Blue Thunder
| Blue Thunder | |
|---|---|
| File:Blue Thunder DVD Cover.jpg Blue Thunder DVD Cover | |
| Directed by | John Badham |
| Written by | Dan O'Bannon Don Jakoby |
| Produced by | Gordon Carroll Phil Feldman Andrew Fogelson |
| Starring | Roy Scheider Malcolm McDowell |
| Cinematography | John A. Alonzo |
| Edited by | Edward M. Abroms Frank Morriss |
| Music by | Arthur B. Rubinstein |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates | May 13, 1983 |
Running time | 109 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Blue Thunder is a 1983 feature film that features a high-tech helicopter of the same name. The movie was directed by John Badham and stars Roy Scheider. A spinoff television series also entitled Blue Thunder lasted eleven episodes in 1984.
Plot synopsis
The film revolves around Frank Murphy, a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) helicopter pilot-officer and troubled Vietnam War veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Amid a family and employment crisis, he is selected to pilot the world's most advanced helicopter, nicknamed "Blue Thunder", which is essentially a military style combat helicopter supposedly intended for police use as a surveillance platform and for large crowd control and riot missions. With powerful armament, stealth technology that allows it to fly virtually undetected, and other accouterments (such as infrared scanners, powerful microphones and cameras, and a U-Matic VCR), Blue Thunder appears to be a formidable tool in the war on crime that the LAPD readily accepts.
When the death of city councilwoman Diane McNeely turns out to be more than just a random murder, Murphy begins his own covert investigation. He discovers that a subversive action group, using the acronym THOR (Tactical Helicopter Offensive Response—the "proposed use of military helicopters to quell disorder"), is intending to use Blue Thunder to carry out their mission that involves secretly eliminating political undesirables. Murphy immediately suspects that his old nemesis from the war, Lt. Colonel F.E. Cochrane (played by Malcolm McDowell), who is actually the primary test pilot for Blue Thunder, is hiding something. After following Lt. Colonel Cochrane and using the technology on board Blue Thunder to record a meeting Cochrane has with other high-powered government officials planning to use Blue Thunder for nefarious purposes, Frank must try to get the video tape to a television station before he gets killed.
The final showdown between Murphy and Lt. Colonel Cochrane, who pilots a dual 30 mm cannon equipped Hughes/McDonnell Douglas MD 500 helicopter against Blue Thunder, takes place over the skies of Los Angeles and includes a battle with two Air National Guard F-16 fighters. After pulling off a spectacular loop Murphy shoots down Cochrane, then destroys Blue Thunder by landing it in front of an approaching freight train.
Production
The first draft of the screenplay for Blue Thunder featured Frank Murphy as more of a crazy main character with deeper psychological issues, who went on a rampage and destroyed a lot more of the city.[1]
Main cast of characters
- Roy Scheider: Officer Frank Murphy
- Malcolm McDowell: Lt. Colonel F.E. ("Fuck Everbody")[citation needed] Cochrane
- Warren Oates: Captain Jack Braddock
- Candy Clark: Kate
- Daniel Stern: Officer Richard Lymangood ("JAFO"—"Just Another Fucking Observer")[citation needed]
Blue Thunder helicopter
The helicopter used for Blue Thunder was a French-made Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelle modified with bolt-on parts and an Apache-style canopy. Two helicopters were used in the filming of the movie in case one was grounded for maintenance issues. The helicopters were purchased by Columbia Pictures and flown to Cinema Air in Carlsbad, CA where they were heavily modified for the film. These alterations made the helicopters so heavy that various tricks had to be employed to make it look fast and agile in the film. For instance, the 360° loop maneuver at the end of the film was carried out by a radio controlled model.
The two SA-341Gs were S/N 1066 and S/N 1075 and were produced in 1973. After the film was made, the helicopter was sold to Mike Groovy, an aviation salvage collector in Clovis, New Mexico. Groovy then leased it out to a film company that was filming the made for TV movie Amerika (an ABC mini-series about Soviet occupation of the USA; the helicopters were painted black, and the surveillance microphones were missing). After he got it back it was dismantled and sold for parts.[2]
Trivia
- This was one of Warren Oates' last films before his death. He died of a heart attack after making this film. This film is dedicated to him. He made one movie and one TV episode that were released after Blue Thunder.
- The 1983 film had originally been up for sequalization by Columbia Pictures. When Columbia opted to do the television series, Roy Scheider had been approached to star in it but he refused.[citation needed]
