confused!!!
i was confused by the ending--- who died? i know Captain Shawn did, but what about Major Moreland? i dont remember seeing him walk out of the building after the shootout.
shareMoreland ran upstairs to stop Shawn and in the process, the room was hit by heavy fire. Moreland, unfortunately, was caught in the line of fire. He didn't make it.
shareok, thanx. i thought he survived, but then it didnt make sense to me that, if he did make it, why he (the main character) wasnt in the final scene of teh shootout.
shareI think there was an extended ending that was cut from all subsequent home video versions, in which Dwyer is driving by the school's old location 3 years later when he suddenly stops, gets out and looks up at the condiminiums that now stood where the school used to be. The name of the complex, which caught Dwyer's eye, read, "MORELAND BACHE MEMORIAL ESTATES". Dwyer smiles and looks to the sky. Cut to the archive marching scene and end credits.
There was no alternate or extended ending. Moreland died, as did Shaun. I was there from the beginning to the end, working as a background actor and stand-in (for Timothy Hutton). The set was never turned into condos, as the "Bunker Hill" main gate was nothing more than a plastic facade at the end of a practice field at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA. Per the terms of the Academy's contract with 20th Century Fox, the "fake" gate was restored to its original condition immediately following the wrap of the movie.
I must admit that, at the time, I never thought of "Taps" as a great movie, but there certainly was a rare combination of actors on that set, ranging from the legendary George C. Scott, who was an incredibly generous icon to the younger actors, to Earl Hindman, a funny guy who would go on to fame in "Home Improvement." Bill Van Zandt, who had recently lost his older brother from Lynrd Skynrd, was a great guy, as was Ronnie Cox ("Deliverence"). The crew was great, too... I vividly remember Garrett Brown using his Steadi-Cam (invented for "Rocky") and training the other cameramen on his invention; Mike Looney and Bill Elvin, the second A.D.'s; big-man Kenny Walker, the property master; and diminutive Bobby Porter, the stunt man. I guess I was more fascinated with the crew and the actual making of a movie than I was of the 'stars' in the movie. Years later, I ran into J. Craig Nannos, the technical advisor, when his son was the same age I was when I made the movie.. that was odd.
It was a lot of fun, a little bit of hard work, and a fascinating way to watch $18,000,000 (a whole lot of money in 1981) being spent. I remember approaching Stanley Jaffe, asking for a raise on behalf of the background actors. He was courteous and non-dismissive, although our raise was not forthcoming. Somewhere, I have a pay stub from 20th Century Fox and a cast jacket, the remnants of my brief encounter with the movie business. It was pretty exiting for a 15 y/o.
"There was no alternate or extended ending."
I know. I made it up. But that would've been cool, right?
Wow, you were actually in the movie? It's not every day we meet guys like you on here.
Yup, I was there from the very beginning.... before 20th Century even bought it from Columbia... It was pretty cool watching a movie being made, and now in retrospect, especially cool given the cast.
shareBill Van Zandt's brother is actually still alive and kicking. His brother is Little Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band.
shareActually, the so called "fake gate" was a real gate at the time of the movie. I went to VF for 4 years. The terms that the school set down were that the "main gate" in the movie could be destroyed as long as the company sponsoring the movie would rebuild the wall after destroying it. In essence there are a few maingates at VF. One gate is around 70 yards (near the chapel) up the road from the "main gate" in the movie and the other is around 80 yards down the road (right next to Eisenhower Hall) from the "main gate." The practice field thathas been referred to is literally right where Eisenhower Hall sits. When Timothy Hutton meets with his "father" that is on the parade field, which is not that close to the Main Area or Wheeler Hall.
shareI saw this movie a long time ago, LONG time. But I seem to remember and I have read that Moreland appears in the end at a procession and that this whole seige thing was just something he had considered and played out in his mind. I dunno, on wikipedia it said so. Now its suddenly gone.
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