Identify a subtlety in a movie that only you noticed

[XingTheRubicon]

Movie: Sideways

Scene: Giamatti (the depressed writer character) was listening to a rant from the blonde chick, and she was describing her passion for a specific bottle of wine. How it would taste different if it were opened on any other day and if it rained the day the grapes were picked and so on...

The subtlety: As she's continuing her perfect dialouge, the camera cuts to Giamatti. For about 10 seconds, it just shows his face while she continues. His expression, with no words, goes from admiration to awe and deep interest then to realizing that he's a depressed POS and even though she's perfect for him, he's not deserving of her or any kind of joy.

Absolutely masterful.

[Octavian]

Movie: Empire Strikes Back

Scene: Carbon Freezing Chamber on Cloud City. Chewbacca (w/ a dismembered C-3PO on his back) starts tossing stormtroopers aside like children as they're trying to lower Solo into the freezer.

Subtletly: As Bobba Fett raises his blaster to fire at Chewie, Vader shoves Fett's arms back down and glares at him. Though not a big deal at the time, in the prequels we see that 3PO is actually built by Anakin. It could be inferred that Vader didn't want to see his creation destroyed while on Cloud City.

This isn't masterful at all though cause Lucas probably wasn't clever enough to string that together, with most of his time and energy going toward new ways of marketing millions of new toys. And I'm sure I wasn't the first to notice it...

So really, I got nuthin.

[badger]

this was pointed out on a web site, but i'll share it with you because it was like... wha???
http://clarkkentno.ytmnd.com/
Also, there are few famous Disney mishaps:

1- In The Lion King, Simba is on a cliff, frustrated in lion angst. He brushes against some sand, that goes up into the sky. And it spells...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1f/Lionkg2.jpg

2- On The Little Mermaid cover art, an artist was apparently angry that he was going to be let go, so he... heh... drew a penis into the golden castle! You can see it here, but this is something you have to actually look for in order to notice:
http://www.fpx.de/fp/Disney/Posters/little_mermaid_89_style_b.jpg

3- A rumor circulated in late 2001 that during Aladdin's balcony scene he says, "Take off your clothes." He is talking to Raja at the time, and his exact words are, "Nice kitty, take off and go, go on." This has been cut in the DVD version.

4- During post-production, a topless woman can be seen in the background during "The Rescurers." Disney recalled the film to take it out. Because the picture is larger, here is a link:
http://67.19.222.106/disney/graphics/resc2.jpg

[Partial Qualifier]

Okay I noticed all of those subtleties. Sorry

:D

[Hatfield]

did clark kent really grab lois lane's gina? that's hawt

[Hatfield]

and what does the sand in the sky spell....my old eyes can't decipher sandscript

[OhU1]

Movie: Full Metal Jacket

Scene: Hartman crossing the room to find out "Who's the slimy little communist ****, twinkle-toed ********** down here who just signed his own death warrant? Nobody, huh? The fairy ****ing godmother said it?"

Subtletly: Some of the marines were lined up in a different order than when Hartman had circled the room previously.

Subtletly #2: Hartman cussed a lot.

[the_ouskull]

Movie: Dazed and Confused

There's really too many to name, but my favorite two, and the funniest two, in my opinion, are:

1) During the scene at the party at the Moon Tower, when Mitch's sister is getting on to him about being out so late, and he says, talking about their mom, "just don't tell her to take it easy on me," there is a drunk, DRUNK guy in the background. He is walking, and first slams into a tree, then keeps stumbling all the way across the shot, left to right.

2) During the scene where Slater is going on and on about Martha Washington and the back of a dollar bill, there is a guy passing out up against the front right tire of the car in the background. Later in the scene, you can see people come up to him like they're either checking up on him or making fun of him.

the_ouskull

[King Crimson]

in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation in a off-hand landscape shot when Scarlett Johanson is going to a Buddhist temple outside Tokyo, she shoots the exact same camera landscape shot that is the pivotal scene in Kurosawa's crime film noir "High and Low".

a nice tribute.

[Mjcpr]

In Planet of the Apes toward the end when Charlton Heston uncovers an old statue.....that is the Statue of Liberty from New York City.

I noticed that right off.

[mdklatt]

There's one scene in Basic Instinct where can you totally see Sharon Stone's cooter.

