Question: How could Thaddeus be convicted of the vault robbery? He didn't have means, motive, or opportunity for the crime. There wouldn't be any forensic evidence tying him to the crime.
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Question: I loaded the film up on Netflix, and it seems that the dialogue in one scene was edited. In the standard cut of the film, Jeebs says "You insensitive prick!" to K, but in the version I saw on Netflix, Jeebs says "You insensitive jerk!" What's the deal with the Netflix version changing this one single line? The original "prick" line appears to be on both the VHS and Blu-Ray edition I own.
Answer: After a little research, I discovered that the line was changed in the UK release from "prick" to "jerk." So the most likely explanation I can find is that the Netflix version is taken from a UK master of the film. As mentioned in other comments, Netflix doesn't censor their films, so the other answer regarding the film being edited like movies shown on airplanes isn't accurate. (Not to mention, it'd make no sense for Netflix to edit this one profanity while leaving all the others intact if they were editing it for content).
I agree it's the UK version. I don't know if it's a licensing thing or cheaper, but I've notice Netflix will use the UK release version on a number of films. I'm not familiar with "prick" as a UK slang but I believe it's more graphic than US slang, similar to the word "fanny", and edited for the UK release.
Answer: In fact, it's done twice. When talking about Frank the pug, the standard edit has K saying "I just hope the little prick hasn't skipped town." The streaming version doesn't. I say streaming version because I just discovered that the Amazon version of this film edited out the word "prick," and I didn't realise the Netflix version had too. I'm in the US, so what's going on here?
Generally the changes people notice in films when watching Netflix or other services come from the fact that they're airing the UK release version (for whatever reason). I remember the first time people really noticed this was when Scooby-Doo 2 changed the product placement from Burger King to KFC (which I commented on).
Answer: As more films become available online and are accessible to a wider audience, the studios edit mature content that is unacceptable to under-aged viewers. It's the same as movies that are shown on airplanes where the adult content is edited or removed altogether.
Netflix doesn't censor their movies, though... So this explanation makes no sense.
It just seems odd, as Netflix basically never censors content in other films they host (since they're supposed to be hosting the officially released versions anyways), and the rest of the profanity/violence in this particular film is unedited.
Question: Why did Eddie smile when he received the Symbiote? I mean he seemed terrified at first but when he was on the ground he smiled.
Answer: The symbiote is shown to have an influence over its host, demonstrated by the change in Peter's personality after he bonded with it. Eddie, who was already bitter and angry by this point, could feel the symbiote taking over him, and while initially terrified, he quickly began to understand, accept and enjoy the change occurring within himself.
Question: What was the purpose of Channing Tatum preventing the gate from opening?
Answer: Jamming the gate by blocking the sensor delayed Joe Bang's brothers long enough for Mellie to come and collect some bags full of cash. Jimmy specifically did not trust them to know his entire plan. This part of the ruse allowed them to steal a separate stash of money so they could pretend to return the stolen money, whilst secretly keeping some to distribute later.
Question: Was the spinosaurus following the group, if so how? Or were they merely bumping into each other?
Answer: Being a predator, it would probably have a defined territory that it roamed looking for prey. The group is always traveling on foot and in the time frame they have been on the island, they likely were always in close proximity to where the spinosaurus hunted. It could possibly have detected them by sight, sound, or smell, or a combination of those factors.
Answer: Probably by smell.
Question: During the car chase scene, why does James Bond need to press the roof in order to get his vehicle up?
Answer: That was the ejector seat. Triggering it with the car upside down flipped the car over.
Question: I know that nowadays, the F.B.I. does have operations abroad. However when this film was made 20 years ago showing the F.B.I. operating in Moscow... did the F.B.I. conduct operations outside of the country as depicted? I was under the impression that was the CIA's job.
Answer: It is stated that the FBI is working with their Russian equivalent, the MVD on a joint operation. The FBI primarily focuses on domestic issues but does on occasion engage in operations outside of the United States with the assistance and in the aid of foreign governments. The CIA would not be the appropriate government agency to handle the operation in the movie because that mission is a law enforcement operation. The CIA is strictly an intelligence gathering organization with no law enforcement authority.
