Ebert's Little Movie Glossary (Great Stuff!)

[Ash]

I found this awesome and often hilarious glossary on www.rogerebert.com.

It's a glossary that contains over 500 entries and is a must read for any film buff.



GO HERE to read through them all.

It will only display so many entries per page so it may take you awhile to go through them.
You won't mind though...it's that good!

Some favorites of mine are:

Always Use the Valet Parkers
Anyone who walks through a parking garage will be physically assaulted.

Auto Death Knell
If a character dies in a car crash, he will do so in a way that causes the horn to blare continuously.

Bad Guy Credentials Demo
In any movie where the villain is a really, really bad guy, whose dysfunction and malice transcend that of the ordinary evildoer, he establishes that fact early in the film by coldly killing one of his own men. (See Darth Vader, many Bond villains, Russian Mafia leader in "The Jackal," etc.)

Because It's Called Sound Effects Rule
In real life, when someone hangs up the phone on you, you hear a click and then silence (about 30 seconds of dead air before an obnoxious reorder tone). In the movies, when someone hangs up at the other end, you get a new dial tone immediately.

Leaky Specimen Tank Phenomenon
In all films dealing with science, whenever a big glass tube is displayed, there is a small column of bubbles rising to the surface. These bubbles, which might indicate to a scientist that there was a small hole in the bottom of the tube, are employed to prove to the audience that the container holds fluid, and to add atmosphere.

Crazy Collage Syndrome
Psychotic stalkers sublimate their destructive impulses by creating a collage of newspaper clippings, candid photos and charcoal sketches of their victims. This collage is glued to the wall of the stalker's one-room apartment, to be found by police officers bursting in just after the stalker has fled.

Female Voice Of Destruction
If the auto-destruction feature is activated at a secret base or spaceship, the countdown is always announced by a female voice. See "Aliens,""Sphere," James Bond movies, etc...

Gauntlet Chalk Talk
The protagonists need to break into an Impregnable Fortress, for a heist or a rescue. Before embarking on their quest, one of the characters will describe all of the hazards on the way to their goal in a voice-over while the camera swoops through the gauntlet of sensors, traps, and guards they must somehow bypass.

Dapper Demon Rule
Satan is always impeccably dressed in the movies, with suits, silk ties, expensive shoes. He never wears jeans and T-shirts. Sandals, shorts and a tank top would better fit the heat of the underworld.

and my all time favorite....

Harrison Ford Situational Reassessment Doubletake
Scene where Harrison Ford chases a small number of bad guys. He then stops suddenly, his expression changes to one of shock, and he runs back the way he came, as we see that the bad guys have been joined by a large number of reinforcements. (See "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.)

Great stuff!
What do you think of this glossary?
What are a few of your favorite entries in it?



Post Edited (09-17-04 06:04)

[Ozzymandias]

Dapper Demon Rule applies to the original (and best) Bedazzled. The credits even list designer of those red patton shoes of Peter Cook wears.

I've not got to read all of it but I thought of two things.

1. In a war movies (and one western I can think of) the guy who has his future all planned out (buy new car, house, marry sweetheart) will be killed in the next big fire fight (or in Red River its a cattle stampede).

2. A running plot cliche in British films is the hard nosed teacher the kids give a hard time decideds to "retire" or "transfer to another school." At the end of the film, the kids are all lined up, crying and begging him not to go. Carry On Teacher is one of these. To Sir With Love, Goodbye Mr. Chips are like that to a degree.

[nobody]

I hate to admit it, but Ebert is on the right track with this stuff... (I still can't stand Ebert though). :)

[Dave Munger]

I hearby seize this opportunity to link to an old thread that I like:

Movie Cliches - http://www.badmovies.org/bbs/read.php?f=2&i=71468&t=70965

[BoyScoutKevin]

Thank-you for the list. Of course, these are stereotypical situations, but, that does not mean we can't enjoy them..

One of my favorites is a variation of "In the Nick of Heroism." In this one, the villain disappears off camera to confront the hero, a shot rings out, the villain appears back on camera and drops dead from a gunshot wound. . And then the hero appears all hale and hearty.

And one that is not mentioned is what I call "To Thumb a Ride Is to Die."Get in a car with a stranger, and you will die. For example: the boy scout in "The Lair of the White Worm." You do not even have to get in a car. For example: the man in "The Giant Gila Monster." Or, to let a stranger get in your car, and you will die. For example: the salesman at the start of "The Hitch-hiker."

Of course, as these are stereotypical situations, they can be reversed. In: "Gullible Entendre.:" someone can  thiink someone is talking about sex, but, they are actually talking about something else. For example: "Lair of the White Worm," the  boy scout is thinking, the villainess is talking about sex, when she spouts lines like: "You will leave me well satisfied," "Ah . . . then the experience of a lifetime," "I wouldn't think of letting you go--now," and "I'm not done with you yet." when she is really talking about using him as snakechow for her pet White Worm.

And because they are so stereotypical, the reversal  can be used for comic affect. " For example: "Ethnic Defaults" and "All Asians Know karate" was used for comic effect in the British television series "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased.)" After the hero and heroine had taken out a few villains with some karate moves, the only one still standing, besides the hero and the heroine, was the Chinese butler. The hero and heroine went into a karate stance, in case he tried to attack them, but he looked at them and said: "I don't know karate" and walked past them.

[Ash]

nobody wrote:

> I hate to admit it, but Ebert is on the right track with this
> stuff...

Actually. most of them were submitted by fans.