[Howzit]

You could see Shelly Winters underpanties when she was swimming underwater in the original Poseidon Adventure.

[XingTheRubicon]

Movie: Trees Lounge

Scene: Buscemi's charachter Tommy in the final scene, is sitting at the bar in the chair reserved for the old alcoholic that was drinking himself to death. The old man was sick and in bed, and Tommy, the 30 year old with no life found himself in his chair.

Subtlety: This great movie goes 90 minutes before Tommy reveals one ounce of personal responsibility for what his slacker life has become. As he sits on that barstool, he silently realizes that this is where he is headed. If he doesn't grow up, he's going to die on that barstool, alone.


This was Steve Buscemi's directorial debut and it was sort of about his life and filmed in his home town. One of my favorites.
http://www.indieking.com/treeslounge.html

[White House Boy]

There's one scene in Basic Instinct where can you totally see Sharon Stone's cooter.


GET OUT!!!

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

Movie: Napoleon Dynamite

Scene: Deb's on the pay phone telling Nappy D that he can take those boobie pills himself 'if he's so worried about it' and you can see a reflection of a crew member moving around in the shiny chrome-ish part of the pay phone.

[Dio]

Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father!

[Frozen Sooner]

In Strange Brew, the story is a loose retelling of Hamlet from the point of view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

In X-Men 3, two of the guys watering their yards when child Jean goes nutty are Stan Lee (everyone noticed that) and Chris Claremont (who wrote X-Men for a LONG time, and almost nobody noticed him.)

[White House Boy]

Strange Brew.

Now there is one underappreciated masterful comedy.

[Phil]

"That was no goal, eh - he was in the crease!"

[Osce0la]

10 Things I Hate About You (I'll get blasted for that one - sorry, I love Julia Stiles)

In the scene where she backs into the guys car, you can see the reflection of his car in one of the windows, waiting for his cue to pull up for the scene.

Also, when that other guy wrecks his bike trying to leave the parking lot you can see the ramp he has to go up to get onto the sidewalk (that one is pretty obvious).

[colleyvillesooner]

If I didn't have puke breath, I'd kiss you.

[crawfish]

No point in steering now.

[Osce0la]

Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father!
Dr. Evil is Austin Powers' brother

[Osce0la]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

In the scene where Will delivers the sword to Governor Swann, watch the clock on the wall. When Will is waiting, the time is 09:45am. When Gov. Swann enters the room, the time is 09:40am

[Osce0la]

National Treasure

In the scene on the ship "Charlotte," the main characters find a pipe with a clue etched on the handle. The clue mentions the number 55 which Ben figures out to be the number of men that signed the Declaration of Independence. There are actually 56 signatures on it.

[colleyvillesooner]

This thread is headed in the wrong direction. Now we're just pointing out movie gaffes.

[mdklatt]

This thread is headed in the wrong direction.

Italian Chandelier

[Osce0la]

Italian Chandelier
Italian leather sofa?




She's got a silk dress and healthy breasts that bounce...on his Italian Leather Soooofaaaaa...

[mdklatt]

Italian leather sofa?

I've never heard of that maneuver.

[Mjcpr]

This thread is headed in the wrong direction. Now we're just pointing out movie gaffes.

I don't know any gaffers, but I've seen a couple of key grips in the credits.

[Partial Qualifier]

Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

When Ferris' sister is sitting in the police station talking to Charlie Sheen (Are you in here for drugs?/NO, what are you in here for?/Drugs!)

Every time the camera shows Charlie (bout 7 or 8 times), his hair is messed up differently.
I always noticed that and wondered if they did it on purpose.. it made me laugh, anyway.

[Mjcpr]

Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

When Ferris' sister is sitting in the police station talking to Charlie Sheen (Are you in here for drugs?/NO, what are you in here for?/Drugs!)

Every time the camera shows Charlie (bout 7 or 8 times), his hair is messed up differently.
I always noticed that and wondered if they did it on purpose.. it made me laugh, anyway.

Sorry, I'm afraid that's a gaffe and not a subtlety. CVS has already ruled on this issue.

[crawfish]

I don't know any gaffers, but I've seen a couple of key grips in the credits.

Hey, Bob...gaff for us.

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

When Ferris' sister is sitting in the police station talking to Charlie Sheen (Are you in here for drugs?/NO, what are you in here for?/Drugs!)

