Topic: Timeline on BBM

[chowhound]

Once again, a minor observation of mine...

The calendar in this scene shows "January 1966" (it's visible on Blu-ray, I'll get that picture later on):



Per se, this doesn't 'prove' anything but it contradicts the above mentioned "Jun 1966: I would if I have three hands". Also the sceneries outdoors don't support January..or do they?

After all I'd say this is some intentional ambiguity despite Ang Lee's authenticity.

Further more, the calendar states that the January 1^st is Tuesday. The January 1^st fell on Tuesday only in 1963 in the 1960's. See 1966 here.

There's also this other calendar obscurity though in the screenplay (Story to Screenplay) only: it's supposed to be 1969 when Jack is looking for his blue parka while talking to Lureen but the calendar is supposed to show 1973. This scene is preceded by Alma reading the July 1972 postcard 'fish should be jumping'; the honey-honey continuation.

Or am I missing some point here?  

Hi there, rdx:

You write "Per se, this doesn't 'prove' anything but it contradicts the above mentioned "Jun 1966: I would if I have three hands". Also the sceneries outdoors don't support January..or do they?

Is the reference to "Jun 1966" a reference to one of the alternate timelines on this thread? I didn't include this scene in my timeline though I suppose I could have done so. If I did I think the January 1966 of the calendar you spotted - thanks, by the way, for pointing that out as I don't think anybody has noticed this before - would be a plausible date. PSP just dates the scene as 1966 but describes the weather as "windy, bitter cold". January's weather in the high plains would probably be like this.

Some day soon I hope to edit my original timeline so it incorporates a number of things that have come up since I initially posted it. Wish me luck!

[rdx]

Is the reference to "Jun 1966" a reference to one of the alternate timelines on this thread? I didn't include this scene in my timeline though I suppose I could have done so. If I did I think the January 1966 of the calendar you spotted - thanks, by the way, for pointing that out as I don't think anybody has noticed this before - would be a plausible date. PSP just dates the scene as 1966 but describes the weather as "windy, bitter cold". January's weather in the high plains would probably be like this.

Wish me luck!

You're welcome Mr chowhound.

I am referring to the timeline by enniscake ('stolen' by Mr lancecowboy  ) with the little pictures. I'd say that the 'usual' conditions in Wyoming in January were/are snowier than shown in this scene (compared to Thanksgiving in November)..once again, I'm not an expert on this.

Therefore I trust in Mr lancecowboy's explanations of the calendar: the scene didn't take place in January.

Good luck!

[lancecowboy]

You're welcome Mr chowhound.

I am referring to the timeline by enniscake ('stolen' by Mr lancecowboy  ) with the little pictures. I'd say that the 'usual' conditions in Wyoming in January were/are snowier than shown in this scene (compared to Thanksgiving in November)..once again, I'm not an expert on this.

Therefore I trust in Mr lancecowboy's explanations of the calendar: the scene didn't take place in January.

Good luck!

Hey guys, thanks for including me in this discussion, but please stop. I really have no opinion on the timeline. It's been ages since I last read the screen play or watched the movie. The timeline was fuzzy at the best of time then, and definitely disjointed for me now.

I don't know if the "if I have three hands" scene took place in January or June. Though "cold and windy" conjures up January more than June. I don't know the location of the ranch in Wyoming, but I suppose it "may" be possible that "one" particular late January day was snow-free down there in the "lower country" near Cheyenne, after a chinook wind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne,_Wyoming

Cheyenne, like most of the rest of Wyoming, is semi-arid (Koppen BSk). Winters are cold and moderately long, but relatively dry, with a January average of 25.9 °F (−3.4 °C), highs that fail to reach freezing occur 37 days per year, and lows dip to the 0 °F (−18 °C) mark on 12 nights.[6] However, the coldness is often interrupted, with chinook winds  blowing downslope from the Rockies that can warm conditions, bringing the high above 50 °F (10 °C) on 20 days from December to February.[6] Snowfall is greatest in March and April, averaging 60 inches (152 cm) for the season, yet thick snow cover rarely stays

As for stealing form enniscake... I was providing a free service, advertising their contribution to the Brokeback Mountain community without any personal gain.  

