As perhaps the most authentic Wild West video games ever made, Red Dead Redemption 2 make numerous references to classic gunslinger movies. Rockstar Games' open-world franchise takes place during the dying years of the American frontier, with its protagonists trying to maintain their place in a rapidly evolving world. Red Dead Redemption and RDR2 provide plenty of original moments, but many scenes are also inspired by classic Western movies.
Taking place towards the end of the 1800s, Red Dead Redemption and RDR2's story follows member of the ill-fated Van der Linde gang and their attempts to leave their lives of crime behind them. The first game follows reformed outlaw John Marston, who is pressured by the government to hunt down former gang mates and the group's charismatic leader Dutch van der Linde. As a prequel story, RDR2 follows Van der Linde gang member Arthur Morgan whose fate is closely intertwined with the other of his posse including Dutch and John. The Red Dead Redemption story is original and surprising, but many moments pay clear homage to classic Western cinema.
Red Dead Redemption Honors Django With Fort Mercer
Capping off the game's first act, the mission "The Assault on Fort Mercer" is one of Red Dead Redemption's most memorable moments. After a nearly fatal confrontation with Bill Williamson at the beginning of the adventure, John Marston spends the game's first act assembling a small army and powerful arsenal to breach Williamson's hideout Fort Mercer. This action setpiece, which involves the use of a large gatling gun hidden in a wagon, is a clear reference to the 1966 film Django. The Western also involves the climactic use of a powerful machine gun, which the titular gunslinger hides in a coffin and uses to fight his way into an impregnable fort.
RDR2's Lemoyne Train Robbery Recreates The Assassination of Jesse James
Just as Red Dead Redemption's assault on Fort Mercer is an extended homage to Django, the Lemoyne train robbery in RDR2 is an interactive recreation of a scene from 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. One of Red Dead Redemption 2's most memorable missions, "Pouring Forth Oil 4" sees Arthur and the gang rob a train filled with wealthy engers by blocking the tracks with an oil wagon. Both the setup and cinematography of this Lemoyne heist is a clear homage to the train robbery in Blue Cut that opens The Assassination of Jesse James, with the opening cutscene mirroring the film shot-for-shot.
Arthur and Dutch Become Cassidy & Sundance In RDR2
1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has much in common with Red Dead Redemption 2, since both cowboy epics follow a gang running from the law in the final days of the Wild West. However, one sequence in RDR2 pays particularly clear tribute to the classic film. The Chapter 6 mission "Favored Sons" once again sees Dutch's plans fail in Red Dead Redemption 2, which leaves he and Arthur cornered by the US Army. The outlaws make a daring escape by leaping from a cliff into the river below, which mirrors a scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the titular duo uses the same tactic to evade pursuers.
The Wild Bunch Inspires The Entire Red Dead Series
Rather than inspiring a specific mission or moment, the 1969 Western The Wild Bunch instead influences the Red Dead Redemption saga as a whole. The film follows an aging outlaw gang that must come to grips with its own morality, and the slow death of the American frontier, while being hunted by a former member of the group. Red Dead Redemption's John Marston flips the script on this concept, with the protagonist hunting down his former family rather than continuing to run with the outlaw posse. RDR2 takes many cues from The Wild Bunch, too, with the prequel focusing on the Van der Linde gang rather than their betrayer.
RDR2's Braithwaite Manor Must Be Inspired By Django Unchained
While 1966's Django inspired "The Assault on Fort Mercer" in the first game, 2012's Django Unchained was a clear inspiration for an iconic mission in Red Dead Redemption 2. The Chapter 3 mission "Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern" sees almost the entire Van der Linde gang ride to the Braithwaite family's plantation in search of the young Jack Marston, leading to an epic shootout and the destruction of the entire manor. This memorable mission, particularly a moment when the posse walks towards the mansion in an unbreakable line, is clearly meant to recreate Django Unchained's Candyland shootout in RDR2 considering the setting and explosive finale of the brutal gunfight.
Red Dead Series Is A Lot Like The Man With No Name Trilogy
Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy is perhaps the most influential series of films in the entire Western genre, and the Red Dead Redemption franchise pays extensive tribute to the three Wild West films. Many of these references are subtle, like John Marston's poncho outfit in the first game which closely resembles the outfit worn by Clint Eastwood's character Blondie in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. By visiting Coot's Chapel in Red Dead Redemption players can also find a tombstone marked "Cowboy With No Name," a likely nod to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name from the Dollars Trilogy.
A more direct Dollars Trilogy Easter egg in RDR2 comes in the form of a story told by Hosea during a party in Chapter 4. The aging conman tells of a stranger who once shot the rope to save him from being lynched. This tale is reminiscent of how Blondie repeatedly saves Tuco from being hanged in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly using the same method. Chapter 3 of RDR2, meanwhile, is clearly inspired by A Fistful of Dollars. In the 1964 classic Clint Eastwood's character plays two feuding families against each other for profit, which the Van der Linde gang does to the Grays and Braithwaites in RDR2.
By taking cues from beloved Western films, Red Dead Redemption and RDR2 are able to establish themselves as true modern staples of the genre. Movies like Django Unchained and Butch Cassidy are referenced through the Red Dead Redemption series' Easter eggs, while classics like The Wild Bunch and The Dollars Trilogy helped inspire the general tone and themes of the franchise. By homaging these iconic Western movies, Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 are able to honor the past while exploring their own American frontier.
Source: Rino Eliassen/YouTube
