Mental Floss

MOVIES

Tom Hanks in ‘Forrest Gump.’

From the box office bomb he loved to the job he got by kicking Fonzie through a window, Hanks’s filmography is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get.

Jason Tabrys
American Film director Robert Altman.

The seven-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind M*A*S*H and Gosford Park, who would have turned 100 this year, changed how we watch—and hear—movies. He also tattooed Harry S. Truman’s dog.

Jennifer M Wood








Lukas Haas, Kelly McGillis, Brent Jennings, and Harrison Ford in ‘Witness.’

Roger Ebert loved Peter Weir’s film, calling it “an electrifying and poignant love story” and “a thriller ... Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud to make.” ‘Witness’ turns 40 this year; here’s what you should know.

April Snellings
Pee-wee Herman, circa 1995

In the summer of 1985, Paul Reubens introduced America’s youth—and millions of young-at-heart adults—to a new kind of comedy.

Jennifer M Wood
These albums made the leap to film.

The Who, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd have all seen works transferred from the studio to the screen years after their records came out.

Jon O'Brien








Still from ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock.’

Peter Weir’s Australian New Wave classic turns 50 this year. Here’s what you need to know about the film, from the off-limits question Weir asked book author Joan Lindsay to the spooky stuff that happened on set.

Matthew Jackson
Oscar statuettes.

The Oscars have given out 96 awards for Best Picture in their long history. Here’s one thing you should know about each film, from ‘Wings’ to ‘Oppenheimer.’

Justin Dodd, Michele Debczak, Shayna Murphy








David Lynch

The iconoclastic director behind ‘Mulholland Drive,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ and more cult classics—who passed away on January 16, 2025 at the age of 78—once drew a comic strip about a furious dog and disliked large furniture.

Scott Beggs