Portrait of a town drunk named
Al Denton.
This is a man who’s begun his dying early —
a long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles.
Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg
or a part of his soul to have another chance,
to be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body
and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness.
[ The camera pans up to a figure standing before a stagecoach ]
In the parlance of the times, this is A Peddler,
a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat.
[ A revolver mysteriously appears on the ground next to Denton ]
And this is The Third Principal Character of Our Story.
[ A Piece of Technology — A Tool. ]
Its Function :
Perhaps to give Mr. Al Denton
His Second Chance.
BILL MOYERS:
Is The Adventurer who takes that kind of trip A Hero in the mythological sense?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
Yes, He is ready for it.
This is a very interesting thing about these mythological themes. The achievement of the hero is one that he is ready for, and itís really a manifestation of his character. And itís amusing, the way in which the landscape and the conditions of the environment match the readiness of the hero. The adventure that heís ready for is the one that he gets.
HAN SOLO:
Look, I ain't in this for your revolution and I'm not in it for you, Princess.
I expect to be well paid.
I'm in it for me.
BILL MOYERS:
The Mercenary, Solo, begins as
A Mercenary and ends up as A Hero.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
He was a very practical guy,
A Materialist in his character,
at least as he •thought• of himself.
But he was
a compassionate
human being
at the same time,
and didn’t KNOW it.
The Adventure evoked a quality of his character that
he hadn't known he possessed.
He THINKS he’s an Egoist,
he really ISN’T,
and that’s a very lovable kind of human being,
I think, and there are lots of them functioning beautifully in The World.
They THINK they’re working for themselves,
very practical and all, but no,
there’s Something Else PUSHING them.
LEE :
Teacher.
TEACHER :
I see your talents have gone beyond the mere physical level.
Your skills are now at the point of spiritual insight.
I have questions:
“What is the highest technique you hope to achieve?”
LEE :
To have no technique.
TEACHER :
Very good.
“What are your thoughts when facing an opponent?”
LEE :
There is no opponent.
TEACHER :
And why is that?
LEE :
Because the word "I" does not exist.
TEACHER :
So. Continue.
LEE :
A good fight should be...
like a small play,
but played seriously.
A good martial artist
does not become tense,
but ready.
Not thinking,
yet not dreaming.
Ready for whatever may come.
When the opponent expand,
I contract.
When he contracts,
I expand.
And when there is an opportunity...
I do not hit —
It hits all by itself.
TEACHER :
Now, you must remember...
The Enemy has only
images and illusions
behind which he hides his
True Motives.
Destroy The Image
and
You Will Break The Enemy.
The "it" that you refer to is a powerful weapon,
easily misused by the martial artist who deserts his vows.
For centuries now,
the code of the Shaolin Temple has been preserved.
Remember, the honor of our brotherhood has been held true.
Tell me now the Shaolin commandment number 13.
LEE :
"A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself,
and accept the consequences of his own doing."
TEACHER :
I'm ashamed to tell you now...
among all the Shaolin men I have taught,
there is one who has turned the ways of
knowledge and strength to his own base ends.
He has perverted all we hold sacred.
His name is Han.
In defiance of all our beliefs,
he has brought disgrace to the Shaolin Temple.
So it is now for you to reclaim our lost honor.
LEE :
Yes. I understand.
TEACHER :
There is a man here.
You will go to him.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Hello, Mr. Lee.
My name's Braithwaite.
LEE :
Hello, Mr. Braithwaite.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
I've come to speak to you about
a matter of great importance.
LEE :
Have some tea?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Yes, indeed.
Well, this is very pleasant.
Mr. Lee, I've come to speak to you about
a tournament of martial arts.
A tournament to which you've received an invitation.
Specifically, a tournament organized by Mr. Han.
LEE :
Han's tournament.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
I know, I know, I know.
But we'd very much like you to attend that particular tournament, Mr. Lee.
"We," Mr. Braithwaite?
It's Lao's time.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
[ Gives his 'By Your Leave....' ]
Yes, of course.
