My favorite scene was always where everyone is studying quietly, then one guy just starts screaming and runs out. Nobody is really fazed, and one guy just quietly moves up into the seat he left and they go right back to studying.
I knew the guy who played him; they used extras from Caltech, and a Caltech grad (Dave Marvit) was a consultant on it. Also, there are tons of Caltech Easter eggs in there, and some of the characters were based on real students. At 6:30 where you see the production credit for "Darlington Electronic Industries" it's a reference to DEI which is an undergraduate secret handshake of sorts. They took pictures of the graffiti on the walls and combined several rooms that I was familiar with. The only thing they got wrong was the dorms which looked like they had were all Marvel comics readers, not DC. If you can imagine a time when only nerds actually read comic books and Hollywood wasn't dominated by them. The institute wouldn't let them film there because the professor was the bad guy.
@@BillCraven thank you for your background insight into the making of this film totally cool information there. nowadays they wouldn’t have a problem with letting them film there what better advertising then getting to actually see the place on the big screen somebody was uptight and shortsighted.
I saw it in high school. Little did I know that the poster sessions and endless lab time were accurate. And the tense meetings with funding agencies. Good times.
@@raul0ca A university I went to has a robotics laboratory in the EE department for those who will be in the IEEE robot competition. They would nearly be living in that room, especially as the competition date approached.
So very true, and I believe it’s due to his education and taking EVERY part with the same dedication and attention to details. Love him and my sister and I have been huge fans since Top Secret (his first movie role), never seen a Kilmer film I didn’t like.
My best friend was a real-life teenage wunderkind. She doesn't have a high school diploma because she left at the age of 16 to attend MIT for a degree in physics. She says this movie does a good job of showing what life was like for kids as young as her going to a school as intense and prestigious as MIT.
Loved the movie growing up, and it still holds up better than almost any other 'teen comedy' of its day. Good humor, a lot of heart and just the right measure of seriousness.
I was working at a movie theater my senior year of HS when this came out. It was/is awesome. I went to college that fall with Real Genius as my guidebook. Great fun. Oh, and when my son went to college to study engineering, we watched this together. He's graduating this May. Two generation of nerds got their start with Real Genius.
I heard it on the radio while getting ready for work a few hours before this video dropped. And I actually caught the movie on cable twice last weekend. This one seems meant to be.
I absolutely love this movie! I had it on VHS and wore it out. The music takes me back every time I hear it. Especially the tears for fears, my mom listened to that album religiously. Sadly she's passed on but every time I hear any songs from this album it reminds me of her and this movie. Oh and she's the reason why I love this movie, because she told me that I would like it and bought it for me. I know I suggested that take a look at this movie quite a few years ago, thanks for finally doing it. 🤙
Actually Minty should've pointed out what a great soundtrack Real Genius had & what a crying shame it didn't turn into a real movie soundtrack album. Guess it was a licensing nightmare, but they could've made a ton of $ if they had pulled it off.
@@thespicemelange.1 I understand. My mom passed away 6 years ago. We used to watch classic movies together all the time, such as All About Eve, Some Like It Hot, and MY all time favorite, It's a Wonderful Life. I loved her VERY, VERY much! I think of her every day, for I still miss her VERY MUCH! Indeed, she will ALWAYS be in my heart! 😪😍😢
Omg Thank you! Real Genius is one of my favorite movies. Chris Knight: Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, when he said, “I drank what?”
LOVE this movie! To this day I still use the quote, "It's a moral imperative!" (Among other lines.) Who else opens a cup of yogurt and thinks, "I don't know, I found it in one of the labs...?" 😆
The one I've found myself using the most over the years is "there are a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market today that are just as tasty as the real thing." I use it after someone has a meltdown. The internet is such a magical place! =)
I had this on VHS in college (mid-90s) and am not exaggerating when I say I watched it at least every other day for 4 years. Still one of my favorites of all time!!!!
I remember reading an article about how much Val hated making comedies. He felt they were beneath him and a waste of his talent. It's a shame he felt this way, because he was so good in them. Real Genius and Top Secret are classics.
I love Real Genius. I own it on DVD. The music is iconic. The actors felt like real people. The story of brilliant students who get revenge on their lying Professor, is a master stroke.
I used to work in an R&D lab with lasers back in early 80s. The lab depicted in the movie is quite accurate for the time, we even had the same optical table with pneumatic legs to isolate it from vibration. Every time I watch this movie, it brings back good memories. And, yes, we had Christmas parties just as wild as in the movie "Best Defense" (with Dudley Moore), another fun movie. :)
I have a few friends who went to Caltech. Lazlow’s steam tunnels are real. Most of the school is underlain with access utility and storage areas and tunnels. You can effectively get around most of the buildings in the middle of the campus that way and Caltech always had a policy of leaving most buildings unlocked and the students would explore around. Don’t know if it’s like that anymore. The dorm scenes were pretty accurate in appearance too but they were called houses at Caltech. Very Harry Potter esque.
