Big Game

29th Jan 2025

Terror by Night (1946)

Question: Holmes says he realised that Inspector McDonald was an impostor because he supposedly knows the 'real' Inspector McDonald of the Edinburgh police. As shown in the other movies and Conan Doyle's original stories, there are several Inspectors working for Scotland Yard in London (another British city), which begs the question: does this resolution Holmes mentioned about two British Inspectors having the same surname make sense and, if so, why?

Answer: If you're comparing the film to Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, then any discrepancies do not really apply. The Basil Rathbone films were mostly loose adaptations of Doyle's work, often incorporating plot elements from multiple stories or original screenplays with new characters. "Terror by Night" was an entirely original story. The films also set Holmes in the late 1930s through the 1940s during World War II, and he was often fighting enemy spies and Nazis. The original Sherlock Holmes was set in the late 19th century.

Actually, my question is related to the movies themselves and it's not a comparison. There are still several inspectors working for Scotland Yard in the Basil Rathbone saga too (I've made an entry edition to include this).

Thanks for clarifying. Much of my previous answer still applies. The Rathbone movies were not meant to be a definitive interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. The 12 films by Universal Studios were low-budget and cranked out in quick succession for a quick profit and "to simply be entertaining B pictures." Little regard was given to historical accuracy or plot continuity from film to film and they probably were developed simultaneously by different people. The 12 films had multiple directors and screenwriters focused on their individual projects.

Actually, almost all the movies were directed by Roy William Neill (11 of 14).

11th Jan 2025

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: How was the scene in which the Nazi mechanic, played by Pat Roach, is killed by the propeller of the Flying Wing filmed? As seen in the film, the spinning propeller is practically right in his face when Pat turns around.

Answer: It looks like a combination of practical special effects, including camera angles with forced perspective that can make an object or person appear closer, further away, larger, smaller, etc. Often, rear-screen projection is used where the actor stands in front of an image projected onto a screen. The real propellers could have been replaced with something that would create a blurred spinning effect without harming the actors.

11th Jan 2025

Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989)

Question: Is there any site where I can watch the entire film? The only scene I have ever seen is the Flying Wing scene, which is on YouTube, on the channel of the actor who played the Nazi mechanic.

11th Jan 2025

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: How were the scenes of the explosions of the kliegs and the Nazi weapons, and the scene of the portal opening inside the Ark, made?

10th Jan 2025

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024)

Question: I have two questions about the end of the game: 1) How can Locus withstand the Wrath of God but Voss, Belloq and the Nazis from Raiders can't? 2) How could Indy, Gina and Locus survive and avoid the same fate as Belloq and the Nazis if they looked directly at the power of God?

6th Jan 2025

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Question: What do Voller and Klaber say in German when they board the Nazi plane at the end of the film?

6th Jan 2025

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: During the truck chase, what does Dietrich yell to the sergeant in German to make the latter approach?

5th Oct 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: What does Belloq shout after saying "Idiot, idiot" and hitting Rocky Taylor?

Chosen answer: He says "merdique," which is French for "you suck" in that context.

21st Sep 2024

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Question: Why does Dovchenko salute and address Spalko as if she were a superior officer if both have the same rank and are part of the same military company (in which Dovchenko would have more authority, being an army officer, while Spalko is simply a doctor)? A similar case to compare would be Jürgen Voller in Dial of Destiny's prologue, who seems to have almost no authority over soldiers with lower military ranks.

12th Sep 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: Is it possible that this film had an alternate ending? In the audio of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Movie on Record (released the same year, 1981), during the opening of the Ark, we can hear sounds, scenes, and screams that never appear in the final film (or in any deleted scenes). Examples of this are the sounds of the spirits, Dietrich's second scream, and Indy saying "You're all right, you're all right" to Marion (she answers "Yes...") after the Ark closes.

12th Sep 2024

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Question: During this period (World War II), could anyone, without having to give any personal information, really request a person's address just by making a phone call, as Holmes does in this film?

Chosen answer: It's possible. Even during WWII, people were less savvy about protecting personal information, particularly as asking for a home address seems innocuous enough as opposed to giving out government or military info. Of course, this is a movie, so some liberties are taken to serve the plot.

28th Aug 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: Is the island shown through the submarine's periscope (Geheimhaven in the movie) a real island (of course without any Nazi base)?

Chosen answer: The Indiana Jones wiki: To film the arrival of the German submarine at the base, the visual effects artists at Industrial Light and Magic borrowed a miniature prop from Steven Spielberg's 1979 film, 1941. The model was floated through San Francisco Bay towards one of the two Marin Islands just off the shoreline from ILM's then-headquarters in San Rafael. The real-world island was later replaced with a matte painting.

18th Aug 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: What does Toht shout after saying "Let me show you what I'm used to"? Is it a German word?

10th Aug 2024

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)

Question: I don't know if this is a mistake so I'll ask here: why is there a soldier at the Berlin Rally who has the fraction 2/13 on the collar of his jacket instead of the SS runes? (01:10:01)

Chosen answer: He is not SS but SA. Brown shirts are SA (SturmAbteilung) and SS wore black (and rarely gray). The 2/13 is the unit type and number respectively.

21st Jul 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: I remember seeing a couple of scenes only once. The first showed the inside of the Ark (as in the scene where the portal opens) with fire coming out of it. The second was a side shot of the Altar where you could see the fire lifting the bodies of the three main villains. Does anyone know where these scenes can be seen?

21st Jul 2024

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question: I've never understood why the three antagonists never escape and continue to scream after the ghosts have gone. Is there something horrible that they see and the audience don't that freezes them and makes them scream in fear?

Answer: The audience sees everything they see. At first, they're transfixed by the magical apparitions around them and are marvelling at how beautiful/supernatural/awe-inspiring it is. Just as, I imagine, anyone else would. Then, the figure in front of them changes into something terrifying, and they scream in fear because they realise whatever is coming out of the Ark is, to put it mildly, not friendly. Then (again, as you'd expect), they are rooted to the spot in terror, and after that, well, it's kind of hard to escape when your face is melting off and/or exploding.

24th Jun 2024

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Question: Voller's team is composed of himself, Klaber, Hauke, Gunther and two more goons (Fedora one and Moustache one). What's the name of the last two characters and their actors? (Voller mentions a Messner in the van but I don't know if he's one of the unnamed guys).

24th Jun 2024

Zorro (1957)

Zorro Fights His Father - S1-E18

Question: I've never understood something about this chapter. Is Mr. Borca an Agent of the Eagle or he is just a corrupt man, like Licenciado Pina?

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