LEE :
Kick me.
Kick me.
[ he kicks AT him ]
LEE :
What was that?
An exhibition?
We need emotional content.
Try again.
[ Lao kicks again, over-reaches and unbalances himself (and The Universe) ]
LEE :
I said, 'emotional content', not anger.
Now, try again.
With me.
[ He gets it right. ]
LEE :
That's it. How did it feel to you?
LAO :
Let me think...
[ SLAP!! ]
LEE :
Don't think. Feel.
It is like a finger pointing a way to The Moon.
Don't concentrate on The Fnger,
or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
Do you understand?
[ SLAP!! ]
LEE :
Never take your eyes off your opponent,
even when you bow.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
That's it. There.
That's Han.
That's the only film we have on him.
We know he was a member of your temple.
A Shaolin monk, now a renegade.
That's O'Harra behind him.
Personal bodyguard.
Tough, ruthless, as you might expect,
being Han's bodyguard.
We got our hands on a demonstration film of O'Harra.
All real bricks and boards,
nothing phony about any of it.
This was before he picked up a facial scar somewhere.
This is where you'll be going.
An island fortress, really.
After the war, the nationality of the island was uncertain.
And sometime after that, Han bought it.
LEE :
What do you know about Han?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
He lives like A King on that island.
Totally self-sufficient.
All of his efforts, seemingly are directed toward supporting what he calls his
"School of Martial Arts."
Han's only contact with the outside world is this tournament which he holds every three years.
This was a stewardess,
Mary King, found floating in the harbor.
Nothing unusual about a body in the harbor.
But this girl was last seen at a party aboard
Han's private junk.
They'd reported her lost at sea before the body was found.
We believe he selects attractive girls,
methodically builds their dependence on drugs,
then sells them to an elite clientele around The World.
LEE :
What did the autopsy reveal as the cause of death?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
She did not drown.
LEE :
She OD'd?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Yes. Cause of Death was heroin overdose.
LEE :
You still don't have enough to bust up
his operation.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
We know everything.
We can prove nothing.
We want you to go in there as Our Agent.
Get us Our Evidence.
LEE :
And get out in one piece to give it to you.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
We'll give you anything you need.
Electronic equipment, weapons, anything.
Drink?
LEE :
No, thanks.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Guns.
LEE :
Now, why doesn't somebody pull out
a .45 and bang, settle it?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
No. No guns.
Look at this map here.
As you know, the possession of a weapon is a serious offence here.
Han's island rests partly within our territorial waters.
If we had the slightest reason to believe he has any kind of arsenal, we'd move in on him.
Besides, Han would never allow guns on the island anyway.
He had a bad experience with them once
and he's fearful of assassination.
You can't really blame him.
Any bloody fool can pull a trigger.
I guess I won't need anything.
There's a radio on the island.
We'll monitor it on the chance you can get to it.
LEE :
And then you come?
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Someone will.
We aren't an agency of enforcement.
We function as gatherers of information, evidence.
Upon which interested governments can act.
LEE :
I see. If there's any Trouble,
you make a phone call.
Mr. BRAITHWAITE :
Oh, by the way, two months ago we managed to place a female operative on the island.
Since then, we've lost her.
If she's there, she might have something.
Name's Mei Ling.
Sure you won't have one?
LEE :
No, thanks.
TEACHER :
But now the time has come to tell you
something very difficult.
I'm happy you have decided to go to Han's tournament.
LEE :
Yeah.
TEACHER :
The last of the tournaments were held
three years ago.
I was in The City with Your Sister at that time.
LEE :
I didn't know that.
TEACHER :
Yes. Many of Han's men had come in from The Island.
They were everywhere,
bullying and arrogant.
We were on our way into town.
Stay back! Run! Run! Now!
TEACHER :
Now you know The Truth.
When you get to The City,
pay your respects to
Your Sister and Your Mother.
LEE :
I will, old man.
You will not agree with what I am going to do.
