# Cool/interesting little touches you notice in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174 "2010-07-10T00:52:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/121 "2011-01-07T07:47:19Z")
HP3 is by far the best-directed of the Harry Potter films. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/122 "2011-01-07T08:10:13Z")
> [@DivineComedienne](#): > > I remember reading an article about “The Sixth Sense” after I had seen the movie. It discussed the use of the color red to indicate when something frightening was going to occur, or for when a spirit was going to appear. I didn’t notice this the first time, but now when I watch the movie, all I can see is the color red all over the place (red doorknobs, red blankets, red tents, red dresses, red sweaters…) Not just the sixth sense, shyamalan loves to telegraph scenes by using stark colors (and other tricks). Try watching Unbreakable with this in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/123 "2011-01-07T09:48:11Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > That’s in the _Colonial Marines Technical Manual_ (probably my most favorite, wonderfully geeky, perfectly fitting in and expanding upon the setting, scifi technical manual of all time)—particularly jarring in that, yeah, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons are mentioned as being employed tactically. And that one Marine being interviewed mentions offhand that androids may be manufactured by _Cyberdyne!_ Actually, you’d be surprised at what weapons are _not_ actually banned by law or treaty (at least, not banned to the US military). Mind you, some weapons just aren’t very practical, or worth the backlash you’d get for actually using them, such as nukes. Or in cases like flamethrowers, just not a lot of situations where they’re very practical (battlefield flamethrowers are big and heavy and don’t have nearly the range of a rifle. From what I understand, they don’t explode nearly as easy as the ones in movies tend to though.) EDIT: Another one, from the movie ‘‘El Dorado’’, starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum (and speaking of Godfather, it also stars a young James Caan, playing the plucky sidekick to The Duke). Anyhow, one of the characters is a tomboyish cow-herder’s daughter, Joey MacDonald. Early in the movie, she has the distinction of being pretty much the only character to put a slug in The Duke (and she’s a GOOD guy. A feisty, ravishing-looking good guy. But let’s not get distracted here.) John Wayne gets up, grumps up to her, grabs her rifle and throws it into a river and tells her to go home. She gets on her horse, starts to ride away, then stops. John Wayne stops and turns to see why she stopped (she was behind him, after all), and she leans down from the horse and grabs her rifle out of the water before riding off. First off: The Duke heard her stop and immediately turned to make sure she wasn’t going to go for another shot at him, because he’s not a moron. Second off, rather than get off the horse, or just forget about the (probably very nice and potentially expensive) rifle, she leans down and grabs it, using the stirrup for pretty much what the stirrup is designed to do, to let you get off the horse without getting \*off \*the horse. Nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/124 "2011-01-07T09:54:16Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Not just the sixth sense, shyamalan loves to telegraph scenes by using stark colors (and other tricks). Try watching Unbreakable with this in mind. There’s a very subtle color related trick in “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover”. In the restaurant, the various rooms’ decor are coloured to indicate various themes and emotions. There are several sequences where Helen Mirren walks between the rooms,and as she passes through doors her outfit seamlessly changes colour to match the decor of the room she’s entering, but remains identical in every other respect. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/125 "2011-01-07T18:11:08Z")
In Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, while the Fellowship is crossing Caradhras, Legolas’s steps doesn’t leave a trail in the snow, unlike everyone else ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/126 "2011-01-07T18:38:36Z")
One of my favorite mini-series was 1977’s “Jesus of Nazareth”. The opening scene in the first part takes place near the end of a service in Nazareth’s synagogue. After the reading of the Torah has finished it is placed in a small alcove set into the wall, with a curtain to close it off until it’s brought out again. Later, when Jesus has been born, Joseph sets him in a similar alcove in the cave/stable wall, and hangs a piece of cloth in front of it.(Not sure if he put it there or it was there already. Then the shepherds come to see the child, and Joseph pulls the “curtain” aside to reveal the baby. A nice touch, identifying the baby with the Word of God. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/127 "2011-01-07T18:55:45Z")
In **Inception** , the first three scenes with the new Architect have her in the three primary colors. I thought it was a nice touch as she’s set to be their new dream creator. It isn’t mentioned or referenced, but it does make a nice subtle impression. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/128 "2011-01-07T19:00:30Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > One thing that struck me about **the Shining** (after having watched it for the umpteenth million time) was how it manipulated ‘size.’ The film opens with an ariel view of the Rocky mountains - Jack Torrence’s car is a tiny speck on the road. All the early scenes in the movie are shot at a wide angle, with the actors appearing like small figures in expansive rooms. But as the story progresses, the shots gradually become tighter and tighter, and the actors are shot from a downward angle to show the ceiling more - it’s to emphasize the claustrophobic atmosphere; their surroundings are gradually growing smaller and more confining. One thing that struck me in that flick was the shot Kubrick used of Jack taking an axe to the door. The camera pans back and forth to follow the axe. This used to annoy me and I thought, “Geez, Stan. Just pull back a little and get the whole length of the axe stroke in the shot.” But on later viewings I realized how much crazed energy his method brings to the scene. We practically feel the impact of the axe striking the door. And the shot goes on long enough to get the continuous rhythm of the door being smashed to pieces. BAM! BAM! BAM! It really puts a sense of panic in you. