Red Dead Redemption 2 is a beautiful illustration of the wild west that features many identical scenes and events with the classic reels from Hollywood.
It is always exciting for gamers to see easter eggs or a Deja vu in their favorite games. A similar concept of entertaining content is featured in RDR2, one of the greatest series of all time that looks at classic western movies.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is heavily inspired by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a true classic western spaghetti featuring outlaws running for their crimes.
Now, it’s not surprising to see references and easter eggs when it comes to Rockstar. In this article, we will present a series of 10 events borrowed by Red Dead Redemption 2 from western movies.
10 Reference of Western Movies in Red Dead Redemption 2
Even though Rockstar is making fans impatient with Red Dead Redemption 3 and Grand Theft Auto VI, they have added many references and easter eggs in their games to keep their players entertained.
The references and events discussed below are direct and obvious remakes of classic movies if you compare them shot-by-shot. Besides scenes, you may find dialogues or the idea for the storyline of Red Dead Redemption 2.
1. Butch Cassidy And Sundance Kid
The first one on our list is Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, a western classic that hugely influences the main storyline of Red Dead Redemption 2. The main plot of RDR2 is where Arthur and his group of outlaws run away from the law’s long hands after committing various crimes.
The starting train robbery scene is similar to one in Butch Cassidy, where Dutch and his gang members jump off a cliff, falling into a river. This scene is identical to the movie based on the same concept. Even more than that, you can find Clint Eastwood’s outfit in Red Dead Online.
2. The Assassination Of Jesse James
The legend of Jesse James is of the most famous names in the wild western movies. The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford was first seen on screens in 2007. The movie features a robbery scene, where a gang of robbers hide in the nearby trees and get lit up by the passing train.
Rockstar Games got the inspiration from this scene to make the train robbery mission a cinematic masterpiece. The mission involves Arthur and a group of outlaws hiding in the trees, getting ready to rob a train and its riders. It also has relevance from the scene in which Arthur stands on the barricade while the train slowly approaches him.
3. Back to The Future Part 3
The famous sci-fi movie from the ’80s has a classic part to play in Red Dead Redemption 2 in a wild western style. The movie’s plot is set in the old wild west, probably the same era as RDR2. However, if you go near Roanoke Ridge in New Hanover, you’ll find many burnt-out trees damaged due to lightning.
As they say, lightning never strikes twice. But it always hits the same spot at ten on the clock exactly. This could be a glitch in the game, but it references Back to The Future 3. In the movie, lightning hits a clock tower at 10:04 pm, indicating that the clock gets stuck and the time stops.
4. A Fist Full of Dollars
This movie is a classic from 1964, which features a character, ‘The Man with No Name,’ who plays a part on both sides of a feud between the Rojo Brothers and the Baxter, two families of San Miguel.
Rockstar took the whole plot of this movie for the third chapter in Red Dead Redemption 2, where Dutch and his gang try to play on both sides of a feud between the Braithwaites and the Grays families.
Even more than that, one of the family members of Baxter’s family is the town sheriff. There is the same concept in RDR2, where Leigh Gray plays the same part as a Rhodes family member and a town sheriff.
5. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
If you are a fan of striking dialogues and wild western action, you might have seen The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. This movie is directly referenced in Red Dead Redemption 2, where Clint Eastwood saves Tuco from being hung by shooting the rope.
Hosea shares an interesting story in RDR2, discussing his near-death experience when he was about to get hung. He said that a stranger appeared out of nowhere and saved him from death by shooting the rope, which is identical to the events in the movie.
6. The Wild Bunch
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a classic adaptation of one of the most famous western movies. The Wild Bunch was seen on the screen in 1969, which has an identical storyline of outlaws getting outplayed. The movie shows a gang of cowboys striving for survival with the growing civilization of the time.
Dutch van der Linder, the main character of The Wild Bunch, gets in conflict with the U.S. Army. In addition, it also discussed that Dutch van der Linder is named after the Dutch Engstrom of Ernest Borgnine.
7. Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino is famous for offering legit scenes on the reel with gruesome action and controversial dialogues. One of his most famous movies is Django Unchained, which features killing a bunch of KKK members by trapping and killing them with a well-plotted explosion.
The same KKK ritual is encountered at various spots in Red Dead Redemption 2. It is your choice to encounter and kill the whole gang of KKK, which is more like a side quest. Like killing a bunch of racist white supremacists, the seen has the same concept of fooling and killing villains like Quentin Tarantino’s tradition.
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This movie indicates another concept of KKK members, with a humorous blend of western comedy and adventure. Red Dead Redemption 2 references a scene from the classic movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? Bwhere the KKK cult accidentally kill themselves during a ritual while putting a cross on fire.
If you come across one of the KKK clan sides quests in Red Dead Redemption 2, wait and watch closely instead of encountering the quest. You’ll witness the same accident happening when one of the KKK members burns himself while flaming a cross in a ritual.
9. There Will Be Blood
This movie may not indicate a direct reference, but one of the movie’s main characters has an identical resemblance to a Red Dead Redemption protagonist. Daniel Plainview of There Will Be Blood portrays as a strong businessperson who has made his fortune from the oil business.
Daniel’s character has a resemblance with Leviticus Cornwall’s concept in RDR2. Both movie and the game share the plot portraying the rise of capitalism and the beginning of modern civilization. Even the burning tower scene from a mission in RDR2 is similar to that in There Will Be Blood.
10. Open Range
Last but not least, the reference is not related to a storyline or a side quest. Instead, Rockstar took the whole spot by presenting complete landmarks as Valentine’s frontier town. The town of Harmonville from Open Range is similarly modeled to Valentine in Red Dead Redemption two.
People visit Valentine’s woody shopfronts and muddy streets in RDR2 for supplies. Just like Valentine, the town of Harmonville was also destroyed due to a heavy shootout in the final scenes of Open Range.
Conclusion
Modern-day video games focus on presenting quality content based on story modes that keep their audience engaged. The action-packed Red Dead Redemption 2 gives a touch of classic western spaghetti movies with complete control to explore around so the gamers can experience the action themselves.