  Watch your words bud or I will have to wrestle you to the ground come next August.  

  Come to think of it, I might just do that on principle, like Ennis did to KC until he stopped picking on him.  

[rdx]

The conclusion: the scene took place in the spring of 1966.

 

As for stealing form enniscake... I was providing a free service, advertising their contribution to the Brokeback Mountain community without any personal gain. 
  Watch your words bud or I will have to wrestle you to the ground come next August. 
  Come to think of it, I might just do that on principle, like Ennis did to KC until he stopped picking on him. 

  It's K.E. brother! Yup, thighs for bull riding... "All that stealing might get you killed!" 

[lancecowboy]

The conclusion: the scene took place in the spring of 1966.

No argument from me. 

  It's K.E. brother! Yup, thighs for bull riding... "All that stealing might get you killed!" 

Like I said, the movie and shortstory have begun to get a bit fuzzy for me. KC, KE, what's a tiny little horizontal stroke between friends. 

[chowhound]

The conclusion: the scene took place in the spring of 1966.

 

  It's K.E. brother! Yup, thighs for bull riding... "All that stealing might get you killed!"  

Hi rdx,
  I wouldn't give up so easily on the calendar date providing the wrong date because of the look of the landscape outside. Indeed, I would argue that a calendar showing that it is January was introduced into the scene precisely to establish the January date of this scene because the countryside doesn't look sufficiently wintery.

First, PSP describes the weather conditions as "windy, bitter cold". Not just "cold" but "bitter cold" which would be suitable for January. Then we hear of Alma Jr.'s "runny nose" which again would be a likely ailment in a bitterly cold winter. The calendar backs all of this up by placing the scene somewhere in the January of 1966.

The problem, however, is that the scene wasn't shot in January. I've just checked the call sheets and  the exterior shot where we see Alma taking in the laundry and briefly glimpse the surrounding countryside was shot on June 9. By that time, the winter snows around Claresholm, where this "lonesome house" is located and the scene was shot, would have been long gone.

Conclusion: it was decided to introduce a calendar into this scene to let the audience know that it's supposed to be January and not the June suggested by the look of the countryside outside.

Not that it matters that much whether it is January or the spring you suggest. More important is that Alma's honeyed words have had their effect on Ennis and this remote place is exchanged for the Riverton apartment. We don't know exactly when the move was made but my guess is that when the family attends the Fourth of July fireworks, they are already settled into their new quarters above the laundromat.

[rdx]

 I wouldn't give up so easily on the calendar date providing the wrong date because of the look of the landscape outside. Indeed, I would argue that a calendar showing that it is January was introduced into the scene precisely to establish the January date of this scene because the countryside doesn't look sufficiently wintery.

 

Well, here's finally a partial frame capture from a Blu-ray; judge for yourselves:

[lancecowboy]

Thanks, rdx. You the man. 

I can't make out the year and month that well, but if it is January, and Jan 1 is on a Tuesday, then it can be only 1963.

Day of Week of Jan 1 for years 1961-1969
1961 Sunday
1962 Monday
1963 Tuesday
1964 Wednesday
1965 Friday
1966 Saturday
1967 Sunday
1968 Monday
1969 Wednesday

So that makes it January of 1963.

What scene were we talking about? 

Oh, yeah, you already stated the conclusions clearly, including the year,etc. You the man. 

I am one who prefer to see the forest instead of the tree. Digging a little to deeply and analyzing the detail a little too closely or minutely almost invariably lead to losing sight of the artistic whole. It's like doing spectroscopy on a rainbow. Clever and useful and scientific, but d@M# unsatisfactory artistically emotionally, well for me anyway. Others may find it emotionally satisfying to understand the physics of refraction internal reflection, etc. I just can't see the forest when I am in a tree. 

[jackster]

Facinatin' guys.

