The Fictional World of Archives, Art Galleries and Museums

FILMS AND TV PROGRAMS

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Compiled by David Mattison; © 1996-2008. Text submissions copyrighted by their respective authors.

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1. A Very Long Engagement (Movie, 2004; French title: Un long dimanche de fiançailles). On the back cover of the DVD case the heroine is in a military archives.
2. According to Jim (TV Series, 2001-); in the episode "Dino-Mite" broadcast on 2007-02-28, Jim (James Belushi) spends a night at the Museum of Natural History (the real-life Field Museum) trashing a dinosaur skeleton that's supposed to represent "Sue", a Tyrannosaurus rex, while his wife was working on a fundraiser for the same museum. The reference to the hit movie Night at the Museum is intentional.
3. The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (TV Series, 1996-)
4. Angel (TV Series, 1999-2004; Internet Movie Database and TNT sites)
5. Arlington Road (Movie, 1999)
6. Art Gallery (Animated short, 1939)
7. L'Atlantide (Movie, 1920) is the earliest documented film in the Internet Movie Database with a named "Archivist" character.
8. The Avengers (TV Series, 1961-1969)
9. The Avengers (Movie, 1998)
10. The Baron of Arizona (Movie, 1950; Internet Movie Database)
11. Bartleby (Movie, 2001; set in a public records office and based on Herman Melville's story, "Bartleby the Scrivener"; Parker Film Company and Freebase)
12. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (Movie, 1973; Freebase)
13. Betty Boop's Museum (Animated short, 1932)
14. Beverly Hills Ninja (Movie, 1997)
15. Blade (Movie, 1998)
16. The Blair Witch Project (Movie, 1999; Freebase) depicts a story from the viewpoint of surviving film footage left behind by a group of student filmmakers who have disappeared in Maryland
17. The Bone Collector (Movie, 1999)
18. Brazil (Movie, 1985)
19. Broken Lullaby (TV Movie, 1994)
20. Captain America (Movie, 1941; Freebase)
21. Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (Movie, 1959)
22. Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (Movie, 1940)
23. Chinatown (Movie, 1974)
24. Class Action (1991)
25. Cloverfield (Movie, 2008; Paramount Pictures and Freebase) tells its story from the viewpoint of surviving video camera footage left behind by a group of individuals who have witnessed an attack by a giant monster on New York City.
26. Cold Squad (TV Series, 1998-)
27. Conspiracy Theory (Movie, 1997)
28. Crossing Jordan (TV Series, 2001-2007; NBC Internet and Movie Database) is about Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy), a female medical examiner (coroner). One of her colleagues, Dr. Nigel Townsend (Steve Valentine), maintains a blog. There are references in many episodes to coroner and police files.
29. CSI (TV Series, 2000-; Internet Movie Database and CBS)
30. Deceived (Movie, 1991)
31. Desk Set (Movie, 1957)
32. Dinotopia (TV Movie, 2002) included at least two mentions of "archives" in the Waterfall City Library; the librarian was a dinosaur
33. Disclosure (Movie, 1994; Internet Movie Database) is based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name.
34. 8mm [Eight Millimeter] (Movie, 1999)
35. Equilibrium (Movie, 2002) is about a dystopia nearly devoid of emotions but not of records and artifacts that are dangerous to human feelings
36. Eragon (Movie, 2006; Internet Movie Database) based on the novel
37. Erin Brockovich (Movie, 2000)
38. Fatherland (Movie, 1994)
39. Fire Down Below (Movie, 1997) features Steven Seagal's greatest challenge: a microfilm reader in a public library
40. Frasier (TV Series, 1993-)
41. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Movie, 1973; TV movie, 1995); also known as The Hideaways (Movie, 1973)
42. Gargoyles (TV Animated Series, 1994-1996)
43. GoldenEye (Movie, 1995)
44. Hey, Arnold (Movie, 2002)
45. I, Claudius (TV Movie, 1976)
46. I Shot Andy Warhol (Movie, 1996; fictionalized account of a real-life incident)
47. In the Name of the Father (Movie, 1993)
48. Indiana Jones... (Movies, 1981, 1984, 1989, 2008)
49. Inspector Morse (TV Series, 1987/88-1999)
50. Jack Higgins' Thunder Point (TV Movie, 1996)
51. Jimmy MacDonald's Canada (TV Series, 2005)
52. Joe's Apartment (Movie, 1996)
53. John Doe (TV Series, 2002-)
54. Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (Doppelganger) (Movie, 1969)
55. Just Cause (Movie, 1995)
56. Kommissar Rex (TV Series, Austria, 1994-)
57. The L Word (TV series, USA and Canada, 2004). Broadcast in Canada on Global CH during the 2004 Summer Olympics, one of the lead characters, Bette Porter (played by Jennifer Beals), is the director of the California Art Center in Los Angeles.
58. L.A. Confidential (Movie, 1997)
59. The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico (Movie, 2005)
