Talk:The Usual Suspects

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Grza please stop vandalising the page, espcially since you do not check your facts —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.27.80.50 (talk • contribs)

I apologize for the mistake, it's been fixed. Please stop vandalising other pages, because sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between your good faith edit and vandalism, especially when you get the facts wrong and relate it to Bryan Singer instead of Christopher McQuarrie. Oh, and sign your talk page posts. --TheGrza 23:29, Apr 3, 2005 (UTC)
Who is Grza and why is he saying all those terrible things about me?--Rotgut —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.162.188.98 (talk • contribs)
Who is Grza... He's supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody ever believed he was real. Jafafa Hots 09:31, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
HE IS THE DEVIL! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.88.26 (talk) 23:30, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Hungarian Translation

I know Hungarian. Is it worth noting that often the "translations" of the burn victim are far from accurate (in fact, often outright completely different)? For example: Hungarian: "This guy knew the devil. He worked with him." English "translation": "He doesn't know what they were buying but not dope. Uh, people." GameCreator 08:08, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

It means that Singer didn't need accuracy. He just wanted Hungarian. You can put up exactly what's said in Hungarian as trivia.--75.32.120.66 02:18, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

No wonder, the guy speaks so bad hungarian I can't make it out, although I am hungarian. I remember something like I've seen the devil ("láttam az ördögöt"). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.6.98.148 (talk) 10:24, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Another Hungarian point is the Agent's name "Kujon" means something like "pervert" in Hungarian. I figured it for an inside joke. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.45.58.165 (talk) 04:25, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Memorization

"It is also worth noting that when we first see Kint in the office where he is interviewed, alone, he is looking at the board with all the information of unsolved cases etc. If looked at carefully, one can see his eyes moving in such a manner that he is memorising the board." What does this mean exactly? Who can tell that someone is memorizing a message by their eyes? Jmlk17 09:11, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

It is implied in the film, through the sequence of events. I've seen the film many times, and the editor who inserted that content is correct. I'm reverting. --Viriditas 09:16, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
Fair enoughJmlk17 04:29, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Fenster

I heard somewhere that Fenster wasn't supposed to be as major a character as he was, that he was written simply with no affectation - and that Benicio del Toro decided to use the characterization he had created, in sort of a "what the hell" attempt to go for broke and make a minor role more interesting and possibly lead to something... and that he sprung this on the director, the director liked it and expanded his role - turning it into del Toro's breakthrough. If there is confirmation of this somewhere, its an interesting side story that I think would be a good addition to the trivia section. Jafafa Hots 07:22, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

  • As evidence for this point, Benicio del Toro is credited in the "Also Starring" openning credits, rather than being a primary credit prior to this. Tomwithanh 06:52, 27 May 2006 (UTC)


The filmmaker's commentary of the DVD mentions that Fenster's speaking style was an invention of del Toro's. Singer mentions that he instructed the actors to ask him in character to repeat himself when they couldn't understand him, which happens at least twice in the movie. Other than that, I don't recall any mention of his role being expanded.68.5.253.250 02:28, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dean Keaton street?

just curious about this new addition - how can a street have two names, Dean Keaton AND 29th Street? I'm just thinking that if there was a brief way to explain it, that would be good. Jafafa Hots 16:57, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

  • It is unclear that 26th street in Austin (now Dean Keaton for a significant stretch) was renamed that because of this movie. A citation would work nicely where this is brought up. Also, for the portion of the street where the name has been changed, the street is no longer officially known as 26th street. But, having two names shouldn't be a problem. Interstate highways, afterall, usually carry their number tag (i.e. I-35) and a formal name after some important historical figure, etc. Tomwithanh 06:52, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
  • I've seen several streets that bear two names, sometimes even listing both on the street signs. Most of the exmaples I know of are in Manhattan, but that's where I spend my time; no doubt there are several examples in other places. As an example, 6th Avenue is labeled both "Avenue of the Americas" and "6th Avenue" for a stretch in mid-town Manhattan. --Badger151 00:39, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor changes

Just changed a couple of things on this page. Keyser Soze is a Turkish dope-runner, not a Hungarian. The "neighbouring gang" was Hungarian, although it's never made clear where they are when the events take place, so I changed it to read "a rival Hungarian gang".