TEACHER :
It is contrary to all that you have taught me
and all that Su Lin believed.
LEE :
I must leave.
Please try to find a way to forgive me.
EXT DAY -- UNDER A TREE
(MUNNY and KID await thier reward.
MUNNY is standing surveying the landscape
while KID sits against the tree drinking from a bottle of whiskey.
In the distance we see a rider approaching.)
KID
Was that what it was like in the old days, Will?
Everybody riding out shooting,
smoke all over the place, folks yelling,
bullets wizzing by?
MUNNY
I guess so.
KID
Shit. I thought they was going to get us.
I was even scared a little.
Just for a minute.
Was you ever scared in them days?
MUNNY
I can't remember.
I was drunk most of the time.
KID
I shot that fucker three times.
He was taking a shit and he went for his pistol and
I blazed away.
First shot... I got him right in the chest.
Say, Will...
MUNNY
Yeah,
KID
That was the first one.
MUNNY
First one what?
KID
First one I ever killed.
MUNNY
Yeah?
KID
You know how I said I shot five men?
It weren't True.
That Mexican that come at me with a knife,
I just busted his leg with a shovel.
I didn't kill him neither.
MUNNY
Well, you sure killed the hell out of that fella today.
KID
Hell ya!
(Drinks, on the verge of tears)
I killed the hell out of him, didn't I.
Three shots and he was taking a shit!
MUNNY
(Looking at him)
Take a drink, Kid.
KID
(Drinks)
Jesus Christ. It don't seem real.
How he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever.
And the other one, too.
All on account of pulling a trigger.
MUNNY
It's a hell of a thing, killing a man.
You take away all he's got
and all he's ever gonna have.
KID
Yeah. Well, I guess they had it coming.
MUNNY
We all have it coming, kid.
(KATE rides up on a horse)
MUNNY
I was watching you, seeing that you wasn't followed.
KATE
Silky and Faith, they rode off to the east
and two deputies was following them.
(She hands a bag to MUNNY who turns and holds it out to KID)
MUNNY
Here. Want to help me count this stuff?
KID
I Trust you, Will.
MUNNY
Well don't go trusting me too much.
In fact, we'll give Ned his share together
that way you'll know I ain't holding out on ya.
KATE
(Confused)
Ned's share?
MUNNY
Yeah. He went South,
we'll catch up to him.
KATE
Ned..... He's Dead.
(Both MUNNY and KID stand)
MUNNY
What do you mean he's dead?
He went south yesterday. He ain't dead.
KATE
They.... they killed him.
I thought you knew that.
MUNNY
Nobody killed Ned. He didn't kill anyone.
He went South yesterday.
Why would anybody kill Ned?
Who killed him?
KATE
Little Bill. The Bar-T boys caught him
and Little Bill, he beat him up.
He was making him answer questions and beating him up
and then Ned just died.
They got a sign on him saying he was
A Killer.
MUNNY
They got a sign on him?!
KATE
In front of Greely's
MUNNY
A sign on him in front of Greely's.
(She nods)
These questions Little Bill was asking,
what kind were they?
KATE
Uh... About where you and him was.
MUNNY
Then what?
KATE
A cowboy come in saying you killed Quick Mike
in a shithouse at the Bar-T.
MUNNY
So Little Bill killed him for
What We Done.
KATE
Not on purpose, but he started hurting him worse,
making him tell stuff.
First Ned wouldn't say nothing,
and then Little Bill hurt him so bad
and he said Who You Was.
He said how you was really
William Munny out of Missouri
and Little Bill said
"The same William Munny that dynamited the Rock Island
and Pacific in '69 killing women and children and all"
and Ned said you done worse than that.
Said you was
more cold blooded than William Bonney
and how, if he hurt Ned again,
you was going to come kill him
like you killed a U.S. Marshall in '70.
(As she talked MUNNY has begun to drink slowly from the bottle of whiskey.
It is as if his past is coming back to him and with it all his old habits)
MUNNY
But that didn't scare Little Bill, did it?
