The Bourne Identity

Question: What artist/band performs "deck the halls" played when Jason, Marie and Eamon are having dinner with the children at the farmhouse?

Chosen answer: He is taping up the car window that he broke in order to keep some of the winter weather out.

shortdanzr

Answer: He taped the door edges so they wouldn't leave fingerprints on the car.

Question: During the Greece scene, there is a line strung at the end of the covered area (behind Marie) with several things hanging on it that look like seaweed, pennants, or something. What could that be?

scwilliam

Chosen answer: They are octopii hung up to dry in the sun. A common sight at Greek islands. If you search Google, there are pictures of them. They are humorously mentioned at http://www.thevisualrecord.com/dbphotopages/photopage.php?photo_id=80.

Question: On the DVD main menu, does anyone know what song is playing? And is it on the album?

Answer: The artist is "Genuine Childs", the song is just called "The Bourne Identity DVD menu music score". It's not on the Bourne album, but you can find it on their soundcloud page: soundcloud.com/genuinechilds.

Bishop73

Question: After Eamon and the children have gone to the basement of the farmhouse, Marie makes some exclamation that sounds like Chinese. What is that?

scwilliam

Answer: It is a stronger form of "Darn it", or Damn it". The word "nochmal" here can not be translated literally but merely serves as reinforcement, and does not mean "again". In British English the term "Bloody Hell" hits it most closely.

Chosen answer: The phrase is "Verdammt noch Mal", meaning 'Condemned again.'

ChiChi

Chosen answer: Bourne arranged to meet Conklin at Pont Neuf, then planted a tracking device on the surveillance van, which he followed back to the Treadstone safehouse.

Sierra1

Question: Why was Bourne sent to kill Wombosi?

Answer: Wombosi's an ex-African dictator, put in power, it appears, with a degree of covert assistance from the US. Deposed, he's threatening to write a book revealing the US actions unless they arrange to have him put back in power. He's intending to include the names of those involved, which could prove highly embarrassing for the US government. To prevent this, Treadstone is given the order to take Wombosi out.

Tailkinker

Question: How does Bourne set off/stop the car alarms near the end of the movie? I'm guessing it's the thing with the aerial he puts on his car dashboard - what is that?

Answer: An official, CIA-approved, car alarm setter-offer, most likely just made up for the movie.

scwilliam

Question: Can someone give me an explanation to what happened to Eamon's dog?

Answer: The Professor shot the dog early so it couldn't give a warning about him.

scwilliam

Question: How did the Paris police find the hotel Jason and Marie stayed in while in Paris?

Answer: A earlier scene shows the police found Marie's car, presumably they then checked all the hotels in the nearby area and the hotelier recognised Jason and Marie.

Sierra1

Question: Why does Bourne's beige pullover have holes in the upper part of the back? He was not shot wearing it but what seemed to be a swimsuit.

AnthonyA

Chosen answer: He got old clothes from the people on the boat. They were simply a little tattered.

Garlonuss

Answer: I think that may be a continuity thing due to a script revision. The holes in the sweater appear to be intentionally shown. Would be an odd coincidence if the sweater just happened to have them there.

Dusibello

Nope. Just a coincidence. Even in the book, he was given old clothes on the ship.

Question: From what I can tell Jason went to the American embassy in Zurich, couldn't be bothered waiting in a queue, went through a door and got shouted at to stop, then ran up some stairs and climbed down the wall and escaped. What was his original purpose for going to the embassy?

Answer: To avoid the local police. They were following him and he had an American passport, so it was the quickest way to escape.

Captain Defenestrator

He was probably being wanted for the assault on the 2 police officers while he was sleeping in the park the night before.

Answer: The reason he didn't have to wait in "the queue" is on the sign he passes as he enters. He enters the American Citizen door because no one is in line. His passport was a "fastpass" into the embassy to avoid the police. The reason police were looking for him was because of what happened at the park. Police were looking for him. The guy at the bank called the CIA. So... the original purpose of entering the embassy was to avoid the Switzerland police. The shouting was to detain him, probably to question him about the park.

Deadpool

Answer: A man in the bank had called the police.

