MovieChat Forums > Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) Discussion > Helicopter Stunts

Helicopter Stunts

posted 17 years ago by jellicoe-3
7 replies | jump to latest

I think this was one of the best helicopter stunt movies I have seen. Yeah Airwolf and Blue Thunder and Birds of Prey were good but so controlled. And Airwolf was only interesting when the copter was close to the ground and not a model.

When the copter makes that left turn after the car and it's rotor blades came pretty close to the road bed I was clutching my chair. And lets not forget how close it flew to the power lines. I wonder if that was really Vic Morrow in the right seat in the close ups of the helicopter flying sideways along side the car. If it was Vic he was pretty cool about it, I would have been telling them to get me out of that thing. It's a shame that a helicopter and John Landis would later be the instrument of Vic's and two other actors deaths in Twilight Zone.

I am wondering how, they got the instrument light panel to flash "Fuel Pump" warnings while the copter was in flight. I sorta don't think that they rewired the instrument panel to get that light to flash, without FAA approval, but then again considering how close the copter was to power lines maybe the FAA was not invited to the filming...

The only Helicopter related goof that I noticed was when the copter first lands to pick Vic up he lands well away from the power lines. But, then when he takes off to fly right over the camera crane he is directly under the power lines in a different part of the intersection. Perhaps knowing he was under the lines any departure would be safe.

With too much time on my hands...

Richard

[–] Avenger69 17 years ago

I agree Richard, DMCL has the most amazing helicopter flying - much better than the other films you mentioned. Much credit has to be given to James Gavin (the pilot... and playing the pilot in the film). He was a legendary pilot and second unit director for many years until his passing (last year).

As for Morrow in the copter, it was him. No process shots or trickery there!

"It's people..."

[–] liscarkat-2 15 years ago

Yeah, that was amazing when you could see Morrow actually in the copter flying right next to the car. No models or cheesy CGI!

[–] El_Jeffro 13 years ago

I also liked the sequence of the crop-duster being chased by the two Loaches in "Capricorn One". Even though the copters were also the bad guys, and their gun effects were cheesy, and most of all the special effects with the models at the end of the sequence were horrible (not trying to divulge any spoilers). But the JetRanger stunts in this movie were some of the best.

Also comes to mind is the sequence in the beginning of "For Your Eyes Only" (007) where the helicopter flies through the warehouse. That must have taken some considerable skill. The pilot there needed to carefully maintain his forward pitch and forward speed, else he could have flew into the roof, due to something like ground effect, but in reverse (something I've found out by flying my micro-RC copters to close to the ceiling while indoors). If that turned out to be SFX with models, I'm going to be PO'd (I think it's real, but it's been a while since seeing the movie).

As for the fuel pump warning light: They could have tripped it while it was on the ground (I can't remember if they showed it during a close-up with the view out of the helicopter cropped-out). I'm guessing they should be able to trip it by pulling a circuit breaker to test if the warning works or not. But I don't think it would be a big deal to do it while in the air anyway, as long as the pilot isn't being reckless. Instructor pilots have to do similar things to their students for training purposes (aside from testing them in a simulator. They even need to cut the power to the rotors (sometimes by surprise) during autorotation exercises. Of course, proficiency with autorotation is is a big-time requirement in obtaining a rotorcraft rating. I assume it actually constitutes a bulk of the training.

[–] El_Jeffro 13 years ago

Never mind for the "For Your Eyes Only" pre-credit sequence. I just read on Wikipedia that while the helicopter was real, it didn't actually fly through the warehouse. They used forced perspective with a model of the warehouse close to the camera. It's probably possible to do for real, but I guess it's too dangerous to do it just for a movie. But they did do something similar for the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony scene with Bond and The Queen when they flew through the Tower Bridge. Here it is during filming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9qfggbLJE

Still, it's no warehouse.

And here's the chase scene from Capricorn One:
Software stabilized: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkOu3PibneM
Low Quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGfjwT7uREk

Like I said, those fake gun pods on the Cayuses are cheesy. In reality the Loaches (Vietnam era and soon after) would have had M134 miniguns mounted to the fuselage (actually, placed inside the rear area of the cabin, in place of the rear seats), not on the struts for the skids. Plus they resort to the trick where the use torn paper for the muzzle flash, and it's tacky looking, especially on DVD.

PS: If you want to learn more about the Loaches in Vietnam, read "Low Level Hell" by Hugh Mills (http://www.amazon.com/Low-Level-Hell-Hugh-Mills/dp/0891417192). It's not as dramatically compelling as Robert Mason's "Chickenhawk", but if you are interested in military aviation, particularly helicopters, it's still a very good read. Those Loach pilots were just as daring as any other kind of combat pilot in Vietnam.

[–] rjellicoe 13 years ago

I suppose he could have really turned off the fuel pump for as little time as the indicator was off. I guess what impresses me is that they produced that scene knowing very very few people would even have noticed it.

I am guessing, in these days, the FAA would not even have allowed some of the stunts they did to even be done. When Airwolf was still filming I had the opportunity to see several of the stunt scenes being filmed at Van Nuys Airport and Long Beach Airport and an old town on the way to Phoenix. Frankly the scenes in real life were no where as exciting as they were on film. A lot of lens trickery I think. And after the stunt mans death on Airwolf there seemed to be a lot of safety people around from the insurance company. The old town filming "Sweet Britches" the actual filming was a bit more exciting then it was on TV. The helicopter had incredible rotor wash at low altitudes. In one scene. the pilot came a little too close to the ground when shooting at the sheriff's station and took a drastic maneuver not to hit the road bed (Landing Gear Up).

[–] El_Jeffro 13 years ago

Wow, I'd have though that if hitting the road was imminent, the pilot would want to extend his landing gear DOWN to absorb some of the impact (if it did happen). Even if the gear was damaged, it would be a lot better than damaging the fuselage and the rest of the aircraft.

Actually, I'm pretty amazed when seeing all those drastic crashes that get uploaded to YouTube or are shown on those "TruTV" style of TV shows, that even with all the complete damage to the helicopter, the occupants seem to survive, sometimes with no injuries at all. I guess the makers know how to design their aircraft well. They make the rotors and tail, and almost everything else, to all more easily shear away while making the cabin/fuselage like a crash cage to cocoon the occupants.

[–] corinnacarpenter 13 years ago

I'd probably get sick in a helicopter,especially if it tilts forwards like it did in the movie.

That and when the helicopter went up and down,up and down. *Groan*

Oh,HELL no!

I have a crush on Vic Morrow. :)