MovieChat Forums > I.Q. (1994) Discussion > the setting of the movie

the setting of the movie

posted 19 years ago by ilikeithot_07
14 replies | jump to latest

Was this movie set in the early 1950s? I'm guessing it was as Albert Einstein died in 1955 but the outfits that Meg Ryan wore didn't really seem as though they fitted the time period at all. And her hair looked exactly the same as it did in 'You've Got Mail' and 'French Kiss'. I liked the cars in the film though. I want a car like the one Meg Ryan drove at the end. By the way, what song does her professor or whatever play on his gramophone/record player and who sings it? Thanks a million.

[–] god_calledinsick_today 19 years ago

it was set early 50s or late 40s in Princeton, New Jersey. Lots of it was shot on campus (ie, princeton hospital etc). Einstein taught there for a few years. You can buy tons of posters at the Ustore and stuff about him and John Nash. And Brooke Shields too haha.

Short hair was in I guess. It was styled a BIT different but Meg has a signature hairdo...

[–] anabbott88 19 years ago

Also there was a Brando impression from The Godfather and that movie was made in 1972

[–] skulljoint 19 years ago

I KNOW,i just saw that bit and was completly confused.

[–] misterfweem 17 years ago

Noooooo. That Brando impression was from "On the Waterfront," released in 1954.

[–] artesia001 19 years ago

Actually the movie was shot on Duke's campus and in Durham, NC. Duke was built to look like Princeton.

[–] palewis 18 years ago

I happened to be in Prnceton while the movie was being shot and in fact I stayed in the same hotel that Walter Mattheu stayed in. The movie was definitely shot in Princeton.

[–] twentysixcats 18 years ago

Also, if you read the credits, it says it was shot in Princeton. :-)

[–] KAnnD86 18 years ago

Seriously? Because that didn't come across at all. I know they made plenty of references to the president and such, but without those references, there was virtually no indication of the decade. The cars were old, her dresses were... ugly, but didn't make me think late 40s, early 50s. The way they spoke, I would have guessed it took place in the 80s or something. Was this intentional?

Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!

[–] dsl46016 19 years ago

Artist : Spike Jones
Song : Cocktail for two

Spike jones has been know for making REALLY weird melodical symphonies and i have always been a very big fan of his and his bands records, remember sitting in our living room listening to spike jones while building lego and generally playing around while my parents where watching television. I wonder if they still have that record?.....

Hope this helps out.

[–] rorydaulton 17 years ago

As you said, Einstein died in April 1955. Also, Eisenhower was president from January 1953 to January 1961.

So the movie must take place in 1953, 1954, or early 1955. The weather in the movie doesn't look right for early in the year, so let's say 1953 or 1954.

Of course, that's assuming the writer took pains to be historically correct. Given the other errors (a comet suddenly appearing at a certain time and date; the space race much too soon) that is not to be assumed.

[–] robebrown-1 17 years ago

The movie is set in Princeton in Spring 1955. In the first version of the script, Einstein dies at the end, and Ed and Catherine, in a flash forward, now married, are watching their children graduate from college. This ties the ending to Ed's first meeting with Catherine at the garage, when he talked about seeing his future with her. The final script, however,ends with Einstein maneuvering the two together by remote control, and they watch the stars under the Mercer Oak (a tree which has since died and been replaced with a sapling).

The continuity problem with leaves on trees has to do with the filming schedule. Crews arrived in Princeton in late March 1994 and began to shoot the motorcycle-ride scenes on back roads. Trees were just in bud-break at that time. The later scenes on the Institute for Advance Study campus, when Ed and Einstein return, couldn't be shot until May and June, when leaves were full.

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 13 years ago

I had the feeling that although Einstein didn't die in the movie he was in his last days...the above comment confirms that.

Life, every now and then, behaves as though it had seen too many bad movies

[–] jabber1990 9 years ago

they probably merged a few time eras together for humor, plot convenience, or just plan laziness

"Dont take a picture of the fire, PUT IT OUT"

[–] bethenia252 8 years ago

I was really confused as well.
The paint samples would not have been like that in the intended setting, and being that this was in the beginning scene, it set the whole confusion rolling, for me anyway.
But, I think it's mainly her. She was a horrible choice for this movie and her stylist did a bad job. It's not just her hair and clothes, but also her eyebrows and makeup don't match the time period. Besides the way she looks, she is also not acting the part of a lady in the past. I don't quite know how to explain it but just her walk, body language, intonation & inflection and even the way she holds her head is not graceful at all and looks like just an average, dull, menial woman from the 90's.