Miller's Crossing

Once Joel and Ethan Coen decided to do a gangster movie, it was inevitable that the "Thompson-Jitterbug" would find its way onscreen. The Coens are known for infusing their intricately plotted screenplays with macabre twists. Miller's Crossing does not abandon the tradition. Quite slmply, the "Thompson Jitterbug" refers to the gruesome dance performed involuntarily by a hood who's being riddled with bullets while his dead fingers continue to squeeze the trigger of a Thompson machine gun, jerking him up and down as the bullets tear apart the room. In one of the 22 quick cuts In this jitterbug, we see him shoot his toes off.