Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Question: A question was asked of what kind of drink Pernod was. It was answered that Pernod was a aniseed aperitiv. What does that mean exactly? What is the definition of aniseed aperitiv? Also a question was asked what difference did the drink make when the waiter added water. The answer given was very unsatisfactory. It was answered by saying water turned the drink from clear to cloudy white. This is obvious as we can see it in the movie but how does adding water to this drink affect the drink itself (besides changing color)?
SAZOO1975Question: What was the "substance" in the eye drops that was dispatched into the water?
Jason RileyChosen answer: The substance is Visine Eye drops which is an old bartender trick for obnoxious drunks. Just a couple of drops in a drink will indeed make the person feel ill.
Damian TorresQuestion: Why do the transformers blink and move their mouths when talking? Obviously this is unnecessary for robots, and I found it quite annoying. Is there any rationale behind this?
RoscoChosen answer: They're metal-based lifeforms, not just "robots". Presumably the blinking and mouth movements serve some purpose, we just don't know anything about Transformer physiology to know why it's necessary. They're also designed, by their nature, to take on the characteristics of things around them (as proved by how their forms change quite radically from the bland appearance they have when they first land). This generally applies to other machines, but it's not entirely unreasonable to speculate that, in the case of the Autobots at least, they might also configure themselves to take on certain human mannerisms, to better interact with the humans that they need to deal with.
Tailkinker
Question: Is there a website, books or vhs/dvd that tells the entire documentary of Robert Shaw and the 54th Mass that the movie is based on?
SAZOO1975Chosen answer: The History Channel has a DVD you can buy called, The Civil War Journal, one of the episodes is about the 54th Mass. http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=74565.
pross79Question: Who or what is Helm and what is its deep?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: Helm Hammerhand was the ninth King of Rohan who used the caves and their accompanying fortifications (built many centuries earlier by the Gondorians) as refuge during a war against the Dunlendings. The caves, and the valley leading to them, were named Helm's Deep as a tribute.
TailkinkerQuestion: At the end of the movie the remainder of the 54th Mass top a cliff, look down and see a bunch of soldiers waiting for them who then fire on them. My question is what happened to the rest of the 54th Mass? did they die in this scene? Did they survive? It is never explained and during the burial at the mass grave none of the soldiers who ended up at the cliff are seen being put into the grave nor do you see their bodies on the ground.
SAZOO1975Chosen answer: While the film deals with factual events, the only real character is Robert Gould Shaw, so, historically speaking, it cannot be stated exactly what happened to the characters based on historical grounds. However, only about a quarter of the regiment were actually slain in the real battle, with slightly more captured. Bearing that in mind, it's not unreasonable to speculate that the characters on the cliff were either captured by the enemy or managed to retreat.
TailkinkerQuestion: When Marvin is left behind in the Disaster Area ship as the others teleport away, he says, "I'm so intelligent I've probably got time to go through the five." before he is cut off. Is there anything in the books or rest of the series which suggests what we was about to say?
MooseChosen answer: That seems to be an error in the subtitling of the episode. What Marvin actually says is: "I may just be a menial robot, but I'm far too intelligent to expect to think of me for a moment... far too intelligent..."
Sierra1Question: I heard somewhere (quite possibly on this site) that there were references to the chapter names of the book in this movie. Could someone tell me where these references are?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: This is from the Encyclopedia of Arda: At least three of the chapter titles from the book have made it into the film, as part of the dialogue. Look out for 'a long-expected party' (the title of chapter I 1), 'a short cut to mushrooms' (chapter I 4) and 'the bridge of Khazad-dûm (chapter II 5). Gandalf also uses the phrase 'riddles in the dark', which is the title of the chapter in The Hobbit that sees Bilbo acquire the Ring.
Zwn AnnwnQuestion: There was a "Friday the 13th" TV series that ran from 1987-1990 and had about 70 episodes; does anybody know where I can see these episodes online?
Movieman123Chosen answer: No, not all of them. The first three episodes are on Youtube. Direct TV new horror-movie channel - Chiller TV - is airing all the episodes currently, but you have to subscribe to the TV station (check out ChillerTV.com.) They are not officially on DVD, but are also sold on ebay. The series has no affiliation to the Friday The 13th Jason films.
Answer: The entire series is now on DVD. You can most likely find them on Amazon or a video store.
Question: Near the end of the film, how does Bond deduce Vesper is in danger after she says she is needed by Mathis?
Cubs FanChosen answer: He suddenly realises that he told Mathis about Le Chiffre's 'tell', and that that must be how Le Chiffre was able to beat him. With the realisation (or assumption - we never find out either way) that Mathis can't be trusted, he comes to the conclusion that Vesper could be in danger and goes after her. Of course, he fails to consider that he also told Vesper herself...
TailkinkerQuestion: Why release the Army of the Dead at the Pellenor Fields? Why not send them all into Mordor to destroy Sauron's entire army? Furthermore (this doesn't really count because it is about the book) why does, in the book, Aragorn just use the Army of the Dead to defeat the Corsairs and not even bring them to the Pellenor Fields?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: Purely and simply, Aragorn gave his word. The Dead would be held to their oath, nothing more. They came to the aid of Gondor, thus fulfilling their oath. Aragorn had no real choice but to release them; if he tried to keep them past the terms of their oath, he'd just have had a lot of annoyed Dead warriors to deal with. He can't compel them to continue to fight and he gave his word to release them once they'd fought to defend Gondor, fulfilling their oath. With that done, at Pelargir in the books, at Minas Tirith in the films, their oath is done. Aragorn had no choice but to release them.
