Blue Thunder (1983)

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Dan O'Bannon (written by) &
Don Jakoby (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He's Out There...

Plot:

The cop test pilot for an experimental police helicopter learns the sinister implications of the new vehicle.

Plot Keywords:

Darkness | Surveillance | Chopper | Observation | Police Chopper

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Officer Frank Murphy
Warren Oates	...	Capt. Jack Braddock
Candy Clark	...	Kate
Daniel Stern	...	Officer Richard Lymangood
Paul Roebling	...	Icelan
David Sheiner	...	Fletcher
Joe Santos	...	Montoya
Malcolm McDowell	...	Col. F.E. Cochrane
Ed Bernard	...	Sgt. Short
Jason Bernard	...	Mayor
Mario Machado	...	Himself
James Murtaugh	...	Alf Hewitt
Pat McNamara	...	Matusek
Jack Murdock	...	Kress
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Allen (as Clifford Pellow)

Also Known As:

Blue Thunder the Movie (UK) (video box title)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The first draft of the script had a police helicopter pilot going psycho and terrorizing skies of LA. The script was shot down by the movie studio, as they were afraid that the audience would not identify with a psycho main character. They did like the idea of a helicopter fight over LA though. The rewrite became Blue Thunder.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie F-16 Fighters are sent to destroy Blue Thunder. Their stall speed at low altitude is around 175 mph and they simply couldn't fly that slow to get missile lock on a low-flying helicopter. Instead, the military would have used Cobra Helicopter Gunships (now replaced by the Apache), more suited to the role.

Quotes:

Jack Braddock: [after Lymangood interrupts him chewing out Murphy] You're supposed to be stupid, son. Don't abuse the privilege.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Reno 911!: Miami (2007)

More Timely Now Than Ever

Having now worked on an attack helicopter program, I was interested in

seeing "Blue Thunder." I skipped it on its first release. Good thing. "Blue Thunder" is more timely than ever, what with federal abuse of

power with massacres and attempted massacres in Philadelphia (MOVE incident, Ruby Ridge and Waco. Structurally, the film is a mess, taking a fair amount of time introducing us to "Blue Thunder" an "antiriot" (now call "antiterrorist") helicopter better equipped for mass murder than crowd control. Roy Scheider plays Murphy, a former Vietnam helicopter pilot haunted by his memories of 'Nam (this gimmick was getting tiring in 1983). Murphy finds himself the target of a "government conspiracy" when he "gets too close" for the REAL intentions of "Blue Thunder."

Reels of film must have been left on the cutting room floor. Certainly Candy Clark and Warren Oates shine in "nothing" roles, their "real" relationships to Scheider remaining pretty obscure. Malcolm McDowell makes an excellent villain, though his "real" relationship with Scheider doesn't pay off).

HOWEVER, when "Blue Thunder" works, it really rocks. See it.