The climactic scene the place Rooster fees into battle, weapons blazing, with the reins of his horse between his enamel, is taken into account iconic, particularly with Wayne setting the dramatic precedent. It was difficult to shoot, which explains why Hathaway shot the scene with Wayne on a transferring truck versus an precise horse. The Coens acknowledged the dangers taken by an actor undertaking this the standard manner, which Bridges did, and fairly nicely. As they instructed MTV in 2010:
“It’s a must to be a very, actually good rider to try this and even in case you are a very good rider, it’s important to have the suitable terrain, the suitable horse, and all the remainder of it […] You did not truly see it that manner within the unique film, so there have been issues that Jeff had to try this have been actually tough to perform. But it surely was additionally a really difficult scene by way of protection. There have been scenes that [cinematographer] Roger [Deakins] needed to do by way of truly with the ability to bodily shoot these things on uneven terrain […]”
In a 2011 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ethan Coen joked that “our Rooster may take their Rooster” (referring to Wayne’s character), whereas Joel Coen reiterated the issue inherent within the harmful stunt:
“That was one thing we — and even Jeff — assumed must be fudged in a method or one other, however he truly did all that for actual. It was actually fairly tough, manipulating these two massive heavy weapons with the reins in his enamel with out with the ability to management the horse besides along with his legs.”
Kudos to Bridges for bringing such an genuine feat to life and staying loyal to the essence of “True Grit,” a narrative that continues to be audacious in its remedy of established style themes.