SCREEN TEST: BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
Pop quiz! What month of the year appears in the most film titles according to the AFI Catalog of Feature Films? It's a bit of a trick question. "May" is in 26 titles, but it's used as either a woman's name or an auxiliary verb in most of them. So, if you exclude May, the next most popular month in movie titles is July – this month – with 22, and that's because of the many references to the Fourth of July, as in such classic titles as THE ORGAN GRINDER'S FOURTH OF JULY (1900).
This month's Screen Test features Oliver Stone's BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989), starring Tom Cruise as Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. To take your Screen Test, read the dialogue below, then choose the next line you think was spoken in the film. The scene, written by Stone and Kovic, is set in a dismal, underfunded VA Hospital where Kovic (Cruise) receives a visit from "Dr. No. 1" (Bob Gunton).
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DOCTOR I do want to make one thing very clear to you, Ron. The possibility of your ever walking again is minimal...almost impossible. You're T6, paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Probably, you'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Do you understand what I'm saying? KOVIC Well, Doctor, will I ever be able to have children? DOCTOR No, no...but we have a very good psychologist here. He's helped a lot of – KOVIC I'll walk again... DOCTOR No... KOVIC I know I'll walk again. |
CUT! What did the VA doctor say to his patient? You have three choices:
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You answered correctly! The correct answer is #1 Oliver Stone pulled no punches in this movie. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won for Best Director and Best Film Editing. |
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