Shot by Shot "Thunderbolt & Lightfoot"

Thunderbolt & Lightfoot - Opening Church Scene

(Eastwood & Bridges 1974)

Over the previous scene Clint Eastwood’s sermon.

Cut to a close-up on Eastwood’s sweating face and furrowed brow as he continues the sermon on “the meek and forgiving, and overcoming Evil for Good” 

Cut to a wide angle of Eastwood’s view down the pews of elderly people sweating to the open church doors,

Where an imposing man in a suit and straw fedora walks in (almost silhouetted by the light behind him) he continues to step forward

The view is reversed now 180 degrees, Over the shoulder and hat of the figure in the suit as he walks the length of the first few pews, and as Eastwood slows his speech.

We return to Eastwood’s POV and the figure (now 3 pews forward) appears larger standing the full height of the doorway (due to the angle and perspective) - he reaches into his breast pocket, as his hand begins to retract we cut again

As though still following Eastwood’s actual POV, the camera scans the rows of sweating octogenarians fanning their faces in a medium-close up. In unison they say “Amen”

We return to Eastwood slightly further than his original extreme close up as he looks down at his diass. 

And we cut to a mid-length shot of the man in the fedora as he finishes the action of pulling the gun from his breast pocket

We return to Eastwood’s shot, same perspective and as he looks up we follow his eyes up as he recognizes the figure who entered the parrish.

With the sound of the gun shots starting we return to the figure, now charging forward as the people in the pews acknowledge his presence for the first time.

In a half second long shot, Eastwood dips out of view of the close up

Now at a wide shot of the diass, similar to the original over the shoulder shot - we see Eastwood duck below the diass and bullets shred the wood panel on the front of the stand.

The figure, now seen from the side, continues to march forward, still shooting, as the crowd of parishoners, swarm in the opposite direction out of the church.

A mid-shot of Eastwood shows him tumble to the back of the apse room, where he reorients himself and takes an exit in the transept of the church - which the camera (probably on a dolly - begins to follow his exit)

Now an over the shoulder of Eastwood at the screen door at the church. The camera stays generally in place as Eastwood charges out into a field.

Now a wide shot perpendicular to Eastwood’s running tracks him stumbling/limping quickly through the field

The final move is a wide shot with the church on the ⅓ line and Eastwood leaping a barbwire fence (as bullets riddle the post it hangs on from the small door Eastwood exitted 3 shots prior.) once Eastwood has exited the shot the figure behind him, moving more slowly can be seen exiting the church after him.