Gunmen’s Blues

Gunmen’s Blues

Year: 1981

Runtime: 25 mins

Language: English

Director: Eric Red

A mysterious, middle-aged man wearing a dark suit and black leather gloves is the only customer in a Hoboken…

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Timeline & Setting – Gunmen’s Blues (1981)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Gunmen’s Blues (1981). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present day

The events take place in contemporary times, with modern urban life as a backdrop for a classic noir confrontation. The bar scenes, street encounters, and police arrival reflect a late-20th to early-21st-century mood, balancing old-school gunplay with street-level realism. The timeframe supports a tale about legacies, choices, and unfinished business that cross generations.

Location

Hoboken, New Jersey

The film unfolds in a dimly lit Hoboken bar and the surrounding streets, giving the waterfront town a gritty, intimate mood. The setting centers on a lone, mysterious patron whose past haunts the present scene. The claustrophobic bar environment heightens tension as danger spills into the night.

🏙️ Urban waterfront town 🍺 Bar culture 🎭 Crime noir

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:43

Main Characters – Gunmen’s Blues (1981)

Meet the key characters of Gunmen’s Blues (1981), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

The Man with No Name (Darwin Joston)

A calm, expert hitman who uses intellect over brute force. He keeps a private flame for his past love and is willing to bend the rules to protect the boy whose mother he once loved. His fatherly moment unfolds as a manipulation to save Lake without sacrificing either of them, revealing a more complex conscience beneath the killer exterior.

🎯 Hitman 🧠 Tactician 👨‍👦 Father ✳️ Complex conscience

Lake (Konrad Sheehan)

A violent but impressionable teenager craving recognition and respect in a world that fears him. He is impulsive and proud, using the encounter to cement his personal myth as a gunfighter. His interactions with the hitman expose his longing for belonging and the brutal costs of choosing violence.

🔥 Hot-headed 🧒 Teen 🗡️ Gunman 🧭 Learner

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:43

Major Themes – Gunmen’s Blues (1981)

Explore the central themes of Gunmen’s Blues (1981), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

👨‍👦 Family

A central thread is the fragile bond between father and son. The hitman's past and his revelation to Lake redefine what family means, showing how love can coexist with violence. The reunion exposes choices made long ago and the possibility of redemption through connection rather than vengeance. The film uses this bond to examine how legacy shapes identity.

🎭 Identity

The Man with No Name hides a life of crime behind a composed façade, only to be forced to confront his true role in Lake’s life. The showdown becomes a test of who they are beneath the image of a killer and a fledgling gunman. Through manipulation and restraint, the film questions the value of masks and the power of truth. Identity is framed as both a shield and a weapon.

💀 Consequences

Violence triggers a chain reaction that risks destroying both generations. The hitman’s decisions save one life at the cost of another and force a reckoning with the consequences of living by the gun. The police intervention underscores that actions carry a price. The final choice emphasizes that there are outcomes beyond personal glory.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:43

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Tense Confined Thrillers like Gunmen’s Blues

Tense character confrontations in confined spaces force a reckoning with the past.If you liked the tense standoff in Gunmen’s Blues, you'll find more movies like it here. These films use a single location—a bar, a room, a car—to create a pressure cooker atmosphere where characters are forced to confront their pasts. Expect high-stakes dialogue, slow-burn tension, and violent or emotional climaxes.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives typically confine characters to a single, often mundane location that becomes a psychological battleground. Through intense dialogue and rising tension, a hidden history—often involving betrayal, crime, or familial bonds—is unearthed. The climax resolves this pressure through a decisive, often violent, act that carries profound emotional consequences, usually centered on themes of atonement or sacrifice.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread are grouped by their shared use of a claustrophobic setting to heighten emotional and narrative tension. They focus on character-driven dramas or thrillers where the environment itself is a key player, forcing confrontations that are as psychologically intense as they are physically contained.

Movies about Hitmen and Redemption like Gunmen’s Blues

Professionals of violence seek redemption by protecting the innocent they put at risk.Explore more movies like Gunmen’s Blues where a hitman or criminal is forced to confront the consequences of their violent life. These stories often involve a paternal bond and a final, redemptive act of sacrifice. If you liked the heavy emotional weight and bittersweet ending, this thread is for you.

redemptivepaternalgrimviolentlonelysacrificialfatelegacy

Narrative Summary

The narrative centers on a world-weary anti-hero defined by their capacity for violence. Their carefully maintained isolation is shattered when an innocent—often a child from their past—becomes a target because of their actions. The protagonist must then wield their destructive expertise defensively, culminating in a final act that sacrifices their own life or freedom to ensure a better future for the one they protect.

Why These Movies?

These movies share a core theme of a violent individual seeking a last chance at moral purity through sacrifice. They blend the tropes of crime thrillers with heavy, character-driven drama, resulting in stories that are both action-packed and deeply melancholic, exploring the human cost of a life of crime.

Unlock the Full Story of Gunmen’s Blues

Don't stop at just watching — explore Gunmen’s Blues in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Gunmen’s Blues is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Gunmen’s Blues Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Gunmen’s Blues, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Gunmen’s Blues Summary

Gunmen’s Blues Timeline

Track the full timeline of Gunmen’s Blues with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Gunmen’s Blues Timeline

More About Gunmen’s Blues

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Gunmen’s Blues: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Gunmen’s Blues