Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: In the scene where Christof touches the large green screen on which Truman is shown sleeping, what is the name of the piece of music that is played by the man on the keyboard to the left of Christof?

Answer: It's just a piece from the soundtrack. I think it's called "Truman Sleeps".

David Mercier

Question: Maybe I need to read the book, but can someone explain the whole ending sequence to me. Why all the flashy over dramatized pictures? It's artistic but is there some other meaning to it?

iceverything776

Chosen answer: All the flashing images are supposed to represent Bowman travelling past far and distant galaxies, this is what happens in the book, where he travels to that white house place.

troy fox

Answer: At the end, in the Arthur C. Clarke's story, both Dave Bowman and Frank Poole (who survived) went to a moon of Saturn to investigate the second Monolith. Dave Bowman tried to touch the Monolith with his space pod and was sucked into a wormhole that transported him to a star on the other side of the universe - at which point, Dave's last transmission is "My God, it's full of stars!" All of the "slit-scan" visual effects by Doug Trumbull (based on effects created by John Whitney years earlier) represent an almost instant voyage to the other side of the universe. Whether this is supposed to be a quantum-jump is not explained, but it's millions of times faster than anything ever depicted in Star Trek or other space fantasy knockoffs.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: What was the deal with all the horses drowning? Was it just because Samara was evil and she was causing it? What about the horse Rachel sees on the ship that freaks out? Is it scared of Rachel because she's been "infected" by the tape? She's already showed the tape to Noah, so she should be okay at that point, right?

Krista

Chosen answer: When Samara was sent to sleep in the barn the horses kept her up at night. Therefore they have ended being negatively affected by her and the video.

wolfchild

Answer: After Samara was released from Eola, she returned to the Morgan's house but was sent to sleep in the barn because Richard wanted to keep her as far as humanly possible from Anna who was suffering from horrible hallucinations caused by her. Since the horses kept her up at night, she drove them to suicide, but she had also told her doctor that her daddy loved the horses not her, so she probably drove them crazy out of childish jealousy as well. As for Rachel, she was affected by the curse and by Samara and as a result her presence drove the horse crazy.

Question: After Nemo fails to jam the gears and is moping around, the fish that is obsessed with being clean says, "Whatever you do, don't mention d-a-r..." What was he spelling?

sdgirl98

Chosen answer: Darla, the dentist's niece, known to them as the fish killer.

Super Grover

Question: Why all the build up of John having sent the Russian eye-surgeon guy to jail, suggesting that he will hurt John; only to have him successfully complete the operation, and take care of John afterwards?

Nick N.

Answer: Because subverting the expectations of the viewer makes it more interesting. The audience (and potentially John) are set-up to expect bad things, which don't happen. Once the "bad thing" happened, the suspense would be gone and everyone could relax. Expecting something bad but knowing when it might happen maintains the tension.

Chosen answer: It's what's known as a McGuffin; a plot element that seems to be important when introduced, but serves no purpose other than to intrigue/distract the audience. The term was popularised by Alfred Hitchcock.

J I Cohen

That's not *quite* what a MacGuffin is. A MacGuffin not only seems important, it *is* important; in fact, one of its two diagnostic characteristics is that a MacGuffin is something around which the entire plot revolves. The other property fundamental to what makes something a MacGuffin is the fact that the origin, purpose, function, and, in some cases, even identity of the object is left either vague or completely undefined. The briefcase in Pulp Fiction is a classic example (although there *is* a compelling argument that the object in the briefcase is in fact a specific artifact).

Well, according to the doctor when the operation is beginning, the doctor reveals that in prison, he spent all of his time in the library, including books on medicine and technology. As a result, he found his "true calling", and is thankful to John for helping him see that.

Question: Why is your face blurred in pictures one you've seen the tape? Just a sign that you'll be dead soon?

Ral0618

Chosen answer: Yes, the blurred faces do indicate that you've been cursed by the video. It has to do with Samara's face always being covered by her hair, which is also the reason behind infected people unconsciously scribbling over the faces of people in pictures. It also foreshadows the victim's fate (hence the distorted face) if they don't copy and send the cursed tape to someone else.