Answer: Since 1940 (prior to the CIA being established), the FBI have been stationed in various foreign countries. Usually agent don't have the authority to make arrests, however, they can if Congress has granted the FBI extraterritorial jurisdiction and the host country agrees. The FBI establishes attaché offices, commonly known as legats, in foreign cities. In 1993 there were 21 of these offices and the new FBI director, Louis Freeh, wanted more and by 1997 there were 32. So, yes, 20 years ago the FBI conducted operations in foreign countries. I know currently there's a legat in Moscow, although I don't know when it was established. However, given the nature of the film, it's not unreasonable to think the FBI could quickly set up operations in Moscow, if they were not already established there, with no explanations needed since it's already something the FBI does.
Answer: It is the C.I.A's job to conduct foreign investigations. You're right in that respect. Why the FBI is involved is either unexplained or not mentioned.
Question: When Major Koslova confronts Ghazzi in the club, he speaks first with a joke or line of some sort. "What, no kick back this week?" What is that supposed to mean? A google search revealed nothing to me. (00:05:55)
Answer: Kick back means bribe. He's insinuating that he can bribe anyone to look the other way whilst he continues his dealings.
Answer: A "kickback" (one word) could be considered a type of bribe, but more commonly it is an arranged pay-off for some type of business transaction. Someone does something to make money, either legally or illegally, and someone who aids or is in someway useful to them is paid a percentage of the profits.
Question: Why is losing such a big deal for Kreese?
Answer: Because Kreese never loses. Ever. Period. He's not a loser. Especially considering his opponent.
Question: In all honesty I have little (if any) anthropological knowledge of what life was like for Native Americans in the USA in the nineteenth century. But it seemed to me that, for much of the time, the Native Americans in the movie did not resemble the members of a 'hunter gatherer' society whose way of life was under threat from the onset of the modern industrial world. Instead the Native Americans seemed to live, act and behave much more like the members of a 1960's hippie commune. How accurate is that?
Answer: Some members of tribes like the Cheyenne joined in the 'modern' world to some extent, using guns and even putting on Western clothes and eating Western food. While nowhere near the technological nous of the white settlers, the natives were far from being hunter gatherers at this point.
Answer: Well observed sir! What you say is correct. I admit I probably was wrong in calling Native North Americans 'hunter gatherers' as I think some tribes had agriculture and permanent settlements well before Columbus ever reached the American Continent. I also think that the Cherokee consciously tried to adapt to modern life by building houses and becoming farmers. My point was more that it seemed to me that the portrayal of many Native Americans in Little Big Man did not seem historically accurate, but showed them as being more like 1960's hippies. But I am fully aware that this may have been intentional, since the film was giving a 1960's 'spin' on the legends of the 'Wild West'. But please, do not take my posts on this website too seriously. I am fully aware that this was a film made to entertain people, it was not meant to be a historical documentary. And it was the fictional recollections of a 121 year old man. And the film poster said 'Little Big Man was either the most neglected hero in history OR A liar of insane proportion', so you are invited to have your doubts about anything that happens in the film.
Rob, you may want to look into reading the novel the film was based on written by Thomas Berger. He wrote some pretty twisted stuff.
Question: At the end of the segment "The Hitchhiker", when the mutilated corpse attacks Annie in her car, what was she saying after she said, "How much do you want?"
Answer: What she says is "do you want 50 or a 100." You have to listen close.
I heard it. You got good ears. I had to increase the volume on my TV but I heard it.
Answer: Incoherent mumbling.
Question: Why did they have to call a stealth bomber all the way from Missouri to go to Wyoming to bomb the creatures? There is an air force base in Wyoming. And secondly, why even need a stealth bomber? they are targeting animals in an already heavily publicized event.
Answer: Likely because the bomber was prepared with the necessary payload, compared to any in Wyoming.
Answer: The Wyoming Base most likely did not have the ordinance or aircraft capable of carrying the ordinance required so they used the closed base with the available ordinance and aircraft. Not every base has the same ordinance and aircraft at the same time.
Question: When Baron Munchausen and his cohorts clean out the Sultan's vault, the Sultan's horrified Treasurer crosses himself in the Catholic fashion. But, in this film, the Sultan is head of the Ottoman Empire (a Muslim empire), and the closest members of his court (such as his Treasurer) would surely be Muslim. So the treasurer's Christian gesture stands out as unlikely, at best. This seems to be a character error, but was it intended as a deliberate joke? If so, what was the joke?
