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Raging Bull (1980)
1. To visually achieve Jake's growing desperation and diminishing stature,
Scorcese shot the later boxing scenes in a larger ring.
2. Original script included a scene
of La Motta masturbating in his prison cell.
3. Sound effects for punches landing were made by squashing melons and tomatoes.
Sound effects for camera flashes going off were sounds of gunshots. The original
tapes were deliberately destroyed by the sound technicians, to prevent then
being used again.
4. Robert De Niro accidentally broke Joe Pesci's rib in a sparring scene. This
shot appears in the film: De Niro hits Pesci in the side, Pesci groans, and
there is a quick cut to another angle.
5. De Niro gained over 50 pounds to play the older La Motta, and Pesci lost
weight for the same scene.
6. In preparation for his role, Robert De Niro went through extensive physical
training, then entered in three genuine Brooklyn boxing matches and won two of
them.
7. To show up better on black-and-white film, Hershey's chocolate was used for
blood.
8. While preparing to play Jake La Motta, Robert De Niro actually met with La
Motta and became very well acquainted with him. They spent the entire shoot
together so De Niro could portray his character accurately. La Motta said that
De Niro has the ability to be a contender, and that he would have been happy to
be his manager and trainer.
9. When Jake is yelling at his first wife about the steak, his neighbour starts
screaming at him. Not only was this not in the script, but the man in the other
apartment didn't know that it was Robert De Niro or that he was shooting a
movie, since it was shot on location. Staying firmly in character, De Niro began
arguing back.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1. Jock's airplane at the beginning has the registration number OB-3PO,
referring to Obi-wan and C-3PO from Star Wars (1977).
2. Script originally included a long fight between a swordsman and Indiana with his whip. Actor Harrison Ford was suffering diarrhoea at the time, and asked Why don't I just shoot him?, so they filmed this instead. Some sources attribute the idea to Steven Spielberg rather than to Ford.
3. The hieroglyphics in the map room include engravings of R2-D2 and C-3PO (from Star Wars (1977), however they do not appear on film against popular belief.
4.
Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones, but
he was committed to Magnum P.I (1980). Magnum P.I. did an episode
that parodied "Raiders", complete with hat, whip, booby traps, etc.
5. Nick Nolte turned down the role of Indiana Jones
6. The scene where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark with a bazooka as it is
being carried through a canyon was filmed in the same canyon in Tunisia used in
Star Wars (1977) when R2-D2 was zapped and stolen by Jawas.
7. In filming the Well of Souls sequence, the producers scoured every pet shop
in London and the South of England for every snake they could lay their hands
on. Hence there are snakes that are identifiable from many different
geographical areas. However, once all the snakes were on set, it became clear
that there were not nearly enough of them, so Spielberg had several hoses cut
into lengths, and these were used as well. Looking closely, you can tell which
are the real snakes and which are not.
8. Harrison Ford was actually dragged behind the truck for some of the shots.
When asked if he was worried, Ford quipped: "No. If it really was dangerous,
they would have filmed more of the movie first."
9. The film reused the submarine model from Das Boot (1981).
10. During filming in Tunisia, nearly everyone in the cast and crew got sick,
except director Steven Spielberg. It is thought that he avoided illness by
eating only the food he'd brought with him: cans and cans of Spaghetti-O's.
11. The opening scene in the lost South American temple is partly based on a
classic Disney Ducks adventure helmed by the legendary artist Carl Barks, many
of whose comic books have inspired George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Exploring
a lost temple, Donald Duck, his nephews, and Scrooge McDuck must evade a
succession of booby traps -- flying darts, a decapitating blade, a huge boulder,
a tunnel flooded with a torrent of gushing water, etc. -- in the story "The
Prize of Pizarro" ("Uncle $crooge" number 26, June-August 1959), which hit the
newsstands when Lucas and Spielberg were respectively 15 and 12 years old. Both
men are avowed fans of the Barks comic books.
