Question: I'm hoping this was addressed in the book. Solomon was allowed to work as a violinist and allowed to keep the money he earned, which he attempted to use as a bribe to get another character to send a letter on his behalf. Solomon was also sent into town on several occasions to purchase supplies. Why didn't he just buy and envelope with his own money and send it at the post office? Couldn't he have said it was a letter from his master once it was sealed? Couldn't he write it in code if he couldn't send it sealed? All he had to say was that Solomon Northup was a guest at the plantation and his wife could have alerted the authorities.
Answer: Here's why, according to Northup in Twelve Years a Slave: "My great object always was to invent means of getting a letter secretly into the post-office, directed to some of my friends or family at the North. The difficulty of such an achievement cannot be comprehended by one unacquainted with the severe restrictions imposed upon me. In the first place, I was deprived of pen, ink, and paper. In the second place, a slave cannot leave his plantation without a pass, nor will a post-master mail a letter for one without written instructions from his owner."
Question: Why isn't Baron's name on the guest list for the Catholic Charities party? They must have invited him since he looks rather surprised his name isn't there.
Answer: Cardinal Law may have disinvited him out of suspicion. Or maybe just a clerical error.
Question: A lot of fuss was made over the omission of the lunar flag planting in this movie. However, when I saw the movie in the theater, I distinctly remember seeing the flag on the moon, just not the actual planting. However, that particular shot seems to be missing in the home video release. Does anyone know the reason for this?
Answer: The home release includes a clear shot of the lunar lander with the American flag next to it.
Question: There are scenes in the movie where Dick Best's gunner, Murray, is facing forward in their aircraft, particularly when the aircraft is on the Enterprise. The only time he appears to be facing the rear of the aircraft is when they are under attack. How is that possible?
Answer: Good eye! The gunner's seat in the Douglas SBD was on a swivel. The military rating was actually radioman/gunner, and when facing forward, he had access to a suite of radio equipment and a set of basic flight controls! He could actually fly the SBD from the rear seat, although this is never reported to have been necessary in combat.
Question: I was wondering whether the evidence that Adrian Brody gathered was true, or if it's artistic license. It seems that if it were true, there should have been a further inquiry into George Reeve's death.
Answer: Here is a good link that will help separate fact from fiction. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/george_reeves/1_index.html.
Question: Is this the last movie to be shot, edited and finished on film?
Answer: It's a bit difficult to find out this sort of information as not all films released disclose what they use to edit on. Michael Kahn is perhaps the most famous editor around to edit on flatbed machines and switched to digital editing for time constraints. Many film schools still teach and use flatbed editing so you may still see short films edited on film, just not feature length movies for a variety of reasons.
Question: Why is this movie parodied online?
Answer: The "Hitler in the bunker" scene is iconic for historical reasons, being something most people understand the significance of. Being subtitled in the film means it's very easy for people to keep the original excellent acting while simply replacing the words onscreen to change the context entirely. It also ends up being a bit self-reinforcing, once people get wind of it as a "template", they then start getting their own ideas. And there's the arguable "Streisand Effect", when the film company issued a wave of copyright takedowns in 2010, a lot of people "retaliated" by making and uploading even more.
Answer: Presumably, due to its popularity.
Question: What was that phone number that they listed of that guy that lied about having an 800 number?
Chosen answer: (202) 225-2536. It's not that major a revelation in the film, as his number's publicly available on a variety of sites.
Question: Where was the civil war battle fought nearest Madison, Wisconsin?
Answer: The nearest one I can find listed was at Kirksville in northern Missouri.
Question: Is David Thewlis still banned from entering the China for his role in this movie? I know that Brad Pitt's ban was lifted in 2014, but was Thewlis' ban lifted too?
Answer: Brad Pitt's ban was lifted in 2014, but David Thewlis is still banned from entering China to this day.
Question: Isn't Gibson (Richard Todd) shown wearing a VC ribbon on his dress tunic? I thought he was awarded this for the raid itself.
Answer: I think Gibson is shown wearing the ribbons (and rosettes) of the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was awarded these medals before the Dam Busters raid. In black and white, the ribbon for the VC with its miniature cross can look similar to the DSO with a rosette for a second award.
Question: When marshal Ney and his troops encounter Napoleon, he tells them if they want to kill their emperor, there he is, but instead of killing him, they defect to him despite being ordered to fire. Is this a work of fiction, or did it happen in real life?
Answer: This is decidedly fiction. The historical Ney already published a boastful proclamation (that Napoleon later said disgusted him), declaring the rule of the Bourbons to be over, before he met with Napoleon (March 15). The scene where Napoleon offered himself to be shot had happened several days earlier, with the 5th regiment of the line, before Napoleon even reached Grenoble. It's an entirely different event from Ney's defection.
Answer: I think the film's dramatisation of this particular incident, when the French army defected from the restored Bourbon royal family back to the Emperor Napoleon might owe something to the painting NAPOLEON RETURNED painted in 1818 by Charles Steuben (also called Charles De Steuben and Karl Steuben) a German who became a nationalised (and patriotic) Frenchman https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Napoleon_returned.jpg.
Answer: Yes, that is pretty much what happened, so long as we allow for translation convention. (Napoleon and his armies spoke 19 century French, while the actors in the 1970 film speak 20 century English). After Napoleon's first abdication Marshall Ney submitted to the returning Bourbon monarch, Louis XVIII. When Napoleon returned to France, Marshall Ney was given command of an army to apprehend Napoleon The Emperor Napoleon with a small group of imperial guardsmen confronted Marshall Ney with a massively larger and better-equipped army. Many people expected a bloodbath. Instead, Napoleon waked out in front of his guard, confronted the French army and called out that if any soldier wished to shoot him, this would be the best chance they would ever have! The army simultaneously rushed to greet their emperor, Marshall Ney followed and submitted to Napoleon. This bit of the film is as historically accurate as can reasonably be expected and shows how Napoleon could electrify an army.
Question: Is the weapon used in the final battle inspired by Ivy's weapon used in the video game Soul Caliber (or just coincidence)? And how in the world is it supposed to work?
Answer: Actually the origins of the Bone Sword used by Francios date back much earlier than Miss Ivy. It is rumored to be a mytholigical weapon used by the damned in some ancient African beliefs. Crafted from the bones of the dead and the chains of Hell itself. Ivy's weapon and so many others like it are a representation of a magical weapon that springs forth to lash out at an opponent. It can't be crafted. Believe me I've tried.
Question: Why does Gary Oldman speak with a Russian accent when Lee Harvey Oswald was from New Orleans?
Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald was very sympathetic to the communist ideal, and lived in Russia for a while. He probably adopted the accent as an affectation towards that end.
Question: What reason did the British general give for having opened fire on the unarmed crowd?
Answer: Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer has said his intent "was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience." Earlier that day, Dyer has banned all meetings to avoid any insurrection, but many still gathered to celebrate and protest. Dyer saw it as defiance of his order and thought it could be another mob insurgent he had seen earlier. Some reports also state while the crowd was "unarmed", that only referred to being unarmed with firearms and many in the crowd did have other types of weapons. It also seems at the time it was standard practice for the British Army to use necessary lethal force for civilian crowd control, although many saw Dyer's action to be in excess.
Question: What are the rifles that Jude Law and Ed Harris use in this film?
Chosen answer: Most likely to conceal her naturally bright red hair. If that fact is known, it would make it easier for the enemy to identify and target her, either for surveillance, to be kidnapped, killed, etc.
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