Blue Thunder (1983) - The Best Movie You Never Saw

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  • Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
  • Welcome to The Best Movie You NEVER Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time and/or has aged like a fine wine.
    Based on the column created by Paul Shirey and currently written by Chris Bumbray for JoBlo.com, this video version of the column features narration by Bumbray and editing by Lance Vlcek. For our seventh episode, we take a look at John Badham's BLUE THUNDER, starring Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern and Warren Oates. You can read the original column HERE!
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    #BlueThunder #RoyScheider #TheBestMovieYouNeverSaw

КОМЕНТАРІ • 2,1 тис.

  • @PDeNigris
    @PDeNigris 5 років тому +432

    That shot of Blue Thunder coming out of the setting sun is one of the iconic action movie moments of the 80's to be sure.

    • @1SaG
      @1SaG 5 років тому +35

      Personally, I prefer the shot of the helicopter emerging from behind the bridge during Candy Clarke's run-in with the cops... gave me goosebumps back when I watched this flick in the theatre...

    • @PDeNigris
      @PDeNigris 5 років тому +7

      @@1SaG Also a great one

    • @90lancaster
      @90lancaster 5 років тому +11

      I like the normal flight noise and how the beats of the Helicopter blades are reflected in the music too.
      But Whisper mode and Turbo mode are just the bees knees.
      The idea they had of the Helicopter being used for crowd control is pretty scary with that canon on it. But considering the previous Olympics situation I can see how that plot point idea would arise.
      The TV show version has a precision sniper mode for the main gun too - so you have a Helicopter that is almost completely silent, can see through and hear through walls, and kill anywhere from enmass (including vehicles) to an individual - it really is an eye in the sky - one of them isn't a huge threat but if one analogises it to the issuance of ex-military equipment to the American Police as a regular thing now - the Movie makes some valid points.
      McDowell it right be have his balls drawn back to his ears with fear filming - it as the things they do in built up areas in a pre-CGI age is simply terrifying to watch as well as be in. They'd never get a permit to do that now

    • @brunotulliani
      @brunotulliani 5 років тому +1

      Apocalypse Now!

    • @jeffstone2136
      @jeffstone2136 5 років тому

      True

  • @Clonetrooper1139
    @Clonetrooper1139 5 років тому +676

    Roy Scheider never got the recognition he deserved as an actor.

    • @chiefscheider
      @chiefscheider 5 років тому +28

      Thanks, man...I appreciate that

    • @inglesconalan5360
      @inglesconalan5360 5 років тому +17

      He was amazingly versatile, from facing a deadly shark in "Jaws" to dancing with death in "All That Jazz".

    • @RollingOrmond
      @RollingOrmond 5 років тому +11

      One Best Actor nomination for All That Jazz. Should've won.

    • @matthewkeisling2776
      @matthewkeisling2776 5 років тому +2

      Clonetrooper1139 the Jaws sequels ruined his career. He was so good in a few movies before Jaws 2.

    • @thepayne7862
      @thepayne7862 5 років тому +1

      Amen to that.

  • @johnnyfavorite1194
    @johnnyfavorite1194 4 роки тому +50

    The nail-biting Helicopter vs. Helicopter dogfight at the film’s finale had no precedent and remains unsurpassed to this very day.

    • @AudieHolland
      @AudieHolland 9 місяців тому +1

      The older I get, the more I appreciate stunt work and physical effects.
      When Blue Thunder's cannon malfunctions during the 'shoot out' scene over L.A., I only recently noticed that the other chopper responds by evading the fire then flying *underneath* Blue Thunder to get away!

    • @film79
      @film79 9 місяців тому +1

      Didn't one of the mission impossible movies have a good one? Or was that a helicopter vs a plane?

    • @KurtisHall
      @KurtisHall 5 місяців тому

      There is no question that that movie would not have been SO great without Roy Scheider in the lead role!

  • @MeppyMan
    @MeppyMan 5 років тому +24

    As a helicopter pilot in a family of helicopter pilots we all loved this movie. I've watched this movie so many times since first watching it in 1983.

    • @MrCarpen7er
      @MrCarpen7er Місяць тому

      So, you have to be a helicopter pilot to really like Blue Thunder. But I know what you mean. My family comes from Krypton, they really love Superman!