You're both right, sure looks like a "6" as in 1966 to me. But LC's right, only Jan 1st Tuesday was in '63. Seems like an INCREDIBLE amount of subterfuge on the part of the movie guys just to confuse things. One has to ask why? Does this calendar appear in any 1963 shots? i.e. Aguirre's office or sumthin'? Maybe in some shots that were edited out like the filling station in Signal where Ennis met the old mechanic on his way to Aguirre's? Course that wus May, huh? Maybe they just had it in the prop dept and thought an old calendar would look good there, not thinkin' that anybody would be fool enough to freeze-frame it in Blu-Ray, enlarge it, and then have a discussion about why it was there.
 
Nice work nonetheless.

[rdx]

Thank you LC & jackster!

I am one who prefer to see the forest instead of the tree. Digging a little to deeply and analyzing the detail a little too closely or minutely almost invariably lead to losing sight of the artistic whole. It's like doing spectroscopy on a rainbow. Clever and useful and scientific, but d@M# unsatisfactory artistically emotionally, well for me anyway. Others may find it emotionally satisfying to understand the physics of refraction internal reflection, etc. I just can't see the forest when I am in a tree.  

I so agree with you Mr lancecowboy  . Mantsurian hevoskastanjain varjoista I greet you.  

Maybe they just had it in the prop dept and thought an old calendar would look good there, not thinkin' that anybody would be fool enough to freeze-frame it in Blu-Ray, enlarge it, and then have a discussion about why it was there.
 
Nice work nonetheless.

  
You're so right Mr jackster. Though my original observation was...by a mere chance..I wasn't looking for anything. I stop now.  

In general I refer to my earlier posts..about art  .

PS. Nothing's enlarged..no need to. 

[chowhound]

Many thanks, rdx, for posting that screencap of the wall calendar. As far as I know, you're the first person to spot it, so I think we should name it after you.

The screenplay dates this scene as 1966 but doesn't give it a month. However, the screenplay also describes the weather at the time as "windy, bitter cold" so placing it in January would be appropriate. (Jenny also has a runny nose). However, Ang's problem was that he wasn't filming this scene in Wyoming in the winter but in the Albertan Rockies in June - the scene was shot on June 9. However, he needed that exterior shot where Alma is taking in the laundry to establish the utter isolation of the cabin but, as it's June, the surrounding land doesn't look at all wintery. So I think he therefore needed the calendar to establish that this was supposed to be a winter scene, not a summer one, no matter what the surrounding countryside looked like.

The calendar certainly looks "authentic" to me but I've no ready explanation for lynx-eyed Lance's observation that on the calendar Tuesday is the first and that would be true of 1963 but not 1966. Maybe they had a '63 calendar available and not a '66, so simply replaced the heading with January, 1966. After all, that is all that is necessary to be known as no specific day is mentioned during the scene.

Isolating things like this I think is a way of honouring the meticulous care that went into the making of this magnificent movie. I think Ang and his screenwriters, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, wanted events very much rooted in specific times and places and it is from this specificity that the larger themes emerge. One of these "specificities" is indeed time and its passage during the twenty years that Jack and Ennis have together. Ang starts the movie by indicating time in the most obvious manner as it says on the screen that it's Signal, 1963, but after that his approach is much more subtle. Of course, the children change with time as do Jack and Ennis in outward appearance. Even their voices change as they age. ( They were coached to have three different voices to cover the aging process). Then there are the more detailed references: dates on postcards, on banners at rodeos and dance halls, a date given by the announcer at the Fourth of July fireworks, appropriate film clips (Surf Party) or a TV series barely glimpsed in the background, changing makes of automobiles - more Jack, of course than Ennis - or bare statements like Lureen saying that Jack was only 39. Almost all of these can only be found in the movie and not the short story. I don't want to even suggest that this is "all" the movie is about but we do have a richly envisaged passage of time though which the movie flows and this, I think, it is proper to detail.

[lancecowboy]

I agree that the richness in detail in the movie contributes to its authenticity. It is when we dig too closely, and see little dissonances like the date and days on the Calendar that the magic of the movie recedes a little. It is good to have sharp vision, but too close to the comic page, and all we can see are dots, and not the big picture.