12. Indiana Jones's kangaroo-hide bullwhip was sold in December, 1999 at
Christie's auction house in London for $43,000.
13. Renowned British wrestler Pat 'Bomber' Roach gets killed twice in this film
- once as a giant Sherpa left in the burning Nepalese bar and once as the German
mechanic chewed up by the plane's propeller.
14. When Indy gets on the plane on his way to Nepal, the Nazi agent aboard is
reading a Life magazine. It is issue Volume 1, Number 2, dated November 30th,
1936 (the second issue of the magazine). Pages 42 and 43 are dedicated to the
water colour paintings of Adolf Hitler.
Raising
Arizona (1987)
1. Nicolas Cage and his
fellow factory workers wear uniforms with 'Hudsucker Industries'
emblazoned on them. Seven years later the Coen Brother direct The
Hucdsucker Proxy.
Rain Man (1988)
1. The scene where Raymond explains that only Qantas has not crashed is cut from
the version shown on every major airline except Qantas.
2. The script originally had
Raymond as happy and friendly, but after an initial reading Dustin Hoffman
successfully lobbied for Raymond to be a withdrawn autistic.
3. After being interviewed by the psychiatrist, Raymond (Hoffman) leans his head
against Charlie's and says "My main man Charlie". This was unscripted, and
improvised by Hoffman.
4. Raymond memorizes a phone book up to the names Marsha and William Gottsegen--Dustin
Hoffman's real-life in-laws.
5. In the very beginning of the movie, a red sports car has MI 3762 4 written on
its windshield. The numbers 3762 spell out Cruise's birthday: 3 July 1962.
6. Dustin Hoffman was originally to play the part of Charlie Babbit, but after
being moved to tears seeing a "savant" named Leslie Lemke (who is blind,
retarded, and has cerebral palsy) play full concertos on the piano by ear, he
decided to play the part of Raymond instead. The character of Raymond Babbit is
loosely based on a man named George who, if given any random date and year, can
give the day of the week on which it fell, despite being unable to solve the
simplest multiplication problem.
Rat Race
(2001)
1. Rowan Atkinson's character (an Italian tourist) was originally going to be a
Chinese diplomat.
2. Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character is based on a real-life referee.
Rear Window (1954)
1. The film was unavailable for decades because its rights (together with four
other pictures of the same periods) were bought back by Hitchcock and left as
part of his legacy to his daughter. They've been known for long as the infamous
5 lost Hitchcocks amongst film buffs, and were re-released in theatre around
1984 after a 30-years absence. They are Rear Window (1954), The Trouble with
Harry (1955), Rope (1948), Vertigo (1958) and
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
2. Other than a couple of shots near the end and the discovery of the dead dog all the shots in the movie originate from Jeff's apartment
Red Heat
(1988)
1. First western film crew to be allowed to film in Moscow's Red Square. Many of
the Moscow scenes, as well as the "bath-house" scene were filmed in Hungary.
2. The film is dedicated to its stunt coordinator, Bennie Dobbins. Dobbins died
of a heart attack on the set while staging the film's snow fight scene in
Vienna.
3. The name and signature above Ivan Danko in the hotel guestbook are of Jim
Morrison, lead singer for the Doors.
Replacement Killers, The (1998)
1. The Chinese character engraved on Lee's bullets means death
Repo Man (1984)
1. Many of the characters are named after beers.
2. All purchasable items are labelled generically: Food, Beer, etc. This came about after the producers failed to attract any offers of payment for product placement.
3. All cars (plus the police motorcycle) have Christmas tree air fresheners.
4. Otto's co-worker (Kevin) at the supermarket sings the jingle for 7-Up just before Mr. Humphries fires them. Later at Mr. Humphries' house, Kevin can be seen in the background, adjusting a TV set that's playing a 7-Up commercial.
Rescuers,
The (1977)
1. Disney recalled 3.4 million copies of the home video release after
discovering two photographs of a nude women among the film's more than 110,000
frames. A Disney spokeswoman said that the pictures had been laid over the
original cels of the film when it was produced in the mid-70's.
