Unlike the ordinary audience, cinephiles know better than considering movies just a source of entertainment. Some of the brilliant minds of Hollywood will go beyond building a plot, casting good-looking actors, and adding visual effects. Their passion for art compels them to sneak in details that may be insignificant to mere entertainment seekers but will be a gem for pure film fanatics. These could be an interesting detail, a reference to something iconic, or a signature shot left only for eagle-eyed fans to notice. Without further ado, dive into the 10 mind-blowing secrets hidden in movies that you never knew.
Godzilla 2014
Next time you watch Godzilla, do not miss out on the opening credits scene. In fact, pause it and read whatever’s written on the screen. The film attempted to add jokes where they warn that we don’t know what lies underneath Godzilla’s rubber costume. Instead of a mundane disclaimer that calls it fiction, Godzilla claims that the creature could return looking like David Starthain.
Inglorious Basterds
In one of Quentin Tarantino’s best pieces set during World War II, there is an ugly baseball bat scene where a leaf falls on the Jewish soldier’s jacket. The way it rests on his chest resembles the Star of David that the Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Remember when Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka was taking everyone on a tour of the factory? As they came across the pink wool sheep, Willy Wonka was rather embarrassed and decided not to talk about it. The audience kept wondering about the mystery behind it. Well, it links back to Depp’s previous titular character in Ed Wood who liked to wear women’s woolen pullover in pink.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
In some cultural films, the oldy-goldies showed two flowers falling over each other to indicate mating or a kiss between to love interests. Pirates of the Caribbean got inspired by this idea and using swords instead of delicate flowers. In order to clarify what Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann were up to during their last days on the island together, they showed two specific types of swords signifying the genitalia.
The Matrix
The Matrix franchise is all about reality and machines controlling humans. In the first film, Neo stored his important hacker disks and CDs inside a book with a hidden box. If you watch carefully, you can see that the book is titled, “Simulacra & Simulation”. It was written by Jean Baudrillard and dives into the concepts of simulation and reality.
Skyfall
Skyfall had nailed it in terms of actions, stunts, and plot twists. But little did you know that the James Bond film had also dropped a forewarning at the beginning of the film. In Judi Dench’s seventh appearance as M in Skyfall, she is targeted by the former MI 6 agent, Rao Silva, and eventually ends up getting shot and killed. Her death was foreshadowed in the opening credits where the figures mirrored her death.
Ozymandias- Breaking Bad
In episode 14 of season 05 titled Ozymandias, during the gun battle scene on the dessert, there is a moment that has an interesting fact linked to it. As Walt gets arrested and lies on the sand with his face slightly buries in it, the scene is a nod to the pharaoh Ozymandias and the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley that reads “ Near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command.”
Kill Bill Vol. 1
In Kill Bill, you didn’t have to have to wait for the movie to learn Uma Thurman’s name, Beatrix Kiddo. The boarding pass in the opening scene had subtly snuck in her character’s name. But only someone who either paused it or has eagle-eyes could have spotted the name.
The Shining
Apart from Jack Nicholson creepily peeking through the door crack and announcing “Here’s Johnny!”, there is another signature scene that defines “The Shining”. It is the one-point perspective of the hotel corridor where all the angles narrow down to one point in the middle. In fact, that’s not The Shining but Stanley Kubrick’s signature shot in all his movies from this one to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eye Wide Shut.
Bridge of Spies
In “Bridge of Spies” there is a profound moment when Tom Hanks’ James Donovan, a lawyer, is looking at a shirt on display at a store and his face reflects exactly on top of the collar, giving an impression of him wearing it. This is a signature style of the legend Steven Spielberg, who delivers a strong message through a reflection shot that shows both the subject and its opposite view.
