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The Philadelphia Experiment
- 170 statements
- 32 feature instances
- 9 referencing feature instances
The Philadelphia Experiment | type |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | label |
The Philadelphia Experiment | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | page |
ThePhiladelphiaExperiment | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | comment |
The Philadelphia Experiment is a Science Fiction film released in 1984 about Time Travel.Two sailors from 1943, David Herdeg (Michael Pare) and Jim Parker (Bobby Di Cicco), become Fish out of Temporal Water when the US Navy destroyer they are stationed on vanishes as an unforeseen side-effect of an experiment in creating an electromagnetic Invisibility Cloak, and they find themselves in 1984. While they deal with the culture shock, Parker is overcome by the out-of-control side effects and disappears. Herdeg, searching for an explanation for what happened to him, winds up at a military installation where it is revealed that a second cloaking experiment is underway, this time involving an entire city. It, too, vanished, and now there's a huge vortex in the sky that is sucking everything into it and growing larger.It turns out that the interaction of the two experiments, one in 1943, the other in 1984, has created a time warp that captured both the destroyer and the city and threatens The End of the World as We Know It. Herdeg is given an experimental suit to protect himself from the effects of the vortex, and allows himself to be sucked back in in an attempt to shut down the destroyer's cloaking field.The movie is Inspired by…, and takes its name from, a conspiracy theory which itself revolves around a supposed invisibility experiment conducted during WWII, which is said to have resulted in the same side effects as depicted in the movie. The story's most probable origin lies in WWII experiments with whole-ship degaussing as a countermeasure against magnetically triggered sea mines, likely conflated with contemporary generator experiments aboard a destroyer which produced visually impressive, yet almost entirely harmless, corona discharges.It was followed by an In Name Only sequel in 1993: The Philadelphia Experiment II. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | fetched |
2023-09-24T04:43:38Z | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | parsed |
2023-09-24T04:43:38Z | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | processingComment |
Dropped link to MassTeleportation: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | processingComment |
Dropped link to TeleFrag: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_19df659c | type |
Gone Horribly Wrong | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_19df659c | comment |
Gone Horribly Wrong: The cloaking experiment is intended to hide a ship from radar, not make it vanish entirely. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_19df659c | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_19df659c | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_19df659c | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_1c7a7a52 | type |
The Slow Path | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_1c7a7a52 | comment |
The Slow Path: Poor Parker has to live out 41 years of ridicule while his buddy Herzeg gets to gallivant around in 1984. No wonder he's bitter. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_1c7a7a52 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_1c7a7a52 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_1c7a7a52 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_262be073 | type |
Lemming Cops | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_262be073 | comment |
Lemming Cops: Pursuing cars on foot through snow. Chasing a car through a barn, flipping one car and exploding the other after it rolls. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_262be073 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_262be073 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_262be073 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_3c598f56 | type |
Conflict Ball | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_3c598f56 | comment |
Conflict Ball: The military in 1984 is unnecessarily aggressive in trying to capture Herdeg and Parker, and the latter are unreasonably afraid, when they are both members of the U.S. Navy and, if anything, should expect reasonable treatment from the government. The irrational behavior from both parties creates all the conflict in the second act of the film. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_3c598f56 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_3c598f56 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4508b16b | type |
The Guards Must Be Crazy | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4508b16b | comment |
The Guards Must Be Crazy: One soldier manages to get onto the elevator with Herdeg. There are lots of innocent bystanders there. The guard waits until after a stop when someone is let onto the elevator — the perfect opportunity to get Herdeg away from said bystanders — and waits until the elevator is even more full and the door shut before attempting to restrain Herdeg. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4508b16b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4508b16b | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4508b16b | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4acee1ed | type |
Fish out of Temporal Water | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4acee1ed | comment |
Fish out of Temporal Water: Actually some scenes of this were deleted. The most subtle bit was Parker's reaction to the bill for two breakfasts and coffee — which probably cost several times the dollar amount it would have in 1943, but we just see his reaction to the check, not the price. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4acee1ed | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4acee1ed | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_4acee1ed | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_501de366 | type |
Temporal Paradox | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_501de366 | comment |
Temporal Paradox: Of the ontological sort — if the time vortex is stopped back in 1943, then how does it start in 1984 and cause the events of the movie? This is, perhaps mercifully, left unanswered. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_501de366 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_501de366 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_501de366 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_504a1991 | type |