2. Evinrude the Dragonfly, who pushes a small boat in the film, is named after a
manufacturer of outboard boat motors.
3. Early in development the character of Cruella Devil was to be the films
villain not Medusa. There are similarities between the two characters.
4. The film was one of the last Disney classics to be animated by members of
Walt Disney's "nine old men".
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
1. Tarantino wanted James Woods to play a role in the film, and made him five
different cash offers. Woods' agent refused the offers without ever mentioning
it to Woods as the sums offered were well below what Woods would usually
receive. When Tarantino and Woods later met for the first time, Woods learnt of
the offers and was annoyed enough to get a new agent. Tarantino avoided telling
Woods which role he was offered because the actor who played the role was
magnificent anyway. It is widely accepted that the role that Tarantino was
referring to was Mr. Orange.
Return of
the Pink Panther, The (1975)
1. David Niven was invited to reprise the role of Sir Charles Litton from the
first Pink Panther movie The Pink Panther (1963), but he was
unavailable.
2. This film was originally intended to be a 26-part Pink Panther miniseries
produced by Blake Edwards for the British ATV. The ATV then decided to turn it
into a "Movie-of-the-Week", followed by a move to a feature film.
3. While United Artists did release the film and does hold the copyright, this
is the only Pink Panther film that is not controlled by MGM. It is also the only
Pink Panther film that has never been released by MGM on Home Video.
Revenge of
the Pink Panther (1978)
1. Peter Sellers' final "official" appearance as Inspector Clouseau. The next
film, (Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)) consisted of outtakes and
unused scenes from previous Pink Panther films.
2. The voice-over in the trailer for this movie (included on the US DVD release)
several times refers to the main character as "Andrι Clouseau".
Ricochet (1991)
1. Mary Ellen Trainor played reporter Gail Wallens, a character she also played in Die Hard (1988).
2. John Lithgow almost never blinks during this film.
Ring, The
(2002)
1. The role of Rachel was first offered to Jennifer Connelly. The script was
then offered to Gwyneth Paltrow, and then to Kate Beckinsale, and finally Naomi
Watts.
2. Chris Cooper was supposed to be featured in a small role as a child murderer.
Though his scenes were allegedly filmed and his name was included in early
promotional materials (and on the film's official website) he's nowhere to be
seen in the final theatrical cut.
3. Subliminal frames from the Ring video are inserted in the film. For example,
the 'Ring' image can be glimpsed for a fraction of a second in the transition
between the ferry/horse sequence and Rachel's car drive to Anna Morgan's farm on
Moesko Island.
4. There are several visual references to the films of Alfred Hitchcock,
including Rear Window (1954) , Psycho (1960) and
Family Plot (1976). Ironically, Hitchcock himself once directed a
totally unrelated boxing movie called The Ring (1927).
5. Subtle images of circles in various forms (such as the designs on the
doctor's sweater) appear throughout the movie.
6. The red Japanese maple (seen in the video) was artificial, built out of steel
tubing and plaster, with painted silk for the leaves. (The crew dubbed it
"Lucille" after "a certain red-haired actress"). While filming in Washington
state, the tree was erected three times, only to have it knocked over by nearly
100-mile-an-hour wind gusts. In Los Angeles it was erected for a fourth time,
only to be blown down again, this time by 60-mile-an-hour winds.
7. When Noah and Rachel return to the inn, at the end of the movie, there's a
sign that reads "Closed until further notice", under the "Shelter Mountain Inn"
sign. In an earlier cut of the film, the cabin manager dies from watching the
tape (see "Alternate Versions"). Probably that's the reason for the inn being
closed.
8. When Rachel goes out on her balcony (and Nate is watching the video for the
first time) she looks in other houses with televisions on. The third window is
showing the original Japanese version of the movie, Ringu (1998).
9. The videotape with the word "copy" is the video tape from the original movie.
10. DVD version contains a hidden feature. At the main menu, press right once
then down twice until the cruiser disappears, and then hit enter. The mysterious
tape that Naomi Watts watches in the film now plays before your very eyes.
