MovieChat Forums > True Lies (1994) Discussion > The Harrier Climax

The Harrier Climax

posted 3 years ago by damocci (1516)
6 replies | jump to latest

Every time I've watched this movie I've been stunned by the Harrier sequence at the end. I always thought it was done using blue/screen, which really impressed me for an early 90s movie because the lighting on the actors matched the background perfectly. Also, the foreground blends perfectly with the background without that black outline that plagued other movies from around the same era. I thought this movie was way ahead of its time.

Now I just found out that it WASN'T actually blue/green screen. James Cameron actually used a scale model of a Harrier jet, hoisted it up 25+ storeys with a construction crane and literally filmed much of this sequence up there next to a skyscraper with all the actors secured with harnesses. THAT'S JUST INSANE! Wow, now I'm even more impressed by this sequence. No wonder it looks so good and holds up almost 30 years later!

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7986) 3 years ago

Wow! I thought it was done with CGI. Especially since it was nominated for best special effects. But yeah. I love that scene. I especially like it when the terrorist Aziz is hanging off the mssile and Arnold says, "You're fired." then fires said missile into the helicopter full of Aziz's lackeys.

[–] damocci (1516) 3 years ago

What's equally mind-blowing is Eliza Dushku was only 12 years old yet there she was up there in a lot of the shots. There's no ways you'd be allowed to do something so risky with a minor nowadays. The whole thing would have been shot inside some warehouse or hanger with tons of CGI.

Even the whole freeway chase scene was largely practical which is why it looks so real. It was apparently filmed on the decommissioned 7 Mile Bridge in Florida which already had sections missing to allow taller boats/ships to pass without the need for a drawbridge.

This movie is far more impressive than people realize. A true gem of 90s action cinema!

[–] Roguemail (1634) 3 years ago

Actually the Harrier sequence was filmed partly on a section of rooftop that had the Harrrier mockup on a huge gimbal, so and they used an early version of CGI to mask the gimbal by usi ng the downforce of the Harriers engines to mask the gimbal.

Look at it closely, it becomes more obvious when you know that.

[–] damocci (1516) 3 years ago

Was this gimbal on the rooftop of the skyscraper, or the rooftop of a much shorter building with camera trickery used to make it look higher up? The IMDb trivia page for this movie gave me the impression that the Harrier mockup was suspended 25 storeys above the streets from a construction crane, which sounds almost negligently dangerous.

[–] Roguemail (1634) 3 years ago

It was not suspended, it was on a gimbal. This means that its fixed on a very sturdy mechanism from below. It can manoeuvre up, down, sideways etc but is always firmly anchored.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 3 years ago

I always found it a sub par action sequence.
Never impressed by any part of it, including the hyperrealistic fx.
The horse chase, now that is an outstanding cinema moment.