Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 March 6

Welcome to the Wikipedia Entertainment Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

March 6

Kubrick's "The Killing": First film to use synchronic (simultaneous) flashbacks?

Greetings;

I'm trying to determine whether "The Killing" (from 1956) is the first major film to use synchronic flashbacks. In other words, flashbacks that show two (or more) different views of the same event, rather than simply flashing back to different events (a la "Citizen Kane").

On the IMDB message board for this film, someone made the claim that this is the first movie to use that sort of nonlinear structure, but not surprisingly, the thread quickly deteriorated into name-calling before any definitive answer was given.

Thanks 71.234.116.35 00:51, 6 March 2007 (UTC) Art

I'm not familiar with the term "synchronic flashbacks", but by your definition wouldn't Rashomon (film) (1950) qualify? --Mathew5000 01:49, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

I got the term "synchronic" from the IMDB message boards, so I don't know if that's a "technically" correct term, or if there's a better one. But I think we both know what we're talking about: movies where we repeatedly see the same event from different points of view.

Superficially, Rashomon would seem to fit the description, but I would exclude it for three reasons: First (most importantly), the four "flashbacks" are all completely different (this is, of course, the main point of the movie). So while technically they're depicting the same event, it's only "the same" in the very broadest sense, and we (the viewer) never actually see the same thing happen twice, the way we do in The Killing.

Second, the four "flashbacks" in Rashomon are all told to us by characters in the movie, so we're seeing the "truth" once-removed (filtered through each character's perceptions), rather than "the absolute truth" as presented by the all-seeing camera. Again, the main point of the film.

Finally (this is more arguable), it seems to me that that Rashomon is intended to be more of a parable than a literal depiction of an event from four different viewpoints, because the four depictions are so completely different. I once read a great comment on Amazon that indicated that Rashomon was intended as a parable for World War II, which made a lot of sense. But literary analysis aside, the fact that it doesn't actually depict the same literal events would seem to disqualify it.

71.234.116.35 06:43, 6 March 2007 (UTC) Art

That's not how I remember it. --Kainaw ^(talk) 15:27, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

song

what is the title of the song by the beach boys that goes something like this : key largo, montigo, baby why dont we go down to coco moe, we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow

I'll save you the exhausting effort of looking at the Beach Boys article by telling you it's Kokomo (song). Anchoress 01:37, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Saucer of milk? --Nélson Ricardo 03:17, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Paying It Forward movie

In "Paying It Forward" movie, where did the movie shhot inand I mean the place where it was a desert where the boy was travelling with his bike on? is it Nevada or California? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.14.116.213 (talk) 02:21, 6 March 2007 (UTC).

I believe Nevada, if I recall correctly, Helen Hunt's character was a waitress at a casino. Cyraan 03:15, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

• The film, Pay It Forward, was primarily shot in Las Vegas, Nevada with some other locations for some scenes. See IMDB. The scene on the bridge was shot in Portland, Oregon and something was shot on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, both of which are not likely locations for the scene you're talking about. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:46, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

New Orleans Essence Music Festival

I don't know where to go with this question, but could someone make an article on the New Orleans Essence Music Festival? http://www.essence.com/essence/emf/ - I'm not the wiki-creating/editing type! 204.90.50.252 14:23, 6 March 2007 (UTC)Robert

The best place for such a request is HERE. Anchoress 14:31, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Articles on music festivals in general seem sadly lacking -- I've created a few folk fest pages recently, but wonder if there's a project in it. Anyone? Do we ask for such a project in the same place? Jfarber 18:26, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

PLEASE HELP WITH MY MOVIE QUESTION!!!!!!

on the midnight movie article there is a lnk at the bottom of the screen but > when you click it it says no such site???? i tred looking up midnightmoves.com > and .net but cant find anything i am trying to find a release date for the dvd > night of the living dead 3d but i can not find it anywhere so i figured if i > contacted the company who released it they would know.. but your link does not > work please help..

I couldn't find it at the official(?) site. Try contacting them there. Clarityfiend 23:09, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

It has no DVD release date yet. They're still milking international theater money off the thing. --Kainaw ^(talk) 00:12, 7 March 2007 (UTC)