This proved to be a Quentin Tarantynecastle production. There was plenty of action, a large dollop of blood and a surfeit of gratuitous violence. There were also outbreaks of mannered dialogue that, mercifully, were not heard by the audience. And it was all filmed through a prism of yellow as seven cards were dealt out.

The action was crude, if entertaining. The chat was wearily tedious if occasionally illuminating. But first to the action sequences.

The simplicity of Hearts' approach is simply described. They dropped off when Rangers had the ball and launched missiles forward to the bulky, impressive Christian Nade when they had it.

The result was that the game was decided in the opening half hour as Rangers' defence displayed a desperate fragility. Carlos Cuellar's missed header led to Andrew Driver's fine dive inside Allan McGregor's left-hand post. Failure to clear from a set-piece was punished by Ibrahim Tall's deflected drive looping into the net.

When a revamped Rangers threatened to get into the game after the break, Alan Hutton conceded a penalty that was so stonewall he could almost have been put up against it and shot. And don't think the idea did not cross Walter Smith's mind.

McGregor's failure to stop a drive by Kestutis Ivaskevicius merely completed the involvement of the entire defence in a poor afternoon for Rangers.

Hearts were robust with their only concession to subtlety being the employment of the clever Audrius Ksanavicius off Nade. Both could prosper in the league this season. They were the cutting edge of a side that bludgeoned Rangers to perdition.

The home defence, with Christophe Berra outstanding, saw off Kris Boyd who retired hurt with a head injury that required stitches. Daniel Cousin converted a penalty after captain Barry Ferguson was brought on to replace the anonymous Amdy Faye.

However, Cousin and Jean-Claude Darcheville, who appeared after half-time, only occasionally discomfited the home defence.

So much for the action.

Now for the dialogue. There were moments in this match where one suspected that Mike McCurry, the referee, was auditioning for the role as a replacement for the retiring Michael Parkinson.

He was correct in his two penalty decisions but poor in his general handling of the game. His row with David Weir, for example, lasted 90 minutes plus time added on. His booking of Kevin Thomson was preceded by a stand-off worthy of Sergio Leone and followed by a dialogue that lasted longer than some relationships. There was confusion over whether McCurry was cautioning the player or rather entering into a civil partnership.

There was also the sight of Steven Frail and Ally McCoist exchanging heated banter on the touchline before their double act was terminated by McCurry's quiet heckling.

The most important words, of course, were uttered by Smith before and after the match. His team selection prompted a buzz of excited chatter before the match, yet the Rangers manager had surely prepared everyone for this eventuality by both his comments at his Friday press conference and his actions in the season so far.

Smith is adamant that he will have to rest players. There can be no argument with this stance. Rangers may only have one free midweek between now and January 5. Smith has to employ the peripheral members of his squad.

A section of the Rangers support was left seething, however, at the omission of Ferguson - although Lee McCulloch might have been the bigger miss given his power and his heading ability.

Smith said post-match that leaving Ferguson on the bench was his decision and added that "that game wasn't exactly a midfielder's playground".

The match against Stuttgart on Wednesday will suit Ferguson's talents more, but many fans see the Champions League as a delightful distraction to the necessity of winning the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

This point of view is not lost on Smith. However, he will face many such decisions as a frenetic winter schedule takes its demands. His immediate worry is over his defence. He must hope that the assault by Hearts has not left too many wounds.

Nade, a big striker with nimble feet, caused too many problems for a striker who could not get a game at Sheffield United. Rangers, too, never fully came to grips with the deployment of Ksanavicius in the hole. The Lithuanian enjoyed a measure of revenge a week after his national side succumbed at Hampden.

Rangers will now face an entirely different set of circumstances on Wednesday. Their early season invincibility has been shattered, but the confidence of such as Boyd seems untouched. "We'll be ready for Wednesday night," the striker said with an iron certainty.

"We have a chance to rectify things and there is no bigger platform than the Champions League to do it. Today was not acceptable."

It was more palatable for Frail, the Hearts coach, who claimed that the row over the dive by Saulius Mikoliunas at Hampden had drawn the squad together.

It certainly produced a blockbuster, action movie. Mikoliunas, suffering from a hamstring injury, missed out at Tarantynecastle on Saturday. He may be consoled by his Oscar-winning performance the previous week.

12:29am today

By HUGH MacDONALD, Chief Sportswriter

Taken from the Herald