Every time the camera shows Charlie (bout 7 or 8 times), his hair is messed up differently.
I always noticed that and wondered if they did it on purpose.. it made me laugh, anyway.

Why don't you put your thumb up your butt?

[mdklatt]

Sorry, I'm afraid that's a gaffe and not a subtlety.

Not if it was done on purpose.

[Mjcpr]

Not if it was done on purpose.

Hmmm....we probably need to contact one of the directors then.

[Partial Qualifier]

Okay, you know what? Forget I even mentioned it :mad:

[Vaevictis]

In the original movie release, Han Solo shot first.

... but later on, when Lucas re-re-re-re-re-re-rereleased it, HE HAD CHANGED IT SO GREEDO SHOT FIRST!

[toast]

The Matrix trilogy was two movies too long.

[yermom]

i was watching 50 First Dates the other day and noticed that the memory-loss hospital is funded by Callahan Auto from Tommy Boy

[toast]

In the movie Twins, Danny DeVito and Arnold really don't look like each other.

[GDC]

That was Marsellus' gun on the counter, not Vince's.

The first time I saw Pulp Fiction, someone walking out afterward asked how Travolta's character came back to life.:rolleyes:

[GDC]

In The Matador, the tree falling through the kitchen ceiling is an ominous portent of danger and change, reminicent of the boulder at the beginning of Sexy Beast.

[Howzit]

I'm serious. You can totally see Shelly Winter's underpanties. Go rent it if you don't believe me.

[OUstud]

In Dumb and Dumber, when they escape out of their back window to avoid the "Gas Men", there's a shot of them running around the corner. In the background, an old man is taking a leak on the wall.

[I_SMELL_FEAR]

Movies: MADE and STARSKY and HUTCH

In MADE, Vince Vaughn throws a drink on the bellboy after he says he cant upgrade his room, that they are all the same rooms.

In Starsky and Hutch he throws his drink on a guy that he is having an argument with in the pool.

I dont remember him throwing a drink on anyone in Wedding Crashers, but it would have been nice if he did...

[Widescreen]

Movie: Cars

Lightning is up on the sponsor's podium getting ready to talk to a bunch of local idiots and one of the characters in the back yells "Freebird!!!!"

Best line in the movie.

[GDC]

I couldn't believe how many people didn't get the Cadillac Ranch rock formations.

[SOONER44EVER]

Top Gun:

If you look really closely you can tell Tom Cruise is gay. Its subtle but its there. :D

[VeeJay]

Something About Mary - Matt Dillon's private eye character, trying to dissuade Ben Stiller's character from pursuing Mary any further, tells him unbelieveable tale after unbelieveable tale. It all sounded rehearsed, but it was a great acting performance by Dillon, because it was so cheesy.

[badger]

Star Wars "easter eggs" from most-recent "Episode III" include:

1- When Palpatine reminds Anakin of the sand people, you can hear that sand people laugh in the background.

2- After "another happy landing," you see spaceships coming into port... including the Millenium Falcon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

3- The actors behind beloved, well-liked characters such as Jar Jar Binks and C-3PO appear in the movie, I belive right before Palpatine and Anakin watch that weird show together (the whole darth plague the wise thingy). You can also see producer McCallum and George Lucas with his daughter (blue skin, eh?) right before he enters the emperor's skybox... or whatever that area is called.

but... you'd much rather have star wars be made fun of than heard about, right? Here is a clip that cannot be missed:
Linky (http://www.starterupsteve.com/video/Conan-Triumph-Star-Wars.html)

[GDC]

No matter how many times I watchThe Usual Suspects, I feel like I'm still missing something. I think it has to do with the lingering shots of the pile of ropes and equipment on the ship at the beginning and end of the movie.

[Frozen Sooner]

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the movie actually sucks balls.

[Vaevictis]

2- After "another happy landing," you see spaceships coming into port... including the Millenium Falcon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Is it really the Millenium Falcon, or is it just a YT-1300 that looks like the Millenium Falcon? :)

[Soonerpsycho]

I posted this before, but I noticed some OU graffiti in "Escape from New York."

