In the spirit of the Oscars this year, SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION has decided to give out its own feature film awards. Instead of trekking down to a remote theater on Hollywood Boulevard to search out the movies nominated for Best Foreign Language film, we wanted to bring the awards home.
We dug into our DVD library for the best video surveillance scenes Hollywood has to offer. After getting comfortable on our leather couch and firing up the flat-panel (HD, of course) television, we searched out the most memorable surveillance scenes in movies.
We’ve prepared a list, but we like a good conversation as much as a good popcorn thriller, so we’d like to hear from you. Please post below or E-mail SSI Web Editor Paul Clinton ([email protected]) with your favorite movies and scenes, and tell us what made them memorable for you. We will post a sampling of your responses after the Academy Awards show.
Here are our picks (in alphabetical order):
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007): All three Jason Bourne movies have a memorable surveillance sequence — how about the embassy sequence in “The Bourne Identity”? — but we like the tactical pursuit in the third installment in a London train terminal when p/t/z cameras point toward Bourne (Matt Damon), and the government official heading the operation says, “Give me all of CCTV’s eyes.”
“Enemy of the State” (1998): The tagline tells you all you need to know about this dark, D.C. thriller starring Will Smith, “It’s not paranoia if they really are after you.” The Hollywood espionage thrillers usually have a sequence where the tech geeks pull a nifty trick out of their hat. In this clip, they identify a package switch using frame-by-frame video analysis.
“Minority Report” (2002): This sci-fi film based on author Philip Dick’s short story introduced the concept of “pre-crime,” where you can be prosecuted for a crime you have yet to commit. Tom Cruise, a police detective, watches future evidence arrive about his crime on a monitoring station in the detective bureau, before going on the run from pursuing officers.
“Ocean’s Eleven” (2001): Planning a heist to beat the surveillance system of a Las Vegas casino may sound like madness, but how about planning three heists to beat three systems at three Las Vegas casinos? When you have Brad Pitt, George Clooney AND Matt Damon, well now maybe that doesn’t sound so outlandish. One of movie’s great scenes involves Pitt and Clooney visiting a security expert (played by Eliot Gould), who tells them their plan is impossible.
“P2” (2007): We’re not sure how many people saw this creepy set-piece thriller involving a monitoring guard who traps a young woman in a parking structure and torments her with, among other things, Elvis Presley music.
“Panic Room” (2002): Jody Foster and her daughter become prisoners in their own house, as three criminals menace them from outside a panic room. In this clip, the criminals learn the difference between an intercom and P.A. system, as Foster watches them on a bank of monitors. They flash cards with messages to communicate with her.
“Snake Eyes” (1998): A slick, corrupt Atlantic City detective (Nicolas Cage) gets a wake-up call, when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation that was caught on surveillance cameras. The more he watches, the more he learns just who should be responsible for a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels.
“Truman Show” (1998): A happy-go-lucky Jim Carrey slowly begins to realize that his entire life is a show and he’s being watched by millions of fans. The movie has a lot to say about “reality television,” and the eventual loss of innocence of the participants. And the trailer shows the 5,000 cameras recording his every move.
Other Security Blog Posts
Enterprising Solutions | May 2, 2012
While it’s true that modern cameras can often get you good images under lousy conditions, improving conditions usually improves the image quality dramatically. In that spirit, here are a few camera placement tips that we frequently see overlooked.
Central Station Corner | April 26, 2012
As security professionals, we strive to provide the best possible electronic security solutions for our clients that will meet their unique lifestyles or logistics of their business. This element should always remain to be our focus as we survey a potential or existing customer’s premise.
Value-Added Security | April 25, 2012
In this blog, Paul Boucherle discusses what integrators must do to design the best solutions for end users.
Under Surveillance | April 19, 2012
Are you currently mentoring your employees? SSI Managing Editor Rodney Bosch offers some insight on why mentoring your workers is essential to improving your business.
Laying Down the Law | April 16, 2012
Ken Kirschenbaum advises readers on how to address changes in contracts after modifying the company's name..