I Don't Get The Knife Gag?!

G

Gustav

New member
The "wall" that Indy was leaning against wasn't solid. It was more like a little fence made of boards with huge gaps between them.

Still, the first time I saw it I had no idea what that was all about. My first impression was that Mutt sais "Oh, ****" because Indy cut either the tarp or his pants proving his lack of skill with the knife, like the scene in Titanic with Rose and the ax. Now I think the dropping it off the side of the truck is the best theory.
 
sandiegojones

sandiegojones

New member
I could be wrong about dropping it over the side (it's just what I thought was going on when I saw it), but then it's certainly him cutting is pants.

Do we need to see his pants cut to get the joke? I don't think so. It's not as if it's meant to be the high point of the film. It's just another joke in a movie that has many moments.:whip:
 
J

James

Well-known member
sandiegojones said:
Do we need to see his pants cut to get the joke? I don't think so. It's not as if it's meant to be the high point of the film.
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Yeah, I don't think so either. It's such an old joke that most films/tv shows don't feel a need to literally show you that the pants have ripped.

The fact that his pants aren't actually ripped in the next scene is irrelevant. I'm sure if we had been on set and asked Spielberg about this oversight, he would've simply said, "You're overthinking this, kid." :D
 
D

Darth Vile

New member
LOL - This is funny. All these different explanations... which I guess proves the point that they can't win em' all...

For me it was obvious. It was referencing (in a subtle way) the cigarette lighter scene from last Crusade i.e. Henry Jones Snr. tries to use Indy's lighter, but both burns his hand and loses the lighter in the process. In KOTCS, it's Mutt's knife that Indy attempts to use for aiding an escape. We here the swish of the blade, and we assume he's stabbed himself (similar to Henry Jones Snr.). It's all part of this role reversal thing for Indiana. But clearly they made it too subtle in this scene (although most people did laugh in the cinema).

The pay off was that Indy didn't hurt himself, but managed to cut the ropes (something which his father could not do). I'm sure that if Indy would have said "don't worry I didn't cut myself", KOTCS detractors would have said, "Indy of Raiders would have just given a cheeky smile without further explanation".
 
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S

Sharlow

New member
Darth Vile said:
LOL - This is funny. All these different explanations... which I guess proves the point that they can't win em' all...

For me it was obvious. It was referencing (in a subtle way) the cigarette lighter scene from last Crusade i.e. Henry Jones Snr. tries to use Indy's lighter, but both burns his hand and loses the lighter in the process. In KOTCS, it's Mutt's knife that Indy attempts to use for aiding an escape. We here the swish of the blade, and we assume he's stabbed himself (similar to Henry Jones Snr.). It's all part of this role reversal thing for Indiana. But clearly they made it too subtle in this scene (although most people did laugh in the cinema).

The pay off was that Indy didn't hurt himself, but managed to cut the ropes (something which his father could not do). I'm sure that if Indy would have said "don't worry I didn't cut myself", KOTCS detractors would have said, "Indy of Raiders would have just given a cheeky smile without further explanation".
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This was my interpretation of this scene too, but it wasn't immediately taken that way, my first thought was he'd dropped it out the truck like Senior did in the LC, and then when it was obvious he hadn't that he'd cut himself. when neither of these eventuated then I just assumed it was a nod at the lighter scene from TLC.
 
Uki

Uki

Member
All well and good, but seriously, if a character in a movie is supposed to have cut a slash in his pants with a knife, you would think that there would be evidence of it in the following shots. I just think it wasn't quite handled as well as it should have been.
 
C

commontone

New member
I agree that the gag was not well-executed, and it's hard to even say what it was supposed to be. Nobody in my family got it. The second time I saw it, nobody chuckled, and a few seconds later I saw several heads turn and ask questions, presumably "What was that all about?"

For the few of you who think you get it, consider yourselves lucky. The rest of us aren't stupid, it just wasn't done well.
 
BlackSleep

BlackSleep

New member
|ZiR| said:
When I first saw it, I thought it was pretty clear that the knife sliced into Indy's hand when he pressed the switch.

I still believe it's that.

The tarp explanation doesn't gel because, as someone else said, Indy isn't leaning up against the tarp. The pants are plausible but why would Mutt say "oh sh!t..." over that?
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Exactly. Mutt's response is the reason the gag HAD to be the implication that Indy cut himself...it just didn't work. Who cares if Indy cut his pants? I could see Mutt responding that way if he thought Indy dropped his knife, but I seriously doubt that was the intention. I mean, hypothetically, say Indy cuts the canvas...it doesn't follow that the knife must have fallen out of the truck.
 
R

Raider S

Member
It sucked.

At first I thought he had dropped the knife then next we see him free. NOBODY laughed in either of the showings I was at.

Bad editing.

What's even worse, Indy's clothes (and everyone else's) are way too clean at the end. Watch Raiders or Doom and it looks like Indy has been through a war. At the end of Skull he looks maybe a bit dusty.
 
Johnny Nys

Johnny Nys

Member
It's supposed to show Mutt's familiarity and agility with a blade, to justify him swordfighting Spalko later on. No actual joke attached to it.
 
M

Mickiana

Well-known member
I first thought Indy cut his pants or, worse, sliced himself. Slicing his pants open to show underwear would have been somewhat of a joke, though unsuitable, but it was a very ambiguous scene.
 
JackBurton

JackBurton

Active member
I think he means the scene in the truck where Indy frees himself with the blade. A ripping sound is heard, Mutt says something like "Oh Sh**" and thats it. No conclusion to this "joke". Indy isn't bleeding nor are his pants ripped. Pretty useless scene imo.
 
W

Wilhelm

Member
Indy's dad didn't get the lighter, but Indy can cut the ropes. It's a parallelism with LC, like the motorcycle scene.

And Indy frees Marion in the truck, unlike the tent scene in raiders where he prefers to search for the ark.
 
D

Darth Vile

New member
Wilhelm said:
Indy's dad didn't get the lighter, but Indy can cut the ropes. It's a parallelism with LC, like the motorcycle scene.

And Indy frees Marion in the truck, unlike the tent scene in raiders where he prefers to search for the ark.
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Like Wilhelm said above. I don't think the gag works nearly as well as the one in TLC, but I do believe that is what it's trying to reference.
 
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