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/9646/escapefromny6jn.jpg

[49r]

Courtsey imdb.com


Trivia for
Coming to America (1988)

Eddie Murphy was ordered by a court to give 19% of his earnings to co-writer Art Buchwald because Murphy did not give Buchwald credit for developing the story with him.

Airport scenes in Into the Night (1985/I) and Coming to America (1988) have a call over the PA system for a "Mr. Frank Oznowicz" to pick up the white courtesy phone. This is Frank Oz's real name.

The bums that pick up the money that Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) drops are the "Duke Brothers" (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) from Trading Places (1983) (also directed by John Landis). In that movie, Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy) was responsible for The Dukes losing their fortune.

The predatory woman in the bar was played by Arsenio Hall.

All characters in the barber shop (including the Caucasians) are played by Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Clint Smith, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Director Trademark: [John Landis] [SYNW] on a movie poster in the subway station (the movie claims to star Jamie Lee Curtis, who appeared in Landis' Trading Places (1983)). Another poster is visible in Ophelia's apartment.

When King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) meets Lisa's father in the restaurant, he warns him to keep his presence secret from Akeem. As King Joffer leaves the restaurant, he says, "Do not alert him to my presence. I'll deal with him myself," similar to lines Jones delivered as Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

The IND Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Brooklyn was used for the scenes at Sutphin Blvd.

Most of the dance that's performed by the royal dancers before presenting Prince Akeem's queen-to-be is a high-tempo rendition of the dance from Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) (V) (also directed by John Landis).

The barbers call Akeem "Kunta Kinte", a reference to "Roots" (1977) (mini). John Amos, who plays Cleo McDowell (Lisa's father), played the adult Kunta Kinte in Roots. Madge Sinclair (Queen Aoleon), played Kunta Kinte's wife and James Earl Jones (King Jaffe Joffer) played Alex Haley Jr. in "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) (mini).

Director Trademark: [John Landis] [look to camera] When Patricia tells Daryl he needs to take off his wet clothes after he tells her that Lisa dumped him, he looks directly into the camera.

The "McDowell's" restaurant was actually a Wendy's on Queens Blvd. that was scheduled to be closed for a complete renovation. Although the production had approval from McDonald's corporate headquarters, they apparently didn't pass the word down to their local outlets. On the day the "McDowell's" sign was erected, the manager of the McDonald's 1/2 mile further up the road arrived with his lawyer and proceeded to take photographs while telling the set dressing crew they were going to be sued for everything they were worth.

The name of the fictional African country the main characters are from is called "Zamunda". This name was taken from a Richard Pryor routine where he referred to a fictional African tribe of the same name.

LOGO GIMMICK: After the stars circle around the Paramount mountain and "Paramount" and "A Gulf+Western Company" appear, the sky becomes sunnier (pink to yellow) and the camera zooms in over the mountain summit. We then see a valley/terrain and the opening credits begin.

During the McDowell party, they show a painting on the wall of a woman. This is a spoof on Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere".

Director Cameo: [John Landis] to the right of Arsenio Hall (Reverend Brown) and Shari Headley, listening to Brown's non-stop preaching during the McDowell party.

[49r]

Courtesy imdb.com


Trivia for
Trading Places (1983)

The punch line of Bunny's story ("...and she stepped on the ball") is a reference to Auntie Mame (1958), in which Gloria Upson tells a joke with the same punch line.

While she was making this picture, Jamie Lee Curtis stayed in Marlene Dietrich's apartment (12E) at 993 Park Avenue in Manhattan. She'd been engaged to Dietrich's grandson, production designer J. Michael Riva.

The story about the Duke's cornering of the orange juice market was probably inspired by the "Silver Thursday" market crash of 27 March 1980: where the Hunt brothers of Texas tried to corner the silver market and subsequently failed to meet a $100 million margin call.

The character Clarence Beeks shares his name with a jazz musician who recorded under the name "King Pleasure."

The exterior shots of Louis Winthorpe's house, is a real house on a very affluent street in Philadelphia. The wreath on the door was replaced when the producers wanted something bigger and better. They borrowed a hand-made wreath from a house across the street.

Richard Pryor was originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine.

Ray Milland was the first choice for the role of Mortimer Duke.

The main titles are accompanied by the overture to "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and in an early scene, as Louis is leaving his office he whistles the beginning of the aria "Se vuol ballare" from the opera. In that aria, Figaro declares his plan to turn the tables on his master - just as Louis and Billy Ray will eventually outwit the Duke brothers.

