Hot answers tagged realism
34
Yes, it is absoluely a real Unix system, it was a Silicon Graphics workstation (using IRIX, the SGI System V based Unix) running a three dimensional file system browser.
Silicon Graphics were early developers of hardware acceleration for 3D graphics, so it makes complete sense that even in 1993 they had Unix workstations capable of a 3D file system viewer.
...
12
Apparently Keanu Reeves, after the Matrix experience, got hooked on Martial Arts. But as far as the movie is concerned, we're talking about choreography (you learn moves as when you do with dancing).
According to The Matrix FAQ on Imdb:
The actors that were hired had some kind of physical background; Carrie Anne-Moss was a dancer and Keanu Reeves used ...
12
Calvin's just a follower of phrenology which is essentially an out-dated and discredited 'science' of analyzing bumps on people's heads to determine the attributes of the brain within. The idea being that the different parts of the brain have various specialized jobs. So a lump in an area associated with laziness means that person is lazy because their ...
9
The method is called Cupping therapy and is a form of alternative medicine.
A partial vacuum is created in cups placed on the skin either by means of heat or suction. According to the American Cancer Society, "[a]vailable scientific evidence does not support cupping as a cure for cancer or any other disease". It can leave temporary bruised painful marks ...
9
The application is fsn (pronounced Fusion). There's more information available on wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fsn
and there's an open-source clone available called FSV:
http://fsv.sourceforge.net/
9
Medical experts disagree on the need for surgical treatment to abdominal stab wounds. Most agree that an expert medical opinion is needed immediately. However, barring the evidence of evisceration (organs protruding from the body), or injuries to peritoneum exhibiting visible dramatic blood loss or bubbles indicating an injury to the diaphragm, surgery in ...
8
The final shootout has Vincent doing his highly practiced and refined Mozambique Drill (a favorite of Mann, clearly underscored by holes in the train car doors) while Max is shaking and shooting like mad, with his bullets ricocheting through the glass by chance.
Vincent's training may have taken over as it is wont to do and drove him to do the wrong thing ...
8
It's underestimation by Vincent really. Throughout the movie he continued to use Max as the cab driver on the assumption that there is nothing Max would try to do to injure Vincent. For example after shooting in the club incident, Vincent retained control by shooting the FBI agent and telling Max to get back in the car.
The lead up to Vincent's death shows ...
7
Its suggested in the movie itself that these illusions are possible. A couple of performers (perhaps) demonstrate to the inspector how it could be done using what would be called Smoke and Mirrors (S&M) today. It can be surmised that Eisenheim perfected the technique and used it for his illusion.
7
Well when you look at the attempts to move it, it clearly does move, but very difficultly. I would suspect that he put some sort of extremely strong electromagnet just under the floor. That way any metal objects that are close enough are held tight towards it (like how neodymium magnets are extremely difficult to pull apart).
It would be an electromagnet ...
6
Actually it would be possible for pretty much any soldiers to win in that situation not only the gladiator champions.
Roman shields look flawless against arrows or such but in close combat against mobile soldiers they make you just a dead weight.
First of all for a functional shield wall 5 sides of a box formation must be tightly connected(some later ...
6
From an interview with writer and director Neil Burger:
Q: Several of the illusions that are shown in the film are based on real illusions from that time.
A: That's what I tried to do with the illusions. It is based on a short story, and it has some of the illusions in it. I used that as my
point of departure.
Magicians at that time -- in a ...
5
IMDb explains this for a scene in Mission: Impossible II:
The scene where Tom Cruise "peels off his face" to reveal Dougray Scott was achieved in one shot by shooting both actors against a green screen.
Cruise, not wearing a mask, was simply told to place his hand in a pre-arranged position under his chin then pull his hand across his face.
...
4
I wouldn't call it screw-up but really luck.
I myself especially liked this and found it somehow realistic. Luck is something often regarded unrealistic because we await movies to happen in a predictable way (a taxi driver not having a chance against a trained hitman). But indeed luck is something completely realistic and happening in real life, just not ...
4
Only certain types of deception or misdirection are prohibited in football; specifically, anything that simulates a snap or the beginning of a play is prohibited (so a center making jerking movements, a back starting to run forward, etc.). The talking, slow standing, moving backward, etc. is all allowed.
Having said that, there is another rule that states ...
3
It is certainly possible to alter the facial appearance of a person to make him/her resemble another person using prosthetic make-up.
But those shown in the movies such as Mission Impossible, Charlie's Angels and the one depicted above are not practically possible as it would involve the mask to be a one-piece wearable and removable item, very much unlike ...
2
Magical performances comprising of spirits being summoned on stage where pretty common even in the 19th century. The effect was achieved indeed with the use of smoke and mirror. However, a typical tool in usage was the Fantascope aka Magic Lantern. This apparatus is also seen in the movie but can be easily overlooked as normal lanterns.
I found this ...
2
I've been looking for a reference to this particular film but have been unable to find one.
However after watching the scene it looks plausible that a trip wire was used to bring down the horse. Trip wires were used quite a bit back in the 1940s and before. As this film was released in 1967 I was unsure if this technique was still used but after a little ...
2
It could be a lot of things. Here are a list of drugs and toxins that can cause seizures.
http://professionals.epilepsy.com/page/table_drugs_induce.html
More than likely it was some sort of poison as that was her area of expertise. Most any substances taken orally will have a delayed effect. In this case, I don't believe it was too long after.
She most ...
1
To add on to what Alenanno said:
This is the case for almost any movie. With any of these movies you're seeing choreographed fights, not actual fights. They're more dance than fighting, there's 0 or near 0 actual physical contact, little/no improvisation, it's all heavily planned out for visual effect. Each punch, kick, block, was planned and known to all ...
1
You can see Max take a small step to the side while he's firing. Perhaps by firing once or twice--giving Vincent a target--and then moving, Vincent ended up firing at the wrong spot.
While this is logical and makes Max look smart, Vincent was unloading his weapon through a small window with Max directly in the path. I really don't see how Max could have ...
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