If you've seen the trailer of the new Wall Street movie, you'll have noticed parts of the old Wallstreet movie, featuring images of Michael Douglas getting a mobile phone. These very images were the start of history of cellphones in movies.
By Erik Drenth
We present you an overview of the most important roles of mobile phones in Hollywood blockbusters.
Wallstreet
The phone that is used by Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, in the first Wallstreet movie, can hardly be called 'mobile'. The model that he uses in the Oliver Stone directed movie, impossibly fits in the pockets of your jacket. However, the mobile phone was a huge innovation back in 1987, at least when compared to phones with cables. In the movie, Douglas plays a banker that is obsessed with greed. He's living a life in luxury. Back then, a cellphone was a device only in reach of the happy few, one of which was Gekko.
The Matrix
A fairly more modern phone can be found in the first film in the Matrix trilogy. The first part came out in 199 (yep, that long ago). In the movie, the phone of the Finnish manufacturer can be seen in the hands of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves. The phone was al lot more mobile than the one Michael Douglas used in Wallstreet.
The Matrix Reloaded
The pone that was used in the first Matrix movie could eventually be used as a personal or business phone. In the sequel, that was entirely different. Nokia was exchanged for Samsung, that created a special phone for the movie, the de SPH-N270 The handset is also knwon as 'Matrix phone'. It's not a very practical one, but it is adapted to the looks of the Matrix movie. Special feature is the screen cover, that can be slided up and down.
Dark Knight
In The Dark Knight, a movie form the Batman series from 2008, the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, also known as Nokia Tube, plays a role. In the movie, Lucius Fox (played by Morgan Freeman), hands a phone over to Bruce Wayne (played by Christan Bale). The handset has a short appearance, but is recognizable as a 5800. The phone was planned by Nokia to beat the upcoming iPhone, in which it didn't succeed.
Casino Royale
Sony Ericsson invested a lot of marketing money in the first James Bond movie with Daniel Craig, Casino Royale. Bond used the Sony Ericsson K800i to identify his enemy. Pictures that were taken with the handset were send to MI6 immediately. Also Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green) uses a Sony Ericsson, she has a M600i. To promote the K800i, the Swedish/Japanese brand came with a special James Bond edition of the phone.
Da Vinci Code
Also in the Davinci Code, that came out 2006, there is a Sony Ericsson phone. Months before the handset was for sale, the Sony Ericsson W850i was caught in action. The phone was used by Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks).