Road to Perdition (2002)
1. The movie is loosely based on actual events and a real enforcer of mobster John Looney who was betrayed.
2. In the reverse shots of Mike Sullivan, Jr., when
he's being driven through the snowy town by his father, an angel can be seen in
the frost on the rear window over his left shoulder.
3. Maguire is based on Arthur Fellig, nicknamed "Weegee", a photographer who was
licensed to possess a "scanner" radio that allowed him to listen to frequencies
used by the police and fire departments. This enabled him to arrive (by car) at
crime and fire scenes, sometimes before the authorities did, as if informed by
telepathic powers, to which his nickname, a corruption of "Ouija", alludes. He
sold his photos to the tabloid newspapers. The photos in Maguire's apartment are
real 1930s crime scene photos, some of which were taken by Weegee himself.
4. The photographs shown in Harlen Maguire's (Jude Law) apartment also appear in
a book by Luc Sante titled "Evidence." According to Sante, the photos are part
of a collection held by the Municipal Archives of the City of New York and were
taken by members of the NYPD during the years 1914-1918.
RoboCop (1987)
1. The computer that Robocop looks up criminal records on is actually a Northern Telecom telephone switch.
2. The movie was supposed to have custom-built police cars built on Camaro chassis. However, the day the first car arrived on the set, everybody took one look at it and burst into laughter. The decision was then made to use the Ford Taurus SHO.
3. ED-209's angry growl was actually that of a black
panther and it squeals like a pig.
4. The costume was so hot and heavy that Peter Weller was losing three pounds a
day from water loss. Eventually, an air conditioner was installed in the
costume.
5. The "Cobra Assault Cannons" are working Barrett.50 caliber sniper rifles with
some plastic molding added to the frame.
6. ED-209's voice is that of producer Jon Davison. ED-209's body was based on
the design of a Bell helicopter and the overall appearance is reminiscent of a
line of toys named Robotech which were based on an 1980s animated cartoon
series.
7. RoboCop's gun was actually a modified Beretta M93R: The barrel was extended
and modified to resemble a casket. The weapon has three settings: single shot,
three-round-burst (which was used in the film), and full-automatic.
8. Edward Neumeier came up with the idea for RoboCop after passing by the set of
Blade Runner (1982).
9. Director Paul Verhoeven originally wanted Robocop to kill Clarence Bodicker
by stabbing him through the eyeball. Realizing that the censors would balk, he
changed his mind and envisioned Clarence having the interface spike shoved all
the way through his chin, mouth, and upper jaw. Again, for the sake of placating
the censors, he settled on the filmed version.
10. During the scene in the convenience store, the stickup man selects an
"Iron-Man" comic book - another inspiration for the movie.
11. The police cars were modified Ford Tauruses. One of the main competitors of
the Tuarus at the time was the Pontiac 6000. The car the villains use is the
6000 SUX, a not-so-subtle jab at the Pontiac 6000.
12. RoboCop's first Directive, "Serve the Public Trust", was inspired by a
fortune cookie.
Robocop 2 (1990)
1. The point-of-view shots from Robocop include references to MS-DOS, while the point-of-view shots from Robocop 2 feature a Apple MacIntosh-style interface, with a skull instead of the Apple logo.