Question: When Bourne and Marie arrive at his Paris apartment, Bourne phones a hotel to inquire if a 'Jason Bourne' was a guest there. When told no, he then asks if his other alias - John Michael Kane - was registered. He is told by hotel staff that Mr. Kane has been killed in an accident. (This is before Treadstone's Rome operative tries to eliminate Bourne in the apartment.) So I'm guessing this first report of Kane's accidental death had been arranged by Treadstone? To cover Bourne's trail to Wombosi's yacht?

Dusibello

Chosen answer: That's correct. Nicky arranged for a substitute corpse to appear as if "John Michael Kane" had died in a motorcycle accident, to cover up the connection to Bourne's mission once Treadstone realised Bourne had failed and disappeared. However, Wombosi saw the body at the morgue and deduced the deception, and Bourne later discovered that body is "taken" by the brother so deduced that it's a setup all together.

Sierra1

Question: What was going on with John Michael Kane's body in the morgue? Nicky said that Wombosi saw the body and didn't buy it. Were they trying to pass off the dead man as Bourne?

Brad

Answer: In fact Wombosi had shots 3 times at Bourne, and he sees that the corpse has no impacts. That is how he understands that the Americans try to fool him.

Chosen answer: Yes, exactly. Kane is one of Bourne's identities and apparently one that he used extensively during the preparations for the mission to eliminate Wombosi. Wombosi goes to see the body, but, having seen Bourne, albeit relatively briefly, realises that the body in the morgue is not the same man.

Tailkinker

Question: Somewhere at the end of the show, a French man gets out of his car and shoots Chris Cooper several times. Who is he and why did he shoot Cooper?

Answer: He's one of the Treadstone agents. Conklin is executed on the orders of his superiors because the Treadstone project, under his leadership, has become a phenomenal liability. He's most likely the one remaining Treadstone agent we see in "The Bourne Supremacy".

Tailkinker

Question: What is the significance of Bourne's and The Professor's headaches? The Professor might have explained it just after he mentioned them, but I didn't catch what he said.

J I Cohen

Chosen answer: It's something to do with the conditioning that the Treadstone agents go through. The precise cause isn't clear. It is mentioned more in the sequels, but not to any great extent - either PTSD or medication seems to be the root of it.

Tailkinker

Question: What is the connection between Wombosi and Kane, i.e. how does Wombosi know/recognise Kane's corpse and make the connection to Bourne? Are we assuming that they had prior contact before Bourne tries to kill him on the boat?

Answer: Bourne (as Kane) actually did meet with Wombosi prior to the night on the yacht. Conklin mentions this when he comes face to face with Bourne in Nicky's office in Paris.

Answer: If they had no prior contact, how would Wombosi have known the name Kane and to go check the morgue?

Answer: In fact on the yacht Wombosi had fired 3 bullets at Bourne. He checks that the corpse has no impacts. That is how he understands that the corpse is not the one of the killer of the boat.

Answer: Wombosi is aware that the CIA is responsible for the attempt on his life. He is also aware that the CIA attempted to kill him because of his threats to go public with information about their activities in Africa. Conklin is unaware, however that Wombosi got a good look at Bourne's face. When Wombosi sees the body in the morgue is obviously not the man he saw on the boat, he correctly suspects the CIA is trying to fool him and will likely make another attempt on his life. Wombosi and Bourne had no prior contact before that night on the boat.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: How did getting shot knock Jason unconscious? Second, how did getting shot cause him to lose his memory?

Answer: Any significant shock could cause a person to lose consciousness. The amnesia was probably a combination of the shock of being shot, half-drowning, and the fact that Conklin had the Treadstone agents "wound so tight, one of them was bound to snap."

Sierra1

The Bourne Identity mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Jason is cutting Marie's hair in the hotel room, his watch is on his left wrist. When he and Marie begin to kiss, in this flipped shot Jason's watch is on his right wrist, his moles have changed sides, and the hand-held showerhead behind them is backwards as well. Next shot his watch is back on his left wrist. The flipped shot has nothing to do with the small bathroom mirror. (01:00:56)

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Trivia: In the beginning, after Jason gets off the train, there is a shot of Jason outside at night looking up a snow-covered street with some footprints in the snow leading away from him. These footprints belong to director Doug Liman. (00:10:29)

AFosteROTC

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