Answer: The Baron is a teller of tall tales and massively exaggerated stories, so it is all from his limited point of view. The Ottomans did have Christian members of staff, especially doctors and such but the treasurer would never be a non-Muslim.
Question: At the start of each episode of Mission Impossible Briggs or Phelps received details of the mission from a tape recording that was 'hidden in plain sight', say a telephone booth displaying a poster saying 'Telephone Out Of Order. Do Not Use'. So, what would happen if somebody went into the kiosk before Briggs or Phelps, picked up the telephone and got the secret message ahead of the Mission Impossible team?
Answer: This is not really a serious question. When I posted this question I was fully aware that Mission Impossible is only a television programme. Like many espionage thrillers (Man From Uncle, The Avengers, James Bond) it is meant to entertain, it is never meant to be taken literally seriously. It was essential to the story that Briggs or Phelps received a secret message, which would give them a mission to accomplish. If they did not receive the message you would not have had the story. When I used to watch Mission Impossible it just used to amuse me to wonder what might have happened had somebody picked up the phone containing the secret message ahead of Briggs or Phelps. I even considered writing to a comedian and suggesting that they devise a comedy sketch in which this happened. My question was only meant to be a joke, that I posted to amuse people.
The Lucy Show or Here's Lucy did an episode of exactly this scenario.
Question: How is it that Thomas can understand what the rabbits are saying as shown in the make-up scene and no other human can?
Answer: It's not clear if he actually can hear them or not. It's implied in the film that it's possibly stress or a mental break that is causing him to hallucinate their voices, or is suddenly thinking on a brain wave length that can understand them. If it's the former, it's coincidence that he hears similar to what Peter is actually saying. Either case explains why he suddenly can hear them when nobody else can around them despite them talking in front of people.
Answer: The humans can actually understand the rabbits. Because notice during the scene when Peter is about to put the carrot in the Old Mr. McGregor's pants, the rabbits are talking quietly, most likely so Mr. McGregor doesn't hear them. And then there aren't any other scenes where they talk at a normal volume, or talk at all around humans, except for at the end when Peter is apologizing to the young Mr. McGregor.
Question: What blew the door to Mike's workshop off its hinges?
Answer: That was the initial gas blow-out, prior to the explosion. Pressurized gas was coming out of the drill pipe with sufficient force to tear the place apart, even before it ignited.
What caused the gases to ignite?
Gas blowouts are notorious for igniting themselves. The vast quantity of gas and particulates, expelled under high pressure, create an electrostatic charge in the gas cloud that arcs to the nearest grounding point. It's like shuffling across a carpet and then touching a metal doorknob: a tiny electrostatic spark is created. Such a tiny spark is all that is necessary to ignite a cloud of petroleum gas.
Question: How did Bond win the game of backgammon, with Kamal Khan, when he didn't get all his chips off the board? Even the two sixes he rolled wouldn't have done it.
Answer: Bond (taking over for the Major) had 1 piece on point 2, 1 piece on point 3, and 2 pieces on point 6. Rolling doubles in Backgammon means you get to make 4 moves instead of just 2, so he was able to remove all 4 pieces. If you have a piece on point 2, you don't have to roll a 2 to remove it. Anything higher than a 2 can be used to remove the piece. Kahn even says Bond has to roll a double 6 in order to win, which he does.
Answer: Not knowing anything about backgammon so this is perhaps wrong. But I thought that Bond didn't win. And the fact that he produced the Faberge egg is what ended the game. (I'm more than likely wrong tho).
Question: How come all news networks refused to show Apollo 13's live TV broadcast?
Answer: The US had been to the moon twice before. America had already become jaded with NASA's successes and weren't interested in minute by minute coverage before they'd even reached the lunar surface.
The American public was not jaded with the lunar program so much as it was the Big Three television networks that had become complacent.
Question: When the soldiers were skydiving into the city why did they have red flares attached to their boots?
Answer: Due to the storm, it became difficult for the soldiers to see one another. The flares were used to help them keep track of their positions during the skydive.
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Answer: He confessed under the pretense that he didn't want an expensive trial but really because he was in charge of the Eye all along.