2. Robocop's new directives are:
DIRECTIVE 233 Restrain hostile feelings
DIRECTIVE 234 Promote positive attitude
DIRECTIVE 235 Suppress aggressiveness
DIRECTIVE 236 Promote pro-social values
DIRECTIVE 246 Don't rush traffic lights (repeated below)
DIRECTIVE 254 Encourage awareness
DIRECTIVE 256 Discourage harsh language
DIRECTIVE 258 Commend sincere efforts
DIRECTIVE 261 Talk things out
DIRECTIVE 262 Avoid Orion meetings
DIRECTIVE 266 Smile
DIRECTIVE 267 Keep an open mind
DIRECTIVE 268 Encourage participation
DIRECTIVE 273 Avoid stereotyping
DIRECTIVE 278 Seek non-violent solutions
DIRECTIVE 238 Avoid destructive behaviour
DIRECTIVE 239 Be accessible
DIRECTIVE 240 Participate in group activities
DIRECTIVE 241 Avoid interpersonal conflicts
DIRECTIVE 242 Avoid premature value judgements
DIRECTIVE 243 Pool opinions before expressing yourself
DIRECTIVE 244 Discourage feelings of negativity and hostility
DIRECTIVE 245 If you haven't got anything nice to say don't talk
DIRECTIVE 246 Don't rush traffic lights
DIRECTIVE 247 Don't run through puddles and splash pedestrians or other cars
DIRECTIVE 248 Don't say that you are always prompt when you are not
DIRECTIVE 249 Don't be oversensitive to the hostility and negativity of others
DIRECTIVE 250 Don't walk across a ballroom floor swinging your arms
3. In the scene where Robocop was being reprogrammed by Dr. Juliette Faxx, the following hex numbers scroll quickly up the screen: "50 45 54 45 20 4B 55 52 41 4E 20 49 53 20 41 20 47 52 45 41 54 20 47 55 59". Converted to ASCII text, it reads: "PETE KURAN IS A GREAT GUY". Peter Kuran was the special effects photographer.
4. A directive which is only seen briefly in the scene
where they are having trouble uploading the new directives into Robocop is
"Directive 262: Avoid Orion Meetings". Orion Pictures Corporation was a
production and distribution company for Robocop 2.
5. When Robocop is in the Arcade, the majority of the video games are created by
Data East. Data East was the creator behind the Robocop video games.
6. While displaying Robocop's new directives at the police station, the cable
plugged into his head is actually a water supply coupling for a toilet.
7. In the segment when the police are raiding the nuke lab, Robo recreates the
infamous "scope shot" where he shoots a sniper in the eye through the snipers
own scope. This is based upon the real life exploits of Marine sniper Carlos
Hathcock.
RoboCop 3 (1993)
1. At least two of the characters in Robocop III are based on Frank Miller's own
comic-book creations. Otomo, the cyborg samurai, is a nod to his "Ronin" comic
about a masterless samurai whose spirit is reanimated with futuristic
biotechnology. Bertha Washington, CCH Pounder's freedom fighter in the film, is
a reference to Martha Washington, the freedom fighter from Miller's "Give Me
Liberty."
2. The Japanese characters that scroll up screen in the POV shot as the robot
ninjas converge on RoboCop read: "Command; Code bios; Bios system check; RAM
check; Biocom interface; Parameter; Memory set; System check; OK."
3. Filmed in 1991, Robocop III was delayed to the fact that Orion Pictures
Corporation went bankrupt.
Rocky (1976)
1. Sylvester Stallone sold the rights to make this film with the condition that he be cast in the title role. Producers offered him $150,000 to let Ryan O'Neal play the part.
2. Sylvester Stallone wrote the script in three days after he saw a boxing match between the unknown Chuck Wepner and Muhammad Ali in which Wepner went the distance.
3. The fight scene was filmed in reverse order starting with the fifteenth round and Stallone and Weathers in heavy make-up. As filming continued, the make-up was slowly removed until they were at round one. Because of this technique, the movie won an Oscar for Best Film Editing.
4. The sides of beef were so hard that after repeatedly punching them, Sylvester Stallone's knuckles are now permanently flattened out.
5.
The studio agreed to cast Stallone as Rocky
as long as the cost of the picture remained under one million dollars. The
producers even mortgaged their homes. The overall production cost was 1.1
million dollars.
6. The film was shot in 28 days.
7. Originally featured a downbeat ending where Rocky enters an empty boxing
arena, is consoled by a fellow fighter, and then takes Adrian's hand and walks
off with her. Test screenings convinced director John G. Avildsen that a more
upbeat ending was required and so he shot the scene where Rocky and Adrian push
their way through the crowded boxing arena to reach each other, and then
embrace.
