Questions tagged [realism]
The general attempt to depict things accurately in films and tv shows.
463
questions
-4
votes
1answer
174 views
Is it realistic for so many planets to have breathable atmospheres?
Lost In Space showed many planets as having breathable oxygen in their atmospheres. How realistic is it for all these planets to have breathable atmospheres?
31
votes
1answer
4k views
How much of Twister is true?
Obviously I know that it's a story but . . .
Has anyone actually successfully placed an instrument package into a tornado and received scientific data?
In this respect, was the film Twister (1996) ...
46
votes
1answer
17k views
Why was Pepsi free in 1985?
In Back to the Future, when Marty is stuck in the past, he visits a known diner from his timeline and asks the server about the phone booth and the address of Doc Brown. The server angrily asks him &...
2
votes
0answers
217 views
How is the "light" trap at the beginning supposed to work?
In the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones encounters a trap where blocking a shaft of light with his hand causes spikes to shoot out of the wall next to him:
...
1
vote
0answers
85 views
How realistic is Flash of Genius?
I recently watched Flash of Genius (2008), and I'm curious how close it stays to the real-life story of Robert Kearns, the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper in 1969 before having the ...
12
votes
2answers
10k views
If you pour buckets of gasoline on mattresses and shoot one pistol bullet at mattresses, will mattresses fire up?
In The Enemy Below (at 1:21:18/1:37:35), the USN XO fires one round from his pistol into mattresses that sailors have poured gasoline on. Next these mattresses fire up. Is this scientific?
1
vote
1answer
153 views
Why did US Navy sailors apologize for swearing, even in front of C.O.?
USN sailors apologizing for swearing, accurate? Why apologize? Don't sailors cuss?
USN sailor said "Son of a bitch ricocheted off the surface" in front of Commander Ernest Krause. Then ...
6
votes
1answer
912 views
Apple TV "See" series - are the knots a real form of communication?
In the Apple TV Series "See", are the strings they read real? I think the last episode or 2 I heard them called knots.
Just curious if it's a real way of communications or made up. Doesn't ...
2
votes
1answer
147 views
How does the ending of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" make sense?
From movie mistakes:
Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) loses her case and Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is found guilty. But as the judge is about to tell Father Moore his sentence, one of the jury members ...
-1
votes
3answers
303 views
Would a Royal Navy submarine Commanding Officer be OF-5 or OF-4?
I fully hrok the distinction between the RANK of OF-4 (Commander) v. Commanding Officer, the official title of the skipper of a ship.
BBC's Vigil, Season 1, Episode 4 has a continuity error that ...
3
votes
1answer
190 views
Could Hank really have pulled footage of Jesse's RV from the ATM?
In Season 3 Episode 4 ("Green Light") of Breaking Bad, Hank is able to determine what Jesse's RV looks like by pulling footage from a gas station ATM camera:
It was my understanding that ...
3
votes
3answers
450 views
Can a lone gunshot flip over a moving SUV?
In The Marksman (2021), Liam Neeson's character fires two gunshots at a Chevrolet SUV. The first penetrates the windshield and kills the driver.
Where exactly does he fire the second shot at? The ...
2
votes
1answer
381 views
What is the programming language seen in The Martian?
In the "systems shutdown" scene in The Martian, they show some code. Is that a real programming language (best guess Haskell) or just some hacking-movie-fake-code-with-random-math thing?
...
1
vote
0answers
175 views
Do they really have apartments that vibrate with trains in New York?
In the movie, Se7en, Detective Mills and Tracy live in an apartment that vibrate when a train comes by.
How realistic is it? I would imagine building quality inspector would have disapproved its ...
4
votes
1answer
330 views
Between Frasier and Niles who can actually afford their lifestyle and dwelling?
So after doing a little digging and taking a look at the possible earnings for both Frasier and Niles I'm still not sure as to who can actually afford the standard of living shown in the show. Frasier ...
-1
votes
1answer
154 views
Does this method really work to catch rats? [closed]
In Manu (2018), Manu use this method to catch rats:
A strong rope, three tomatoes, a cycle bar, some oil and an iron box.
It's the only trap to catch rats safely. They smell the tomatoes,
crawl onto ...