Most older colleges have steam tunnels, and some are still in use back in the 70s, my dad worked at our local 'public ivy ' university, and took me down ( he was in maintenance) he showed me the "map" that was hung every 50 yds or so. People who worked there often got lost, they had to build prison style gates to keep the stoonts out. That's what we called the college kids. Stoonts = stooges students. I felt really connected to Lazlo, met lots of burned out elite kids that stayed in town, most worked in college oriented business, some were owners. Fun childhood.
This is when I fell in love with Val. Glad to see you do this one. Please do Top Secret sometime. Good stuff! I'd argue this directly paved the way for the Big Bang Theory.
I recorded this movie off HBO when it first came out on cable and watched it a million times with my sisters. To this day we still quote it. “This is not good.” “LOOK!” “I drank what?” “Oh no… oh yes! Duck again.” “Roger, we’re sending.” “Well I didn’t know.” “The colon. What does it look like.” 😂😂😂
"So, you'll hammer later?" "And now we're doing the Cha-Cha!" Kent "I have to go to the bathroom", Chris "Ok, but I don't think it's going to help with your confidence!"
Other fun facts: * Actual Caltech students were used as extras in several scenes. * While the filming took place on other SoCal campuses, the hallways (including the doors) are an extremely faithful reproduction of those seen in the South residence houses at Caltech during that time. * Not only are there steam tunnels under Caltech but the South Houses also had inter-room crawlspaces (colloquially called "Hyperspace") that could be entered through most dorm closets. Lazlo's hideaway is an imaginative combination of the two taken to an extreme. * Caltech students in the early 90s were inspired by Real Genius to attempt to freeze a hallway after finding an industrial refrigeration unit that was being thrown away. It didn't look quite as cool, and took a LOT longer to freeze (and clean up afterwards!!!) but it was enough to host ice skating, sledding, and a broomball match.
As a computer science major in the late 80's this really is the most-accurate movie of our college years. Except, we ALL thought we were Chris Knight, when in reality we were a dozen or so Lazlos.
@@travzimmerman1340 Well, "accurate" as in, if you're a bunch of nerdy math and science engineering types, it was more like THAT than Animal House, Back to School, or Revenge of the Nerds, I meant. :)
As good as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is as a movie ending, I was also glad to hear Bryan Adams "One Night Love Affair" and Y&T "Summertime Girls"
Saw this on VHS when it first came out in the states and at age 10, I loved it and still do. Just a well crafted comedy with some choice moments of being real.
There's a connection to both Revenge of the Nerds and Valley Girl. Jordan was played by Michelle Meyrink, who was also Suzi in Valley Girl and Judy in Revenge of the Nerds. She also was in an episode of Family Ties.
I knew she was in Revenge of the Nerds as Gilbert's girlfriend and Real Genius, but never watched Valley Girl that much as it wasn't my kind of movie to notice that.
@@spuds6423 ♪ Heeeey, Hitler, can we slow down a lit-tle! ♪ Man, I loved that movie. Also liked her work in "Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat" from 1989.
I worked in the laser department at Maxwell Laboratories which was doing SDI or 'star wars' research at the time. Maxwell was a technical consult for this movie. There is a cage in the lab filled with Maxwell capacitors and has a Maxwell sign on it. They use the term 'charging' which refers to charging the capacitors, something we actually did in the real lab. So yeah, I love this movie. I have to!
I'm so glad you brought up the floating scene. I remember seeing it in the commercials for the movie before it came out and kept waiting for it to happen in the movie. I always wondered what the deal was with it.
This is one of my all time favorite movies and I re-watch it once a year or so when I need a little cheering up. I even have the International Organization for Gorillas t-shirt that Val Kilmer wears in the movie; several times over the years I've been wearing it (to my wife's never ending horror) and had people point at it and smile and say the name of the movie. It's a really fun movie with great characters and dialogue.
I always like the character Jordan. Being this eccentric and slightly wacky girl A very favorite movie. While I did like Revenge of the Nerds quite a bit,this movie, like you mentioned, was more grounded and realistic. A lot of the shennigans (especially the scene where they reasseble Kent's car) are based on real events. Even my dad said that he witness some of these while at Georgia Tech.
I would hope that after many years, Real Genius' DVD/VHS/Streaming revenue made it more than worthwhile on its original budget. It's one of my favs! I think it holds up way better than Weird Science and My Science Project did. And, Val Kilmer. This is an easy rewatch, the others don't age nearly as well. Thanks Minty for highlighting this awesome movie!
I did not know that about the guy who works as a sign interpreter! My grandparents were deaf and much of my extended family and their friends were too and it always brings a smile when I hear stuff like that!
One of my all-time favorite movies! My wife and I were in high school in the 80s. Every summer we spend about 6 weeks watching our favorite 80s movies. This is always on rotation.
I remember a fall sunny Autumn afternoon sitting on my grandma's living room floor playing with He-Man figures and loving this film and sound track. Kicks me right in the feels watching this one.
Growing up, I never knew the name of this movie, so it was called the popcorn movie. And it's still one of my all time favorite movies. And go to movies for any occasion
I still remember the day my father and I were scrolling through our movie library and I saw Real Genius in there. I asked him to play it and I enjoyed every second of it. To where it became my favorite movie from pre 2000. The plot, good special effects at the time, the imo underrated music such as Chaz Jankel - Number One or Comsat Angels - I'm Falling. An overall great film. Though it is a shame the condition Kilmer was left in after his diagnosis of throat cancer. Had no idea what was to come thirty years later after this movie.
