Wonder Woman - S1E9 - "Judgment from Outer Space Part I"

Recently, I started watching the Wonder Woman series for the first time.  Earlier this week, I watched the two-part episode "Judgment from Outer Space" (episodes nine and ten of the first season).

In the first scene, a council in "an uncharted solar system in the vast regions of outer space" discusses Earth.  After learning that the people of Earth are "just beginning to develop" atomic weapons and that they have wars, Sakri - a member of the council - says, "I vote we sterilize this Earth now," reasoning that once they develop space flight, "they become a threat to every civilized planet."  Gorel - an-other member of the council - is "inclined to agree with Sakri."  Andros, who has been been observing Earth and informing the council about it, asserts that according to the council's laws, "Before any action on a primitive planet, there must be a judgment."  Andros is sent back to Earth to observe and to "convince the council that they deserve a chance to survive, to grow."

Throughout this conversation, all of the camera angles are looking upward, through a clear table:

The perspectives are such that as the council is discussing what will happen to Earth, the audience has to look up at its members.  The camera angles clearly illustrate that the council is in control and has the power, and that we - the Earth-born audience - are subject to it and its decision.

Jaws

I recently watched Jaws and noticed a small feature in one of the shots.  After three people have been killed in shark attacks, Chief Brody tries once again to convince the mayor to close the beaches in order to prevent more incidents.  The mayor stubbornly refuses, thinking that he's taking the best course of action for the sake of the town's businesses, which depend on summer tourism.  He says, "Tomorrow's the Fourth of July, and we will be open for business.  It's gonna be one of the best summers we've ever had.  Now, if you fellas are concerned about the beaches, you do whatever you have to to make them safe, but those beaches will be open for this weekend."  With that, he gets in his car and drives away.  Behind him, there's a road sign that reads, "One way."

To some degree, this sign echoes the mayor's obstinacy.  He's determined not to allow anything other than what he wants.  Additionally, Brody's facing the opposite direction illustrates this conflict visually.

The Terminal

I re-watched The Terminal last week and noticed the significance of a visual element.  With very few exceptions, everyone who interacts with Viktor Navorski wears a uniform, even if it's a loose definition of the term (Dixon, for example, doesn't really wear a uniform, but he's always shown in a suit).  Viktor, on the other hand, while ostensibly living out of his suitcase, shows quite a bit of variation in what he wears.  The sartorial sameness that everyone else exhibits visually represents Viktor's being stuck "in a crack" and having to wait.  Nothing around him changes very much, even including the clothes that everyone wears.

I re-watched the movie to-day in order to confirm this, and I noticed an-other small detail I'd never seen before.  In the scene where Dixon is interrogating Amelia, Viktor is visible in the security camera footage in the background, holding a bouquet of flowers and waiting for Amelia:

(Here's a post I wrote about The Terminal last year.)

Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

The 21st was the 40th anniversary of the release of The Empire Strikes Back.  According to IMDb, however, the premier was on the 17th.  I watched my DVD copy from 2013 (the special edition) on the 17th, and then I watched my VHS copy from 1995 on the 21st.  I don't think "non-special edition" copies are even available anymore, and/so I thought it would be interesting to write a post about some of the differences.  This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list; these are just things I noticed as I watched it.

In the special edition, while Luke is hanging from the ceiling of the wampa's cave, there are cut away shots to the wampa eating Luke's tauntaun.  In the original, there are just noises of the wampa's growling and of the tauntaun's being strangled and a quick shot of the wampa walking.

After Luke's time recovering in the bacta tank, C-3PO says to him, "Master Luke, sir, it's so good to see you fully functional again.  R2 expresses his relief also."  In the special edition, Luke replies, "Thanks, 3PO" but he doesn't say anything in the original.

Shortly before the Millennium Falcon enters the "cave" in the asteroid, C-3PO says, "Oh, this is suicide."  In the original version, that's his only comment, but in the special edition, he follows it with "There's nowhere to go."

