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Real Genius (1985)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
7 August 1985 (USA)
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Tagline:
Who ELSE can turn lasers into light shows, aircraft into armchairs, and high-tech into hijinks? more
Plot:
Teenage geniuses deal with their abilities while developing a laser. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins
&
2 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Hey, I'm watching the Science Channel (to learn about 'True Blood' fangs)!
(From EW.com - PopWatch. 14 December 2009, 12:00 PM, PST)
Veteran’s Day: Movies Veterans Love
(From Screen Rant. 11 November 2009, 3:45 AM, PST)
(From EW.com - PopWatch. 14 December 2009, 12:00 PM, PST)
Veteran’s Day: Movies Veterans Love
(From Screen Rant. 11 November 2009, 3:45 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Jiffy Pop
more (114 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Val Kilmer | ... | Chris Knight | |
| Gabriel Jarret | ... | Mitch Taylor (as Gabe Jarret) | |
| Michelle Meyrink | ... | Jordan Cochran | |
| William Atherton | ... | Prof. Jerry Hathaway | |
| Jon Gries | ... | Lazlo Hollyfeld (as Jonathan Gries) | |
| Patti D'Arbanville | ... | Sherry Nugil | |
| Stacy Peralta | ... | Shuttle Pilot | |
| Daniel Ades | ... | Laser Ray Victim | |
| Andres Aybar | ... | Bartender | |
| Louis Giambalvo | ... | Maj. Carnagle | |
| Ed Lauter | ... | David Decker | |
| Charles Shull | ... | Air Force General | |
| Beau Billingslea | ... | George | |
| Charles Parks | ... | Larry | |
| Sean Frye | ... | Boy at Science Fair |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
108 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Argentina:Atp |
Iceland:L |
Australia:PG |
New Zealand:PG |
Finland:K-12 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:15 |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The aircraft featured in the movie was a B-1B "Lancer". Today, a real-life analog exists in the United States Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) project, a collaboration with Boeing, involving a modified 747 cargo jet carrying a megawatt Oxygen-Iodine laser, whose purpose is to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.
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Goofs:
Miscellaneous: In the end credits, the name of the Hewlett-Packard company is misspelled as "Hewlitt-Packard".
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Quotes:
Chris Knight:
As you know, Mitch and I were working on the cyanide system. Well, earlier today it ate itself. But, these little set-backs are just what we need to take a giant step forward. Right, Kent? Needless to say, I was a little despondent about the melt down, but then, in the midst of my preparations for hari kiri, it came to me. It is possible to synthesize excited bromide in an argon matrix. Yes, it's an excimer frozen in its excited state.
Bodie: Th... That's impossible.
Chris Knight: It's a chemical laser but in solid, not gaseous, form. Put simply, in deference to you, Kent, it's like lasing a stick of dynamite. As soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least ten to the twenty-first photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter.
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Bodie: Th... That's impossible.
Chris Knight: It's a chemical laser but in solid, not gaseous, form. Put simply, in deference to you, Kent, it's like lasing a stick of dynamite. As soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least ten to the twenty-first photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter.
more
Movie Connections:
References "The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" (1955)
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Soundtrack:
Standing in Line
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (114 total)
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The imagination and quality of Hollywood movies in the early and mid 80's had regressed back to the pre "Bonnie and Clyde" days (the early and mid-60's being the worst ever period of American movie-making).
Fortunately there were a few gems like "Real Genius" to sustain audiences. Any film that features a memorable moment like Deborah Foreman's articulation of her standards for a male companion, a memorable character like Michelle Meyrink's hyper-kinetic Jordon, and the memorable sight of a house exploding from the force of a giant Jiffy Pop container can never be forgotten.
And who doesn't feel good just watching the neighborhood kids play in a mountain of popcorn to the sound of Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".
Although "Real Genius" has not totally escaped the ravages of the past 20 years, it has held up reasonably well. Now it can even be appreciated as a sort of time capsule, demonstrating rather strikingly the complete computerization of the applied sciences that has occurred during the relatively short time period since its 1985 release. Other than Kent's incidental use of an early computer in his dorm room and a mostly decorative monitor in the lab, these now essential machines are absent from this techno film. Amazing!
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.