The boat is harboured in San Pedro, not Santa Monica. Changed this on the page.

Also, regarding the trivia point about the fax reading "Attn: Jack Bauer". I don't remember being able to read it that well, but it makes sense that it would read "Attn: Jack Baer", since that was the name of the FBI agent played by Giancarlo Esposito who set up the picture ID-ing of Soze at the hospital and had since gone to the San Pedro police headquarters.

[edit] budget

In the opening paragraph the budget is $4M, but in the table on the right it is $6M. So which is it? --Bp0 01:20, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] similarity between names

The article mentions that a possible translation of Kaiser Soze is 'Verbal King'. Does anyone know if the similarity to 'Verbal Kint' is then a deliberate choice by the writer or wishful thinking by the translator of the phrase (i.e. Turkish transliteration of the German word kaiser seems convoluted) Slinky Puppet 15:56, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Random Reply: In the special features on the DVD Brian Singer talks about the naming of Keyser Soze. Keyser means "king" and Soze, he says, means "talks to much," so it was at least partially deliberate.

[edit] Dean Keeton Information

East 26th Street is on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin and is named for a former law school dean named Page Keeton, the father of Texas Comptroller Carol Keeton Strayhorn, mother of White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. The renaming of East 26th has absolutely nothing to do with The Usual Suspects. I'm removing this false information.

Jyroberson 03:34, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Initial critical and commercial reception

The article is incorrect in its description of the film's commercial and critical response when it opened in the States. Critical response, despite Roger Ebert's pan, was overall quite favorable (it scored an 89% on the Tomatometer), and the film's box office momentum was such that it expanded from a limited release into a fairly wide one. With a budget of $6 Million (and not $4M, as the article also incorrectly states), a final gross of $23,272,306 (IMDb.com and others) means the movie was quite profitable for an independent in limited release.


[edit] Trivia

Someone needs to properly add all the trivia content back into the Cultural References. The wikipedia author who deleted most of the content, did so with out any regard to those before him. This is just wrong, and someone needs to fix it.


I'm not sure how to add to the discussion, so I'll just write here at the bottom.

It says that in Hammett's "The Big Knockover," Papadopoulous is referred to as a "gint." (And needs a citation.) I can't verify that that word is never used, but I can say that "gink" is. I would bet that this is a mistake on whosever part wrote the original, and that "gint" is never said.

I don't know if anyone has the interest to edit plot summaries, but plot summaries are always meant to be written in the present tense (at least in English). This is a basic convention that you're all supposed to learn in 9th grade English.--75.7.35.201 08:11, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sources

"In The Usual Suspects, such an undiscriminating dragnet is exactly the kind of operation that resulted in the five main characters meeting in a police line-up." This line in the entry is incorrect. It was no 'undiscriminating dragnet' that brought the five characters together. It was arranged by Soze. I can't think of any alternate wording at the moment to correct this and still relate the Casablanca dragnet reference. Any suggestions?--Thelonghop 08:13, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced Material

I'm moving the Pop culture references section here until sources for it can be found and it can be integrated properly into the article. -- J.D. 18:58, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

References in popular culture Films

  • The computer animated film Hoodwinked is a children's movie loosely based on reinterpreting Little Red Riding Hood into a parody of The Usual Suspects.
  • During the ending of Scary Movie, Cindy Campbell sits in the police station trying to make sense of everything, finally realising that the killer is mentally handicapped Doofy Gilmore (after her coffee cup falls down in the same way Kujan's does, with Doofy's name printed on its bottom). He is seen walking away and proceeds to shed his outfit and fake mustache, revealing himself not only not handicapped, but actually to be a 'cool' guy who jumps into reporter Gail Hailstorm's car. The two drive off, with the former throwing the fright mask out as the final piece of evidence. Having arrived too late to capture him, Cindy stands in the middle of the street, helpless.