Shay

Question: Dr. Solomon and his assistant talk to each other in a foreign language. What language are they speaking, and can anyone translate roughly what they're saying to each other throughout the scene?

Answer: When Anderton hands the credit card to the doctor: "Grete, get the f**k out of here", then he says something I can't understand and ends the sentence with "hurry". Grete comes out singing the song and when she sees Anderton she says: "my God". The doc is by the phone checking Anderton's credit and says: "let's see". After the doc has fitted the strap thing on Anderton's head Grete says: "So so little darling, now the doctor is finished. Now its Greta's turn to... (the rest of the sentence is inaudible to me)". The doctor is explaining which rope goes where and Greta is mumbling something to herself and he says: "Shut up bitch". The camera is focused on Anderton's head and in the background we can hear Greta saying: "Bye bye darling, I'll see you again soon, then you'll be a little stronger and then you can complete..." (the rest is inaudible to me).

Hamax

Question: When Aragorn is crowned at the ceremony, he sings a hymn in what I beleive is Elvish. What are the lyrics? I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings but it will be a while before I get to that part of the story.

furious1116

Chosen answer: The Elvish text is: "Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta." This translates as: "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." It is a Gondorian tradition, echoing the words of Aragorn's ancestor Elendil on his first arrival in Middle-earth, and shows that Aragorn has fully accepted his heritage and is at last willing to claim the kingship.

Ioreth

Question: In the scene where Marty is being chased around Twin Pines mall by the Libyans why is Marty driving straight towards the 1hr Photo Booth? I'm assuming he doesn't realise the time circuits were on, as he accidentally engaged them when changing gear. If he DID know, why drive 88+ mph knowing you don't have enough plutonium to get back from 1955? (00:30:00)

Paul Andrews

Chosen answer: He could have been planning on veering aside at the last second, hoping the Libyans would crash. In any case, it provides a convenient solution to the problem of the Libyans threatening our heroes when Marty returns from the future. :)

Krista

Question: During the fight on top of the truck, Morpheus loses his balance and grabs onto the agent's tie to keep from falling. Why didn't the agent simply allow himself to fall as well? Agent Smith stood in front of a train in the original Matrix in an attempt to kill Neo.

Answer: Because the Agent's main job at the time is to kill the Keymaker - if he's got to find another body (who then won't be on top of the truck) the Keymaker will have time to escape.

Jon Sandys

Question: A friend of mine has just told me that there is a famous actress who has a cameo as an Elf in this movie, but he won't tell me who it is. Apparently, I have to find out for myself. Is he just being deliberately annoying, or does someone out there know if this is true and who he is talking about?

Answer: If this is true, then it's not mentioned anywhere in the commentaries or other additional materials on the Extended DVD. Your friend may just be being annoying.

Tailkinker

Answer: Yes, he says so in the movie. He explains that it gets too messy. Also, it shows that he is stronger than using an easy weapon like a gun. People like to see fist fighting, rather than gun fighting.

Josh Appelbaum

Answer: No, at the time Ford was the highest paid star in Hollywood (and he's still near the top of the list). He is also the star of the film (Connery is in a supporting role) and one of the most recognisable faces in the film world. Connery was paid well, but certainly not more than Ford.

David Mercier

Question: In the scene where we first see Dr. Solomon, a movie is playing on the projection screen. What movie is it?

Answer: It's a 1955 film named House of Bamboo.

Tailkinker

Question: What film is the footage of the young Michael Caine from? And is the footage of him playing with a small boy in the 'Musical Number' deleted scene from his home videos or a film?

Answer: The footage of Michael Caine is from the 1967 film Hurry Sundown.

David Mercier

Answer: Pacey.

Nick N.

Question: What is the name of the movie(s) that Kevin watches in Home Alone 1 and 2? Is it the same movie?

Answer: The name of the movie is "Angels with Filthy Souls," but it is not actually a real film at all and was created especially for the franchise.

David Mercier

Answer: Angles with Filthy Souls, and its sequel; Angles with Even Filthier Souls. Neither are real movies.

Danny Duignan

Question: During the freeway chase, what kind of car is Trinity driving? Also what kind of car do the twins drive?

