Throwback Thursday: "No Country For Old Men" Remington 11-87

by
posted on October 20, 2016
call-it-friendo.jpg
He stands on the other side of the gas-station counter, his laughable bowl-cut hair belied by a pair of eyes emptier than the high desert behind him. "What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?" he deadpans. 

Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men, adapted for the big screen to a movie by the same name in 2007, introduced the terrifyingly implacable character of Anton Chigurh. Played by Javier Bardem, the relentless hitman is particularly memorable for his strange haircut, his dead eyes and his silenced 12-gauge Remington 11-87 shotgun. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we're examining the prop shotgun Bardem carried, currently on display at the NRA National Firearms Museum's "Hollywood Guns" exhibit. 

In the movie, the Chigurh character is persistent, emotionless and resistant to pain and injury beyond normal human limits—he's essentially a man-shaped hole in the fabric of reality. So it's well that the man who isn't really a man is carrying a gun that isn't really a gun. That's right...that Remington 11-87 isn't possible. First, it's an anachronism: Although the movie is set in 1980, the Remington 11-87 wasn't introduced until 1987. Additionally, although suppressors for shotguns have been commercially available for about two years, there weren't any when the movie was made, let alone when the movie was set. The Coen brothers had the prop gun Bardem used fitted with the "silencer" seen on the screen. It doesn't work, naturally; the "silencer" obscures the gun's barrel, so this prop could not ever actually be fired. 

No Country For Old Men earned four Oscars, one of which went to Bardem for his spine-chilling performance as Chigurh. This isn't what most would call a "family" picture, though—this movie really earns its "R" rating. Happily, the NRA National Firearms Museum's display firearm we're highlighting today, as well as all of the others in the "Hollywood Guns" display, definitely count as family-friendly entertainment. The NRA National Firearms Museum is open 364 days a year, except Christmas Day, and is free of charge.

Latest

Nra Logo Periwinkle
Nra Logo Periwinkle

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to District of Columbia’s Magazine Ban

The NRA’s brief argues that D.C.'s ban on magazines of 10 or more rounds is unconstitutional.

Throwback Thursday: Remington Double Derringer

Its technical name is the Model 95, but this diminutive pistol is the image that comes to mind when you hear "derringer."

Reviewed: Kimber 2K11 Pistol

Don't be fooled: Kimber's full-size, double-stack 1911-style handgun shoots almost as softly and accurately as a race-tuned .22.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Colorado’s Excise Tax on Gun & Ammunition Sales

"We are pleased to join with other Second Amendment advocates in this lawsuit to protect and defend the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.”

Catch Big & Rich Performing Live at "NRA Show" in Atlanta

These staunch Second Amendment supporters headline our "Freedom Experience" concert at NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits this month.

No Fooling: Silencer Central Pays Tax Stamps Through April 15, 2025

“We wanted to do something for our customers to reduce some of the stress of tax time," notes Silencer Central CEO Brandon Maddox.

Interests



Get the best of NRA Family delivered to your inbox.