[edit] Deleted "trivia"

If you ask me it's a shame that the "trivia" section has to go. But let me at least put my favorite in here, so it might get intergrated later. Others can add their deleted favorites --Anjoe 11:56, 11 November 2007 (UTC):

  • The line "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist" may come from a prose poem in the collection Le Spleen de Paris written by Charles Baudelaire: "Mes chers frères, n'oubliez jamais, quand vous entendrez vanter le progrès des lumières, que la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!"[1]. (Roughly translated:- "My dear brothers, never forget, when you intend to praise the progress of light, that the most beautiful of the tricks of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!")

Very good performance of Spacey as a left-sided hemiplegic ,twisted as he appears in the line-up poster . But a right-handed left-sided hemiplegic should be somewhat dysarthric , not be "verbal" ...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.141.126.244 (talk) 09:43, 18 January 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Kissing his fingers?

It could be that I'm just insane, but I'm fairly certain that I recall the end of the film involving Kint blowing out a candle. 24.226.20.41 (talk) 18:24, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Merge

Disagree, significant in its own right. - Tmaull (talk) 03:18, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

A little context please? What does this merge concern? Viriditas (talk) 09:34, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
The Keyser Söze article. I guess the merge proposal links here for some reason. - Tmaull (talk) 20:46, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Plot interpretation and comments by director

I should have suggested my edits on the talk page first, since I knew that a fan would revert my edits rapidly. You were quick though! Thanks for being civil and letting me know.

Though I couldn't find anything in WP:OR on plot interpretations, I can understand that there are limitations. However, much of the plot section is already based on interpretations. Take for example the line "Verbal Kint appears to be Söze". An equally or in my opinion far more likely interpretation is that there is no Söze (otherwise, as I pointed out, Söze would be one dimwitted master criminal to elaborately reveal his supposedly unknown identity to the police).

The deletion of the director's boasting about his movie being a merger of two truly classic movies and that "you can get it a second time in a way you never could have the first time around" was out of pure frustration with the sheer arrogance and ignorance of that remark. I honestly know many people that considered that Kint was just making up the story from a few minutes after his introduction. This is not rocket science, as there really are not that many options, and once you thought of it all subsequent scenes confirm the hypothesis. The movie becomes rather annoying, really, as you realize that all scenes could be (and most plausibly are) figments of Kint's imagination (and it's hard to care about any of the events then). It really boggles my mind that this ending was chosen as the most surprising plot twist ever in an IMDB poll.

Upon reconsideration, I do still think the quote should be deleted. Do we include with every movie its director's self-promotional rhetoric?

PS Feel free to move this discussion to the Usual Suspects page. Afasmit (talk) 01:19, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

The plot certainly needs trimming per MOS:FILM. We can also move your comments to an "Interpretations" section, but we need WP:RS. I think you are reading the comments by the director in the wrong way, and I don't see anything "self-promotional" about them. The director is merely discussing his interpretation of the film, which again, can be moved to an interpretation section. While I sympathize with your personal beliefs on the matter, I encourage you to do some research on the film to find sources that support your position. It looks to me that you are reading your own beliefs into the director's comments. Of course, if you can find a source which critcizes the director in the same manner that you do, that would work. If you want to continue to criticize the quote and the source, then get a copy of "Wells, Jeffrey. "Young Duo Makes Big Splash", The Times Union, August 31, 1995" and address it directly, in the context of the article. Viriditas (talk) 01:28, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Casablanca

The title of the film was not taken from Casablanca. Christopher McQuarrie states on the DVD audio commentary he did with Bryan Singer that The Usual Suspects was the title of a magazine article he read and he took the title from there. Count de Ville (talk) 03:43, 10 June 2008 (UTC)