What exactly is a movie Easter Egg?
Technically speaking, an Easter Egg should be an object hidden in a scene, however, the
idea has evolved, and Easter Eggs now include not only hidden objects, but also cameos,
or even lines of dialogue.
Let’s take a look at our list for Top 15 Easter Eggs in movies.
10.
Club Obi Wan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Among the filmmaking community, Steven Spielberg has been known as the ultimate film nerd,
because he simply loves his craft.
He also loves his fellow film geeks, as he never shies away from paying homage whenever
possible.
At the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when Indiana Jones is trying
to escape Chinese mobsters who are after his life, he leaves the club Obi Wan.
Now, to those of you who don’t get the reference, it’s just an aptly named Chinese establishment.
In reality, it’s a friendly nod to George Lucas.
The in-joke is that, in Star Wars, Obi Wan is the name of a major character played by
Sir Alec Guinness.
But the name does have a Chinese ring to it, doesn’t it?
Anyway, the reference fit perfectly into the movie, winking back at the Star Wars fans,
as well as giving a nod to Lucas.
But this is not the only entry to our Lucas-Spielberg homage section, as the two are a great example
of Easter-egging back and forth.
9.
The slave owner (Django Unchained) Although this one belongs more in the “best
cameos” category, it can still be considered an Easter egg, because not many young moviegoers
were expected to get the joke.
Quentin Tarantino is the ultimate cinema nerd, and his knowledge of films is almost unmatched,
which is why he simply had to include Franco Nero in this scene of Django Unchained.
Franco Nero is a well-known figure in international cinema, with a career spanning five decades;
he played many iconic characters, including the famous Django in the eponymous 1966 movie
(he’s the original Django).
Now, when he asks Jamie Fox about his name, Fox replies “Django.
The D is silent”, to which Nero replies “I know”.
This is a clear throwback to Nero’s iconic character from his hay day, and a great homage
by Tarantino to one of his movie heros.
8.
The janitor (Scream) Not many of you probably noticed the janitor
in Scream, the iconic horror of the 90s, directed by Wes Craven.
Wes Craven was a master of the horror genre, with films such as The Last House on the Left,
The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare on Elm Street, with the latter establishing Fredie
Krueger as one of the best horror villains of all time.
In one of the scenes from Scream, the janitor is actually played by the director himself
.What is even better is that he is dressed as Fredie Krueger, in his exact sweater and
hat.
Does this Easter egg suggest that Fredie Kruger is still alive and kicking, stalking the innocent
high school students while preparing to enter their dreams, or – simply reflection on
Wes Craven’s film career.
All in all, a nice little touch by a solid director.
7.
The newspaper ad (Lifeboat) Apparently, the late great Alfred Hitchcock
was not only the master of suspense, but of cameos as well.
He managed to sneak in, at least for one shot, into the majority of his pictures, but one
of his cameos stands out, and it’s done so brilliantly that it truly belongs in the
Easter egg category.
The entire story of Lifeboat takes places at sea, where the characters struggle to stay
alive, until help reaches them.
So, it wasn’t possible to make a cameo in a setting such as this one.
Well, not exactly.
Hitchcock was the master of cinema, and he actually found a way of finishing in the movie.
How?
Here’s movie magic at its best.
There is a scene where one of the characters is reading a newspaper, you can see an ad
about fat-loss product, and the person in the ad is none other than Hitchcock himself.
There’s even his name in the left-hand corner, to remove all doubt.
This showed that the brilliant director had a great sense of humour and always found a
way to stay one step ahead of the game.
6.
Yoda (E.T.)
We’re back to the Spielberg-Lucas back-and-forth, so let’s look at something which technically
might not be considered an Easter egg (because it’s right there in plain sight), but which
has the cinematic strength and causality not many real Easter eggs have.
When the kids are walking with E.T. in disguise for Halloween, they meet a kid wearing a Yoda
costume from Star Wars.
The Yoda kid passes them by, but E.T. immediately starts walking towards him, repeating the
word ‘’Home!”
This is supposed to signify that Yoda and E.T. share the same galaxy, which means that
the tagline “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” may easily be true.
