As you very well know the Statue of liberty is a fixture in American movies. So I got thinking about the flicks in which she has appeared.
For that I propose three categories:
The ones in which she has played a prominent role, being an active participant in the development of the plot or helping drive across the message of the movie. The best examples of this would have to be:
Planet of the Apes
Ghostbusters II AKA Statue of Liberty saves Manhattan
Movies in which she plays an important role but only as a passive spectator, she provides a setting for the deployment of the action without taking active part in it. To mention a few:
Vertigo
X-men
Finally, action flicks in which she gets blown up for the sake of spectacular special effects and cool movie trailers. I am referring to:
Batman Forever
Deep Impact
Armageddon
I am sure there are a bundle of flicks that include–but neglect to properly credit–the participation of such an important icon of American Culture. Since I don’t want to exhaust the possibilities, thereby killing my own thread–thread suicide?-- I will let you movie buffs continue with the task at hand.
Quick rules:
TV, foreign and animated movies are accepted. Documentaries are not.
Almost forgot, porn movies are accepted. Come on, she must appear in them, I can not allow myself to think that she hasn’t been computer generated or inserted via blue screen mating into a explicit sexual scene. If she hasn’t (in which case I will be pretty disappointed) filmmakers please take note and get those cameras rolling.
One last comment, don’t you think that the Toga Wearing Lady should get her own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame? I would propose getting her hand and feet imprints at Mann’s Chinese Theater but the obvious space constraints of the place plus the fact that her gigantic shoe–sandal?-- size would probably have to be written in scientific notation would make it really difficult to fit there.
Important role as passive spectator:
“Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins”
It was filmed while the statue was being cleaned up and renovated. Remo (Fred Ward) is on the scaffolding trying to overcome his fear of heights and a fight breaks out with some thugs who try to kill him.
In “Superman III”, one of the characters gets Supe’s attention by going to the top of the S of L and pretending to jump. And I seem to remember the statue getting a bit trashed in one of the Superman films, was that III or IV?
And of course the Columbia Pictures logo is a woman with a torch (but not the Statue of Liberty), suprised Eve didn’t mention that.
Torch-bearing lady? Every Columbia Picture ever made, including all Three Stooges short subjects.**
My thoughts precisely. One I happen to like in particular was the opening to The Mouse that Roared* starring Peter Sellers. During the “Columbia Lady with Torch” scene, the camera suddenly zooms in on a small white mouse scurrying near her feet. The Lady lifts her skirts and screams and high tails it off stage, leaving the torch hanging and all the assorted props laid bare. Very comical.
Another Colubmia Pictures move, Zotz*, starred Tom Poston. At the end of the film, we see the Columbia Lady with torch and she suddenly speaks up, in Porky Pig fashion, going “Zots all, Folks!”
[minor hijack]
IIRC, on the cover of the box for Supergirl, the Statue of Liberty is featured. Holding the torch in her LEFT hand, and the tablets in her RIGHT.
[/minor hijack]
ArchiveGuy
I haven’t seen Vertigo but I believe that at the climax there is a great shot where the main character slips off The Statue of Liberty.
I might have been wrong about Armageddon though. I saw most of it again yesterday and the Statue never made its expected appearance. I didn’t watch it completely and thus I might have missed it. But that is unlikely since in the part where Manhattan gets trashed it never made act of presence and that constitutes the most obvious chance to blow it off. IIRC, that is the only time NY gets hit by a meteor shower.