KATE
No sir.
(He corks the bottle and throws it to the ground. He turns to KID who has been watching in amazement)
MUNNY
Give me your Schofield.
KID
What for, Will?
MUNNY
Give it to me.
KID
(Scared)
Yeah, sure.
(Hands the gun to MUNNY who checks it)
You go on, keep it. I'm never going to use it again.
I don't kill nobody no more.
I ain't like you, Will.
MUNNY
You'd better ride on back, Miss.
(She rides off)
KID
(Motions towards bag)
Go on, keep it. All of it, It's yours.
MUNNY
What about your spectecles and fancy clothes?
KID
I guess I'd rather be blind and ragged than dead.
MUNNY
You don't have to worry, Kid.
I ain't gonna to kill ya --
You're The Only Friend I Got.
BILL MOYERS:
Do you, when you look at something like Star Wars, recognize some of the themes of the hero throughout mythology?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
Well, I think that George Lucas was using standard mythological figures.
The old man as the adviser, well, specifically what he made me think of is the Japanese swordmaster.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî )
OBI WAN KENOBI:Remember, a Jedi can feel the force flowing through him.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Iíve known some of those people, and this man has a bill of their character.
BILL MOYERS: Well, thereís something mythological, too, isnÌt there, in the sense that the hero is helped by this stranger who shows up and gives him some instrument, a sword or a sheaf of light, shaft of light?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Yes, but he gives him not only a physical instrument, but a psychological commitment and a psychological center,
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
OBI WAN KENOBI: This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: When he had him exercising with that strange weapon, and then pulled the mask over, thatís real Japanese Stuff.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
DARTH VADER: Iíll take them myself.
BILL MOYERS: When I took our two sons to see it, they did the same thing the audience did; at that moment when the voice of Ben Kenobi says to Luke Skywalker in the climactic moment
(Clip from ìStar Warsî),
OBI WAN KENOBI: Use the force, Luke. Let go. Luke.
BILL MOYERS: The audience broke out into elation and into applause.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: ìThey did. Well, you see, this thing communicates. It is in a language that is talking to young people today, And thatís marvelous.
BILL MOYERS: So the hero goes for something, he doesnít just go along for the ride. Heís not a mere adventurer.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Well, a serendipitous adventure can take place, also, You know, what the word serendipity comes from? Comes from the Sanskrit Swarandwipa, the Isle of Silk, which was formerly the name of Ceylon, And itís a story about a family thatís just rambling on itís way to Ceylon, and all these adventures take place. And so you can have the serendipitous adventure as well.
BILL MOYERS:
Is the adventurer who takes that kind of trip a hero in the mythological sense?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
Yes, He is ready for it.
This is a very interesting thing about these mythological themes. The achievement of the hero is one that he is ready for, and itís really a manifestation of his character. And itís amusing, the way in which the landscape and the conditions of the environment match the readiness of the hero. The adventure that heís ready for is the one that he gets.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
HAN SOLO: Look, I ainít in this for your revolution and Iím not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. Iím in it for me.
BILL MOYERS: The mercenary, Solo, begins as a mercenary and ends up as a hero.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: He was a very practical guy, a materialist in his character, at least as he thought of himself. But he was a compassionate human being at the same time, and didnít know it. The adventure evoked a quality of his character that he hadnít known he possessed.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
PRINCESS LElA: I love you.
HAN SOLO: I know.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: He thinks heís an egoist, he really isnít, and thatís a very lovable kind of human being, I think, and there are lots of them functioning beautifully in the world. They think theyíre working for themselves, very practical and all, but no, thereís something else pushing them.
BILL MOYERS: What did you think about the scene in the bar?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Thatís my favorite, not only in this piece, but of many, many pieces Iíve ever seen.
