Frank was NOT smiling - Cliffhanger (1993) Discussion

[–] Jigsaw737 16 years ago

Yeah... everyone who says that he was smiling has never been in the mountains on a windy and bright day.

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~No matter where you go, there you are~

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[–] hjones7 16 years ago

If that is not a smile or grin then I don't know what is!

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[–] RichardGrayUK 16 years ago

Omg. He was/is blatently smiling. And I don't need to visit the mountains on a bright, windy day to be prooved wrong.

If he wasn't smiling and laughing hysterically at Sarah's death then it would not of been listed in the Goofs section now would it?

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[–] Jigsaw737 16 years ago

Goofs can be added by everybody and their mom's. There are so many misunderstood things wrongly listed as goofs on the imdb that its getting ridiculous. That's no proof at all.

He was squinting because of the sunlight and wind in his eyes, and many people involuntarily raise the corners of their mouths when squinting. Plus in his anxiety he was grinding his teeth. Voila = you got your devilish grin/smile that isn't one and lot's of socially challenged people, who know diddley squat about facial expressions, writing about it in internet forums.

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~No matter where you go, there you are~

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[–] Nwbcat51 16 years ago

Anybody that really thinks he is laughing/smiling is an idiot.

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[–] RichardGrayUK 16 years ago

No Nwbcat51, you're just deluded and ignorant. Slight difference.

Socially challenged??? Frank let out a chuckle that was muted. Are you telling me people do that when the sun is in their eyes???

Just how ignorant can you get???

Idiotic morons.

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[–] chrisbedford 14 years ago

And now, from the land that gave us the English language, we have... [drumroll please]... RICHARD GRAY!!! [background crowd roar] [cries of "yayyyyy" "yayyyy"]

No Nwbcat51, you're just deluded and ignorant. Slight difference.

Socially challenged??? Frank let out a chuckle that was muted. Are you telling me people do that when the sun is in they're eyes???

Just how ignorant can you get???

Idiotic morons.

Ignorant = not knowing anything about spelling, grammar, or punctuation

Socially challenged = getting abusive and flaming anyone whose opinons aren't absolutely congruent with your own

Idiotic = not knowing how to let go of something that is really, really unimportant

Moronic = having just enough intelligence to be able to post on imdb, but not enough to know when *not* to post.

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[–] RichardGrayUK 13 years ago

Ignorant = not knowing anything about spelling, grammar, or punctuation

I don't see any spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in my message you quoted.

Socially challenged = getting abusive and flaming anyone whose opinons aren't absolutely congruent with your own

So??? I'm sure you have flaws of your own. It can get very infuriating trying to proove/point something out to person(s) who are so close minded and won't admit that they're wrong when it is so blindingly obvious that they are - but then again I doubt that you would know about this.

Idiotic = not knowing how to let go of something that is really, really unimportant

Unimportant? Really?? Your entire life is unimportant to me but that doesn't mean it is unimportant to you.

Idiotic = This sums you up perfectly then, seeing as you are clearly unable to let go of an issue that is really unimportant...when compared to the bigger picture. :)

Moronic = having just enough intelligence to be able to post on imdb, but not enough to know when *not* to post.

Moronic = Again, this describes you perfectly; because if you had any intelligence, you wouldn't of gotten involved and I wouldn't have had to of taught you a lesson!!!

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, you're the greatest! 1958 - 2009

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[–] logan-duk-dong 13 years ago

You've got a real nice thread going here, RichardGrayUK... Quality stuff. See ya next year!

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[–] theonehotrod 12 years ago

"I don't see any spelling, grammer or punctuation errors in my message you quoted."

Better look again (and I'll even ignore the fact that you spelled "grammar" incorrectly. Yes, it's "grammAr," not "grammEr." Unless you are talking about singer Tracy Grammer... which you weren't.

Back to the post that you claim has no errors. Look closely at this sentence: "Are you telling me people do that when the sun is in they're eyes???"

See it yet? Here's a hint: "their", "they're" and "there" are NOT the same word and do NOT mean the same thing. You wrote "they're," which a contraction of "they are." So your sentence would mean "Are you telling me people do that when the sun is in THEY ARE eyes???"

"In they are eyes?" You really don't think this is incorrect?