60. The Lone Gunmen (TV Series, USA, 2001-)
61. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Movie, 2001)
62. Macaroni (Movie, 1985)
63. Mr. Bean: "The Library" (videotape based on TV series, ca. 1991)
64. Message in a Bottle (Movie, 1999)
65. Midnight at Madame Tussauds (also known as: Midnight at the Wax Museum; Movie, 1936)
66. Minority Report (Movie, 2002)
67. The Mummy (Movie, 1999)
68. Murder in the Museum (retitled in USA as: The Five Deadly Vices; Movie, 1933)
69. My Fellow Americans (Movie, 1996)
70. Mystery of the Wax Museum (Movie, 1933)
71. The Name of the Rose (Movie, 1986)
72. Nash Bridges (TV Series, 1996-)
73. National Treasure (Movie, 2004; Internet Movie Database). A treasure map on the back of the United States Declaration of Independence? You can bet your National Archives on it.
74. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Movie, 2007; Internet Movie Database). Nicholas Cage returns as treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, this time hoping to solve the mystery behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination with missing pages from his killer's, John Wilkes Booth, diary. Assisting him once again in some of his criminal activities are his father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) and National Archives and Records Administration employee Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger).
75. Night at the Museum (2006) was based on a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc.
76. Nightmare in Wax (also known as: Crimes in the Wax Museum; Movie, 1969)
77. Nightmare Street (TV Movie, 1998)
78. 1984 (Movie, 1956) / Nineteen Eighty-Four (Movie, 1984)
79. Nowhere Man (TV Series, 1995-1996; Internet Movie Database)
80. Numb3rs (TV Series, 2005-)
81. Original Sin by P.D. James (TV Program, 1997)
82. Out There (TV Movie, 1995)
83. The Phantom (Movie, 1996)
84. Pinky & The Brain (TV Animated Series, 1995-1998)
85. Possession (Movie based on the novel by A.S. Byatt, 2002)
86. The Pretender (TV Series, 1996-2000; Internet Movie Database)
87. The Pretender (TV Movie, 2001; Internet Movie Database) is the first TV movie based on the TV series
88. The Pretender: Island of the Haunted (TV Movie, 2001; Internet Movie Database) is the second TV movie based on the TV series
89. The Prisoner (TV Series, 1967-1968; Internet Movie Database) is based on a novel by Thomas M. Disch
90. Relic (Movie based on the novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, 1997)
91. Relic Hunter (TV Series, 1999)
92. Ridicule (Movie, 1996)
93. The Ring (Movie, 2003)
94. Roswell (TV Series, 1999-2002; Internet Movie Database)
95. Runaway Jury (Move, 2004), based on the novel by John Grisham, includes one scene in the records room of Bloomington University with one of the bad guys rifling through a file cabinet of student records; no explanation how he obtained access.
96. Satan's School for Girls (TV Movie, 1973; remake, 2000)
97. Das Schreckliche Maedchen (The Nasty Girl) (Movie, 1990)
98. Scrappy's Art Gallery (Animated short, 1934)
99. Secret Nation (Movie, 1991)
100. Shooting the Past (TV Movie, 1999)
101. Smilla's Sense of Snow (Movie, 1997)
102. Special Unit 2 (TV Series, UPN, 2001). The episode broadcast 2001-08-22 featured a Japanese samurai mummy come to life during a freak accident while being transported to a museum for an exhibition.
103. Star Trek (TV Series, various sub-series, 1966-1969; 1987-present)
104. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (Movie, 2002)
105. Stigmata (Movie, 1999)
106. Superman II (Movie, 1980; Internet Movie Database)
107. Supernatural (TV Series, 2005-; Internet Movie Database and Warner Bros.)
108. Terror in the Wax Museum (Movie, 1973)
109. The Thomas Crown Affair (Movie, 1968; remake, 1999)
110. The Time Shifters (TV Movie, 1999)
111. Time Trax (TV Series, 1993-1994)
112. Timecop (TV Series, 1997)
113. A Touch of Frost (TV Series, 1992-1999 and specials, 1999-2002)
114. Traveler (TV Series, 2007-; Internet Movie Database and ABC) begins with a terrorist bombing by the show's title character of the fictitious Drexler Museum of Art (the real-life Metropolitan Museum of Art), one of New York City's oldest art museums.
115. Trust Me (Movie, 1989)
116. Va savoir (Movie, 2001)
117. Vampires (Movie, 1998)
118. Van Helsing (Movie, 2004; Internet Movie Database)
119. Waiting for Guffman (Movie, 1996), a mockumentary about the production of a play celebrating the history of Blaine, Missouri, features "interviews" with the curator of the Blaine Museum.
120. The Wild, Wild West (TV Series, 1965-1970)
121. The World Is Not Enough (Movie, 1999)
122. The X-Files (TV Series, 1993-2002)

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The Fictional World of Archives, Art Galleries & Museums