BILL MOYERS: Why?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Well, where you are is on the edge, youíre about to embark into the outlying spaces. Andñ
BILL MOYERS: The real adventure.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: The real adventure. This is the jumping-off place, and there is where you meet people whoíve been out there, and they run the machines that go out there, and you havenít been there. It reminds me a little bit in Robert Louis Stevensonís Treasure Island, the atmosphere before you start off the adventure. Youíre in the seaport, and thereís old salts, seamen whoíve been on the sea, and thatís their world, and these are the space people, also.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
HAN SOLO: Iíve got a bad feeling about this.
LUKE SKYWALKER: The walls are moving!
PRINCESS LElA: Donít just stand there, try and brace it with something.
BILL MOYERS: My favorite scene was when they were in the garbage compacter, and the walls were closing in, and I thought, thatís like the belly of the whale that Jonah came out of.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Thatís what it is, yes, thatís where they were, down in the belly of the whale.
BILL MOYERS: Whatís the mythological significance of the belly?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Itís the descent into the dark. Jonah in the whale, I mean, thatís a standard motif of going into the whaleís belly and coming out again.
BILL MOYERS: Why must the hero do that?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: The whale represents the personification, you might say, of all that is in the unconscious. In reading these things psychologically, water is the unconscious. The creature in the water would be the dynamism of the unconscious, which is dangerous and powerful and has to be controlled by consciousness.
The first stage in the hero adventure, when he starts off on adventure, is leaving the realm of light, which he controls and knows about. and moving toward the threshold. And itís at the threshold that the monster of the abyss comes to meet him. And then there are two or three results: one, the hero is cut to pieces and descends into the abyss in fragments, to be resurrected; or he may kill the dragon power, as Siegfried does when he kills the dragon. But then he tastes the dragon blood, that is to say, he has to assimilate that power. And when Siegfried has killed the dragon and tasted the blood, he hears the song of nature; he has transcended his humanity, you know, and reassociated himself with the powers of nature, which are the powers of our life, from which our mind removes us.
You see, this thing up here, this consciousness, thinks itís running the shop. Itís a secondary organ; itís a secondary organ of a total human being, and it must not put itself in control. It must submit and serve the humanity of the body.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
DARTH VADER: Join me, and I will complete your training.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: When it does put itself in control, you get this Vader, the man whoís gone over to the intellectual side.
(Clip from ìStar Warsî)
LUKE SKYWALKER: Iíll never join you!
DARTH VADER: If you only knew the power of the dark side.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: He isnít thinking, or living in terms of humanity, heís living in terms of a system. And this is the threat to our lives; we all face it, we all operate in our society in relation to a system. Now, is the system going to eat you up and relieve you of your humanity, or are you going to be able to use the system to human purposes?
BILL MOYERS: Would the hero with a thousand faces help us to answer that question, about how to change the system so that we are not serving it?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: I donít think it would help you to change the system, but it would help you to live in the system as a human being.
BILL MOYERS: By doing what?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Well, like Luke Skywalker, not going over, but resisting its impersonal claims.
BILL MOYERS: But I can hear someone out there in the audience saying, ìWell, thatís all well and good for the imagination of a George Lucas or for the scholarship of a Joseph Campbell, but that isnít what happens in my life.î
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: You bet it does. If the person doesnít listen to the demands of his own spiritual and heart life, and insists on a certain program, youíre going to have a schizophrenic crack-up. The person has put himself off-center; he has aligned himself with a programmatic life, and itís not the one the bodyís interested in at all. And the worldís full of people who have stopped listening to themselves. In my own life, Iíve had many opportunities to commit myself to a system and to go with it, and to obey its requirements. My life has been that of a maverick; I would not submit.
BILL MOYERS: You really believe that the creative spirit ranges on its own out there, beyond the boundaries?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
Yes, I do.
BILL MOYERS: Something of the hero in that, I don't mean to suggest that you see yourself as a hero.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
No, I don't, but I see myself as a maverick.
BILL MOYERS:
So perhaps the hero lurks in each one of us, when we donít know it
JOSEPH CAMPBELL:
Well, yes, I mean, our life evokes our character, and you find out more about yourself as you go on. And itís very nice to be able to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature, rather than your lower.