The magical feel of time flowing in the movie is a result, in my opinion, of the relationships and juxtaposition of different elements rather than the specific detail of any one element. That was my point about the forest and the trees; the dots and the big picture. Please don't take offense at this because I think we are on the same wavelength. I just wanted to inject a little moderation into the discussion of the sharpness of detail. In other words, I think the magnification of the microscope is enough already.  No need to get any closer.

[rdx]

Many thanks, rdx, for posting that screencap of the wall calendar. As far as I know, you're the first person to spot it, so I think we should name it after you.

 
Thank you chowhound; I do appreciate your thought but my observation was an accident and it doesn't deserve any credit. Thanks anyway.

[jackster]

. . . Isolating things like this I think is a way of honouring the meticulous care that went into the making of this magnificent movie.

   

. . . Then there are the more detailed references: dates on postcards, on banners at rodeos . . . . but we do have a richly envisaged passage of time though which the movie flows and this, I think, it is proper to detail. . .

Just to add one more note of place / time reference - license plates. Those familiar with the once widespread custom in the US of annual changes in license plates know that the various color combinations can be used to ID the year of issue for various plates. Also, in Wyoming in particular, locale can be ID'd by the first two numbers of the plate as these indicate the county. The following illustrates some of what we see in the film - or in other graphics - and just to make things fun for us kooks, somebody has played with some of the hints to mix it up a bit. Some illustrations -

This plate as seen in some still shots with Ennis & Jack next to Ennis late 50's GMC pickup, a truck he supposedly didn't have in '63. Of course they are both shown dressed in their 1963 wardrobe, and the truck plate appears to be a 1963 Wyoming plate (white on faded black). No date is visible though. Next to this is shown the "county key" to WYO plates. So we know the "9" is Big Horn county.


A later shot during the last confrontation shows the front of Ennis 1966 Ford truck with a "proper" 1978-1982 Wyoming plate from Park County, "11". (During the 80s many US states moved away from annual plate changes).

More plates are visible at different spots in the film, I won't include them all here, but here are examples of the Wyoming plate colors during the 60's & 70's. Notice how they moved the WYO from top to bottom on alternate years.


And to just show off some of my private BBM collection, some period WYO plates of significant BBM years and/or counties, 1943, 1963, 1967, 1982, etc. that I've managed to corral. The "17" plate is 1943 from Campbell County where Lighting Flat is located. Jack coulda' been born in late '43. The '44 Wyoming plates were made of cardboard due to war shortage of metal and hence are very scarce and expensive.

[chowhound]

   
Just to add one more note of place / time reference - license plates. Those familiar with the once widespread custom in the US of annual changes in license plates know that the various color combinations can be used to ID the year of issue for various plates. Also, in Wyoming in particular, locale can be ID'd by the first two numbers of the plate as these indicate the county. The following illustrates some of what we see in the film - or in other graphics - and just to make things fun for us kooks, somebody has played with some of the hints to mix it up a bit. Some illustrations -

This plate as seen in some still shots with Ennis & Jack next to Ennis late 50's GMC pickup, a truck he supposedly didn't have in '63. Of course they are both shown dressed in their 1963 wardrobe, and the truck plate appears to be a 1963 Wyoming plate (white on faded black). No date is visible though. Next to this is shown the "county key" to WYO plates. So we know the "9" is Big Horn county.


A later shot during the last confrontation shows the front of Ennis 1966 Ford truck with a "proper" 1978-1982 Wyoming plate from Park County, "11". (During the 80s many US states moved away from annual plate changes).

More plates are visible at different spots in the film, I won't include them all here, but here are examples of the Wyoming plate colors during the 60's & 70's. Notice how they moved the WYO from top to bottom on alternate years.


And to just show off some of my private BBM collection, some period WYO plates of significant BBM years and/or counties, 1943, 1963, 1967, 1982, etc. that I've managed to corral. The "17" plate is 1943 from Campbell County where Lighting Flat is located. Jack coulda' been born in late '43. The '44 Wyoming plates were made of cardboard due to war shortage of metal and hence are very scarce and expensive.