You’re killing me Minty (in a good way😅)!! Several months ago I started watching at the beginning of your videos and have finally caught up. Along the way I realized that I was missing quite a few movie gems from my collection and as such have had to make a lot of purchases to more fully create a dignified compilation. A few observations that I have made from watching your videos in succession from the beginning are: You are a very kind person!! I really enjoy your comments and you are always willing to give somebody the benefit of the doubt without casting blame or being unkind. I really enjoy listening to your accent (obviously I’m not from Australia). I really enjoy the way you present the content you are speaking about, it’s interesting and fun to listen to - I’m sure it takes a lot of work to make these videos - and I can see you’re passionate about the movies you are talking about. You are gracious to those who watch your videos and that speaks greatly to the humble type of person you are!! Thank you, Minty for creating entertaining and enjoyable content. I look forward to whatever you have in store for us!!
Real Genius has always been one of my favorite movies because I could totally relate, Myself having been in College studying Physics and having Graduated with a degree in Theoretical Physics. I mean we ran small experiments with lasers and I recorded every lecture. And My favorite scene, is the Lecture Hall Montage, where Mitch keeps going back to Class and there is Less Students and More recorders each time until the Prof has left a recorder too and wrote on the chalk board "Math on tape is hard to follow so please listen carefully". Best Classic 80s movie ever!!!
I absolutely love 80s movies. Maybe its becuase im a child of the 80s and 90s, but theres something particularly nostalgic about 80s and early 90s movies. The colors, the cheesy music, the overall feel. But out of all of them, Real Genius is right up there as perhaps one of my top 5 perhaps even top 3 favorite 80s flicks!
Truly a sight to behold. A man beaten. The once great champ, now, a study in moppishness. No longer the victory hungry stallion we've raced so many times before, but a pathetic, washed up, aged ex-champion.
When I was a teenager at the time this came out I had already been once to a summer program for teens who got ridiculously high scores on the SAT when taken at age 13, and would shortly return the next year. Although not a perfect representation, it came close enough that it was something for my gifted friends and I to rally around as ours.😊Great memories associated with this one.
More on the ”what are the odds” movies about science/geniuses… don’t forget there was also the somewhat forgettable “My Science Project” that also came out that year.
As a former "gifted" kid, plucked from my local public school at 6 years old (in 1984) and put into an experimental advanced program, I ended up being the nerd outsider in my neighborhood. Thank god for HBO. I started out as Mitch, but this movie honestly made such a difference in my life. I still love Chris' speech to Mitch when Mitch is about to quit, and the character of Chris Knight informed so much of my personality that (I swear to god) I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee in my bunny slippers, which I have because I dressed as Chris for a Halloween party last year (NOBODY got it 😂).
Kind of a side track thing… The Val Kilmer documentary mentions this movie a bit, but I wish it had spent more time on it. That documentary was quite touching in the end.
Love this film. If you enjoy Val Kilmer... check out "The Saint" . Its an action + romance + some mild comedy film about Cold Fusion, and its one of my favorites. Another great 80s films, that is not often so well known is "Gotcha!" (1985) starring Anthony Edwards (famously known in the "ER" TV series). Its a spy action / thriller film as well.
The saint is a spectacular movie! All of the random characters that Val plays are fun, and the geopolitic stuff is strangely still relevant today for Russia!
I used to watch this movie almost monthly with my mom …. We both thought it was hilarious and I’m thankful for you giving it some love. Watching with my wife tonight!
Thank you Minty!! Real Genius is an all-time favourite of mine, the movie that turned me onto Tears for Fears (I’m now a lifelong fan) and made me appreciate what a superb actor Val Kilmer is. For me it was a relatable and a refreshing change from the raunchy movies that were the rage at the time… My ‘I ❤ Toxic Waste’ T-shirt also winds the uninitiated up something chronic!! The new UHD Blu-Ray release has the cut scene as an extra… it’s worth the purchase for that and the 4K transfer… epic…
Minty, you're amazing of what you do, keep it up, how about ten things you didn't know about Judgement Night (1993) and it has a great soundtrack with mixture of rap/rock combination, take care
Yeah, this film is one that I have revisited in recent years and totally loved it. Talking about aging well. Unlike Revenge of the Nerds and Weird Science, which I was a fan of both when I was a kid. I much prefer RG now in my old age.
Minty , you talked about my top three favourite movies in one episode. Real Genius, Revenge of the nerds , Better off Dead . All classics and would watch over again and again .thanks
Although I’ve never been to MIT, but I’m told that their student body to this day is known for pulling creative and innovative pranks similar to the ones we see in this movie.
This is true of any top tech school. Someone says "You can't do that (in here)!", and 3 others look at each other and say "keep our drinks cold, we'll be right back..." Next thing you know, there's a carnival ride through buildings that dumps riders into the pond.
Growing up in the 80's, this was one of my favorite movies. I watched it last night for the first time in several decades and it was just as good as it ever was.