The exterior of the men's club is really the Curtis Institute of Music.

The film was conceived as a vehicle for Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. But when Pryor dropped out and Eddie Murphy came on board, he made a motion to get Wilder replaced because he didn't want people to think he was just trying to be another Pryor.

The original title: "Black and White".

G. Gordon Liddy was offered the part of Clarence Beeks but turned it down after discovering Beeks's fate. Beeks is reading Liddy's book, "Will", on the train. Maurice Copeland who plays the Secretary of Agriculture also played Attorney General John Mitchell in the television movie Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy (1982) (TV).

When Valentine chases Winthorpe out of the Christmas party he grabs a man in a Santa Claus suit. This man is Mike Strug, a television reporter who still works for a network affiliate in the city of Philadelphia.

There was a scene in the movie that was not included in the final cut, but can only be seen when the movie is shown on television (presumably to fill a longer time slot with commercials). This "TV-only" scene occurs after Clarence Beeks talks to the Dukes via telephone and Billy Ray eavesdrops on their scheme. In the original cut, he goes from the phone booth to the Amtrak train platform, holding the briefcase with the crop report. Yet in this added scene, we see Beeks go and procure the reports from a secured vault where he pays off a security guard and opens a safe-deposit box.

Director Trademark: [John Landis] [look to camera] When the Duke brothers talk down to Billy Ray Valentine about commodities, he looks directly into the camera as if saying, "These guys must think I'm a complete idiot."

In the scene when Louis visits the club to borrow money, the actress who plays "Muffy" is Kelly Curtis, the sister of Jamie Lee Curtis.

Don Ameche's strong religious convictions made him uncomfortable with swearing. This proved a problem for the scene at the end of the movie where he had to shout out "**** him!" to a group of Wall Street executives. When he did act out the scene, it had to be done in one take because Ameche refused to do a second one.

Director Trademark: [John Landis] [SYNW] on a poster in the apartment.

The premise is similar to that of Hoi Polloi (1935), The Three Stooges film. Two rich guys are arguing about what matters most: breeding or upbringing. One bets the other they can take any bum off the street and make him a gentleman.

Frank Oz plays a role practically identical to his role in The Blues Brothers (1980), also by John Landis.

In the opening montage of Philadelphia there is a shot of the statue erected in Rocky III (1982) that was released the previous year.

The electronic status board at Duke & Duke's (seen prominently in the Christmas scene) is the "Big Money" board from "Family Feud" (1976).

Randolph and Mortimer Duke later appear in Eddie Murphy's movie Coming to America (1988), where, in a cameo appearance the two are homeless on the street and Prince Akeem gives them a a large amount of money to get them back off the streets.

Louis's (Dan Aykroyd) prison number is 7474505B, which is the same prison number as Jake (John Belushi) in The Blues Brothers (1980), also directed by John Landis and starring Aykroyd).

The home used in the film is not the Rosenbach Museum and Library, but is a private home two doors west. Both houses, however, were built at the same time and originally had an identical floor plan. During the filming of the movie, DeLancey Place was closed for a few days. Denholm Elliott was the only actor in the film to visit the Rosenbach. The staff of the museum were all given Pennsylvania State Film Commission tee shirts.

Cameo: [George Folsey Jr.] The Executive Producer appears as first man to greet Winthorpe at Duke & Duke. (Dan Aykroyd refers to him by his real name as well with the line "Morning Folsey".)

When Eddie Murphy is released from jail, he stands near three men in trench coats on the steps of the precinct. The man with his back to Murphy holding a briefcase is director John Landis.

[colleyvillesooner]

Is it really the Millenium Falcon, or is it just a YT-1300 that looks like the Millenium Falcon? :)

http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/misc/pictures/nerds.jpg

[Boffingham]

My brother and I said that drowning in beer would be like heaven. Now he's not here, and I got two soakers. This isn't heaven, this sucks.

[picasso]

Spike Lee takes a dig at Mickey Mantle in 25th Hour.
that and Summer of Sam ruined me on that brother.

Tin Cup was a direct result of an old Sports Illustrated article written in the 60's and re-published in the early 90's. I'd love to find that story again. It's about a group of fellas who played golf in the Fort Worth area in the mid 40's.