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Movie Misstakes? Help!

66.74.72.231

Posted by Bambi B on January 22, 2005 at 15:26:41

Mates,

I need your help on this one.

I've discovered that I can't prevent myself from looking for and noting little mistakes in movies.

For a very log time, the instant my mind begins to wander away from the movie for any reason, I start to look for little unintended items in the movie. These include:

Crowd reactions: When a scene is shot with casual onlookers visible, I always check to see what reaction there is when the actors walk through streets. It's interesting how the actors will pass someone while performing the scene and that person will take a few more steps and turn, looked confused, then you can read their lips, "Shit, was that George Clooney and what's his name back there? There's forty million on the hoof! I gotta call Cindy!"
Also, when there are car chases how often there are neatly contained crowds at the corners. But, you have to watch for this to see it.
Another are stadiums. The interesting thing here is to watch how the crowd reactons in distant shots do not parallel the action in the movie. this is covered by adding a scene in the bleachers with close ups of the approriate boos or cheers. "What's his name is doing his first no-hitter. He's doin' it. I gotta call Cindy!"

Backfield in motion: Do you notice that in space movies, sometimes the star field moves and sometimes it doesn't? Sometimes the planet rotates and..

Mirrors and reflections: I also can not stop from watching for the reflection of the movie lights and sometimes the crew and camera trucks in shop windows and car doors. Terrible addiction. But watch how often you see movement in anything relective. On that subject, I also notice that black cars often seemed to have been washed over with something soapy looking that makes the surfaces less reflective. Have you seen this? That was more common in the 30's and black and white era.

Boom microphones: It's more usual on the television machine, but there are plenty of movies done by not exactly penniless studios in which the obsessive person can eventually tell you the model numbers of all the boom microphones. "Wow", MGM was using RCA ribbons! I gotta call Cindy!" Some boom mics enough screen time to deserve screen credit.

Dents and lights: As a carophile, I like to look at the period cars that appear in movies. This is where the movies help me put car shows into perspective- not absloutely everyone in 1932 drove orange Deusenbergs the way you might think! But besides looking longlingly at those casually flung about Figoni Talbot-Lagos and Scaglietti Ferraris and calculating the value of the movie car then to now, I also notice their condition -this is essential in final price calculations. And I notice how very often movie cars are seemingly perfect- except that they have quite deep dents 2/3 down the forward doors. Are these dents from previously hanging some kind of camera platform that bears on that part of the door for closeups of the driver and passenger? The obsessive deserve to know!

Also, when there are car chases in which the vehicles are damaged, watch how often dents and broken windows appear and disappear and reappear. Scary.

With lights, I have frightened myself at how often I've noticed cars with only one taillamp. This one does amaze me, though I don't subscribe to the urban myth that these thousands of one lamp cars are actually signals between Rosecrucians. The Rosecrucians do not exist. And do not read Gen 7:18. See- insanity!

Incongruities of time: I can't help this one either, but if there is a clock in the background of any scene, I will start to check it to see if it changes time appropriately. If a scene is five minutes long, does the clock indicate that? I also notice the time as part of tring to understand the action- is is a bit later or a long while? I absolutely hate though movies in which the time and place are typed in on the screen- rat-a-tat-aratta- "Sunday, November 9, 2091, Krakalack Fusion Station YRUHERE". Note to production designers: I will walk out whenever this appears. Extra minus points if the lettering is like old computer characters. And all Tom Clancy-based movies have this! Let have the clocks!
But, back to clocks, my opinion is that these are most often set for an appropriate time and then stopped.

Of course there's the old familiar incongruity of people arriving somehere and it's bright day light, but when the car door opens it's midnight.

So, what's the answer? How can I stop the obsessive search for errors and enjoy the movie again?

Or, are there are piles of other silently suffering mistake collectors out there?

Cheers,

Bambi B

PS>

BAMBI B

WATCHING OLD MOVIE, EATING PEPPERIDGE FARM MILANO COOKIE BUT NOT DOUBLE CHOCOLATE

CLOCK READS 3:30

JUMPS UP

Oh look! When the end wall of Kevin's room in "Time Bandits" falls off the end of the extending hallway, there is a 10" long piece of drywall tape on the upper right corner next to the moulding. I gotta call Cindy!

GOES TO PHONE

RINGING

CINDY'S APARTMENT AFTERNOON

CINDY

READING VANITY FAIR EATING PEPPERINDGE FARM MILANO COOKIE- MINT UNFORTUNATELY

CLOCK READS 3:31

Bambi- will ya shut up already on the movie stuff! What's everyone wearing tonight?

OUTDOORS THE IVY NIGHT

HARP MUSIC

BAMBI HURREDLY WALKS UP TO ALREADY DRINKING CROWD AT TABLE

BAMBI B

Sorry I'm so late. Someone recognized Woody Allen outside the Carnegie in "Broadway Danny Rose". Hey everyone- In "The Italian Job", one of the Mini's breaks a window but it comes back later!

Hey, where's everyone going?

STARTS CHECKING THE BUSHES

FAID TO BLACK

MUSIC

As an obsessive compulsive type -well, aren't all we collectors and audionuts sitting here in a virtual asylum for a reason?

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