Blue Thunder (1983). Personal Chopper
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- #BlueThunder
Stam Fine Reviews looks at John Badham's 1983 film, Blue Thunder, about a police helicopter pilot who gets the job of trying out a deadly helicopter to see whether it would be useful for crowd control. Stars Roy Scheider, Daniel Stern, Candy Clark, Warren Oates and Malcolm McDowell.
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I really loved Blue Thunder back in the day. The technology was amazing. It was like we were seeing technology that was on the cutting edge of what was possible. Nightvision, for example was an amazing futuristic tool at the time, now it's in my back yard security camera.
Myself and my eldest still cannot agree on 2 things - I say Blue Thunder, he says Airwolf, I says Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, he says Seaquest. Must be a generational thing, I guess. Alternatively I'M the one with good taste!
@@daveroche6522 I'll never bad mouth the Lady. Blue Thunder could have been seriously put in operation. OJ Simpson would have pulled over.
Blue Thunder was a fun movie, and the series was not too bad for the day.
“Murphy, follow my leader.”
@@rcschmidt668 KSHHHH - catch ya later.....
@@daveroche6522 I'm Team Blue Thunder for life. That said, Airwolf's intro theme is awesome. Having said *that* however, BT's movie score is aces. Very mood appropriate, you'd swear John Carpenter scored it.
40 years later and Hollywood STILL doesn't understand how thermal imaging works.
... and has apparently forgotten how to make GREAT movies.....
Yep, thermal imaging can't see through glass. Or curtains.
As a kid I loved this movie. The Helicopter was THE BUSINESS, so was his watch! The death of his friend disturbed me though.
Loved it in the 80s, growing up behind the iron curtain, watching pirated VHS copies with a poorly translated voice-over. Ah. Memories
The death of Lymangood is genuinely one of the very few I've seen in my 45 year of watching film where I actually felt really moved. Great acting and writing will do that.
Love this film. "Catch you later...". Some of the flying in this is amazing, flying under bridges and all sorts.
Yeah. Amazing. And pretty much none of it was real.
@@roo72 All of the flying visuals were live action using real aircraft, except for the F-16s and the bit where Blue Thunder does the loop. The F-16s were models and Blue Thunder doing the loop was done using a small remote control replica.
@@white-dragon4424 - Blue Thunder roaming between buildings and being chased by F-16's Sidewinder (when the Sidewinder hits the building, to be precise) was also an RC model.
I saw Blue Thunder in the theatre when it first came out, then watched it again just last year. It's held up amazingly well and I thoroughly enjoyed it again.
"When you're walking on eggs, don't hop". The number of times I've used that one when 'conversing' with the Mensa mob from H.R. [although my favourite remains "I'm not smart enough to know how to dumb down to your level" - not in any movie but still a goodie].
I was 13 when Blue Thunder came out and it was the *perfect* movie for a boy that age. I vividly remember seeing it with my best buddy at a local theater and how we couldn't stop talking about the flick for weeks and weeks. Interestingly enough, we were much more impressed with the tech and the action than with anything else. I guess had we watched the movie a year or so later, we would've only talked about the yoga-scene.. :)
I remember a friend of mine telling me that the basic premise of Blue Thunder came from then-current chief of the LAPD Darryl Gates pushing for the police to be able to buy military-class helicopters like the Apache gunship for use in urban riot response. And if you squint, Blue Thunder (With its helmet-tracking gun turret and advanced sensor package) looks a lot like a movied-up version of the Apache.
It's disturbingly prescient, in that over the last thirty years the Pentagon & its bloated spending junkies in the MIC have done exactly that on a smaller scale. US police are bad enough can you imagine how genocidal they'd be with attack helicopters?
Neil Nadelman: That is a fact, the AH64 APACHE was indeed the base Blue Thunder was built on.
@@donovanfoto3263 Not true. It was a modified Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter.
Hylanvahr: The helicopter was a French helicopter, with the internal tail rotor however, the idea was based on the AH 64 Apache. The physical helicopter used was the French design.
The Studio went to the Government and asked if they could borrow some Apaches for the film. The Government said "Uhh... no!"