  • @TheMadmatt7
    @TheMadmatt7 5 років тому +37

    "I hear he checks his sanity with a wrist watch!" "What do you check yours with, a dipstick?" - "You're supposed to be stupid son. Don't abuse the privilege." - and on and on. Warren Oates owned that movie.

  • @billslocum9819
    @billslocum9819 5 років тому +24

    Love the dialogue and the way the script fills out the personalities of the minor villains, who are believably menacing because they probably believe in what they are doing. Candy Clark's character is fascinating to me, because she's an non-stereotypical ex-wife who respects Murphy's odd boundaries and helps him throughout. She definitely deserved more work!

  • @Scdny
    @Scdny 5 років тому +102

    Still one of my favorites! BTW, the stopwatch wasn't to relax him; it was to test the accuracy of his internal clock by timing 60 seconds without looking.

    • @timmooney7528
      @timmooney7528 5 років тому +26

      “Its sort of a test - I read somewhere that if you really think you’re going over the edge the first thing you lose is your sense of time. With your eyes shut you can’t tell 25 seconds from 5…”
      - Frank Murphy

  • @anerd8520
    @anerd8520 3 роки тому +33

    Roy Scheider is greatly missed. Thank you for this.

  • @PPISAFETY
    @PPISAFETY 5 років тому +15

    I'm 62 now, and when this came out, and at the time I was a cop and volunteer Paramedic. The local medical school would make the medical students ride along on the ambulance and on fixed and rotor wing medevac flights. We had a "JAFO" hat made up for them to wear on their ride-along. Almost none of them knew what JAFO meant.
    My favorite line in the movie is, "Did you know he checks his sanity with a wristwatch?" Reply, "What do you check yours with, a dipstick?"

  • @CRB9000
    @CRB9000 5 років тому +118

    Only a kid who wasn't around in the 1980s would say nobody saw this movie. It was hot. Hell, I worked at Blockbluster and it was checked out often.

    • @ironkcoony
      @ironkcoony 5 років тому +7

      in germany early 90s the movie came 4 times a year on tv - loved it every time

    • @ian2958
      @ian2958 5 років тому +4

      @Life in the Zone absolutely ! I saw this movie first in a East-German theater - but not without having to watch a 20 min propaganda movies first, detailing how badly the US army treated their soldiers :-)

    • @bigbabysld
      @bigbabysld 5 років тому +2

      I have to say I have never seen this movie and I spent my teen yrs in the 80's...for sum reason I just remember the TV show with Bubba Smith that lasted 11 episodes.

    • @stumpycatvm7115
      @stumpycatvm7115 5 років тому

      did you say disk von lazerness?

    • @galaxysurfer1122
      @galaxysurfer1122 5 років тому

      Agreed!

  • @mr.sinjin-smyth
    @mr.sinjin-smyth 5 років тому +145

    Roy Scheider sure had some amazing movies... The French Connection, The 7 Ups, Blue Thunder, 2010 The Year We Make Contact, 52-Pickup, Last Embrace, Sorcerer, Cohen and Tate, Marathon Man, Jaws 1 & 2.

    • @BarrySlisk
      @BarrySlisk 5 років тому +5

      Cohen and Tate is awesome.

    • @bradwhitham4115
      @bradwhitham4115 5 років тому +6

      He actually added some class to "The Punisher" too, even though both he AND Travolta in the cast couldn't quite make that the great movie it might have been.

    • @mossadon
      @mossadon 5 років тому +4

      @@BarrySlisk Cohen & Tate is such an under rated movie !

    • @Whalewraith
      @Whalewraith 5 років тому +2

      Last embrace was awesome, especially as I went into it without knowing anything.

    • @ThePtalso
      @ThePtalso 5 років тому +4

      "All That Jazz"? Some 20 years on since I watched it, from time to time, in the morning, before my coffee, I tell my bathroom mirror - "It's showtime, folks!".

  • @lehanderjau6269
    @lehanderjau6269 5 років тому +50

    FINALLY a good UA-cam reviewer brought this amazing movie from the 80’s back to the spotlight it so deserves!
    Thanks for this great video and an honest review of Blue Thunder.
    The movie and its Soundtrack are among my favourites ever.
    For me, Blue Thunder has always been in the same pantheon of the first 2 Superman movies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Star Wars movies, Jaws, ET... it has that gravitas of all these classics from the end of the 70’s and the 80’s.
    Never thought that Blue Thunder had the fame it deserved so it’s great to see it here and see people who never saw it getting interested in watching it!