Answer: Trinity is driving a Cadillac CTS. The Twins drive a Cadillac Escalade EXT. The EXT wasn't in production at the time of filming, so the GM people had to create it with fiberglass Cadillac parts fitted onto prototype Chevy Avalanche pickup trucks.

Phil C.

Question: Are the real Schindler Jews in the end accompanied by younger relatives or by the people who played them in the movie?

Answer: It depends, some are accompanied by younger relatives, and others have the actor who played them. The majority have relatives though.

David Mercier

Question: At the very end of the movie after Dorothy says "Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home," normally, it fades out to the credits, but once - and only once - when I was very young, I thought I remembered seeing the camera pan away from her face and down to the foot of the bed where you see the ruby slippers tucked underneath the bed, then a fade to the credits. It is obviously a black-and-white shot, but there were the glittering shoes. Has anyone else seen this version of the ending?

Macalou

Answer: Another fine example of the Mandela Effect. None of the "making of" books reference this alternate ending. The original book ends with Dorothy losing the slippers on her journey back to Kansas.

wizard_of_gore

I also remember this scene; however, I remember it in a television movie, and it was at the beginning, not the end, of an entirely different movie.

Chosen answer: Yes. I'm sure I've seen that version. It shows that Dorothy didn't just dream about Oz and makes for a more satisfying conclusion. This version was original but edited out because it didn't follow the book's storyline for "Return to Oz" and the other long series of Oz books. The sequel pertains that she loses the slippers in transit back to her home and falls to the gnome king who destroys Oz which in turn causes Dorothy to return. So seeing the slippers at the end of the bed, while more satisfying, wouldn't really stay true to the Oz series.

I absolutely remember that version with the shoes at her bedside, but nobody I know remembers it.

Thank you! I remember that too but everyone I know thinks I'm nuts.

I remember that version and after that I expected to see the same ending but no I never saw that ending again. I got the response that no-one I know saw that ending of the movie where the ruby slippers being on her feet in her bed. Thank you for that answer. This was a long time mystery.

I absolutely remember that scene.

I remember that too - and I've asked so many people and they said no, I must have dreamed it. Thank you.

I saw that version once when I was a little kid too! I remember it vividly. Now I know I'm not crazy.

Answer: This seems to be one of those mass examples of people remembering something that never happened. There are also other variations, like people claiming to remember the film switching to color as the shot pans down to her slipper-clad feet, or the slippers being in color against the sepia-toned B&W footage. But sadly, it seems no officially released version of the film has had such an ending. It's similar to how everyone thinks Darth Vader says "Luke, I am your father," or how everyone thinks Humphrey Bogart says "Play it again, Sam!", even though neither of those lines are real, and people are merely incorrectly remembering them. The film is so ingrained in pop-culture, that people think they know it forwards-and-back, and false memories are created.

TedStixon

I agree that people think they remember things that never happened, but usually for things like this, remembering a scene wrong misquoting a movie lines, it comes from parody versions and people are (correctly) remembering the parody. I've never seen "Silence of the Lambs", but I know the line "Hello, Clarice" from films like "Cable Guy" and not from a false memory of the film.

Bishop73

Answer: https://criticsrant.com/mythbusters-dorothys-ruby-slippers/ This website gives some confirmation it's one of those myths that spread around and get mixed up in people's memories to being convinced they have seen it despite no evidence of it existing. In a film as big as the Wizard of Oz where die hard fans have collected original scripts, notes, and "lost" imagery over the years; we certainly would have something to back this up other than eye witness memory. Especially if it supposedly made it to the final print for viewing audiences as the original Wizard of Oz footage has been carefully preserved, as it's considered one of the most important films of all time. This footage wouldn't be completely lost if it made it to final showing print. Surely somebody would have posted it by now on YouTube. It is possible somebody made a skit or parody of this though contributing to the idea that it was actually in a print of the real movie.

Answer: I remember this being part of a special that was hosted by Angela Lansbury in 1990 and they showed that this ending was considered for the movie. For many years I couldn't remember why I remembered that ending and Angela Lansbury until I looked it up. I wish that it had been left like that. Kids always want their dreams to come true.

Answer: I and a friend of mine remember seeing the ruby slippers under Dorthy's bed at the end of the movie. Glad to know we didn't imagine it.

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