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/129 "2011-01-07T19:55:06Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > Troy was no masterpiece (so Pitt couldn’t pull off the accent), but it was far better than most people realized. That fight scene still stands among the very best I’ve ever seen. I also have to give them kudos for showing the phalanx “shove” where all the men push on each other. Moviemakers traditionally like to open up their fight scenes so individual actors can maneuver freely, but that wouldn’t have been accurate, and anyway the champions will face off in single combat soon enough. But the massed phalanx locks shields together and steps forward all with the same foot, grunting. It might not be entirely realistic but it was a more serious attempt to portray realism than I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/130 "2011-01-07T20:05:36Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I also have to give them kudos for showing the phalanx “shove” where all the men push on each other. Moviemakers traditionally like to open up their fight scenes so individual actors can maneuver freely, but that wouldn’t have been accurate, and anyway the champions will face off in single combat soon enough. But the massed phalanx locks shields together and steps forward all with the same foot, grunting. It might not be entirely realistic but it was a more serious attempt to portray realism than I expected. Of course, Homer depicts combat as basically a bunch of one-on-one showdowns between the main characters as well, so its not just modern Hollywood that chooses drama over realism. Plus, I don’t think Mycenean Greeks actually used the phalanx, so really the makers of Troy used a realisitic depiction of military tactics from Homers time, but not the ones that Homer described and not the ones that would’ve actually taken place in the putative time of the Trojan War. Realism is fickle 🙂 Agree it was a pretty good movie though. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/131 "2011-01-07T21:29:59Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Random thought, was it him or the other guy (I seem to recall there are two guys who basically run the frat) whose girlfriend turned out to be sleeping with the professor? If it was him, that makes the whole realization that girls lie about sex too kinda funnier. > > So, in Hunt For Red October, we get to sit in on a conversation between Captain Ramius and the Political Officer, Putin (heh), about how they were going to be training against Captain Tupolev, an old student of Captain Ramius’s. Putin says, with a touch of snark, that many say that Tupolev has a spot in his heart for Ramius, to which Ramius replies that there is no room in Tupolev’s heart for anyone except Tupolev. Thus, we know that Tupolev is a narcissistic jerk that Ramius can’t stand. > > Later, in the scene that introduces Captain Tupolev, he gets his orders to intercept and destroy Red October, after the Russians have figured out what Ramius is doing. When one of his officers asks him what the orders are, seeing him visibly upset, he says that they’ve been “ordered to kill a friend. We’ve been ordered to kill Ramius.” > > Tupolev thinks that Ramius and he are friends, is heartbroken that he is being ordered to kill him, but is going to because it’s his duty. Ramius thinks that Tupolev is a freaking prick. Kinda sad, actually. 😃 No, I think Ramius knew well of Tupolev’s affection for him, and was hoping it might make him hesitate. Putin was not in the plan, though, so Ramius was not about to share that. And Putin was the slimy political guy, so Ramius could not afford for him to think any less of Tupolev’s dedication, lest it get sent back up the chain that Tupolev was more loyal to the traitor Ramius than he is to the Rodina.. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/132 "2011-01-07T21:53:40Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Actually, you’d be surprised at what weapons are _not_ actually banned by law or treaty (at least, not banned to the US military). Mind you, some weapons just aren’t very practical, or worth the backlash you’d get for actually using them, such as nukes. Simply “not-banned” hell, the Colonial Marines were apparently carrying around nerve gas _in their APC_. (In all fairness, though, the gas canister’s might have been in the dropship, or back on the _Sulaco_. Though the context made it sound like they were pretty close at hand.) Actually, on that note…the Marines’ pulse rifles were explicitly said to use explosive ammunition. I think that’s actually prohibited by the Hague Convention of _1899_. (I really do need to open a GQ on which of those are still considered binding…I’m pretty sure “dropping explosives from flying machines” isn’t considered a war crime, anymore) ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/133 "2011-01-07T22:51:18Z")
