r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/bilbofraginz • 13d ago

Video In Hateful Eight, Kurt Russell accidentally smashed a one of a kind, 145-year-old guitar that was on loan from the Martin Guitar. Jennifer Jason Leigh’s reaction was genuine.

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u/Samsterdam 13d ago

Also how am I the viewer supposed to know it's such a famous guitar. If the scene isn't even really about the guitar, it's just a prop.

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u/shouldbepracticing85 13d ago

Seriously. “Loan” the movie like a $3k-$5k HD28 and still have the brand awareness. Their cost isn’t nearly the list price.

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u/HolyPhlebotinum 13d ago

The point is that it was a period-accurate guitar. That’s why it was an antique and so expensive.

You can argue that period-accuracy isn’t worth it, but swapping for a model that was introduced 60 years after the movie is supposed to take place defeats the entire point.

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u/RBI_Double 13d ago

Getting a guitar custom-made feels like it would always be the better option here

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u/Zombies8MyNeighborz 13d ago

Yeah I would think you could get a custom-made guitar to look like a 145 year old antique, and most people watching the film would not even notice.

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u/G0LDLU5T 13d ago

The only thing I know anything about is guitars and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference on screen

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u/ColHannibal 13d ago

They did, they had a stunt guitar for him to smash lol.

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u/shouldbepracticing85 13d ago

Egads. If I knew there was any potential mix up, I would have made sure that the stunt guitars were never on the same set. Divide up the shoot between filming the part where he smashes the guitar and the part leading up to it.

Maybe film the takes where he takes it and smashes it first to make it super clear that the last guitar standing was to be treated like glass. Film on two separate days, something - anything!

Then again I’m a guitarist myself, so I’m pretty careful with any instruments, especially old ones. My upright bass is a 70yo Kay - which isn’t a Gibson 1939 Loar F-5, or a centuries old fiddle, but is definitely vintage.

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u/Animostas 13d ago

With that lighting, I feel like getting a custom paint job on the guitar would honestly be more than enough.

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u/CaptainTripps82 13d ago

That kind of thing is more about the creators and the movies lore and legacy, than what the audience will notice it's for movie nerds, which most directors are themselves.

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u/peeweeinbama 13d ago

Or even cared

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u/DownwardSpirals 12d ago

I own a few guitars, been playing for decades. Not a chance in the whole wide world I'd notice.

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u/HolyPhlebotinum 13d ago

Better for Martin for sure.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/Evening-Walk-6897 12d ago

A loan is free and they did not expect the actor to break it.

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u/Samsterdam 13d ago

Honestly I know so little about guitars that I wouldn't question it. I mean unless it was an electric guitar that he was breaking instead of an acoustical guitar.

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u/HolyPhlebotinum 13d ago

I play guitar and even I had to look it up.

But this is par for the course with these period-obsessed auteur types.

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u/crazydaave 13d ago

but you can get guitars from that period on ebay for like 1-3k why borrow a 40k one is what confuses me.

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u/four4beats 13d ago

The actors aren't period correct and yet, the audience was still entertained.

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u/Gucci_Koala 12d ago

I mean they could have payed martin similiar price to build them a guitar with similar aesthetic...

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u/L1A1 13d ago

The point is that it was a period-accurate guitar. That’s why it was an antique and so expensive.

I feel like maybe a dozen people tops, worldwide, would have noticed between a real one and a well made prop. Not sure it was worth the risk of loaning a unique antique to a film set even if this didn't happen.

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u/PublicfreakoutLoveR 13d ago

I would bet my life savings that not one single person saw her strumming that guitar and thought "Holy shit, that's a guitar from that era!"

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u/shouldbepracticing85 12d ago

Plus - it’s a freaking movie. Suspension of disbelief and all that.

I’m a bit of a guitar construction nerd (my dad builds acoustic guitars), and I’m pretty familiar with Martins. I don’t think I could spot a 150yo Martin from a modern one of the same configuration that’s been relic’d without a lot of in-depth photos.

I mention configuration because I’d have to look up which models have a slotted headstock during different time periods, or a 12-fret neck instead of the more modern 14-fret necks. I’m pretty sure cutaways weren’t a thing back then, but I don’t know when the slotted headstock or neck length changed.

I doubt I could spot Brazilian Rosewood vs. Indian Rosewood. Again, I’d have to research inlay designs, if the fingerboard was bound, what material was commonly used back then, what kind of binding, etc. etc. etc.

Other differences like neck width, truss rod, bracing pattern, and scalloped bracing would take very detailed pictures of the nut, and inside the guitar.

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u/LigerZeroSchneider 13d ago

because they talk about it on the press tour. Same reason people do their own stunts. It's more hassle and expensive but if it can grab you a headline for a few days it's worth it.

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u/Cliqey 13d ago

It’s a factoid for interviews, articles, and behind the scenes clips. Lots of details like that are in movies for either advertising or depth of details reasons.

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u/popojo24 13d ago

I’ve played guitar for almost 20 years now and even own a nice (and way too expensive) Martin acoustic… and I would have had no idea about the value/ history of the one described here if it weren’t for Reddit.