Vader's conversation with the Emperor contains some of the most notable differences between the two versions.  Here's the original version:

Vader:  What is thy bidding, my master?
Emperor:  There is a great disturbance in the Force.
Vader:  I have felt it.
Emperor:  We have a new enemy:  Luke Skywalker.
Vader:  Yes, my master.
Emperor:  He could destroy us.
Vader:  He's just a boy.  Obi-Wan can no longer help him.
Emperor:  The Force is strong with him.  The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi.
Vader:  If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally.
Emperor:  Yes, yes, he would be a great asset.  Can it be done?
Vader:  He will join us or die, master.

And the original Emperor (with VHS quality and aspect ratio):

Here's the version from the special edition:

Vader:  What is thy bidding, my master?
Emperor:  There is a great disturbance in the Force.
Vader:  I have felt it.
Emperor:  We have a new enemy.  The young rebel who destroyed the Death Star.  I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.
Vader:  How is that possible?
Emperor:  Search your feelings, Lord Vader; you will know it to be true.  He could destroy us.
Vader:  He's just a boy.  Obi-Wan can no longer help him.
Emperor:  The Force is strong with him.  The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi.
Vader:  If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally.
Emperor:  Yes, he would be a great asset.  Can it be done?
Vader:  He will join us or die, master.

In the special edition, there are new shots of Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor:

It seems that Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett and the clone troopers in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, similarly dubbed over new recordings of Boba Fett's lines.  Morrison isn't listed in the credits for the special edition (nor is McDiarmid), so I'm not positive it's him, but Fett's voice certainly is different.

There are various sequences in Cloud City that have been expanded.  The Millennium Falcon's landing has new shots, and there's a completely new sequence in which a cloud car flies through the city.  This eventually transitions back into the original shot of the cloud car flying past the window where Leia is standing.  There are also some shots where colored panels have been replaced with new digital backgrounds.  One of these alterations actually results in a continuity error.  In the scene where Lando is talking about his facility "like a businessman, a responsible leader," there are colored panels at the end of the hallway:

In the special edition, these have been replaced with a view of the city:

In the next shot, Lando and Han pause at the end of the hallway, but instead of the view of the city, the colored panels are behind them:

The special edition changed one shot but not the other.

One of the oddest things I noticed is that one of Vader's grunts in his lightsaber battle with Luke is copied and re-used.  After Vader's line "Impressive, most impressive," Luke directs exhaust from a recently cut hose at him.  His grunt is a solid UNG!  A few shots later, Luke manages to knock Vader off of the carbon freezing platform.  In the special edition, this UNG! is re-used, but in the original, Vader lets out a guttural and raspy AAH!

After Leia convinces Lando and Chewbacca to go back to Cloud City to rescue Luke, there's a quick shot of Vader, an imperial officer, and some stormtroopers in which - in the original version - Vader says simply, "Bring my shuttle."  In the special edition, he says, "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival."

I also noticed that in the original version, some of the TIE fighters' lasers are either blue (in the asteroid field) or white (while chasing the Millennium Falcon out of Cloud City), while in the special edition, they're all green.  And a very minor point:  in the original release, Obi-Wan is written as "Obi-wan" in the credits.

Cast Away

This post contains spoilers.

Earlier this week, I watched Cast Away for the second time, and I noticed how two scenes from different points in the movie illustrate a change in Chuck's character.

(For context: in the scene immediately preceding the first conversation, a flight attendant asks Chuck's friend Stan about his [Stan's] wife's cancer diagnosis.)

In the first conversation, Chuck and Stan sit on opposite sides of a transport vehicle (at times facing nearly opposite directions), and Chuck tries to offer a helpful word regarding Stan's wife's cancer.

Speaking haltingly and veering off on an unrelated tangent, he tells Stan about a renowned doctor whom he's going to try to get Stan and his wife in touch with.  Stan's reaction is polite yet disappointed, and his posture is one of defeat.

After Chuck's isolation on the deserted island, he has an-other conversation with Stan while in an airplane travelling to a press conference.