Body Horror | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_504a1991 | comment |
Body Horror: After the ship returns from its trip many of the sailors are severely burned, but several are even seen "phased" halfway through a metal walkway... still living. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_504a1991 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_504a1991 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_504a1991 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_56698261 | type |
Our Time Travel Is Different | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_56698261 | comment |
Our Time Travel Is Different: The wormhole version. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_56698261 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_56698261 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_56698261 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_5785db6e | type |
Driving Stick | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_5785db6e | comment |
Driving Stick: Inverted Upon commandeering Allison's car, Herdeg is so dumbfounded by the lack of a clutch pedal that he has to make Allison drive. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_5785db6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_5785db6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_5785db6e | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_66f69cd4 | type |
Invisibility Cloak | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_66f69cd4 | comment |
Invisibility Cloak: For a navy destroyer and an entire midwestern town. It's actually intended just to hide them from radar, but clearly doesn't work exactly as intended. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_66f69cd4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_66f69cd4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_66f69cd4 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6d786f8e | type |
Stock Unsolved Mysteries | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6d786f8e | comment |
Stock Unsolved Mysteries: The Philadelphia Experiment. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6d786f8e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6d786f8e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6d786f8e | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6ef6417b | type |
Disney Death | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6ef6417b | comment |
Disney Death: Herdeg jumps off of the Eldridge into the vortex just before it collapses. The destroyer reappears in 1943, the town reappears in 1984, and everyone's happy (except for the horribly maimed sailors, one imagines), but where's the hero? Cut to Allison walking through the town... and there's Herdeg. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6ef6417b | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6ef6417b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_6ef6417b | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7315fd38 | type |
Covers Always Lie | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7315fd38 | comment |
Covers Always Lie: The cover (seen here) is misleading. The dark thing with the headlights in the center had nothing to do with the actual experiment, Herdeg is actually riding out in it at the end of the movie to fix everything. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7315fd38 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7315fd38 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7315fd38 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_77315f4f | type |
You Have to Believe Me! | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_77315f4f | comment |
You Have to Believe Me!: Parker's "insane" story of traveling in time got him put in a mental institution after he was sucked back. When Herdeg looks him up in 1984, he's a bitter old man. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_77315f4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_77315f4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_77315f4f | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7f390ebc | type |
Developing Doomed Characters | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7f390ebc | comment |
Developing Doomed Characters: There's a long segment at the beginning setting up the fact that Parker is in love (or married already), which takes place at a dance. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7f390ebc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7f390ebc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_7f390ebc | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_815ea2a1 | type |
All Is Well That Ends Well | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_815ea2a1 | comment |
All Is Well That Ends Well: Despite the fact that Herdeg is indirectly responsible for the burning death of a car full of his subordinates, and the injury of some in the one he was riding in, he's more than happy to be the one driving Herdeg out (and engaging him in idle chit chat "So, what did you think of 1984?") so he can get back to 1943. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_815ea2a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_815ea2a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_815ea2a1 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: Blink and you'll miss it: after Herdeg turns off the machine in 1943 and as he walks over to talk to Jimmy on the ship, he puts his 1984 gloves in his 1984 helmet and tosses it off to the side. He never retrieves them, leaving them in 1943. The movie's almost over, and there's no time to bring this up. He returns to 1984 without them. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_863fa679 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_88fa35e0 | type |
Walking Techbane | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_88fa35e0 | comment |
Walking Techbane: Of the accidental type; absorbing the electrical shock from the destroyer's generator causes Parker (and later Herdeg) to occasionally short out nearby electronics and attract thunderstorms. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_88fa35e0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_88fa35e0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_88fa35e0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8b442f50 | type |
Did Not Get the Girl | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8b442f50 | comment |
