Web Site Objectives
This web site serves several masters. Here
are its main objectives — as far as
I can tell, all of them are original!
-
Establish
truth and fiction
using written sources mainly.
Was the story of con man
Frank Abagnale
really as zany as that? To which extent
was his adventure condensed and adapted
to make the screenplay work? Is the truth
stranger than fiction?
-
Prolong the “cat and
mouse” game somewhat.
In the movie,
F.B.I.
agent Hanratty chases Abagnale,
we’ll chase Hanratty. OK,
“chase” is not the right
word, but we search for and reveal the
true identity of Carl Hanratty, which
makes this web site something of a
detective story too…
-
Discuss the role of
OCR
in the movie.
This web site investigates how
Steven Spielberg’s
oeuvre intersects with the computer world
— and I’m not talking about
the special effects that gave us the
dinosaurs!
OCR
is an abbreviation that stands for
“Optical Character Recognition”.
Strictly speaking, there is no
OCR
in the movie, but its predecessor
MICR
—
“Magnetic Ink Character Recognition”
— is squarely in the front row.
Never mind, this web site explains the
difference between the two…
Just don’t expect a dry discussion
of this
ICT
subject. Yes, some arcane lines from the
screenplay — popping out the ball
to change the print type, the peculiar
smell of
MICR
ink — will become intelligible to
you, but I don’t intend to bore
you to take you there…
True or false? The first computer ever
built in the Silicon Valley was an
OCR
machine. The largest commercial computer
order placed in the
50s was
for an
OCR
system. The first computer virus in the
world provoked people with the message
“Catch me if you can!”.
-
Comment on
film technique
and point out some
Spielberg style characteristics
such as the use of mirrors, backlighting
etc.
For example, why is Spielberg’s
bonus material always better than
anybody else’s? I have two words
for you: Laurent Bouzereau. And oh,
are there any continuity errors in
“Catch Me If You Can”?
Sorry, Steven, there are!
-
Provide some interesting facts
about the movie.
The Roosevelt and the Ambassador Hotel.
Throw in some tidbits about the
Kennedys.
True or false? Ronald Reagan handled
the presentation of the first large
OCR
system. With Arnold Spielberg, dad of,
in the audience…
Use the
search function
to execute full-text searches.
Did I miss something? Do you have extra
information?
Contact
me if you have
feedback…