I bloody love Blue Thunder. I used to quote it way too much:) Oh god, I just realised I still say "That's one hell of a shit storm in anbody's language"
If you're walking on eggs, don't hop.
Absolutely Loved Blue Thunder. Roy Scheider, Doing His Job As A Police Officer Pilot. Loved The Way He Looped That Helicopter. Malcolm McDowell Get His In The End, As Murphy Blew Him Out Of The Sky. Murphy Told Him, Back Off. Catch You Later, I Love That Catchphrase. RIP RS😊.
I remember watching it with my dad lol great film and loved Roy what an amazing actor that man was so very missed ❤️
Blue Thunder is a great classic film with a bit of everything, action, drama, comedy, and even a political message that doesn't pick sides, but generally warns against the encroaching reach of government into our personal lives. Kinda timely now if you think about it (or maybe too late). The characters and script are top notch with so many memorable lines being uttered, one of the best from Oates being at the end of this video. Great review!
That perving scene actually shocked me. I mean, you see lip!
Her somersaults, tho. 😍🚁
Being a 🛁 of 💩 never felt so great!
Here in the UK, were were never an ITV household, my parents hated adverts so we were stuck watching BBC1 and BBC2. Consequently I never got to watch the A Team, Knight Rider or Airwolf. Instead I got Automan, Street Hawk and Blue Thunder. I'd go into school on a Monday and most of my peers (I was about 10) did not understand anything I was talking about. They were more interested in which of the black lads was going to play BA Baracus during play time, where I was more interested in 'whisper mode' - true story.
One of my favorite films. Saw it again for the first time in 20+ years and it still holds up.
Saw this when it was released and many times since. Love Scheider's performance.
Watched it because it features Malcolm McDowell and really enjoyed it.
I _still_ absolutely adore this movie. It’s a major good time, and the aerial stunts are fantastic.
What's particularly amazing is that Badham's WarGames comes out 3 weeks later; he'll have two films in the top 5 at the box office. A large part of the reason is that WarGames wasn't originally Badham's film. All the preproduction was done by Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run). Brest was fired after 12 days and Badham jumped in a the last minute to helm the film. With Blue Thunder also having a fairly long 18 months from production to release and with the films coming from different studios, Badham had two of his movies against each other.
Wow! Macolm McDowell, Great actor!
Such a great film from my childhood, the script is just so lean and efficient. This, Miami Vice and The Professionals were my faves.
Great little piece about this. I'm an 80's baby so this one had been largely forgotten about by the time I was old enough to be interested in movies. I got this maybe... 5 years ago and really liked it. Characters who were very relatable and human rather than larger-than-life heroes. Although there are better action movies from the early 80's, this one definitely deserves to be remembered too.
I bought the blue thunder toy helicopter with my birthday money back in the day.
Nice to know that the original phrase was catch you later.
The German synchronization gave me the idea he might have used
Be seeing you
Which was heavily used in prisoner no. 6 (McGoohan)
*_"And the moral of this story is, if you're walkin' on eggs, don't hop."_*
That quote is a KEEPER...👍
shout out to the great music - including an EXCELLENT theme song at the end by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Good to see Warren Oates in probably his final role.
Blue Thunder and Tough Enough were both dedicated to Warren Oates. Great actor who died too young (53).
He was born to play John Dillinger. He closely resembled the gangster.
Fantastic movie. Great cast and action. The story was good. The 80's was full of super-vehicle movies, from Knight Rider, Airwolf, Night Hawk, FireFox, etc....was a big theme on TV. Blue Thunder was the best of the bunch.
Great movie, loved it as a 9 year old.. Still love it.
Well - the JAFO died too.. :(
Blue Thunder is awesome. Still holds up...
Such a fantastic film. Sneiders rampage through the city skies near the end is wonderfully tense yet action-packed. The Blue Thunder series was a million miles away but still a fun watch. Ah 80's memories.
Here in the UK it’s currently on Netflix. Watched it for the first time in about 30 years a few days ago. Cheers for the review! It’s a fab film. Especially the sequence 10 minutes in. :)
This was, and still is, a great movie! Thank you!