Always been one of my favorites. One interesting tidbit: the dorm set was indeed modeled after one of the dorms at Cal Tech, and of course exaggerated a bit. The car gag was likely based on an infamous Cal Tech student prank where they disassembled a professor's VW Beetle and reassembled in his office overnight. Cal Tech and MIT had an ongoing rivalry of trying to out-prank each other. Another Cal Tech tradition was to "hack" the card stunts at the Rose Bowl football game to alter them to read out something different, typically calling out Cal Tech. One year, at the Rose Bowl game, they hacked the electronic scoreboard to change the team names to Cal "Tech" and "MIT." That tradition of stunts and pranks was very well represented in Real Genius.
My favorite scene was always where everyone is studying quietly, then one guy just starts screaming and runs out. Nobody is really fazed, and one guy just quietly moves up into the seat he left and they go right back to studying.
I've been there for that scene in real life more than once.
People snap.
I knew the guy who played him; they used extras from Caltech, and a Caltech grad (Dave Marvit) was a consultant on it. Also, there are tons of Caltech Easter eggs in there, and some of the characters were based on real students. At 6:30 where you see the production credit for "Darlington Electronic Industries" it's a reference to DEI which is an undergraduate secret handshake of sorts. They took pictures of the graffiti on the walls and combined several rooms that I was familiar with. The only thing they got wrong was the dorms which looked like they had were all Marvel comics readers, not DC. If you can imagine a time when only nerds actually read comic books and Hollywood wasn't dominated by them. The institute wouldn't let them film there because the professor was the bad guy.
@@BillCraven thank you for your background insight into the making of this film totally cool information there. nowadays they wouldn’t have a problem with letting them film there what better advertising then getting to actually see the place on the big screen somebody was uptight and shortsighted.
Mine too
This movie is the reason I went into Physics, and pursued a PhD. I now work with lasers making cool things for the DOE. Thank you Real Genius!
I just adopted Kilmers attitude 😁
Like Travis Taylor, PhD (Rocket City Redneck)?
And has 5 megawatts by Mid-May been officially achieved?
I saw it in high school. Little did I know that the poster sessions and endless lab time were accurate. And the tense meetings with funding agencies. Good times.
@@raul0ca A university I went to has a robotics laboratory in the EE department for those who will be in the IEEE robot competition. They would nearly be living in that room, especially as the competition date approached.
Val Kilmer, at the age of 25 was better than most other actors of any age at the time. He was masterful.
And the years only proved he was a grade-a d-nozzle
What's up with Val's elbows?
So very true, and I believe it’s due to his education and taking EVERY part with the same dedication and attention to details. Love him and my sister and I have been huge fans since Top Secret (his first movie role), never seen a Kilmer film I didn’t like.
Should have won an Oscar for BSA for his role as Doc Holliday in Tombstone.
His role(s) in The Saint were incredible!
This movie along with 3 O'clock high are two very underrated 80's films with brilliant directing, great acting, and awesome soundtracks.
Agree! Real Genius has more of a cult following but 3 O,clock High is just as good.
@@henrywallacesghost5883 hell yeah 🤘
My best friend was a real-life teenage wunderkind. She doesn't have a high school diploma because she left at the age of 16 to attend MIT for a degree in physics. She says this movie does a good job of showing what life was like for kids as young as her going to a school as intense and prestigious as MIT.
My husband went to MIT as well. He is a genius and told me all about the life at MIT. He loves this movie.
Couldn't get into Stanford, huh? Tsk tsk. 😉
@@ruiner101 🤣🤣🤣
@@thegingergyrl455 So why he married you?
@@bugsymalone5744 It's perfectly logical to think Redheads got it going on.
Loved the movie growing up, and it still holds up better than almost any other 'teen comedy' of its day. Good humor, a lot of heart and just the right measure of seriousness.
I was working at a movie theater my senior year of HS when this came out. It was/is awesome. I went to college that fall with Real Genius as my guidebook. Great fun.
Oh, and when my son went to college to study engineering, we watched this together. He's graduating this May. Two generation of nerds got their start with Real Genius.
I graduated in 85 too!
Whenever I hear the first note of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, I think of this classic movie. Both are epic in their own right.
I heard it on the radio while getting ready for work a few hours before this video dropped. And I actually caught the movie on cable twice last weekend. This one seems meant to be.
@@D-Fens_1632 Nas did his on version of the song. Its worth checking out.
@@Utubesanarc whoa! I didn't know that. Going to check it out. Thank you!
Always makes me think of Denis Miller first.
Right on ! I totally agree . I too think of this movie when I hear that song !
I absolutely love this movie! I had it on VHS and wore it out. The music takes me back every time I hear it. Especially the tears for fears, my mom listened to that album religiously. Sadly she's passed on but every time I hear any songs from this album it reminds me of her and this movie. Oh and she's the reason why I love this movie, because she told me that I would like it and bought it for me. I know I suggested that take a look at this movie quite a few years ago, thanks for finally doing it. 🤙
Actually Minty should've pointed out what a great soundtrack Real Genius had & what a crying shame it didn't turn into a real movie soundtrack album. Guess it was a licensing nightmare, but they could've made a ton of $ if they had pulled it off.