  • @pauljohnson3340
    @pauljohnson3340 5 років тому +58

    I love this film. It was so well made. Roy Scheider was perfect for this role.

  • @NetworkXIII
    @NetworkXIII 5 років тому +12

    I saw this movie in the theater in 1983. Roy Scheider was great in everything he did, and was the perfect everyman, from Chief Brody, to Murphy, to Heywood Floyd.
    This was such a great 80s tech/action movie, along with Badham’s other masterpiece War Games. Thanks for making the video.

    • @barryg4927
      @barryg4927 3 роки тому +2

      same here...twice through in the theatre same night back to back...my dad and I LOVED IT!

  • @davetaylor2088
    @davetaylor2088 5 років тому +10

    I loved this movie and just re-watched it on Netflix recently. Holds up better than many other movies of its day because of the acting. A good screenplay managed by great actors will get you through any humps and bumps in peripheral stuff like special effects. That's why theatre is still popular.

  • @quacksackerthegreatstarfir6996
    @quacksackerthegreatstarfir6996 5 років тому +16

    I've watched it lots of time. Roy Scheider and Malcolm McDowell are wonderful actors. Every piece of equipment on the chopper really existed and was already in use way back in 1983

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 2 роки тому +4

      Everything except whisper mode. But as the director John Badham said a several yrs back…even that is now a reality. The US Army used it on their stealth helicopters in the Osama Bin Laden raid.

    • @Britcarjunkie
      @Britcarjunkie 2 роки тому +3

      @@coolcat6303 I'm not sure exactly when they did it, but Hughes Aircraft changed the design of the main rotor blades on the Model 500 that eliminated the tips' ability to break the sound barrier, randering the helicopter virtually silent with normal noise on the ground.
      They later did it with the tail rotor blades as well.
      Of course, later the NOTAR came along, making the design even quieter.

    • @thetruth-hl7ct
      @thetruth-hl7ct 2 роки тому +2

      @@Britcarjunkie Wasn't it the addition of another blade that made the made the difference in sound? Something like more blades moving slower but providing the same amount of lift?

  • @tomcranks
    @tomcranks 5 років тому +38

    I did location security on Blue Thunder back when I was 22 years old. I was alone guarding the set at the yet to be operational LAPD heliport near downtown Los Angeles. Naturally I went to wardrobe, suited up and took pictures with the French Gazelle.

  • @martinez1701a
    @martinez1701a 5 років тому +241

    Blue Thunder was AWESOME!!! When I was a kid we used to have debates about who was better Blue Thunder or Air Wolf lol

    • @ErrisSq
      @ErrisSq 5 років тому +6

      Blue Thunder of course!

    • @nda5150
      @nda5150 5 років тому +11

      I vividly remember these debates

    • @JasonWrightArt
      @JasonWrightArt 5 років тому +6

      same!

    • @nickd920
      @nickd920 5 років тому +8

      Same here! It is a funny title for this video because I saw it when it first came out.

    • @ashcarrier6606
      @ashcarrier6606 5 років тому +7

      Me too. I was the Blue Thunder advocate. My argument was that BT was a more realistic helicopter. Its helmet-guided 20mm cannon was similar to the tech on the then new AH-64 Apache gunship entering service.

  • @leftcoaster67
    @leftcoaster67 5 років тому +81

    Roy was in great shape even in his 50's. Check out 2010. Great actor. He was phenomenal in The French Connection and Marathon Man.

  • @menuly
    @menuly 4 роки тому +14

    The music score in this movie is one of the best ever.

  • @novarossi5653
    @novarossi5653 5 років тому +140

    He also played a starring role in one of my favourite shows as a kid, Seaquest DSV. Hugely underrated actor.

    • @laptopcommando
      @laptopcommando 5 років тому +4

      Yes, I loved Seaquest too.

    • @PoxyBear
      @PoxyBear 5 років тому +5

      I was living in Orlando back then. I accidentally walked through the production area as they were filming downtown near Church Street Station. Didn't disrupt it but didn't realize it was Seaquest until I got where I was going.