Stan you’re Right the C man had it coming. Thank you
I recall seeing Blue Thunder in the cinema. I was able to memorise the voice-over from the trailer and recite it as the trailer played... and how my girlfriend didn't think that was funny for some reason. But that aside, I genuinely enjoyed the movie, and still do. My favourite part was probably the chase under the bridges. It also has a great soundtrack, especially the end title sequence.
QUE BUENA PELICULA DE LOS 80TAS NO DEJO DE VERLA.
Ready to see your take on Airwolf & possibly, the Blue Thunder TV series
Roy Schneider was cool. Roy Scheider seems pretty cool in this Mandela-verse, too.
Fun Fact!
Dana Carvey played JAFO in that short lived ABC TV version of Blue Thunder you mentioned.
I am ashamed of myself for knowing that.
I think Hightower was in there somewhere too.
You are ? Good !
I love Warren Oates...
One of my high-school friends in Louisiana was cousins with Mary Steenburgen, who was married to Malcolm McDowell when he made Blue Thunder. MM used to show up to the family reunions in this little town in north Louisiana, apparently was an all-around great guy, big hit with the family. During one reunion, he rented out an entire theater in Shreveport and gave the family an advance screening of Blue Thunder. My friends and I were so jealous: right around the time we're discovering Clockwork Orange, our friend is hanging out with freakin' Alex!
And don't forget about the music-synth/pop at its greatest!
Great score! When the movie came out, I hunted everywhere for the soundtrack. My friends and I were into sci-fi film scores, and I was the first to nab Blue Thunder and they were soooo jealous
The Gazelle helicopter still one of best helicopters ever made!
I LOVED this film back then! And I still do!
Blue Thunder is an 80s movie with late 70s acting and I love it :)
This movie was part of my inspiration to become a law enforcement pilot
The basic plot of Blue Thunder, the exact same basic plot as Winter Soldier but they used flying aircraft carriers.
Still love this movie!!!
damn this unlocked some grade 4 primary school memories
I'll have to rewatch this. I remember loving this as a kid! Thanks for the great video!
While Airwolf did involve a helicopter, I figured that it was an adaptation of Firefox. I vaguely remember seeing Blue Thunder on cable at one point, and the tv show to some degree.
Excellent put together video recap of one of my fave 80s movies.
Though I do have one quibble...
Surely someone must have died in that building when the heat seaking missile hit it.
He's all yours, Turkey!
On the topic of Blue Thunder vs. Airwolf, I was always on team Blue Thunder.
I attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona shortly after this movie came out. The Head of Development on the AH-64 Apache project came up from the Hughes Helicopters plant in Mesa to give a talk: One student asked him about "Whisper Mode"... and he just chuckled and asked for another question.
Peak 80's. I have a ton of nostalgia for this one.
Great video. I love the film and the chopper. Catch you later.
Murphy: "Isn´t illegal to arm police choppers?"
Breverton, FL Police Department: Kowabunga it is!
Never saw it. I always knew it wasn't going to be as cool asi wanted it to be...
My favorite movie of all time. I bought a JAFO hat. 😀
Still enjoy this film great 80s action movie. Love the helicopter
Captain BLUE America: The THUNDER Soldier!
Great review... and even greater voice. :) Greetings from Germany!
And Ireland, mein herr.....
coming back here again.. Me and my dad loved this movie.. Miss you dad
FUN FACT
AIRWOLF
was originally
supposed to be a series of
MOVIES
I watch this every Christmas, with Leathal Weapon, gremlins, kiss kiss bang bang and first blood, just has to be done
Great movie!
You forgot to mention that he drives a sweet '81 Turbo Trans Am
Great film
….. catch you later 👍…… a blast from the past movie 🎥👌👌
I still enjoy watching the movie. The only thing that really dates it is the soundtrack. That early 80’s synth has not aged too well.
Can we have a RoboCop review..
It's another film that has really held up well over time. Indeed, it is actually /more/ believable in the era of Boston Dynamics, Neuralink and AI.
.R.I.P.
🌹
WARREN OATES
SGT HULKA
Yes this is a cracking movie..
