Talk:Enemy of the State (film)

References to use

 * Please add to the list references that can be used for the film article.



Not a premise
The article states, "The premise of the film is the impending introduction of legislation to limit law enforcement agencies in their powers." That is not a premise. For an explanation of a film's premise, see the Wikipedia article on film premise.

The Senator's party
Further, there's no mention in the film of any Senator's party, so I have removed the claim that Hammersleigh is a Republican.
 * In a news report about his death, the anchor states clearly that he was a Republican congressman for Syracuse. Scott197827 10/01/05
 * In addition, when the Senator is on a Larry King interview, next to his name is an "(R)". Sorry, just wishful thinking on your part that domestic spying wasn't being carried out by the right-wing.--Tarutaru 12:09, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Sorry Tarutaru, but you seem to be confusing Senator Phil Hammersley who wanted to limit the N.S.A. ability to conduct surveillance without a warrant, the Senator, with Thomas Bryan Reynolds of the National Security Agency, who wanted his Agency to have greater legal leeway to conduct domestic spying. The Senator is the Republican. I hate to nitpick and naysay you, but we have far to many around here these days seeking to unwarrantedly assign political affiliation to fictional characters, for some kind of symbolic or public relations "score"--I doubt you'd do that, certainly not a decade ago, but given Wikipedia's current climate, we need to be careful about adding to the preponderance of inaccurate, biased P.o.V.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.217.209.69 (talk) 22:04, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
 * To be fair, Robert Clayton Dean, does yell that he is going to sue the "right-wing asses" off his unseen harassers,who spreading false and exaggerated libel about him, freezing his assets, etc.; I believe, at that point he is still falsely assuming his harassers, who are in fact members of the N.S.A., working under the direction of T.B.Reynolds (who is State Dept, but I don't remember having his party affiliation mentioned)--are members of the "Mob", who he is dealing with as part of a labor dispute, rather than Govermental. Dean, played by Will Smith, does tend to use terms he considers insults very loosely. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.217.209.69 (talk) 16:28, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

TSCM consultant
Also, the article states, "The movie had a TSCM consultant in the staff (who also played a minor role as a spy shop merchant), which accounts for the unusual-for-Hollywood degree of gadget realism in the movie." The latter part of the statement is POV and I have removed. BehroozZ 22:24, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

The Patriot Act
The movie mklkljonj heavily with issues that cropped up again in the debate over the United States Patriot Act. Ironically, the antagonist and foremost proponent of the anti-privacy bill (Reynolds) is shown in the film to have a birthday on September 11. Ironic or coincidental ?


 * Regarding this movie, Tony Scott said he was interested on how national security organizations can indeed eliminate every bit of privacy anyone takes for granted, after directing this movie he went on to direct Spy Game, which also was about spies on modern day. Back then it looked oddly like X-files kind of paranoia, and never the less it seemed that all it took was time in order for stuff like the PATRIOT act to show up. Regarding the September 11 issue, that just seems like coincidence.


 * Sure it's coincidence, but it's still a bizarre one. Worth a listing on the trivia section, IMO (just added it).  I bet that the 9/11/1940 birthday was a small nod to Brian DePalma (middle name of Reynolds is Brian) whose birthday is 9/11/1940, and who has directed several similar movies (and maybe is a friend of Scott and/or Bruckheimer?) 128.205.177.186 18:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)Kieran


 * The movie was made in 1998.....Kevin127 (talk) 04:08, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Just saw the movie again for the tenth time or so and heard this 9/11 birthdate for the first time and was very shocked with this "coincident". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mtsdn (talk • contribs) 13:58, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

"Thomas Reynolds' birth date is given as 9-11-40. On 11 September 1940, Bell Labs researcher George Stibitz demonstrated the first remote operation (i.e., over a phone line) of a computer machine. " -IMDB ```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.102.243.129 (talk) 02:09, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

Current NSA Issue
Doesn't this movie feel like it set the tone for the current domestic spyiing issue that President Bush is in trouble with now? Kinda makes you wonder. --^BuGs^ 04:52, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

The Conversation
Why are the references to The Conversation not covered in this article when the film is nonetheless linked? Eusebeus 23:09, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Because nobody's taken the time to do it? :-) If you've seen the other film, have a go!  Dismas|(talk) 23:13, 13 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, I just spotted the scene of fountain discussion in Enemy of the State. A simlar scene occurs in The Conversation. The scene in The Conversation occurs at a fountain and involves a multitude of audio specialists using directional mikes (including those in windows of buildings and by people planted in the park). There's also one element of similarity of the content of the conversation, and that is the fact of loving a married person. That's all off the top of my head. Hope that helps.Fang Teng 17:45, 27 October 2006 (UTC)


 * The photo of younger Brill matches Gene Hackman's character Harry Caul from The Conversation, as well. It might even be a photo directly from the earlier movie. GCD1 20:12, 19 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Plus, one of the characters wears a see-through raincoat. A small thing I know, but I reckon it's a nod to Harry's outfit in The Conversation.