    • @darthXreven
      @darthXreven 5 років тому +4

      Seaquest was cool, too underrated but next to giants like Star trek and B5 and Andromeda it got crushed a bit.....still it had like 4 or 5 seasons right?? so they got viewers enough to last that long eh

    • @sgtpepper1138
      @sgtpepper1138 5 років тому +4

      I was always mad they took away the science in SeaQuest, and made it all military.

    • @somethingelse25
      @somethingelse25 5 років тому +1

      I loved SeaQuest as well and I think they even made an animation.

  • @MichaelVLang
    @MichaelVLang 5 років тому +12

    Like 2010 and Peter Hyams' other movies, Michael Mann as well, this had a darker natural light look that gave it realism and authenticity, and really brought you into the story. The pace was also moderate and relaxed, also contributed to the humanness. There was actual silence, and miraculously the audience had to perhaps think. The dynamics added to the action scenes too, making them more visceral and powerful. Some of these 80s movies left you feeling that you were there, and that there was importance to the story. They literally don't make em like this anymore...

    • @stoogefest16
      @stoogefest16 3 роки тому +1

      Yeah, I tend to prefer the naturalism of action films that predate the idiom as we know it today. Sometime around the mid to late ‘90s, they became too slick and hyperbolic in a way that not even the more recent trend towards pragmatic action (e.g. John Wick, etc.) can quite offset. Overall, the conventions of the genre were more interesting before they were set in stone and before digital technology became so pervasive.

  • @frankcatlin9311
    @frankcatlin9311 5 років тому +127

    Whatdoyamean "never saw"??? I can quote dialogue from the heart!!

    • @les4767
      @les4767 5 років тому +10

      I was just going to say...I wore out a VHS copy of this film!

    • @palimpalim5291
      @palimpalim5291 5 років тому +6

      Also saw the movie. Yes, I am that old ...

    • @dorientjewoller113
      @dorientjewoller113 5 років тому +7

      I have really an issue with those UA-camrs who are using "You ever saw" or "You didn't knew", as we are stupid.

    • @oubrioko
      @oubrioko 5 років тому +4

      @@dorientjewoller113
      True. Each of those are UA-cam encouraged clickbait tactics which are incredibly lame.

    • @hairypolack
      @hairypolack 5 років тому +2

      I saw it a hundred times on hbo in the 80s

  • @WilliamRBishop
    @WilliamRBishop 5 років тому +12

    My favorite part of this movie is when the bad guy looks out the window and sees Blue Thunder hovering silently outside in "whisper mode"

    • @NFS-shade
      @NFS-shade 3 роки тому +2

      Are you sure? Are you sure not that pretty nude yoga girl part?

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 2 роки тому

      @@NFS-shade That and the waitress cleavage shot were definitely highlights.

  • @cloudattack3279
    @cloudattack3279 5 років тому +6

    This is still one of my fave movies from the 80s. Many great scenes way ahead of its time. The chase through the canals was simply epic!

  • @MThrow
    @MThrow 5 років тому +363

    I still have Blue Thunder on LaserDisc. Yes......I said LaserDisc.

    • @MikeSmith-rh5gc
      @MikeSmith-rh5gc 5 років тому +3

      I still have all mine

    • @MrSGL21
      @MrSGL21 5 років тому +1

      ha!!! i collect ld too i got it on laser disc also!

    • @kd8bxp
      @kd8bxp 5 років тому +2

      sometimes the only way to see the classics the way the classics should be seen.

    • @regularguyfixes3142
      @regularguyfixes3142 5 років тому +4

      You need to post a video of you pulling out the LD and playing it. Show the process.

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 5 років тому +5

      I still have mine on VHS but have since replaced it on Blu-ray. When I was growing up, in the early 80's, my friend's dad actually had it on the short lived RCA CED Videodisc (the laserdisc's competition). It came in a plastic shell & you actually had to flip it over half way through the movie. Ancient by today’s standards but, at the time, we thought it was cool AF. Haha.
      Here’s a video that shows how it works: ua-cam.com/video/0LrPe0rwXOU/v-deo.html

  • @bacongl
    @bacongl 5 років тому +28

    Blue Thunder and Firefox were my favorite movies as a kid. Good stuff!

    • @randoshus3762
      @randoshus3762 5 років тому

      HBO and Cinemax played those movies ad nauseum...