IN real life, the actual helicopter was anything BUT fast. The added modifications tortured the Gazelle's airframe by adding nearly half a ton of extra weight. This is very obvious when you can see the helicopter *LIST* off to one side during the "beauty shots" of the helicopter coming straight for the camera - and it's never in a "straight" line as it comes in at an angle. Action scenes were also sped up to give the illusion of how fast the aircraft was. I loved the movie and the show - but the helicopter's shortcomings are still very obvious if you know what to look for. I had a relative who worked on the set and they remembered that the stunt pilots were always a bit nervous when getting in that thing because it was too damn heavy. Compared to Airwolf, the people who worked on Airwolf's modifications actually HELPED its airframe rather than hindered - the pilot for the Bell 222 said it handled smoother and flew better WITH the mods than without.
Both are great vehicles though, and both were built with very different roles in mind.
Also, Airwolf had infinite fuel enabled. I recall in one episode they took off from their hide-out in California (Arizona?), flew to eastern Europe, hovered to grab a passenger without landing, then flew back across the Atlantic, all without landing once. In another episode, they flew from their hide-out across the Pacific Ocean to Vietnam without re-fuelling.
It's a little off topic I know but I'm still somewhat in awe of what the pilots did with Airwolf. Some of the stuntwork in that show is just jaw-dropping good.
@@KarlSmith1 Hah! Yep, but I do recall in one episode Airwolf had the ability to be refueled in flight.
@@KarlSmith1 - yeah, as Juan Gonzales mentioned, Airwolf had an aerial refueling probe on starboard side of the nose radome.
at this cult movie it give absolutely NO critic, it was and it IS a BIG warning, even for the present time, same so like War Games, from the same director, the cast = amazing, the story too and the helicopter was a dream, and please, never a remake, that can only fail
they would never let that helicopter film so close to DTLA these days....they literally can't make movies like this anymore
This is true - they talk about it on the Bluray commentary. Insurance companies would never let them do it now. They couldn't believe they were able to do it back then.
We're getting Airwolf soon, aren't we?
Fun fact: In the Spanish translation Lymangood says on the tape, "I figured out what JAFO is...but I'll tell you some other time." We know of course there would be NO "other time" since Lymangood is dead!
No, I distinctly remember JAFO saying in the recording “Just another freaking observer.” That is what he said in the original theatrical release.
In German version it was something like „Young Ass flying one“ Works surprisingly in English and German. But I would like what it was in the original
No, he said the F-word in the movie. In the TV series, it was changed to "Frustrated".
This is the one where no one is called "Stringfellow Hawk"?
(Setting aside the cautionary tale of this fictitious chopper) Where would humanity be without the stunning leap in technology during the 1980s (defined to include '79 and even '78) !
Hm, a "Brit in Vietnam"!? Actually, TV executive Howard Stringer ended up serving in 'Nam, though he could have evaded the draft (permanent resident aliens were eligible, then and if necessary now) by swiftly returning to the UK - though at the cost of never having any career in US broadcast business afterwards.
The Blue Thunder helicopters were later used in the 1987 ABC miniseries "Amerika," where they served as gunships for Russian forces occupying the United States.
Yeah, and they had stub wings with weapons' hardpoints instead of the camera pods on fuselage sides.
Blue Thunder was the very first Video cassette my Dad rented after we got our first VCR. Remember loving this film as a kid, however anytime I saw it as an adult the Best bit of the car chase was missing! They cut the part where the girlfriend drives down a blocked alley & basically does a barrel-roll in her car to get out. Pilot looks down & says 'You're really flying with the angels tonight' or something like that....this bit is *always* cut in nearly every version to the point where I began to question reality...but then Why is her car roof all dented?? Why? 🤔
Funny, the first VHS tape my Dad bought for his VCR was Alien. Seeing that as a little kid maybe wasn't the best thing. :D
As for the barrel roll, that's never been in any version I've seen. But you're right, her car is beat up when she gets to the news station. Maybe it's an extended TV version or another Mandela Effect!
@@inkermoy I did hunt around on google for answers years ago, just found this again ' One scene was cut after initial test screening: Kate was arriving in downtown, and instead of making a "right" as Murphy hoped, she made a left, and went the wrong way down a one-way street, and she immediately made ANOTHER left into an alley. There was supposed to be a scene were a police car blocked her off in the alley, and she did a James Bond "drive on two wheels" move to get past the police car and get to the TV station. However, audience thought this scene was too "incredible" and it was cut from the movie. It is still included in the trailer found elsewhere on the DVD, however' Never seen the DVD version, & this scene wasn't in there when the movie was on Netflix. Might have to buy a 80's VHS version & see if it's actually on there.