Wow jackster! All this is very impressive. I know very little about automobiles - in fact I never learned how to drive one - so I never thought of license plates as an indicator of time and place. As well, it looks as though you could identify the various makes of pickup trucks that Jack and Ennis drive during the course of the movie - something I certainly couldn't do. (By the  way, does Ennis's first pickup look to you pretty similar to the one Jack was driving when he first arrived at Aguirre's trailer? If so, that could be psychologically quite telling.)

One of your comments I need a little help with. This is when you say that "The following illustrates some of what we see in the film - or in other graphics - and just to make things fun for us kooks, somebody has played with some of the hints to mix it up a bit." Was this a reference to your comments on the 50's pickup truck that Ennis and Jack are leaning against in the publicity still? Or was it a reference to something else?

Also, could that truck not be Ennis's, as you assume it to be, but the truck the Basque was driving when he took  them to the pickup point?

Anyway, you've clearly opened a whole new area for compulsive nuts like us to discuss.

[jackster]

One of your comments I need a little help with. This is when you say that "The following illustrates some of what we see in the film - or in other graphics - and just to make things fun for us kooks, somebody has played with some of the hints to mix it up a bit." Was this a reference to your comments on the 50's pickup truck that Ennis and Jack are leaning against in the publicity still? Or was it a reference to something else?

Also, could that truck not be Ennis's, as you assume it to be, but the truck the Basque was driving when he took  them to the pickup point?

thanks mucho ch.
My comment was just to reflect on this publicity photo that shows the boys in their '63 wardrobes, but leaning against the same pickup we see Ennis driving in 1967 when he gets the postcard from Jack (and earlier on the lonesome ranch). [Sorry it is certainly the same pickup we see Ennis driving when he comes home to find the postcard, it's identifiable by the "replacement" front door (driver's side) in an off-color.] It's clear from the movie that in '63 Ennis couldn't even afford a cigarette lighter, let alone a such a pickup truck, which then would have been only 6 years old (Jack's would have been 13 y/o at the time).

There was a topic, way back when in '06 I think, regarding the pickups in which I outlined the make, model, and years of the various trucks used. Indeed, you are correct regarding the 'Ennis following Jack' routine in the truck models. In short, Jack is first shown with a '50 GMC (black), then Ennis is shown with a '57 GMC (gray) 4 years later in '67 - though these use different body styles. However, Jack shows up with a '66 Ford (red+white) at Ennis's in 1967, and eventually we see Ennis with a similar '66 Ford (turquoise+white) same body style. I made the point then and thought it was a real curiosity, but probably unintended by the prop dept. It would have added considerable expense and time to find the right vintage vehicles to ensure that this particular vehicular sequence was followed. I consider it, like so many aspects of this film, just a beautiful and serendipitous cooincidence.
 
BTW - another scene where the plate "gives away" the year is the Alma/Ennis argument when she walks out (to take the extra shift). Ennis's GMC pickup is parked in the drive and shows the green+yellow colors of a 1970 WYO plate.

[lancecowboy]

  Jackster.  That is amazing!

The serendipity of truck model totally escaped me...not surprisingly since I ain't much into automobiles. I love the county registration of Wyoming license plates. Getting hold of the Campbell country plate is a real coup dude!

I am planning on watching Brokeback Mountain again soon, so it will be interesting to look out for the truck models. 

... you've clearly opened a whole new area for compulsive nuts like us to discuss.

Yup. You bet. And loving it. Thanks you guys! 

[rdx]

Just to add one more note of place / time reference - license plates.

  Shall thee be praised, jackster. 

[chowhound]

thanks mucho ch.
My comment was just to reflect on this publicity photo that shows the boys in their '63 wardrobes, but leaning against the same pickup we see Ennis driving in 1967 when he gets the postcard from Jack (and earlier on the lonesome ranch). [Sorry it is certainly the same pickup we see Ennis driving when he comes home to find the postcard, it's identifiable by the "replacement" front door (driver's side) in an off-color.] It's clear from the movie that in '63 Ennis couldn't even afford a cigarette lighter, let alone a such a pickup truck, which then would have been only 6 years old (Jack's would have been 13 y/o at the time).

