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Movies & TV

09th Feb 2017

7 classic films that would be very different if the characters had smartphones

JOE

Brought to you by Samsung.

“OK chat later. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye…”

The average person is used to always having their phone to hand, and everything that goes with it. It’s easy to forget what life was like before everyone had a miniature computer in the pocket.

Watching classic films offers us a glimpse of life before everyone had such easy access to calls, Google Maps and HD cameras. So how would the addition of mobile phone technology change those films? Well, pretty dramatically as it turns out.

There may be spoilers ahead…

Road Trip

Plot: A college student thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him after he can’t reach her by phone. He reacts by cheating on her, accidentally mailing her the sex tape, and driving across the country to retrieve it. As you do…

The difference: “Hi Josh, sorry I haven’t been in touch but my grandfather died.” This simple text would have saved an awful lot of hassle.

Titanic

Plot: Iceberg 1 Big ship 0

The difference: A quick call to the coastguard could have got a few nearby ships to the area, which would have saved Jack from making his heroic sacrifice at the end. We’ll leave the whole debate about whether he really needed to make that sacrifice to Mythbusters.

Die Hard

Plot: A bunch of terrorists take over a building in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, cut off the phone lines, and force John McClane and his vest to singlehandedly take them on.

The difference: “Is that the LAPD? We may have a situation…”

The Usual Suspects

Plot: Police try to identify a mysterious crime boss called Keyser Sose after he’s implicated in a bloody massacre. There are only two survivors to interrogate and one of them is in hospital.

The difference: The scene at the end with the fax slowly coming through at the police station is very dramatic but a simple MMS or email could have told them who Sose was before he walked out the front door.

The Blair Witch Project

Plot: A bunch of student film makers get lost while making a documentary about an infamous local witch.

The difference: Google Maps would have spared us a lot of shaky forest footage, snotty close ups and underwhelming haunted house action. “The car’s just over here, lads. I dunno how we went wrong earlier.”

Memento

Plot: An amnesiac uses tattoos and Polaroid photos to try and discover who killed his wife.

The difference: It would have been so much easier for him to open Notes in his phone and see all the information there. “Dude, you killed your own wife. Stop getting tattoos. They’re not working. See below for the full story.”

Saving Private Ryan

Plot: A squad of WWII soldiers have to negotiate occupied France to find and retrieve a soldier whose three brothers have all been killed in action.

The difference: “Hello, is that James Ryan? Where exactly are you? OK, stay put. You’re off the hook for this whole war business because your brothers are terrible soldiers. We’re sending someone around to pick you up.”

Obviously, having a great mobile phone just makes life better. The new Galaxy A series combines beautiful design, an enhanced camera, longer lasting battery life and lots of other features that will make your life a lot easier.

You can find out more here.

Brought to you by Samsung.

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