Only the helicopter Airwolf could have been.
I used to have a really cool helicopter toy called Blue Thunder, but don't think it was officially linked to the film. Did look quite similar though
I´ll see it and get back
I got back... I didnt love it, but was fun though
As this big budget Hollywood movie unfolded, I was reminded of a mere TV movie that "turned it up to 11" but is more or less forgotten today: ruclips.net/video/xYQoSlHDN48/видео.html I can (sorta) say that I've been watching "Birds of Prey" since 1973, but that would be...ridiculous.;) This movie has been rendered to DVD, but with generic music due to copyright issues. As for "Blue Thunder," that other high tech helicopter TV show, "Airwolf" (1984-1986) comes to mind. "Blue Thunder" was a "look over the shoulder" at Things To Come.
Was the end of the film the origin of the "cool guys don't look at explosions" trope?
Probably: yes. I don't recall an earlier instance.
Murphys girlfriend could fucken drive, that chase was crazy.
I thought it wasn't as strong as it should have been, but it is entertaining all the same. Some of the script does feel a bit by the numbers (the Vietnam backstory) and even feels a little like a TV show pilot at times (just with A-grade visuals and budget). It sort of skates across the top of the implications of the technology and the conspiracy and doesn't focus enough on any particular element. And Scheider protested against Murphy flying Blue Thunder into civilian areas during the action climax, which is incredibly reckless and dumb. McDowell is always an asset, but I can understand why Bryan Brown was first choice. He would have been more of an evil mirror image of Scheider.
Good old Blue Thunder. I am so glad Stam covered this one. The Movie felt like it was missing something. The TV series even more so. Although we got a loop-di-loop, the cheap look of the film almost begged to have a gimmick. Perhaps a talking Chopper. Maybe Alein Technology was used to build it. Even have the damn thing fly itself and come to Murphy's rescue. Let it be the first to fly underwater, or in space. Have it stolen from the future. The film was already really naff, but extremely enjoyable fun.
The film said at the beginning that all of the technology was real and in use at the time, so they couldn't have a KITT type AI inside the helicopter, or have it fly itself.
@@white-dragon4424 The Legend of Ron Burgundy started with "Based on a True Story..." So, what was your point again? I think you are taking my joke far too seriously. If you love the film, then fair play to you. I found it to be enjoyable fluff and nothing more.
Dear Mr Fine....Please, please, please review Short Circuit.
Wasn't this Warren Oates' last film too. I think he died shortly after it or something.
"Catch ya later!" 😎😎😎😎🚁🚁🚁🚁
Blue Thunder was a great movie but it never could take on Air Wolf.
I don't agree. Blue Thunder was more realistic to me (apart from the 'whisper mode').
Other considered titles:
“We Need A Bigger Chopper” because Chief Brody
“A Clockwork Chopper” because Malcolm McDowel
“Illegal Eagles”
“Air Jaws”
Great work! While we are on the subject of Roy Schieder, how about doing All That Jazz? Would love to hear your reactions to that.
Primary filming done in summer of 1980 done before many other 80s so called cliches
Hello, Mr Fine.
Please review the film that first made Sandra Bullock famous: Speed (the one with the bus that can't slow down because there's a bomb strapped to its undercarriage).
Please mention during your review that "it has been said" the plot of Speed was obviously plagiarized from the pilot episode of Thunderbirds, "Trapped in the Sky" (the one with the aeroplane that can't land because there's a bomb strapped to its undercarriage).
You might mention that in Speed, Sandy is on her way to University at the beginning of semester, but in Trapped in the Sky, Tin-Tin is on her way home from uni at the end of semester, so therefore they are totally different plots and totally no plagiarism occurred. Probably best not to mention that Bullock even looks like Tin-Tin.
Also, that scene where one plane flies in front of the other, and there's a winch and cable, and that scene where the truck drives in front of the bus, and there's a winch and cable... totally not copied.
It's just a suggestion. But, please consider.
Ha!
I think you should do airwolf, pretty please.
Seconded!