There was a topic, way back when in '06 I think, regarding the pickups in which I outlined the make, model, and years of the various trucks used. Indeed, you are correct regarding the 'Ennis following Jack' routine in the truck models. In short, Jack is first shown with a '50 GMC (black), then Ennis is shown with a '57 GMC (gray) 4 years later in '67 - though these use different body styles. However, Jack shows up with a '66 Ford (red+white) at Ennis's in 1967, and eventually we see Ennis with a similar '66 Ford (turquoise+white) same body style. I made the point then and thought it was a real curiosity, but probably unintended by the prop dept. It would have added considerable expense and time to find the right vintage vehicles to ensure that this particular vehicular sequence was followed. I consider it, like so many aspects of this film, just a beautiful and serendipitous cooincidence.
 
BTW - another scene where the plate "gives away" the year is the Alma/Ennis argument when she walks out (to take the extra shift). Ennis's GMC pickup is parked in the drive and shows the green+yellow colors of a 1970 WYO plate.

Many thanks, Jackster, for your explanation. I now see what you mean when you call the truck in the publicity still, "Ennis's truck".

You write:"There was a topic, way back when in '06 I think, regarding the pickups in which I outlined the make, model, and years of the various trucks used." Do you still have that post. And if you do would you be kind enough to repost it with any additional information or commentary you might like to add? I would like to have that list so I could file it in my main Brokeback file for future reference and also I'd also like to print it out and have it as a sort of appendix for the Published Screen Play.

As I've already mentioned, I know almost nothing about automobiles and license plates as I've never owned a car and never learned how to drive one. For instance, when Ennis tells Jack how he had to quit high school because "the transmission went on the pickup" I've no real idea what he's talking about except for generally understanding that with the transmission no longer functioning, he couldn't drive the truck. In addition, I've always assumed that getting the transmission repaired was probably quite a big job and out of Ennis's financial reach.

So, with that in mind, tell me about license plates. Does a US driver have to get relicensed every year or can a license run for a longer period? I assume licenses are issued throughout the year and not only on one date, like Jan 1, no? I ask because you say that in the "argument" scene the license plate is for 1970 but the PSP places the scene in 1971. I assume that would be possible if Ennis's 1970 license plate had still some time to run before expiring in 1971. Is that how things work?

Chowhound the Automobile Simpleton.


 

[jackster]

Oh boy CH, this is gonna' be FUN!
I'll start with the easiest one, 'cause I'm kinda' short on time right now:

So, with that in mind, tell me about license plates. Does a US driver have to get re-licensed every year or can a license run for a longer period? I assume licenses are issued throughout the year and not only on one date, like Jan 1, no? I ask because you say that in the "argument" scene the license plate is for 1970 but the PSP places the scene in 1971. I assume that would be possible if Ennis's 1970 license plate had still some time to run before expiring in 1971. Is that how things work?

In the US all vehicular licensing laws are rights held by the various states, the Federal gov't has virtually no authority in this area. So there is a significant amount of variation amongst the 50 "united" states. PLATES: The various states decide how, when, and by what method to license the vehicles in that state. Typically the owner of a vehicle is required to renew the vehicle registration every year or in some cases every other year. Some states used to issue a new display plate with the new registration every year. This way a law officer could not only ID a particular car by the plate number, but also make sure it was legally registered that year depending on the color of the plate. It is also easy to ID out of state plates. Some states (California for example) didn't issue NEW plates every year, but just re-registered the same plate over and over, and the same plate stayed with the car. This has become the norm in the past 20 years or so in most, if not all, states. In my state, Ohio it used to be the case that indeed the new license plates were issued at the beginning of the new year and by April 1st (I think) everyone needed to display their new plates. Now you just get a little sticker to affix to the same plate. Of course this meant that every year you had a new plate number, which was challenging. It was possible to get the same number over and over every year, but you needed to request it in writing at the local bureau. In cold areas of the country it was impractical to expect folks to go out and change the plate in the snow and ice, so you're right about Ennis's 1970 plate, he had a while in 1971 before it needed to be replaced.