    • @robertwilson214
      @robertwilson214 2 роки тому

      Firefox was crap

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 2 роки тому

      @@robertwilson214 I disagree. Firefox really captured the feel of the Cold War. It also had a nice combination of espionage drama and cool action sequences.

    • @robertwilson214
      @robertwilson214 2 роки тому

      @@coolcat6303 do you know,I haven't seen it for a while...as I love cold war films like wargames,I'm going to take back my statement and go back and watch it again.

  • @krisfranzen9046
    @krisfranzen9046 3 роки тому +6

    This was the first "R"-rated movie I saw in the theater. My brother took me, I was 12 at the time, right before PG-13 came out. Its one of my all time favorite movies.

    • @thetruth-hl7ct
      @thetruth-hl7ct 2 роки тому +1

      Mine, too. Saw it at the drive in. The voyeur scene of the woman doing yoga nude was a game changer to my spank bank.

  • @andycarr9722
    @andycarr9722 5 років тому +5

    I love this movie. It's one of my favourites, and I am proud to say it's in my DVD collection also.

  • @lightningjt1
    @lightningjt1 5 років тому +16

    my father was a helicopter pilot During Vietnam and some of my best memories of time spent with him was watching Airwolf and the Movie BlueThunder we also enjoyed the TV show Tour of Duty. He would always tell me what was close to the real thing and what was Movie/TV Magic

    • @AlexSDU
      @AlexSDU 5 років тому +1

      You sure have a nice relationship with your dad. As for my dad, he didn't talk much during his time fighting off the Communist insurgents in the jungle of Malaya and Borneo back in the 70's til 80's. And it's not about PTSD or sometime. He just don't talk much to us kids.

    • @LiveMusicOntario
      @LiveMusicOntario 5 років тому +1

      I friggin' loved Tour of Duty. I got butterflies in my stomach every time the show started, - Paint It Black music. I really felt for the characters, plus it was counter to the rah-rah war stories. It reminded me a lot of Combat! from the 60's starring Vic Morrow. The same premise; a tough but even handed veteran sergeant trying to keep his small unit safe on patrol. Maybe ask your dad if he ever read a paperback called HUEY - written by a pilot telling his personal story all the way from recruitment and training, through his tour.

  • @legneil
    @legneil 5 років тому +14

    Roy was one of favourite actors,died to young.Nice to see a Canadian You Tuber.

  • @Badnone
    @Badnone 5 років тому +10

    Long live Roy Scheider. Blue Thunder was ahead of its time.

    • @DiceStrike
      @DiceStrike 5 років тому

      Same as Last Action Hero.. It also came out for Box office at a bad time.
      Same week as Jurrasic Park.
      i guess a reboot of both films would be soo much better nowadays

  • @TheNefastor
    @TheNefastor 5 років тому +53

    I really like those old movies where the hero wasn't so muscular it asphixiated his brain.

    • @AmericanThunder
      @AmericanThunder 5 років тому +1

      He was a boxer, too.

    • @TheNefastor
      @TheNefastor 5 років тому

      @@AmericanThunder that probably explains the nose.

    • @MrKiwi1960
      @MrKiwi1960 5 років тому +2

      old?????? You youngster, can go to hell. :)

    • @TheNefastor
      @TheNefastor 5 років тому

      @@MrKiwi1960 I implied no ageism and I'm over 40.

    • @CatatonicImperfect
      @CatatonicImperfect 5 років тому

      sounds like somebody isn't very muscular :D

  • @johnclarke7626
    @johnclarke7626 5 років тому +36

    The next time I'm suspended, so is my f***ing beeper.

  • @glenbolderson2479
    @glenbolderson2479 5 років тому +5

    Loved Blue Thunder!!! saw it in the theatre...Roy Scheider rocks!!!

  • @Rob-sk1im
    @Rob-sk1im 4 роки тому +8

    One of the best lines delivered by Roy, " you talking to me asshole."
    Without question Roy made so many great films, primarily in the 70s through the 80s. Hollywood and indie filmmakers missed the chance at casting him in some roles that he would've been perfect in. I was one of the fortunate ones who got to see his last film Iron Cross. Unfortunately this film is never found distribution.

    • @mroctober3657
      @mroctober3657 2 роки тому +2

      The original concept of Blue Thunder was to be like Tax Driver but with a super copter where Scheider goes nuts at the end.