-4
votes
1answer
184 views
Why do the agents knock on the doors?
While watching The Mentalist I observed that whenever the agents went to the families for interrogation, they always knocked on the door of the house to declare that they were there. In some of ...
2
votes
1answer
230 views
Ending of Cruella
At the end of Cruella (2021):
Is this according to the law? That is, does a woman who murders her daughter, go to prison and lose her fortune to her daughter's heir? According to Wikipedia, the movie ...
2
votes
0answers
111 views
Why do the children not cry when they are taken from their homes?
Some spoilers may be found ahead
At the end of season three, when the kids are walking to the plane, it appears to me as weird that none of the kids are crying or protesting, because they were ...
3
votes
3answers
3k views
Is the protective armour in the shooting scene in Wrath of Man realistic?
There is quite a long shooting scene in the movie, where antagonists wear some sort of protective armour that is capable of protecting them from numerous bullet hits from the relatively close range. ...
62
votes
2answers
12k views
Why does the roadrunner say "beep beep"?
What is the reasoning behind having the roadrunner say "beep beep" constantly? Do real roadrunner birds make a similar sound?
1
vote
1answer
169 views
Why are they not wearing safety belts while driving an armoured truck?
In this movie Wrath of Man, when Bullet is informing H that their truck will be jacked soon and warn H not to resist; I noticed Bullet is not wearing his safety belt.
I am wondering if this scene is ...
1
vote
1answer
219 views
Is it real that USA military find specialists to help in specific disaster situations?
In many Hollywood movies (specially movies with catastrophes like earthquakes, aliens, tsunamis, tornadoes...) military personal always wake up some scientists at their houses and take them (sometimes ...
1
vote
0answers
68 views
Was the Norwegian container house based on a real building?
In The Midnight Sky, the main character finds an abandoned container-like house in the Arctic landscape where they take shelter.
This container has a Norwegian flag and some text on it.
Is it based on ...
0
votes
1answer
252 views
Why does the boy say stamps cost $30?
In the second episode of the first season of Resident Alien, there is the following dialog between a boy and an alien:
-- If you work at the post office, how much does a stamp cost?
-- $100.
-- I ...
-3
votes
1answer
170 views
Did the Romans have any other sources of news announcement apart from this speaker? [closed]
In the TV show, Rome, this news announcer delivers news to the public.
I am wondering if the Romans had any other ways to spread the news?
For news to be passed on ...
-1
votes
1answer
124 views
How much money did the local sheriff manage? [closed]
In any western movie, the bounty hunter is paid his money on the spot, amounting to hundreds to thousands of dollars. That was a lot of money, and I have a hard time believing that the small town ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
How realistic is Kidd's job as a news reader?
In the movie, News of the world, Kidd travels around and makes a living by reading the news to others.
I understand back then in the USA, people were likely to be illiterate. But did people really ...
0
votes
1answer
937 views
Why was Captain Ranvijay Singh's dead body released in the sea in the movie "The Ghazi Attack"?
In Ghazi (also called The Ghazi Attack), after Captain Ranvijay Singh died, his body was released in the sea.
Is it due to religious reasons or is a naval code?
This page mentions
Cremation is the ...
6
votes
0answers
174 views
Why isn't Robin Williams in Sean's military photo?
In Good Will Hunting (1997) during the scene where Will and Sean have their first session, Will notices a photo of Sean and his buddies in Vietnam. The photo is shown below. My question is why Robin ...
0
votes
0answers
119 views
Did The Wire invent the "Jump 5" cipher?
This is a version of a question I asked on Security.SE, this time with a focus on the TV side of it.
In S01E05 of The Wire, at around the 45:00 mark, it's revealed that:
In more detail:
Each digit ...
32
votes
1answer
5k views
Did the actors in All Creatures Great and Small actually have their hands in the animals?
During the holidays I started watching the old BBC show, All Creatures Great and Small again. Some scenes in the Yorkshire stables seem a little strange. Did Christopher Timothy actually have his hand ...
0
votes
2answers
256 views
Is Jack and Rose's love story real?
In the film Titanic, did the story of Jack and Rose actually happen in real life?