Now this registration is for the vehicle. Drivers licenses (for the humans) are an entirely different matter, but like the vehicles are the purview of the states.

Some early Ohio license plates:


Wyoming - some add'l info for interest - The "buckin' bronco" on the WYO plate was introduced in 1936 and was a real horse name "Steamboat", you can learn more about 'em at:
http://www.alpca.org/faq/bronco/
As mentioned, the first 1 or 2 numbers on the WYO plates identify the county. The numbers reflect the ranking of the county in terms of real wealth I believe. This ranking was done in the 30's I believe and the numbers have stayed the same since. So "9" has always been Big Horn County, "10" has always been Fremont County (Riverton), etc. So for a movie like this, set in Wyoming and spanning several years and using vehicles like this, it was like deciphering a code book to ID the locale and years. 

I'll work on the rest of your Q's soon.
 

 

[jackster]

the "truckin" topic:  http://www.ennisjack.com/forum/index.php?topic=7642.30

my truck post from Nov 2006 with later corrections:

OK, since you ask, . . . trucks used by the boys, numbered in order of screen appearance. Model years are as close as I can do without gettin' a bunch a old books out:
#1 - Jack's black '50 GMC, opening scene, etc.
#2 - Ennis's '57 GMC (you see a lot of still pictures posed with this one).
Jack returns to Signal in his '50 GMC.
Jack goes rodeoin' in his '50 GMC, meets Lureen.
Ennis goes to grocery with the girls in his '57 GMC.
Ennis comes home to Alma & Jack's postcard in his '57 GMC.
Ennis goes to post office "you bet" in his '57 GMC.
#3 - Jacks red & white '66 Ford F-100, redlines it to see Ennis in 1967.
The boys go "fishin" in the red & white '66 Ford.
#4 - Ennis now has a turquoise & white '66 Ford F-100, he goes camping & meets Jack
 who now has:
#5 Jacks blue, late 60s or possibly early '70s Ford F-100 with a camper cap (over the bed).
In the post-divorce reunion scene they're both still drivin' the same rigs.
In the Thanksgiving rush-out scene / Black & Blue Eagle bar fight scene Ennis's still driving his '66 Ford.
#6 Jacks brown & white late 70s GMC "dually" they're called duallys 'cause of the dual rear wheels. Last truck we see Jack with.
Ennis at PO with "deceased" post card and at Jack's folks at Lighting Flat is still driving his '66 Ford (#4) which by now, 1982, would be 16 years old.

'Course this is just an outline.
There are a lot of other trucks that appear (like Jacks father's), but these are the significant ones. For those of you not from the USofA, GMC (or Jimmy's in the vernacular) is a basically a "re-badged" Chevy sold by other General Motors dealers.

Curiosity: Jack gets a GMC, then Ennis gets a GMC; Jack gets a Ford, then Ennis gets a Ford.

Also, someone ask 'bout the "bars" on Jack's last truck windows. Them ain't bars, the back window on those trucks slide open, so what you see are the section dividers of the window. Same on the side windows, the "extended cab" pickups used a similar door stamping for the rear door as the front. Since a full sized window wouldn't fit down inside the door they needed to make the moving glass section a bit smaller, hence the divider.

Sorry if this is a bit long, but you did ask . . . it's not just a car, it's a truck.

[lancecowboy]

  Jackster. Sure am glad we got you to interpret the language of trucks and license plates. It opens a whole new dimension of the painstaking detail that Ang Lee and his team devoted to authenticity when making Brokeback Mountain.  The movie is just more amazing with each passing year. It is a classic. For sure.

[jackster]

For no particular reason, but thought you guys would find it amusing. A WYO vanity plate that was for sale on ebay:

There's a contest in Wyo every year where the contestants get one shot to prove their shooting skill. Of course, for sum a' us this has an entirely different meaning. Unfortunately it was pretty rare so prices went sky high, but woulda' been great to put on my old Ford pickup.