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 2 роки тому +1

      Agreed. Roy was definitely under used after the 80’s we’re over. The last time I saw him was as the dad in The Punisher movie. Really small role though. I’ll have to keep an eye out for Iron Cross.

    • @crnkmnky
      @crnkmnky Рік тому

      ​@@mroctober3657 Sounds like _First Blood_ to me…

    • @AudieHolland
      @AudieHolland 9 місяців тому

      The funny thing is that he points his revolver at the a-hole technician, with *bullet proof* cockpit glass seperating them.
      The tech probably instantly realized that he's as crazy as they come.

  • @sgtjarhead99
    @sgtjarhead99 5 років тому +7

    I loved this movie back in the day. Especially that great opening score.

  • @Turco949
    @Turco949 5 років тому +3

    The casting of this movie was awesome, from Roy S. to the bad guy played by McDowell to his sidekick Daniel S to whoever the female actor who played his old lady. The movie was ahead of his time and was really well made as I watched it multiple times years later and it was still very much enjoyable.

  • @leejohnstone4663
    @leejohnstone4663 2 роки тому +3

    One of the things I love about the Blue Thunder movie is Murphy landing the helicopter on train tracks where it gets destroy by a train. In other words no sequel which shows 80s movies wasn't always made with a sequel in mind

  • @hendrsb33
    @hendrsb33 5 років тому +12

    I always wondered why Malcolm McDowell looked so crazed during that final aerial dogfight... makes sense now.

  • @jwnj9716
    @jwnj9716 5 років тому +41

    You cant go wrong with Chief Brody. The guy kicked ass in Sorcerer too, another hidden gem.

    • @weirdshibainu
      @weirdshibainu 5 років тому +1

      Sorcerer was a fantastic movie.

    • @neilhutchinson4545
      @neilhutchinson4545 5 років тому

      You're certifiable, Quint, you know that? You're certifiable!
      One of my favourite character actor's.

    • @jwnj9716
      @jwnj9716 5 років тому +2

      I love the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

    • @weirdshibainu
      @weirdshibainu 5 років тому

      @@jwnj9716 Soundtrack to the movie " Thief" with James Caan is by the dream...and its awesome

    • @jwnj9716
      @jwnj9716 5 років тому

      I love the music towards the end.

  • @Doellimann
    @Doellimann 5 років тому +12

    Blue Thunder is still one of my absolut favorites!

  • @JorgeRodriguez-po7kx
    @JorgeRodriguez-po7kx 5 років тому +3

    One of the First Movies that I watched In my Home Theater with my Late Mother back in the early 80's Love it

  • @seanmcculley
    @seanmcculley 5 років тому +3

    One of my all time favorites! Saw it in the theater when it came out. Bought the record of the soundtrack (still have it). Bought the VHS, then the DVD, then the Blu-ray. Seen it a couple dozen times. Show it to anybody that will sit down and watch it with me :)

  • @MokTheMagicMan1
    @MokTheMagicMan1 5 років тому +8

    I recently watched it and was pleasantly surprised. It’s aged very well. Great review.

  • @raulzavala9061
    @raulzavala9061 5 років тому +10

    I love this movie very underrated, I like how its more of a conspiracy plot and the Blue Thunder chopper is more of an added bonus, some of those L.A. skyscrapers haven't changed either.

  • @leeloo1967
    @leeloo1967 5 років тому +2

    One of my favorite Roy Scheider movies
    I just cant get enough of it. I’ve seen it so many times & I still have it on VHS
    😁😁😁

  • @badbirdkc
    @badbirdkc 5 років тому +12

    Always one of my favorites since my childhood. I even have a framed poster hanging in my house. Saw it when it first hit HBO back in the 80s and have loved it ever since. The final battle is absolutely stunning to watch. Incredible flying and cinematography. But, yeah, blowing up that building was a bit sketchy. Otherwise, fantastic movie. I watched the TV show, too. It was basically just a vehicle themed action show without any of the movie's nuance. Like A-Team meets Knight Rider.

    • @RoodeMenon
      @RoodeMenon 5 років тому

      Id love to see that poster. In school we were divided between Airwolf and Blue Thunder always arguing. drawing them in our notebooks.