In _Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon_ during the showdown fight in the sanctuary between Shu Lien and Jen, Michelle Yeoh opens with a lovely feint and strike that Zhang Ziyi falls for and just barely manages to block. The shock on Ziyi’s face is perfectly acted, and the opening move perfectly communicates Yeoh’s thoughts as “I’m done putting up with your whiny shit, little girl, and I don’t care about your snazzy sword. Time to get schooled!” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/134 "2011-01-07T23:08:28Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > > [@Raguleader](#): > > > > Random thought, was it him or the other guy (I seem to recall there are two guys who basically run the frat) whose girlfriend turned out to be sleeping with the professor? If it was him, that makes the whole realization that girls lie about sex too kinda funnier. > > > > So, in Hunt For Red October, we get to sit in on a conversation between Captain Ramius and the Political Officer, Putin (heh), about how they were going to be training against Captain Tupolev, an old student of Captain Ramius’s. Putin says, with a touch of snark, that many say that Tupolev has a spot in his heart for Ramius, to which Ramius replies that there is no room in Tupolev’s heart for anyone except Tupolev. Thus, we know that Tupolev is a narcissistic jerk that Ramius can’t stand. > > > > Later, in the scene that introduces Captain Tupolev, he gets his orders to intercept and destroy Red October, after the Russians have figured out what Ramius is doing. When one of his officers asks him what the orders are, seeing him visibly upset, he says that they’ve been “ordered to kill a friend. We’ve been ordered to kill Ramius.” > > > > Tupolev thinks that Ramius and he are friends, is heartbroken that he is being ordered to kill him, but is going to because it’s his duty. Ramius thinks that Tupolev is a freaking prick. Kinda sad, actually. 😃 > > No, I think Ramius knew well of Tupolev’s affection for him, and was hoping it might make him hesitate. Putin was not in the plan, though, so Ramius was not about to share that. And Putin was the slimy political guy, so Ramius could not afford for him to think any less of Tupolev’s dedication, lest it get sent back up the chain that Tupolev was more loyal to the traitor Ramius than he is to the Rodina.. I always liked the scene in _The Hunt for Red October_ in which the submarine is going down this canyon towards a wall and everyone is panicking that they’re going to crash. Meanwhile Ramius is standing there, mouthing numbers as he calculates when to make the turn. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/135 "2011-01-08T00:13:15Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I like a good special effect when it doesn’t overpower a movie. > > One that I completely missed the first time was the boggart scene in HP3. The camera view starts from the perspective of the student and moves through the reflection of them in the mirror and ends up back at the children in one seamless move. [Here is the scene in Japanese](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqqnhgfLh8U&feature=related). > > In the same movie the animators drop a bit of realism in the Hippogriff lesson that most people miss. The beast fertilizes the landscape just before Harry is introduced to it. You’ll probably enjoy [this mirror related shot from Contact](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD0_5HFMPIg). Even knowing it is there I have to be concentrating to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/136 "2011-01-08T02:23:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I always liked the scene in _The Hunt for Red October_ in which the submarine is going down this canyon towards a wall and everyone is panicking that they’re going to crash. Meanwhile Ramius is standing there, mouthing numbers as he calculates when to make the turn. That scene is pretty much my favorite scene in the entire movie. Probably some of Basil Poledouris’s best work too, short of “Klendathu Drop” from Starship Troopers. But yeah, the two officers making the canyon run, the guy not in charge of navigation is getting stressed out, talking about how the maps are designed with the assumption that you are going at a set speed at a set depth, and his friend calmly says basically the most badass thing in the entire movie: "Stop pissing, Yuri. Give me a stopwatch and a map, and I’ll fly the Alps in a plane with no windows. " Now THAT is an officer the enlistedmen either follow gladly, or are scared shitless of. 😃 I also love the bit in that scene where Ramius’s tea starts to slide across his table because the sub is banking, and he just calmly reaches out and catches it. Just a casual little touch to show you how experienced he is. He didn’t snap or scramble for it, he just reached out and got it perfectly, like he’d been doing this for his entire adult life or something. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/137 "2011-01-08T04:23:33Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > You’ll probably enjoy [this mirror related shot from Contact](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD0_5HFMPIg). Even knowing it is there I have to be concentrating to see it. It’s the same effect and I missed it in that movie too. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/138 "2011-01-08T04:42:37Z")
> [@williambaskerville](#): > > There’s a very subtle color related trick… In _The Aviator_, the colors were manipulated in post-production to mimic the color film stock that would have been in use in Hollywood at the time, and it changes as the film moves to different eras. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_butterfly_s_ghost/32/3462_2.png) [@The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Butterfly_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/139 "2011-01-08T12:24:26Z")
This is from a book, not a movie but I think it counts… In one scene in “Good Omens” the two main characters - a demon and an angel - attend a children’s birthday party. The angels poses as a magician, complete with a dove concealed in his sleeve. During the party the two get soaking wet, with the dove drowning in the process. Afterwards, when the angel takes the dead bird from his sleeve, it’s the demon who breathes life back into it and let’s it fly away, pretty much absentmindedly. If they ever do make Good Omens into a movie I’d be really disappointed if they didn’t include that detail. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174/140 "2011-01-09T11:47:35Z")
So, I’m watching Scott Pilgrim again tonight, and there’s a gag early in the movie where Wallace manages to text Scott’s sister while he’s completely drunk passed out unconscious drooling into his pillow. The movie fast-cuts to the next morning, with Wallace waking up, phone still in his hand, and there’s a moment where he just stares at his phone with a “WTF?” look on his face because he had no memory of actually pulling his phone out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-interesting-little-touches-you-notice-in-movies/546174.md?page=8)