TailkinkerQuestion: When Aragorn confronts the King of the Dead with Anduril (the reforged sword), The King of the Dead says, "That *something* was broken!" I am almost sure he says, "Blade" (referring to the reforged sword), but the subtitles on my Region 4 disc say, "Line" (presumably referring to Aragorn's ancestry). What does he really say? Do the subtitles on discs of a different region say otherwise?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: The King of the Dead says, "That line was broken." Aragorn replies, "It has been remade." Their comments are referring to Aragorn's royal lineage that was believed to have died out. The reforged sword symboilizes Aragorn's return as king. There is a video clip of this scene on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfh9Ypgfp7Q.
raywestQuestion: What exactly is shown in the Palantir when Saruman says, "An evil festers in the heart of Middle-Earth"?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: There doesn't seem to be anything in particular shown. You can see Saruman's reflection and those of the spires at the top of Orthanc; there don't appear to be any concrete images actually within the palantir itself.
TailkinkerQuestion: Are there any places where I can find deleted scenes of this movie that never made it into the Theatrical or Extended releases?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: Sadly, there has been no release of scenes that did not feature on the extended or theatrical film. Some scenes that didn't make it into films can be glimpsed in the behind-the-scenes footage included with the DVDs or blu-ray.
Question: What is the reason for Aragorn falling off the cliff? Most people who see this movie would at least know that the next installment is called "Return of the King" so they would know that Aragorn cannot die until the third movie. I wondered whether it was just a plot device so that Aragorn could see the army of Uruk-Hai later and report their numbers to Theoden.
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: You're quite right in that, no, I doubt anybody seriously would have thought that Aragorn was going to die, but the scene functions as a way of showing the peril that the characters are facing, plus, as you say, it allowed Aragorn to report on the approaching enemy force, putting the main characters in the thick of the action rather than having a nameless scout character make the report. Plus it also allows them to reunite Aragorn with Brego the horse.
TailkinkerQuestion: Extended Edition: Why do Faramir and his men expect an attack on Osgiliath from the North? Minas Morgul, the place where the orcs would come from, is South East of Osgiliath- wouldn't they expect an attack from there, especially after seeing the green beacon in the sky coming from there?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: Additional forces left Mordor via the Black Gate, marching to attack the elves in Lorien and the dwarven kingdom in the north. It would make a great deal of sense to send a group across the river at a crossing point to the north, then south towards Osgiliath to avoid the necessity of crossing the river under fire. With the main force attacking from across the river and the subsidiary force attacking from the north, Osgiliath would swiftly fall. Knowing that Mordor's armies are on the march, Faramir would be able to anticipate the likelihood of a northern attack.
TailkinkerQuestion: Why does the Eye of Sauron look so different in this movie? In 'Fellowship', it's a round eye with a thin slit but in this movie it is more oval shaped and has a considerably wider slit.
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: The Eye gradually changes throughout the films, getting noticeably larger and more dynamic - a sign of Sauron's growing power.
TailkinkerQuestion: When Gandalf tells Pippin about the 'fair green country' is he referring to the Undying Lands (where Frodo goes in the end) or somewhere else? If he is talking about the Undying Lands, does that mean that normal people also go there once they physically die?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: In terms of the specifics, Gandalf may well be referring to the Undying Lands in order to boost Pippin's morale, but, no, non-Elves do not end up there without special dispensation. The younger races have their own destination after death, which Tolkien doesn't elaborate on to any great degree.
TailkinkerQuestion: Is Sam's line "By rights we shouldn't even be here," a reference to the fact that Frodo and Sam never go to Osgiliath in the books?
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: No. Despite various attempts to read that as some tacit admission of wrong-doing on the part of the scriptwriters, it doesn't mean anything of the sort. What Sam means is that, if things were going right in the world, he and Frodo would be living a peaceful life in the Shire, not dodging Nazguls and arrows in the ruins of Osgiliath.
TailkinkerQuestion: When Gandalf finds out that Denethor is going to burn Faramir alive, why does he leave the battle just to save Faramir? Surely he could do much more good and save more than one life by staying in the battle.
BlibbetyblipChosen answer: It's a morale thing. Denethor's already nearly ruined the defence of the city by telling everybody to flee; were it to become known that Denethor was not only dead, but had taken Faramir with him, thus destroying the line of Stewards and leaving the city with no ruler, the morale of the troops would be destroyed. Gandalf can only do so much to rally the troops; the city still needs a leader, even an incapacitated one. As such, he needs to make sure that Faramir survives.
TailkinkerJoin the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Chosen answer: What was meant was an anise aperitif. Anise is sort of a licorice flavor, while an aperitif is an alcoholic beverage served as an appetizer or with finger foods. I believe it turned cloudy white because the waiter added sugar water. It makes the bitter alcohol more palatable. This drink tradition was begun with absinthe, which was banned in many countries and Pernod is a similar-tasting replacement.
Grumpy Scot