You’ve watched your favorite films countless times, sure, but do you know all of their secrets?
Many filmmakers slip subtle jokes and references, affectionately known as "easter eggs," into their work. Some of these have become common knowledge and others have remained well-kept secrets. Here are 10 that all movie fans should know.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
“Those aren’t the droids you’re looking for” -- because they’re in the middle of an ancient underground temple!
Star Wars creator George Lucas acted as a producer on the Indiana Jones series, so it’s not surprising to see R2-D2 an C-3PO appear on hieroglyphics inside the Well of Souls.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
In this other Spielberg film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the con artist Frank Abagnale, who famously eluded the authorities for years by creating false identities. Because crime doesn’t pay, he’s ultimately taken down by Tom Hanks’ dogged FBI agent. But take a good look at the police officer actually leading him away in his big arrest scene. Yep, that’s the real Frank Abagnale putting in a cameo appearance! Talk about atoning for your crimes.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
In the Harry Potter movies, everyone’s favorite boy wizard uses the Marauder’s Map to navigate Hogwarts Castle. This magical object shows the location and movement of everyone currently on school grounds...whether they want to be seen or not. So director Alfonso Cuaron embedded a totally filthy joke into the closing credits of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Yes, those figures are doing exactly what you think they’re doing.
Lifeboat (1944)
Director Alfred Hitchcock famously made a brief cameo in all of his films, but Lifeboat was a challenge. How would he show up in a film that takes place entirely at sea, in a boat? The answer is quite inventive: He’d appear in a newspaper floating in the water.
Tron (1982)
Tron may have inspired a generation of video games with its detailed science fiction world and colorful action sequences, but the film was totally indebted to the arcade games of its time. So when a game of Pac-Man ever-so-briefly pops up in the middle of a scene, the reference pulls double duty. It’s a quick gag for the gamers in the audience and a nod to the medium that inspired our trip to The Grid.
Toy Story (1995)
The toy-torturing bully, Sid, shares the same interior decorator as the Overlook Hotel. Check out that carpet he has in his room: It’s the same one to make a scary appearance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Thankfully, this one came free of creepy-faced twin girls.
Spider-Man (2002)
If the car Uncle Ben drives in the original Spider-Man movie looks familiar to you, then you’re clearly a big Sam Raimi fan. That old hunk of junk has made an appearance in every one of the director’s films – starting with Evil Dead. And yes, it even managed to sneak into the Western The Quick and the Dead and Oz the Great and Powerful.
The Polar Express (2004)
If you’ve ever wondered how Santa Claus manages to visit every single house in the world in one night, The Polar Express answers that question: Time travel. Okay, not really, but director Robert Zemeckis does hide a flux capacitor from Back to the Future (you know, the thing that makes time travel possible!) aboard the magical train that whisks children to the North Pole.
Star Trek (2009)
Before he left Starfleet for the Rebel Alliance, J.J. Abrams managed to put a nod to Star Wars in his first Star Trek movie. When the Enterprise shows up late to a massive battle, among the graveyard of floating hull wreckage, fans can spot R2-D2 in the debris. So consider this the first officially unofficial Star Wars/Star Trek crossover on the big screen.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
Before George Lucas made Star Wars, he made the slow-burn sci-fi film THX 1138 and he obviously never stopped thinking about it. Why else would Han Solo and Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia from cell block 1138? And why else would Leia’s disguise in Return of the Jedi have 1138 printed on the helmet? Heck, it even extends to the prequels, where the evil battle droids have the number printed on their backs.