@@celestepalm6949I didn't know that. Maybe he could do another video on why the movie didn't get an album.
I am so sorry for your loss! I could tell you must've loved your mom VERY much! 🥰😪😍
@@raoularmagnac2037 yes I do and I miss her very much
@@thespicemelange.1 I understand. My mom passed away 6 years ago. We used to watch classic movies together all the time, such as All About Eve, Some Like It Hot, and MY all time favorite, It's a Wonderful Life. I loved her VERY, VERY much! I think of her every day, for I still miss her VERY MUCH! Indeed, she will ALWAYS be in my heart! 😪😍😢
Omg Thank you! Real Genius is one of my favorite movies.
Chris Knight: Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, when he said, “I drank what?”
Hemlock tea.
LOVE this movie! To this day I still use the quote, "It's a moral imperative!" (Among other lines.)
Who else opens a cup of yogurt and thinks, "I don't know, I found it in one of the labs...?" 😆
Ironically, we made yogurt in one of my microbiology labs. Nobody ate it as far as I know.
I thought I was the only one. 😁
"It's a moral imperative!"....one my most used quotes over the years.
The one I've found myself using the most over the years is "there are a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market today that are just as tasty as the real thing." I use it after someone has a meltdown. The internet is such a magical place! =)
My line is, "I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates who said, 'I drank what?'" This movie definitely has the lines.
I had this on VHS in college (mid-90s) and am not exaggerating when I say I watched it at least every other day for 4 years. Still one of my favorites of all time!!!!
I remember reading an article about how much Val hated making comedies. He felt they were beneath him and a waste of his talent. It's a shame he felt this way, because he was so good in them. Real Genius and Top Secret are classics.
Are you sure he really said that? Can't believe everything you read/ see/Are told. If I see it coming out of his mouth on an interview, maybe!
He wouldn't have made comedies if he hated being in them.
I thought i was only one who see top secret
@@bobwolfley2449Chocolate Mousse baby!
I love Real Genius. I own it on DVD. The music is iconic. The actors felt like real people. The story of brilliant students who get revenge on their lying Professor, is a master stroke.
DVD, no foolin'? You must be doing very well. ..
One of my favorite 80’s movie! And the end with the slow motion popcorn and Tears for Fears playing makes me tear up it’s so nostalgically 80’s 👌🏽❤🤗
I can't hear the song and not see the scene in my mind.
I used to work in an R&D lab with lasers back in early 80s. The lab depicted in the movie is quite accurate for the time, we even had the same optical table with pneumatic legs to isolate it from vibration. Every time I watch this movie, it brings back good memories. And, yes, we had Christmas parties just as wild as in the movie "Best Defense" (with Dudley Moore), another fun movie. :)
I have a few friends who went to Caltech. Lazlow’s steam tunnels are real. Most of the school is underlain with access utility and storage areas and tunnels. You can effectively get around most of the buildings in the middle of the campus that way and Caltech always had a policy of leaving most buildings unlocked and the students would explore around. Don’t know if it’s like that anymore. The dorm scenes were pretty accurate in appearance too but they were called houses at Caltech. Very Harry Potter esque.
Most older colleges have steam tunnels, and some are still in use back in the 70s, my dad worked at our local 'public ivy ' university, and took me down ( he was in maintenance) he showed me the "map" that was hung every 50 yds or so. People who worked there often got lost, they had to build prison style gates to keep the stoonts out. That's what we called the college kids. Stoonts = stooges students. I felt really connected to Lazlo, met lots of burned out elite kids that stayed in town, most worked in college oriented business, some were owners. Fun childhood.
There's still time to delete your post
So cool
My alma mater, the University of Calgary, has a similar network of tunnels. But they were closed to access when I went there.
This is when I fell in love with Val. Glad to see you do this one. Please do Top Secret sometime. Good stuff! I'd argue this directly paved the way for the Big Bang Theory.
Top Secret! was great. A hidden gem in the ZZA library.
Absolute classic and rightfully gained cult status.
The story in Big Bang where they build a navigation device and the Air Force shows up wanting it is clearly a nod to this movie.
I recorded this movie off HBO when it first came out on cable and watched it a million times with my sisters. To this day we still quote it.
“This is not good.”
“LOOK!”
“I drank what?”
“Oh no… oh yes! Duck again.”
“Roger, we’re sending.”
“Well I didn’t know.”
“The colon. What does it look like.”
😂😂😂
Your mother puts license plates on your underwear? How do you sit?!
Because if I wear it anywhere else, it... chafes 😎
Yeah well Hey!! Maybe you are smarter than me!! But can you do this?? (Proceeds to ballet dance and shout out of a window)
"So, you'll hammer later?" "And now we're doing the Cha-Cha!" Kent "I have to go to the bathroom", Chris "Ok, but I don't think it's going to help with your confidence!"
It's a moral imperative...
Other fun facts:
* Actual Caltech students were used as extras in several scenes.
* While the filming took place on other SoCal campuses, the hallways (including the doors) are an extremely faithful reproduction of those seen in the South residence houses at Caltech during that time.
