Things you didn't catch until the second or third viewing of a movie.

Cafe Society
#1

I watched No Country for Old Men for the 3rd time so my girlfriend could see it recently. I have never read the original Cormac McCarthy novel. This time though, I suddenly realized all the clues that the organization that has funded the drug sale around which the plot revolves is probably the CIA. The man who hires retired Colonel Carson Wells works in a building with an floor not visible from the street, he has no apparent criminal background, he can even hire a person like Wells anyway, etc.

Apparently this connection is part of the original story, but in the movie is subtle enough I just never noticed it before. Another great detail in a great movie.

#2

Back to the Future II was one of my favorite movies growing up, but it wasn’t until I bought the DVD as an adult and listened to the audio commentary that I realized Michael J Fox played Marty’s daughter in 2015 as well as Marty’s son. Afterwards I wonder how I ever missed that. :smack:

#3

Years ago when my daughter was in Kindergarten, she would insist on watching the movie Toy Story everyday after I picked her up from school. This lasted for months from September until the weather finally warmed up around April when we could comfortably go down to the park to play. I must have watched it over 100 times. The strange thing was that every once in a while I would catch a small part of a scene that I had never noticed before. And this happened several times.

It makes me wonder if this would happen with other movies that most people view only once.

#4

I had watched Sta Wars many times before I noticed the pair of silver dice hanging in the flight deck of the Millennium Falcon

#5

BBC America had Psycho on one night during Halloween week. I’ve seen it plenty of times but my wife had never seen it all the way through, so I DVRed it so we could watch it later. One thing I had never noticed before, and probably wouldn’t have even caught this time if I hadn’t had CC on: at the end when Lila finds Mrs Bates in the cellar then Norman bursts in with the knife, he says “I am Norma Bates!” I’ve never heard that before, it kinda gets lost among the screaming and the screechy violins.

#6

There’s a few from the Omaha beach scene of Saving Private Ryan. For example, When Captain Miller is dragging the one soldier to safety, you get a brief glimpse of a Sherman tank equipped with the deep wading gear ventilation trunks in the background. Also, that scene were Wade and the other medics are trying to save the one soldier only to have that same soldier shot in the head after they stopped the bleeding wasn’t just any soldier. Somehow I missed the part when told by somebody else to move on Wade says “He’s battalion surgeon Sir!”. I also didn’t realize until I read Hal Baumgarten’s book that this scene is loosely based on the actual fact that the 116th Regiments battalion surgeon insisted he be part of the first wave. He thought he would have a better chance of saving more lives if he landed early but sadly was killed not long after making it ashore.

#7

I’ve seen 2001: A Space Odyssey many times, and love it, but it was maybe on my fifth viewing that I noticed that Dr. Floyd’s pep talk in the Clavius Base conference room is not a single shot, but is divided into several short takes from slightly different angles. I later read that the actor was struggling with his lines and Kubrick was frustrated not to be able to get the whole monologue in a single shot. I also noticed a Whirlpool logo on the food dispenser that the stewardess operates aboard the Moon shuttle, and IBM logos on both Bowman’s spacesuit arm controls, and on the flatscreen computer pads on which he and Poole watch the BBC program about their mission. Bowman also burns his fingers a little on his meal as he removes it from the oven - all the fancy equipment aboard the Discovery, and they don’t have hot mitts!

#8

In the animated movie Flushed Away Hugh Jackman does the voice of a rich spoiled mouse. In one scene he’s trying on different outfits for a fancy dinner. One of the outfits was the original black and yellow striped Wolverine costume from the comic.

#9

Another outfit is that of Wallace of Wallace and Gromit (same Animation Studio).

#10

When I saw the Disney version of Pinocchio the sub-plot where the boys transform into donkeys did not make much impact. I just seemed like what D&D gamers call a “random monster encounter”.

When I saw the 1996 version, with Martin Landau and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, it still seemed kind of weird and pointless.

When I saw the 2002 version, with Roberto Benigni, there was a scene where one of the villains sighs, and says, “Look at these boys. They wouldn’t go to school. They wouldn’t learn a trade. Now they’re only fit for donkey-work.” I suddenly realized that it was not simply random bad guys doing random evil deeds. It was an allegory of ignorance and education. I now think that it is the coolest scene in the story.

#11

On the 10th or 12th viewing of “This is Spinal Tap,” I realized that when they talked about a music festival, it was on the Isle of Lucy, which is a pun of name of the TV show.

#12

I just finished watching Silence Of The Lambs again. I was struck by all of the swastikas in Jamie Gumbs house. Yet no mention of him being a racist. I wonder if there is any significance?

#13

This might not entirely count for this thread. But here we go.

I’ve watched The Thing hundreds of times on pan and scan VHS. Not until I saw it on laser disc at the correct aspect ratio did I notice that Clark palmed a scalpel before attacking mcready.

#14

Just noticed this, in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies Pierce Brosnan turns off the power to the speech the big bad is making using his middle finger. You don’t really notice it either due to the angle but he’s clearly flipping him the bird when he holds for the final switch, which is fitting because his goons had just beat the crap out of him a few moments ago.

#15

I ended up watching The Usual Suspects probably four or five times, and somewhere around the 3rd viewing, I noticed that there’s a scene where Kobayashi is filling everyone in with the plan and as he is doing so, he keeps looking over to one of the members, as though checking whether that person is okay with what he is saying and that he’s saying it all correctly.

#16

It wasn’t until I think the fourth time or so I saw Galaxy Quest that I noticed Fred Kwan (Tony Shaloub) yawns as he steps out onto the surface of the alien world. He’s the first human being to ever set foot on another planet, and he’s just a little bored!

#17

A friend pointed out the little baggies that Fred Kwan is carrying constantly and suggested that he’s stoned the whole time. His character’s behavior makes a lot more sense that way.

#18

He was a snack food junky. Remember he moved away from the group to go to a vending machine when the rest were initially teleported.

He wasn’t stoned, just not all that bright and lost in his own world.

#19

I don’t think so. He’s a stoner with constant munchies…

#20

There were a bunch in Airplane. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is a poster for Rocky X featuring Sylvester Stallone as an old man.