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[–] RichardGrayUK 12 years ago

You know hotrod, when you have to resort to scrutinizing a person's spelling, punctuation and grammar as harshly as you have done, it's usually a good indicator that you have lost the argument.

You wrote "they're," which a contraction of "they are."

which a contraction???

Talk about the blind leading the blind. If you are going to criticize my spelling, punctuation or grammar, then you had better make sure yours is perfect...which clearly isn't.

Well done, now you look like a complete DOUCHE.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, you're the greatest! 1958 - 2009

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[–] namaGemo 14 years ago

Exactly! I just watched it last night and it's exactly what you said. Squinting!

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] G_Runciter 9 years ago

Yeah, this stuff about Frank smiling is bafflingly dumb.
It's almost like the people who say that have never seen anybody exerting himself...

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[–] haynese_98 9 years ago

Frank is definitely getting a thrill watching Sarah plunge to her horrible death!

Shall we play a game?

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[–] sofkat 9 years ago

this is quite possibly the most bizarre and stupidest thread i have ever come across.

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[–] crpl_hicks 8 years ago

Regardless, I spewed when I first read awhile ago someone sad..

"Frank that sadistic SOB, was smiling at Sarah's death"

Hilarious someone saw it that way! Now every time I see it I laugh.

We're all in strung out shape, but stay frosty, and alert.

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[–] smoko 14 years ago

If he wasn't smiling and laughing hysterically at Sarah's death then it would not of been listed in the Goofs section now would it?

It's "would not have been" not "would not of been."

Sincerely,

Grammar Nazi

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[–] Chris_Oblivion 12 years ago

He's definitely getting some sort of sadistic enjoyment out of it, he is DEFINITELY grinning and even laughs with joy as Sarah plummets to her death. I *beep* love this scene.. I end up laughing with him, every goddamn time.

Sid woz ere

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] refined_cujo-1 16 years ago

dont you think the director would have told him to stop laughing if he was and cut it out of the movie...hes not laughing, its the sun in his face...its just a silly mistake that makes a really intense scene a tad bit amusing

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[–] RichardGrayUK 16 years ago

dont you think the director would have told him to stop laughing if he was and cut it out of the movie

They can only rehearse so many times before they have to do it for real. He even messed up and started laughing when they aired it for real, so they did their best to edit it and salvage what they could.

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[–] ryder_78 16 years ago

Frank is showing a little smile when he's sitting on top of the cliff with Sarah despite having a sore leg. The poster above be got it right there that he's showing some good facial expressions after Gabe failed to rescue Sarah, not even with his mighty biceps.

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[–] scvido 16 years ago

FRANK was smiling at first....then when she fell he was actually ROFL HAHAHA

PROOF :

http://i36.tinypic.com/11825pv.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/qohul4.jpg

i can't stop laughing at his expression, also the GAMING HEADSET is epic ROFLMAO

and anyone thinking he wasn't smiling IS an IDIOT. not the reverse.

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[–] RichardGrayUK 16 years ago

Its in his eyes and in the muted chuckle, especially as Sarah falls to her death.

Thats proof that he was laughing, and that it has NOTHING to do with "the sun being in one's eyes".

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[–] wittmann73 16 years ago

cmon, his face is totally evil, like he cannot wait for her to fall down

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[–] Chris_Oblivion 16 years ago

Nah, he's not smiling... He's grinning like a bloody Cheshire cat! The Goddamn sadist!

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[–] Ferago 16 years ago

haha! I just watched that part again, I guess Frank was evil. Oh well, he got what he deserved in the end.

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[–] kegi 14 years ago

so funny...he's wetting himself laughing

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[–] digitalboy72 14 years ago

Look, the man was fcking smiling, end of story, I know a god damned smile when I see one!

Wind? Sunny? Riiiigghhtt.

Hal was there too and he managed to look pretty upset while Frank looked pretty amused by the whole thing.

If you expect the unexpected doesn't the unexpected then become the expected?

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] JackoSuede 15 years ago

Frank *beep* planned the whole thing. It was a goddamn conspiracy, and he faked his own death. Havent you seen the trailer for Cliffhanger 2: Return of Frank?

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[–] grampz 15 years ago

He's definitely smiling. I watched this last night and I couldn't stop laughing it looked so ridiculous - the guy looks like he's loving the situation! We skipped back 4-5 times to see it again, one of the most unintentionlly funny things I've seen in a film..............