* Not only are there steam tunnels under Caltech but the South Houses also had inter-room crawlspaces (colloquially called "Hyperspace") that could be entered through most dorm closets. Lazlo's hideaway is an imaginative combination of the two taken to an extreme.
* Caltech students in the early 90s were inspired by Real Genius to attempt to freeze a hallway after finding an industrial refrigeration unit that was being thrown away. It didn't look quite as cool, and took a LOT longer to freeze (and clean up afterwards!!!) but it was enough to host ice skating, sledding, and a broomball match.
As a computer science major in the late 80's this really is the most-accurate movie of our college years. Except, we ALL thought we were Chris Knight, when in reality we were a dozen or so Lazlos.
"most-accurate movie" 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@travzimmerman1340 Well, "accurate" as in, if you're a bunch of nerdy math and science engineering types, it was more like THAT than Animal House, Back to School, or Revenge of the Nerds, I meant. :)
My favorite Val Kilmer movie besides Tombstone. Thanks Minty!!
One of my favorite movies ever, soundtrack is amazing too
As good as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is as a movie ending, I was also glad to hear Bryan Adams "One Night Love Affair" and Y&T "Summertime Girls"
Saw this on VHS when it first came out in the states and at age 10, I loved it and still do. Just a well crafted comedy with some choice moments of being real.
There's a connection to both Revenge of the Nerds and Valley Girl. Jordan was played by Michelle Meyrink, who was also Suzi in Valley Girl and Judy in Revenge of the Nerds. She also was in an episode of Family Ties.
I knew she was in Revenge of the Nerds as Gilbert's girlfriend and Real Genius, but never watched Valley Girl that much as it wasn't my kind of movie to notice that.
@@PapaVanTwee5 I never saw Valley Girl myself either. After Minty mentioned it, I looked up her IMDb. Cheat? Maybe. Informative? Definitely. Lol
Also, Deborah Foreman who played Julie in Valley Girl also played Susan Decker in True Genius ....
@@1down4upworkshop61 Yowza!! Man, I loved Deborah Foreman!! She was also in "My Chauffeur" as well!!!
@@spuds6423 ♪ Heeeey, Hitler, can we slow down a lit-tle! ♪
Man, I loved that movie. Also liked her work in "Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat" from 1989.
This movie had an awesome soundtrack.
"Everybody wants to rule the world"
I can still smell the popcorn every time i hear that song...
I can remember ONE song from this movie....in the credits.
One night love love affair by Bryan Adams, Number One by Chaz Jankel, All she wants to do is dance by Don Henley… all classics…
Val Kilmer doesn't need to express himself, but he does brilliantly. Underappreciated for his singing ability and underutilized in movies. ❤
He crushed the vocals in "Top Secret"
@@lordfraybin We love you Neek!
Great to see this movie get some attention. It’s still a truly underrated classic. I got to see it as a double-feature with Weird Science.
Mark, This is an absolutely fantastic video of a well-loved classic '80s movie - Keep up the great work! Cheers 😊
Real Genius is one of my favorite movies. It never gets old.
I worked in the laser department at Maxwell Laboratories which was doing SDI or 'star wars' research at the time. Maxwell was a technical consult for this movie. There is a cage in the lab filled with Maxwell capacitors and has a Maxwell sign on it. They use the term 'charging' which refers to charging the capacitors, something we actually did in the real lab. So yeah, I love this movie. I have to!
I seriously can't believe that I have never seen this! Super excited to watch it now!! Thanks Minty!!!
Yeah i don't recall seeing this around at all
One of my top ten favorite 80’s movie I could watch multiple times.
I'm so glad you brought up the floating scene. I remember seeing it in the commercials for the movie before it came out and kept waiting for it to happen in the movie. I always wondered what the deal was with it.
This is one of my all time favorite movies and I re-watch it once a year or so when I need a little cheering up. I even have the International Organization for Gorillas t-shirt that Val Kilmer wears in the movie; several times over the years I've been wearing it (to my wife's never ending horror) and had people point at it and smile and say the name of the movie.
It's a really fun movie with great characters and dialogue.
I always like the character Jordan. Being this eccentric and slightly wacky girl
A very favorite movie. While I did like Revenge of the Nerds quite a bit,this movie, like you mentioned, was more grounded and realistic. A lot of the shennigans (especially the scene where they reasseble Kent's car) are based on real events. Even my dad said that he witness some of these while at Georgia Tech.
She was in Valley Girl also I believe if I remember correctly, saw it at the theater another fun movie with a young Nicolas Cage!
@@thunderstruck5484 She was also in Revenge of the Nerds. She played Gilbert's girlfriend Judy
@@thunderstruck5484 She was also Cherry’s best friend in The Outsiders.
My Dad & his buddies put their friends car on his front porch. It was one of those cars like Steve Urkel had.
"Here, I made you a sweater..."
I would hope that after many years, Real Genius' DVD/VHS/Streaming revenue made it more than worthwhile on its original budget. It's one of my favs! I think it holds up way better than Weird Science and My Science Project did. And, Val Kilmer. This is an easy rewatch, the others don't age nearly as well. Thanks Minty for highlighting this awesome movie!
