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Ok sorry. Just thought of it since it was supposed to have a "BIG SURPRISE ENDING!".
When I watch Spaghetti Westerns, I usually don't look for deeper messages in every word!
Ummmm.....I disagree with the responses you got. It was/is my impression (I own the DVD) that Bill WAS his son, due to the inflection given by Van Cleef's character :"Good luck....Son." The hesitation was what said it for me. Maybe we're both wrong, but I took it the same way.
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He's certainly not really his father - its a paternal feeling Ryan has for Bill, as the previous poster said. We saw his father in the beginning. The make Ryan his actual father and for the ending to take on a Star Wars-esque twist would be cheapening the thematic power of their relationship.
On a side note, did anyone else notice the parallels between the endings of Death Rides and The Three Burials of Melquidas Estrada?
_-_-IMMA STREET WALKIN CHEETAH WITH A HEART FULLA NAPALM!_-_-
Bill at one point in the movie gave a half thought of something like, "if I had a son I would choose you." I obviously don't have the direct quote. I agree with the previous poster's critique that Bill was just expressing his lonliness.
shareok, first of all, Lee Van Cleef's role was RYAN, BILL was the "kid".
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secondly: RYAN calls BILL "son" all through the movie, just as BILL calls RYAN "grampa" or "gramps" all through the movie. (i would assume this to be due to their age difference and no other reason)
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thirdly: BILL states, when he first meets RYAN at the ranch, "my whole family" referring to who was buried: three burials plots equal mother, father, and i assume, sister.....unless the "mom and dad" were actually his grandparents and the "sister" was actually his mother. (considering he was sitting in HER lap in the opening) thereby lending to the thought that RYAN could possibly be BILL's long-lost father......but i doubt it....(and besides, didn't y'all say not to read too much into this?)
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4th: if the gang double-crossed RYAN and left him to take the fall for the crimes committed at the ranch,ie: rape (2), murder (3), arson--why in the world did he only serve 15 yrs hard labor? shouldn't he have been hanged? (after all, we are talking "OLD WEST" here.)
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5th: why was the gang so hell-bent on attacking the ranch in the first place?
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and lastly, WHAT "SURPRISE ENDING"? i didn't see any surprises at all.
just wondering!
:-)
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The surprise ending was "Who saved Bill" That is what surprised me. All along I had no idea, nor was there any reason to believe that ryan was around with the gang when they went on the rampage.
shareFrom previous poster:
"RYAN calls BILL "son" all through the movie, just as BILL calls RYAN "grampa" or "gramps" all through the movie. (i would assume this to be due to their age difference and no other reason)"
Interestingly, Lee Van Cleef was only 42 when this movie came out, and only 12 years older than John Phillip Law.
Watch the opening scene again, and you'll notice (without actually showing LVC's face) LVC was the 5th member of the gang, but he was 'on lookout' outside the family's home, and did not participate in the actual massacre. As they make their getaway, LVC then discovers little Bill scampering around in the rain and picks him up...CUT
shareok, first of all, Lee Van Cleef's role was RYAN, BILL was the "kid".
secondly: RYAN calls BILL "son" all through the movie, just as BILL calls RYAN "grampa" or "gramps" all through the movie. (i would assume this to be due to their age difference and no other reason)
thirdly: BILL states, when he first meets RYAN at the ranch, "my whole family" referring to who was buried: three burials plots equal mother, father, and i assume, sister.....unless the "mom and dad" were actually his grandparents and the "sister" was actually his mother. (considering he was sitting in HER lap in the opening) thereby lending to the thought that RYAN could possibly be BILL's long-lost father......but i doubt it....(and besides, didn't y'all say not to read too much into this?)
4th: if the gang double-crossed RYAN and left him to take the fall for the crimes committed at the ranch,ie: rape (2), murder (3), arson--why in the world did he only serve 15 yrs hard labor? shouldn't he have been hanged? (after all, we are talking "OLD WEST" here.)
5th: why was the gang so hell-bent on attacking the ranch in the first place?
The motive for the massacre at the ranch was never explained. I figured the ranch owner was probably quite wealthy as Kavanagh and Walcott seemed to do well money-wise during the fifteen years after the event. They must of went to the ranch looking for fortune as why else would they go to the trouble of killing the family and the guards outside. It wouldn't make sense to do all that on a cold, stormy night just for kicks. In the version I have on dvd the gang rape both the mother and daughter before killing them though. Another idea is maybe the gang were working as hired mercenaries? Maybe a rival ranch owner hired them to wipe out Bill's family. The blood money they earned might of been enough for Kavanagh and Walcott to become big shots within fifteen years.
I think its clear that the ranch owner was Bill's father and Lee Van Cleef calls him son out of affection. He even says that if he ever had a son he would of liked it if he turned out like Bill.
I always thought that Ryan took the rap for the ranch massacre when the others sold him out. Why he wasn't hanged is a mystery. It would of been nice if they gave us more details about his sentence.
I just watched the beginning of the movie. The wagon that they pushed into the barn was supposed to be holding $200,000 worth of something. I didn't catch what it was. The robbers took that wagon when they left.
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