89.100.16.211 (talk) 00:12, 6 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Watching it now. When the photograph of a younger Brill came up, my first thought was Caul. Then I came here for a look-see. So, yeah, for sure it's an image from The Conversation. Hanoi Road (talk) 00:07, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

"The sequel to Enemy of the State has been written and is scheduled to start filming in 2007. Everyone is scheduled to return."
By everyone, I take it they mean "everyone whose character is not dead". --Shan246
 * I also take it Brill will be back as well... Do we have a source for the above quote? Help plz 19:44, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Hammersley/Hammersleigh Name Conflict
The spelling of the senator's name is used interchangeably in this article.

Twice it's spelled as "Hammersley", and twice it's spelled as "Hammersleigh".

If someone has/knows the correct spelling of the character's name, could they please fix it?

I should've verified the spelling before trying to edit it.

If no one has corrected the name before I verify the spelling in the movie, I'll correct it later.

-- Jason Lawrence Justice 21:46, 23 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I've reviewed my VHS of Enemy of the State and using the closed caption feature, they spell the senator's name as "Phillip Hamersly."


 * -- Jason Lawrence Justice 02:57, 26 October 2006 (UTC)


 * That seems to me to just string out the question another degree. Do the writers/directors/producers of a film consult on or approve the closed captioning for it? Or is that done independently without coordination? If the latter, captions are not reliable. And then the only reliable source for the correct spelling would be statements directly from the production team, and/or the script. -Fsotrain09 03:04, 26 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Now you make me wonder.


 * Is there anyway someone can obtain this information and verify its correctness?


 * On the bright side, the name is consistent now.


 * -- Jason Lawrence Justice 22:43, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

What's with the Comedians?
The whole comms team consists of 3 comedians: Jack Black, Jamie Kennedy, and Seth Green.

What's up with that? Fang Teng 17:54, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Couldn't have been filmed in Jan/Feb 1997
I believe the article contains an error. This movie wasn't released until November 1998 - therefore wouldn't it have been filmed in early 1998, not early 1997? There are many '98 model cars featured in the movie (new Lincoln Town Car, Dodge Durango, etc) which were NOT available in early 1997, but were available in early 1998. Davez621 09:43, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

3D Recording Technology?
The article states "The shot where Fiedler rotates the security image of Dean ninety degrees to discover the location of the tape is physically impossible and could not be achieved without some sort of 3-D recording technology, not a security camera."

This is not strictly true. Providing that the store the footage came from had multiple video cameras at different angles, it is theoretically possible to construct a 3D model from these frames, though this would require some fairly serious computing power (which I guess the NSA would have at their disposal).

That said, there are a lot of aspects of the film that severely bend the truth of technological limits! Davetibbs 17:11, 24 July 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree. It bugs me when people say that it is impossible. I believe the people in the film even say the simulation can only go on the information it is given. i.e. they think the tape is in the bag because the shadow has changed, and the computer can extrapolate back to how the shape of the bag changed to give that shadow. It is simply a matter of extremely clever programming and lots of power, as Davetibbs stated.  camelworks (Mclowes) 01:39, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but I think it was stated in the movie that they just used powerful computers to recreate angles, not multiple cameras. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.22.191.144 (talk) 00:01, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 15:28, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Confusing Eavesdropping and Relational Database Technology?
PBS Nova ("The Spy Factory") said NSA could eavesdrop but couldn't connect the dots as depicted in the movie. Maybe the movie is depicting not eavesdropping but relational databases (multiple Federal, state, and corporate/bank data tables with primary and foriegn keys). Note: A database is strictly speaking (for database designer purposes) a collection of related tables, not one table. A database colloquially can refer to a secure information resource that is arranged in table format, however. Unrestricted Federal access (such as by NSA) to the available Federal, state, bank, and other corporate data nets interconnected by SSN could really ruin someone's life, though. Chris-marsh-usa (talk) 01:19, 14 June 2010 (UTC)