Did Not Get the Girl: Subverted. Herdeg is forced to leave his Love Interest, Allison, behind when he enters the time vortex. It's strongly hinted that he'd eventually have been sucked back just like Parker anyway. But then he jumps off the destroyer before the time vortex collapses, reappearing in 1984 after a Disney Death. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8b442f50 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8b442f50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8b442f50 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8d407165 | type |
Human Architecture Horror | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8d407165 | comment |
Human Architecture Horror: Still-living sailors fuses with the deckplates, anyone?! | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8d407165 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8d407165 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_8d407165 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_98c95895 | type |
Time Crash | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_98c95895 | comment |
Time Crash: The time vortex created by the interaction of the two experiments will cause a horrible calamity if not stopped, as the 1984 end seems poised to suck up the entire planet. There's no corresponding vortex in 1943, however. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_98c95895 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_98c95895 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_98c95895 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: Parker's wife in 1984 tells Herdeg that, "You never came back." | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d12bbc1 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d6427ec | type |
Time Travel | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d6427ec | comment |
Time Travel: Accidental time travel caused by two experiments in electromagnetic cloaking 41 years apart. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d6427ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d6427ec | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_9d6427ec | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_a20bd6e7 | type |
MadLibsThrillerTitle | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_a20bd6e7 | comment |
Mad Libs Thriller Title. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_a20bd6e7 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_a20bd6e7 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_a20bd6e7 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_b2e94341 | type |
Based on a Great Big Lie | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_b2e94341 | comment |
Based on a Great Big Lie: Aside from a complete lack of any evidence supporting the experiment, the USS Eldridge was in the Carribean on a shakedown cruise during the dates specified, and four of the men mentioned by name to have died actually survived the war, one of whom eventually commanded his own ship. Even the creator of the story, a former merchant sailor, admitted to making it up. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_b2e94341 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_b2e94341 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_b2e94341 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_cd3ebc8e | type |
What Year Is This? | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_cd3ebc8e | comment |
What Year Is This?: Parker and Herdeg figure out that they're in the future from copious clues, but have to ask for the precise date. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_cd3ebc8e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_cd3ebc8e | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_cd3ebc8e | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_e4b69188 | type |
Very Loosely Based on a True Story | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_e4b69188 | comment |
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: There was a project involving degaussing naval ships to allow them to pass through a field of magnetic sea mines. One sailor was electrocuted, which is an occupational hazard of working with the high-kiloampere currents required to cancel an entire ship's magnetic field, but otherwise it was a success. That's about the closest the film gets to reality. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_e4b69188 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_e4b69188 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_e4b69188 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f09a2e19 | type |
Time Travel for Fun and Profit | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f09a2e19 | comment |
Time Travel for Fun and Profit: Parker owns a ranch, but he doesn't seem to be any wealthier than he could have been otherwise. However, he didn't see much of the future before being incapacitated, so didn't pick up a lot of information that could be easily exploited. Herdeg, however, makes a joke at the end about the military probably owing him 40 years of back pay. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f09a2e19 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f09a2e19 | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f09a2e19 | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f511ea9b | type |
Product Placement | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f511ea9b | comment |
Product Placement: Löwenbräu beer. Coke, several times. The most obvious is the man holding the can label-out as they watch the results of the missile-probe. Herdeg watches a commercial for the Rainbow 100, which really was a computer for sale in the 1980s. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f511ea9b | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f511ea9b | featureConfidence |
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The Philadelphia Experiment | hasFeature |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_f511ea9b | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_fc47c7f9 | type |
The Future Is Shocking | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_fc47c7f9 | comment |
The Future Is Shocking: The culture shock of Parker and Herdeg arriving in 1984 is played up until they start getting chased by the military. | |
The Philadelphia Experiment / int_fc47c7f9 | featureApplicability |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_name | type |
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The Philadelphia Experiment / int_name | itemName |
The Philadelphia Experiment |
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