After realizing that Stan went through Chuck's funeral and then his wife Mary's funeral, Chuck offers heartfelt words:

Stan, I'm so sorry I wasn't around when Mary died.  I should've been there for you, and I wasn't.  I'm so sorry.

While Stan still seems sad about his wife's death, he smiles at Chuck's expression of compassion.

There are four significant differences between these conversations.  First, the settings:  the first conversation is static; while Chuck and Stan are sitting on a transport vehicle, it's not moving.  The second conversation takes place within a moving plane and is dynamic.  Second, the characters' positions:  Chuck and Stan are almost facing away from each other in the first conversation, but the second is more face-to-face.  Third, Chuck's comments:  in the first conversation, he's trying to show his compassion for his friend, but he does so by trying to fix Stan's problem for him.  In the second conversation, he simply expresses his feelings.  And fourth, Stan's reactions:  after the first conversation, he almost seems to resent Chuck's suggestion of an-other doctor, but after the second, he's clearly glad to have his friend back.

Obviously, the cause of these differences is the time that Chuck spent on the island.  Being isolated led him to reëvaluate his personal connections, and now he holds them in greater esteem.

[Here's a post I wrote after I watched Cast Away for the first time.]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - S6E6 - "The Rise of Clovis"

About a year ago, I watched the Banking Clan arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (episodes 5 through 7 of season 6), and the following month, I realized some implications of a grammatical error that Padmé makes in episode 6, "The Rise of Clovis."

After Clovis repeatedly asks about the relationship between Padmé and Anakin, Padmé asserts that "there is nothing romantic between he and I."  The pronouns "he" and "I" are in the wrong grammatical case here; they should be "him" and "me."  Padmé's misuse of these pronouns illustrates that she's flustered because of Clovis' suspicion - or perhaps even discernment - of the romantic relationship that does indeed exist between the two.  It's also significant that Padmé separates herself from Anakin here; she says, "he and I" and not "us."

I should note that by no means do I expect characters' grammar to be perfect all of the time.  After all, some looseness in language is what makes dialogue seem realistic.  Since Padmé is a senator, however, and presumably has a high quality education, this is out of character.  The above is my in-world explanation, but it's likely that this error is simply the fault of the writer (Christian Taylor).  Earlier in this scene, Clovis makes the same error:  while searching through files in order to find out where missing funds have gone, he tells Padmé, "Whatever we find must remain between only you and I" (rather than "between only you and me").

For what it's worth, Obi-Wan Kenobi makes a similar error in "Hunt for Ziro" (S3E9, written by Steve Mitchell & Craig Van Sickle) when he tells Quinlan Vos, "As for this bounty hunter, Cad Bane, we must capture and return both he and his quarry Ziro to the courts."  "He" should be "him."

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I've also written about the other two episodes in this arc:  "An Old Friend" and "Crisis at the Heart."

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

I recently watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade again and noticed a small but significant detail.

I'd noticed before that there's something of an echo between the beginning and end of the film.  At the beginning, as he's copying an image from an illuminated manuscript, Dr. Jones, Sr. says, "May he who illuminated this illuminate me."  (With a double meaning on illuminate, which is where I got the name of this blog.)  At the end, when the adventure is all but over, Indiana Jones asks his father, "What did you find, dad?" and Dr. Jones, Sr. replies, "Illumination."

Watching the film this time, I noticed a third instance of this illumination.  During the chase through the catacombs under the library and through the canals of Venice, Indiana Jones and Dr. Elsa Schneider run past a sign that reads:  "Calle di S.ta Lucia."

Here are two frames (one is more legible, and one shows the characters a bit better):

"Calle di S.ta Lucia" means "St. Lucia's Lane."  St. Lucia is the patron saint of sight, and her name is related to words for light (such as luce in Italian and lux in Latin).  Taken with "lane," this seems to indicate that the characters are on their way - travelling along the path, as it were - to the illumination that occurs at the end of the film.  Since, however, Elsa certainly doesn't find illumination and Indiana Jones doesn't answer what he's found (instead, he quibbles about being called "Junior" again), the sign actually seems to apply more to Dr. Jones, Sr. or even to the audience.