Weird Science is crap. My Science Project is somewhere between crap and okay. Real Genius is solid gold.
I watched this over and over on VHS when I was young, despite it coming out the year I was born lol
I did not know that about the guy who works as a sign interpreter! My grandparents were deaf and much of my extended family and their friends were too and it always brings a smile when I hear stuff like that!
One of my all-time favorite movies! My wife and I were in high school in the 80s. Every summer we spend about 6 weeks watching our favorite 80s movies. This is always on rotation.
I was literally just watching this movie last Saturday afternoon. It always reminds me of my youth
I remember a fall sunny Autumn afternoon sitting on my grandma's living room floor playing with He-Man figures and loving this film and sound track. Kicks me right in the feels watching this one.
Growing up, I never knew the name of this movie, so it was called the popcorn movie. And it's still one of my all time favorite movies. And go to movies for any occasion
I still remember the day my father and I were scrolling through our movie library and I saw Real Genius in there. I asked him to play it and I enjoyed every second of it. To where it became my favorite movie from pre 2000. The plot, good special effects at the time, the imo underrated music such as Chaz Jankel - Number One or Comsat Angels - I'm Falling. An overall great film. Though it is a shame the condition Kilmer was left in after his diagnosis of throat cancer. Had no idea what was to come thirty years later after this movie.
One of my all-time favorite movies!!!! Pure 80s awesomeness!!!!
One of my favorite movies of all time. One of those films I always watch whenever I catch it on TV
One of my most favorite and quoted comedies!
Hey Minty!!! One of my all-time favorite movies!!!
Great movie. Totally popcorn movie. Never get tired of laughing so hard watching it.
Found this channel while searching for Real Genius clips, happily subscribed and binge watching past videos🙂
You’re killing me Minty (in a good way😅)!! Several months ago I started watching at the beginning of your videos and have finally caught up. Along the way I realized that I was missing quite a few movie gems from my collection and as such have had to make a lot of purchases to more fully create a dignified compilation.
A few observations that I have made from watching your videos in succession from the beginning are:
You are a very kind person!! I really enjoy your comments and you are always willing to give somebody the benefit of the doubt without casting blame or being unkind.
I really enjoy listening to your accent (obviously I’m not from Australia).
I really enjoy the way you present the content you are speaking about, it’s interesting and fun to listen to - I’m sure it takes a lot of work to make these videos - and I can see you’re passionate about the movies you are talking about.
You are gracious to those who watch your videos and that speaks greatly to the humble type of person you are!!
Thank you, Minty for creating entertaining and enjoyable content. I look forward to whatever you have in store for us!!
Real Genius has always been one of my favorite movies because I could totally relate, Myself having been in College studying Physics and having Graduated with a degree in Theoretical Physics. I mean we ran small experiments with lasers and I recorded every lecture. And My favorite scene, is the Lecture Hall Montage, where Mitch keeps going back to Class and there is Less Students and More recorders each time until the Prof has left a recorder too and wrote on the chalk board "Math on tape is hard to follow so please listen carefully". Best Classic 80s movie ever!!!
I absolutely love 80s movies. Maybe its becuase im a child of the 80s and 90s, but theres something particularly nostalgic about 80s and early 90s movies. The colors, the cheesy music, the overall feel. But out of all of them, Real Genius is right up there as perhaps one of my top 5 perhaps even top 3 favorite 80s flicks!
Underrated 80's movie.....whenever it comes on cable, I always watch the whole movie.
Yuji Okimoto was also in Better off Dead!
Language lessons inspiring words for man who knows how to ski
Truly a sight to behold. A man beaten. The once great champ, now, a study in moppishness. No longer the victory hungry stallion we've raced so many times before, but a pathetic, washed up, aged ex-champion.
Omg!!! This is one of my favorite movies of all time! I’m so happy that you’re doing this one Minty! Good on ya!
When I was a teenager at the time this came out I had already been once to a summer program for teens who got ridiculously high scores on the SAT when taken at age 13, and would shortly return the next year. Although not a perfect representation, it came close enough that it was something for my gifted friends and I to rally around as ours.😊Great memories associated with this one.
Thank you for doing this movie! I met my wife because of this film, and I’m glad people still enjoy it today! :)
The helium balloon scene was always there when they ran this on cable TV in america back in the day. It's also in the DVD copy I own.
One of my all time favorite movies!! Thank you for covering it!
More on the ”what are the odds” movies about science/geniuses… don’t forget there was also the somewhat forgettable “My Science Project” that also came out that year.
Great video Mint. REAL GENIUS is an instant classic. Thanks for bringing this back to the people. This is a fun movie with great quips and dialog.
As a former "gifted" kid, plucked from my local public school at 6 years old (in 1984) and put into an experimental advanced program, I ended up being the nerd outsider in my neighborhood. Thank god for HBO. I started out as Mitch, but this movie honestly made such a difference in my life. I still love Chris' speech to Mitch when Mitch is about to quit, and the character of Chris Knight informed so much of my personality that (I swear to god) I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee in my bunny slippers, which I have because I dressed as Chris for a Halloween party last year (NOBODY got it 😂).