1
vote
2answers
174 views
How realistic is it for a democratic decision to be concluded by listening to aye and nay?
In House of Cards, there are several occasions that a democratic decision is reached by asking people to yell out Aye in agreement or Nay in disagreement.
There is a particularly occasion in Season 4, ...
17
votes
4answers
5k views
Did they allow smoking in the USA Courts in 1960s?
This is the scene from The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020):
Did they allow smoking in the USA Courts?
8
votes
0answers
779 views
Are public speeches in The Crown accurate?
The Crown tries to present a dramatisation of Queen Elizabeth's rise into power (or rather, the early years, at least in the first two seasons, I am aware that it will jump into a later period in ...
1
vote
1answer
268 views
How did Jack get the boom to swing across and hit Will?
In the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, when Will and Jack are having a debate about whether Will's father was a pirate, Jack turns the ship's wheel, causing the boom to swing across and hit Will,...
9
votes
1answer
682 views
Why do people show their backs to The Queen all the time in The Crown?
I've heard that you should never show your backside to the Queen. That means that leaving the room you walk backwards, and so on.
Yet in The Crown the vast majority of characters, and not just the ...
4
votes
0answers
192 views
How real is to have Muscovites gather on the doors of the tournament center to see the chess players after their matches?
In the 6th and 7th episode of The Queen's Gambit, Beth plays the Moscow Invitational, an important chess tournament (that is fictional) in Russia. Some of the best players from around the world play ...
0
votes
1answer
238 views
Do people really open wine bottles with an army sword?
In Hannibal, season 3, ep 1, Antipasto,
There is a scene where waiters open sealed wine bottles with an army sword by cutting them open.
Do people really do this in real life? I am not even sure this ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Is it true that police only do an outline of a body with chalk if that person is alive and taken to hospital?
Season 1, Ep 3, Hannibal, Abigail returns home after waking up from her coma and sees the word "cannibals" painted on their garage door.
Then Abigail asks Will if a place is where her mom ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
Would messmate really be helping gun crew during the battle?
In the Greyhound movie, we can see a black messmate (or is it "messman"?) Cleveland regularly bringing food to the captain. When the U-boats attack, there is a moment, when we can see ...
2
votes
1answer
265 views
Colonizing Mars with Crops
In The Martian, after Mark Watney reestablishes contact with Earth, he says this:
I’ve gotten e-mail from rock stars, athletes, actors and actresses,
and even the President.
One of them was from my ...
24
votes
1answer
8k views
Why was this sailor painting a Swastika on a US Destroyer?
In the WWII movie Greyhound (2020), at about 25:00 we can see a sailor painting a Swastika symbol on the ship. This happens right after they have sunk a Nazi U-Boat.
Why was this sailor painting a ...
1
vote
0answers
265 views
How realistic is the bear attack in Walker: Texas Ranger?
In the episode "The Bachelor Party" there is a bear that attacks the two campers who are fishing, then goes after the rangers. How realistic is that in real life and what would make a bear ...
3
votes
0answers
114 views
What would the penalty for this be? [closed]
In the beginning of Scarface, when he realizes the Miami authorities have figured out he did time in Cuba, Tony says he was imprisoned for "buying dollars"- someone on Movie Mistakes told me ...
3
votes
1answer
333 views
Do astronauts really have to pay for pillows and blankets as shown in Ad Astra?
Is it really true that astronauts actually have to pay for pillows and blankets during space-flights as shown in Ad Astra?
I would rather say it sounds like paying for drinking water or maybe at best ...
8
votes
1answer
8k views
Why weren't Hitler's actual facial features used in The Man in the High Castle?
I've started watching The Man in the High Castle (2015) and became quite impressed with the overall idea and presentation of the post-WWII alternative reality. It looked like the producers chose to ...
-3
votes
1answer
582 views
How can KGB officers, born and bred in USSR, speak perfect accentless American English?
I know Matthew Rhys's (who portrays Phillip Jennings) first language is Welsh, and speaks English with a Welsh accent, so he's imitating the US accent in The Americans. But US-born actors with ...
-3
votes
1answer
141 views
Is this rifle, that can pivot 90° around corners, real?
I don't know if this is a rifle or SMG. 0:11.