This scene absolutely took me out of this otherwise nice enjoyable tale. I am sorry I just could not get past the anachorism of a phone booth seemingly unencumbered by...Oh I don't know...a TELEPHONE LINE?? Nobody thought to say..uh...let's change this to maybe a desolate gas station. It was like finding a telephone booth on the moon. Such a nice little movie and that scene practically ruined it.
You pipple mek my ass twitch
Well, telephone booths have their wiring underground, have you ever seen one with a cable attached to it's roof?
Secondly, do you think they built one in the middle of nowhere or they found one in the middle of nowhere? Remember that it's set in Arizona, not Silicon Valley.
For me, the scene worked and I can only remember Bad receiving calls on his cell phone, not making any.
You know..I still think it was a major overlook. And no...on a lonesome highway I am sure they have not laid fiberoptics for miles to service this phone booth. It just was a major out of place production value for me....and just thought it was funny.
You pipple mek my ass twitch
They usually put phonebooths on desolate stretches of highway. They never took ones down from before the age of cell-phones. Because people continually break down and it can be hours before another car comes by to stop and help.
And I don't think it's MILES of extra fiberoptics. They have to continue the telephone wires anyway, it's not that hard to divert the line a little ways to put in a necessary phonebooth.
I was curious how many I could find, heres some pictures!
http://c0170351.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com//5956_517_l.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56535839@N00/2594128518/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajl2755/180286977/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robfuel/2882583084/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brownwhittemore/2066063583/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyquinninlex/958441586/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/srichardimages/3947133923/
Working Links:
• http://c0170351.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com//5956_517_l.jpg
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/56535839@N00/2594128518/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajl2755/180286977/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/robfuel/2882583084/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/brownwhittemore/2066063583/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyquinninlex/958441586/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/srichardimages/3947133923/
So almost all of your telephone booth examples are from England. Not exactly relevant to Arizona/New Mexico!
ftr I grew up in New Mexico, and I never saw a random telephone booth in the middle of nowhere.
Almost but the one taken by me was in Illinois below the shawnee national park where cell phone service is spotty at best and non existent at worst. This booth (the link with mightyquinninlex in it) is in the middle of nowhere, has no wires connected (there are underground wires connected because it still works). I know its a strange site and not common at all (that may be why I stopped and took the pic). Also it is southern Illinois and not Arizona/New Mexico but I bet if you looked hard enough you could find one in those two states....
shareExactly. The original poster is either too young to know any better and has never watched Bill & Ted (lmao) or they live on a isolated island. lmao
sharei hear ya!
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
I had a very similar reaction. In the age of the cell phone, pay phones are almost anachronistic by definition. But just on the side of the road--I don't think so. Every time I've gone over bridges that are miles long e.g. over Escambia Bay in FL or the Atchayfalaya (sp?)River in LA, there are blue phone boxes, but I think they just connect you to the State Police.
The US always does the right thing -- after all other alternatives have been exhausted.
also if bad blake was really mr. old school tough guy he would have used a tin can phone.
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
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Kewl article, thanks.
As for the photos posted above of phone booths in the middle of nowhere, they're inconclusive as to whether each booth was connected to a wire, how isolated each booth was, and a couple of booths looked like they might be empty. Even the "lonliest phone booth" in the Mojave didn't last past 2000, making the one in Crazy Heart even more unlikely.
It would have been nice had they taken the time to attach some wires just for the shoot, but that's a minor point.
It's just that the production value was so bad. The booth was clearly just dropped down there..everytime he put his hand no the thing it was about to keel over..it was crooked... and I have had the great pleasure of traveling this country from sea to shinings sea on road trips and I can tell you...you don't see a phone booth RIGHT BY THE SIDE of road out in the middle of nowhere. Use one of the the ones Thelma and Louise did!! Even put the toothless guy there for color.
Still loved the movie..and the music is GREAT. Love that T-bone
You pipple mek my ass twitch
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Sorry but yes there are. Like I said to another poster-you are either too young to know any better or you live on a isolated island. lmao Anyone that has been thru places like Arizona knows they stick them on the sides of roads.
shareI am the photographer that took one of the photos that is used as an example. This booth is right on the side of the road and in the middle of nowhere. The phone lines are underground and it is still in service. Its on the edge of the Shawnee National Forest were cell phone service is spotty at best. So before you make all encompassing statements you might want to realize you haven't traveled every road and surely don't know everything. As soon as you make those statements you show how little you do know...
Anytime a qualifier is at the beginning of a statement take it with a grain of salt....
Really – NOT! I have driven on highways in Arizona and New Mexico in search of a phone booth, and there's none to be found except at the truck stops and Circle K's. These days, I'm sure it's even harder to find a phone booth because seemingly everyone but me has a cell phone.
share
Gimme a break, Guaranteed, there are no phone Booths out in the middle of Arizona long stretches of highway. Who would make money to service them? Cant even find a phone booth anywhere in my City anymore, let alone out on a lonesome stretch of highway....I thought the scene was comical and I even mentioned it at our Poker party last night.
You mustn't have lived through the 80s.
--really?? is annoying
The phone booth in the movie is real. It's near Datil, New Mexico. New Mexico is very rural and some parts of it are extremely isolated. Here's an article about the phone booth:
http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-14/news/vw-122_1_phone-booth
Really?? A stupid thread on IMDb?? Really??
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