8. Another ending for the film was for Creed's fans to carry him out of the ring and then Rocky's fans do the same. However, since there were too few extras, plus some of them began to punch Stallone and Weathers, the scene was scrapped.
9. The climactic boxing scene took only one day to film, partly because the
filmmakers were under pressure to get the film released during the Oscar season.
10. Originally the filmmakers wanted all of the real former heavyweight
champions to appear at the beginning of the fight between Rocky and Apollo. They
put out a call for all of the former champions to show, but on the day of the
shoot only Joe Frasier showed. The filmmakers thought it worked well however,
because Frasier is a resident of Philadelphia which was where the movie was shot
and took place.
Rocky III (1982)
1. The Rocky statue still stands in Philadelphia, although it has moved
locations since the release of this movie. It was in front of the Philadelphia
Art Museum for years, before being moved to the front of the Philadelphia
Spectrum (now called the Corestates Spectrum), where the famous Rocky-Apollo
fight was filmed.
2. Mickey's last name appears on his grave marker, the only reference to his
last name in the film series. His last name is Goldmill.
Rollerball (1975)
1. According to the author, William Harrison, Rollerball was inspired by an
Arkansas Razorback basketball in Barnhill Arena during the era of coach Eddie
Sutton.
2. The game of Rollerball was so realistic the cast, extras, and stunt personnel
played it between takes on the set.
Ronin (1998)
1. 80 automobiles were destroyed during filming.
2. Features three former James Bond villans: Michel Lonsdale, Sean Bean, and
Jonathan Pryce.
3. When Natacha Kirilova enters the ice for her performance, the announcer tells
the audience of her achievements. The list of achievements is actually the
achievements of Katarina Witt, who plays Natacha.
4. One of the stunt drivers was former Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jarier.
Rope (1948)
1. The film lasts 80 minutes, and covers a time frame of 80 minutes.
2. This is one of the Lost Hitchcock films see
The Rear Window.
Roxanne (1987)
1. Bales is challenged to tell 20 nose jokes. After he tells 19, he asks How
many is that?, to which he is told fourteen!. He goes on to tell another six,
making 25 in total.
Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001)
1. The hand that is seen with the BB lodged between its knuckles is not Ben Stiller's, but Andrew Wilson's, brother of Owen and Luke Wilson. When they were children, Owen fired a BB gun at Andrew's hand and the pellet has been there ever since.
2. Owen Wilson's character arrives to the wedding with a strange Indian paint design on his face. In the movie Zoolander (with Stiller), there is a fashion picture of Hansel (Owen Wilson) wearing the exact same Indian face paint.
Rules of Attraction, The
(2002)
1. Sean Bateman, the character played by James Van Der Beek, is the younger
brother of the infamous Patrick Bateman, the main character of American
Psycho (2000), a film also based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis.
Run Lola Run (1999)
1. Mannie (Moritz Bleibtreu) is given a phone card from a very kind blind woman.
The woman is Moritz's real-life mother whom is also a well known actress in her
country.
Running Man, The (1987)
1. This film is loosely based on a novel written by Stephen King that he penned
under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. He wrote the story in 72 hours, and it
was published with virtually no changes.
2. Was originally supposed to be filmed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with
Christopher Reeves cast in the role of Ben Richards. When the producers decided
to move the production to Los Angeles, Arnold Schwarzenegger was recast in the
role.
Rush Hour 2 (2001)
1. The climax takes place in the Red Dragon Hotel. Red Dragon (2002) is Brett Ratner's next film.
2. The scene where Carter gets the kosher meal was originally scripted to have
Carter ask Lee "want some of my gefilte fish?" after the stewardess left.
But Chris Tucker couldn't pronounce "gefilte", so the scene never made the final
cut (outtakes of this scene are in the end credits).
3. The scene where Carter and Lee are running down the street naked in Hong Kong
was an actual take; production could not block the street off for the shoot.