Beautiful 😁
I found out about this movie in 1995 when Batman Forever came out. This was a delightful 80's college with an energetic Val Kilmer.
Kind of a side track thing… The Val Kilmer documentary mentions this movie a bit, but I wish it had spent more time on it. That documentary was quite touching in the end.
one of my favorite comedies of all time. so glad you covered this!!!
Love this film. If you enjoy Val Kilmer... check out "The Saint" . Its an action + romance + some mild comedy film about Cold Fusion, and its one of my favorites. Another great 80s films, that is not often so well known is "Gotcha!" (1985) starring Anthony Edwards (famously known in the "ER" TV series). Its a spy action / thriller film as well.
The saint is a spectacular movie! All of the random characters that Val plays are fun, and the geopolitic stuff is strangely still relevant today for Russia!
The Saint is my favorite Elisabeth Shue movie and 2nd favorite Val Kilmer movie.
Val Kilmer was a delight in this movie. Of course it's one of the many '80s movies I watch, all that nostalgia.
Great 80’s fun. Val is So Underrated!
This movie was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Thank you for finally covering it.
"We've got to get even with Dr. Hathaway. It's a moral imperative."
I used to watch this movie almost monthly with my mom …. We both thought it was hilarious and I’m thankful for you giving it some love. Watching with my wife tonight!
One of my favorite movies growing up. My parents can’t stand the movie I used to watch it so much.
Thank you Minty!! Real Genius is an all-time favourite of mine, the movie that turned me onto Tears for Fears (I’m now a lifelong fan) and made me appreciate what a superb actor Val Kilmer is. For me it was a relatable and a refreshing change from the raunchy movies that were the rage at the time… My ‘I ❤ Toxic Waste’ T-shirt also winds the uninitiated up something chronic!!
The new UHD Blu-Ray release has the cut scene as an extra… it’s worth the purchase for that and the 4K transfer… epic…
Minty, you're amazing of what you do, keep it up, how about ten things you didn't know about Judgement Night (1993) and it has a great soundtrack with mixture of rap/rock combination, take care
Just another victim.... KID!
I love Judgement Night. "A hobo from Purdue. I hate Purdue. When was the last time they won anything?"
One of my favorite movies of all time. Thanks for the 10 Things, Minty.
I remember when this came out. It's one of my faves to this day.
There are so many great quotes in this film. That I have used on many many occasions.
Yeah, this film is one that I have revisited in recent years and totally loved it. Talking about aging well. Unlike Revenge of the Nerds and Weird Science, which I was a fan of both when I was a kid. I much prefer RG now in my old age.
This has got to be my favorite movie. Great video. Thanks.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time... When I think of Val Kilmer the first role that comes to mind is Chris.
this is one of the movies i can watch over and over and never get tired of
LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie!
I haven't even watched this yet, but you already get a thumbs-up from me for even bringing this movie up-it's one of my all-time favorites!
I forgot how funny this movie was thanks keep up the good work
Minty , you talked about my top three favourite movies in one episode. Real Genius, Revenge of the nerds , Better off Dead . All classics and would watch over again and again .thanks
Although I’ve never been to MIT, but I’m told that their student body to this day is known for pulling creative and innovative pranks similar to the ones we see in this movie.
This is true of any top tech school. Someone says "You can't do that (in here)!", and 3 others look at each other and say "keep our drinks cold, we'll be right back..." Next thing you know, there's a carnival ride through buildings that dumps riders into the pond.
I rewatch this every couple of years. Love this movie.
This movie got me into Tears For Fears as a kid. I love this movie.
Snap!! Saw them perform it a few weeks ago… and all I thought of was popcorn… they’re still on point.
My favorite line. "I just remembered this quote from Socrates, 'I drank what'?"
Finally my favorite movie!!!
Love Love LOVE this movie. Been following this channel for years! Glad you finally got around to breaking down this personal fave.
This was my introduction to Val Kilmer, been a fan since.
I grew up with one of the kids at the end of the movie that played in the Pop-Corn. She had family that lived near More Park, where they filmed that.
One of my top favorites. I have like 4 copies on VHS. Whenever I hear Tears for Fears I think of this movie.
i have "romy and michele's high school reunion"- how accurate it is to mine. i also love the soundtrack...
Great trip down memory lane for me, thanks!
Love this movie. I watch it at least twice a year and I'm 48
Growing up in the 80's, this was one of my favorite movies. I watched it last night for the first time in several decades and it was just as good as it ever was.
This was a year before Val Kilmer was in Top Gun (1986).
Always been one of my favorites. One interesting tidbit: the dorm set was indeed modeled after one of the dorms at Cal Tech, and of course exaggerated a bit. The car gag was likely based on an infamous Cal Tech student prank where they disassembled a professor's VW Beetle and reassembled in his office overnight. Cal Tech and MIT had an ongoing rivalry of trying to out-prank each other. Another Cal Tech tradition was to "hack" the card stunts at the Rose Bowl football game to alter them to read out something different, typically calling out Cal Tech. One year, at the Rose Bowl game, they hacked the electronic scoreboard to change the team names to Cal "Tech" and "MIT." That tradition of stunts and pranks was very well represented in Real Genius.