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[–] Max06 15 years ago

He's grimacing, gritting his teeth. He's not smiling.

Unless a DVD commentary says otherwise, of course.

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[–] jjcuse11 14 years ago

LOL!!!! IDK??............ That sure looks like a smile to me. Frank seemed to be enjoying the whole situation. LMAO!!!

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] erikriveros 14 years ago

no one on this board thinks frank was smiling...some may think it looks like he's smiling, but no one really thinks that during that scene, the character finds something comical,.

it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it

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[–] toldyousew 14 years ago

1) "no one on this board..."

DON'T speak for ALL people on the board!

2) The act of smiling and finding something comical are two DIFFERENT
things, so DON'T try to link their ideas together. He could have actually
have been forming a smile, **and** NOT finding it comical.

~I can sing better than Taylor Hicks!

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[–] GIRobotII 14 years ago

Anyone ever watched the Waltons? He has shown that expression on that show too, even in situations that were not appropriate for smiling or laughing. It's not voluntary. I've seen people when upset, or even when falling, look like they're grinning, but they're not.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 13 years ago

I don't think the character is intentionally smiling. I don't think he draws some kind of pleasure at others' pain. I don't think it was written that way at all.

However, I do think the actor was smiling. Why? I don't know. Btu the guy's clearly smiling.

My movie review site!
http://hesaidshesaidmovies.tripod.com/index.html

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Kuato_and_George 13 years ago

The character or the actor? I don't think the scene was written in a way that meant for the character to smile. I think the actor was just smiling for god only knows what reason.

My movie review site!
http://hesaidshesaidmovies.tripod.com/index.html

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[–] johnnyutahx 13 years ago

Wow the birdbrain excuses some of the apologists are posting here are even more funny than the actual smiling and laughing. Wind? Sun? Gritting teeth? ROTFL

Whether the smile and laugh were intentional or not they are definitley visible on that old bastards face. We have seen photographic evidence supporting this and there are Youtube clips available if you want to go and judge for yourself.

So all you ignorant fools in denial, just.....shut up.

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[–] logan-duk-dong 13 years ago

I agree, he was smiling:

http://www.imagebam.com/image/988f22118842038

There used to be a video on YouTube, but it was taken down (for copyright I assume as it was several minutes long). Until I came across that, I never noticed evil Frank laughing. I always pay special attention now whenever Cliffhanger is on...

It doesn't matter if he's smiling, laughing, in shock, squinting, gritting his teeth, chewing on a particularly tough piece of bubblegum, or fighting with the wind. It doesn't matter if the writers or Ralph Waite intended for the character to make that face. What matters is that it looks hilariously out of place, and that it's funny as hell. :P

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[–] KevinCa316 13 years ago

Obviously his character was not smiling. Thats common sense. That being said the actor looked like he was a kid watching everything unfold and he was just having a hell of a time. It's always stood out for me too. Oh well, no movie is perfect.

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[–] 102AFalcon 13 years ago

It sort of looked like a cross between a grimace and a frozen rictus of bemused disbelief. In other words, I don't think he was SMILING per se, but it was an incredulous enough look to pass for a grin. And my assumption is that it certainly wasn't intended to look like he was smiling under those circumstances, because Frank was a positive character and figured into a major plot point (how Hal survives when Delmar sets out to kill him).

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[–] choatelodge 13 years ago

Frank WAS smiling! We can argue all day about why the actor put that expression on his pan during that scene, but there it is.
It's not the cold wind making him grimace. It is an expression of mirth. denying it does not work and if people cannot believe their own eyes then I'm afraid I cannot help them.

If leering in that manner during a serious life and death depiction is a character trait that the actor cannot control, or if for some reason the actor found reason for hilarity during the shooting, the expression of which he could not supress or replace with a more fitting look for doing that scene, then he is not an appropriate actor to hire for dramatic parts.

If he cannot perform in scripted situations where an actor is representing a character who is under a high degree of stress, without putting that expression of devilish delight on his face instead of an expression that accurately represents anguished effort then he's a poor actor, and the casting director screwed up in hiring him.

Frank was smiling when Frank should have looked horrified.

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[–] 13 years ago

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