Spielberg really holds a special place for Lucas in his heart, as these Easter Eggs clearly
show.
5.
E.T. envoys (The Phantom Menace) The Yoda cameo in E.T. was something that
fans of both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg loved, and it was just a matter of time when
Lucas would nod back to his buddy.
Everyone was expecting it, and it simply had to happen: in Star Wars Episode I – Phantom
Menace, we can see a small delegation of alien beings that are identical to E.T.
Along with them, there are a lot of intergalactic races in the large gatherings, and if you
look closely, there’s no doubt about it – they belong to E.T.’s alien species.
By incorporating this brilliant bit by George Lucas, the in-joke became complete.
E.T. does come from a galaxy far, far away…
We can only hope that his species was on the side of the Rebels and not the evil Intergalactic
Empire.
4.
Nick Fury’s epitaph (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
In superhero movies from Marvel and DC, there are literally dozens of Easter eggs.
However, one Easter egg in particular caught our attention, because it’s not obvious,
and it was cleverly done.
This entry is a nice tie-in between the expanded universes of Quentin Tarantino and Marvel
comics, although it doesn’t try to wink back at you forcefully; it’s done with style,
as would suit a character played by the master-of-cool, Samuel L. Jackson.
In Captain America: Winter Soldier, on Nick Fury grave there is an epitaph that says “The
path of the righteous man…”
Nick Fury is played by Samuel L. Jackson, and this is a nod to another one of his fantastic
performances, in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, where Jackson often quotes the Ezekiel passage.
3.
James Cameron’s voice (Terminator) After Craven’s and Hitchcock’s cameos,
here’s another one.
This time, it’s the legendary Hollywood director James Cameron, making an audio appearance
in the form of the voice from Sara Connor’s answering machine.
The guy on the phone tells here how he cannot go on a date with her.
The fact that Hamilton and Cameron were married years later (and are now divorced) makes this
Easter egg even sweeter.
Sure, many will argue that it doesn’t fit the exact Easter-egg category, but it’s
moments such as this one where you see the true brilliance of a director.
It’s fairly easy to put something in plain insight, but to actually hide it and make
it more difficult for the audience to get it is the real deal.
Even in these things, James Cameron is on top of his game.
2.
Hunter S. Thompson and Dr.Gonzo (Rango) This one is a real treat.
In the scene where the main character, the lizard Rango, hits the windshield of a convertible,
we can clearly see the two men riding in the car.
This scene almost directly parallels the one from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, where
Raoul Duke and his lawyer/buddy Dr.Gonzo experience drug-induced hallucinations.
Why is this such a good Easter egg?
Well, because of two reasons.
First, Hunter Thompson was great friends with Johnny Depp, who voiced the character of Rango.
The second reason is even better as it was Johnny Depp who starred in Fear and Loathing
and was the one driving in the original scene.
In any case, it’s not every day that you see lizards wearing Hawaiian shirts on your
windshield, right?
1.
The red Volkswagen Beetle (The Shinning) When it comes to the art of cinema, not many
directors can match the brilliance of Stanley Kubrick.
This man revolutionized cinema, and his works are still among the best out there.
Not many people are aware of this Easter egg in 1980’s The Shinning, but it is nothing
short of amazing.
The fact that he didn’t do it just as a joke, but with a purpose, makes it all the
more genius.
In the car crash scene, we can clearly see a smashed red Volkswagen Beetle under a big
truck.
For those who didn’t read Stephen King’s novel, this probably seems unimportant.
But with Kubrick, nothing is unimportant – everything is there for a reason.
In King’s novel, the character of Jack Torrance drives a red Beetle, but in Kubrick’s film
Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) drives a yellow one.
Coincidence?
Most probably not.
By changing the color of Torrance’s vehicle, and crashing the red Beetle, Stanley Kubrick
covertly dismissed Stephen King’s story in favor of his own adaptation.
Some might think that this is just another “film conspiracy theory”, but after comparing
the novel and the film, you will see that the two are completely different, and that
Stephen King’s story was really run over by Stanley Kubrick’s unique vision, just
as the red Beetle got smashed by that big truck.
This really is one of cinema’s most brilliant Easter eggs.