    • @bign3ck
      @bign3ck 5 років тому +1

      Also inspired the Sega arcade hit Thunder blade 🔪

  • @drivenbyrage5710
    @drivenbyrage5710 5 років тому +48

    Roy Shieder was good in 2010, the year we made contact. Another great scifi movie.

    • @orionred2489
      @orionred2489 5 років тому +5

      You can't grow good hot dogs indoors!

    • @charlesballard5251
      @charlesballard5251 5 років тому +1

      2010 was only a passable flick though. The book was so much better. Not as contrived. Very straight forward.

    • @drivenbyrage5710
      @drivenbyrage5710 5 років тому +1

      @@charlesballard5251 agreed, I've read many of them, including 2063, Rendezvous with Rama among others. Arthur C. Clark is one of my favorite authors.

    • @kthx1138
      @kthx1138 5 років тому

      Despite its Cold War overtones which date the film, I like 2010 better than Kubrick's original 2001! The characters are more colorful and funny in 2010 than the more bland, sterile characters in 2001.

    • @drivenbyrage5710
      @drivenbyrage5710 5 років тому +1

      @@kthx1138 agreed, it's like the Wrath of Khan. I liked the first, but the second was great. I actually liked the conflict between the American and Russians and how it affected the mission.

  • @telecleez
    @telecleez 5 років тому +18

    I loved Blue Thunder and Mr. Scheider was one of my favorite actors.
    Course I also liked Fire Fox with Mr. Eastwood.

    • @somethingelse25
      @somethingelse25 5 років тому +3

      Yup Firefox was a great idea, and ahead of its time as far as what they thought the specs of the Russian plane would be like. It's stuff they're just researching doing these days.

  • @devonbradford9217
    @devonbradford9217 5 років тому +2

    I saw this in the theaters at a movie screening I won tickets to... I was 13 and i freakin' loved it.

  • @O-Dini
    @O-Dini 5 років тому +15

    Seen this movie when I was 13 years old, I’m 49 now!!!! Excellent movie!!!!!

  • @JOECANDELA22
    @JOECANDELA22 5 років тому +10

    Another great Warren Oates line..."If your walking on eggs, don't hop!"

    • @RS-do1of
      @RS-do1of 5 років тому +4

      “I like morals, I think morals are good”...

    • @RCINFORMER
      @RCINFORMER 5 років тому +3

      "Lymangood, you're supposed to be stupid, dont abuse the privilege." Lol

    • @RS-do1of
      @RS-do1of 5 років тому +2

      RCINFORMER Great line! Forgot about that one.. I also remember Scheider’s face when he hears the recording of Lymangood explaining that he found out what JAFO meant. Great acting.

  • @Barot8
    @Barot8 5 років тому +10

    Dan O'Bannon also wrote Dark Star which was directed by John Carpenter. Blue Thunder was a great film.

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 5 років тому

      He also wrote the original Alien.

  • @vcancer
    @vcancer 5 років тому +1

    I can watch this movie over and over and over again.

  • @IMRROcom
    @IMRROcom 5 років тому +1

    We watched this when it 1st came out. Loved Blue thunder and if you were a kid in school that had this movie under your belt you were high up on the popular scale.

  • @eqbal321a
    @eqbal321a 5 років тому +5

    I saw this film 5 times in the cinema when I was teen...loved it. I was born 1970.

  • @BelovedSpear
    @BelovedSpear 5 років тому +3

    This was the first R rated movie I ever saw. In the theater, when it came out. I was in eighth grade, and I talked my Dad into taking me, because I'd seen Jaws and thought Roy Scheider was the shiznit as an actor. He and I were the only two people in the theater.
    It was awesome.

    • @w.a.seaver4335
      @w.a.seaver4335 5 років тому +2

      I think my dad only let me see it because he was also a big Roy Scheider fan. I think I was 13 or so. Roy Scheider was a weird thing that we could bond over.

  • @kthx1138
    @kthx1138 5 років тому +18

    "Hey, amigo! Buenos dias!"
    "No shit, bendeyho! Hey--you gotta set that thing down, man! We got two choppers fulla SWAT guys!"
    "Ohhhh--it's getting real cozy up here!"
    "Return to base or we'll all fire! C'mon--will ya, Murphy? Alright--knock him down."
    (they open fire with machine guns)
    "Ok, amigo--how's your autorotation technique?"
    (Murphy unleashes hell with the 20mm cannons!)

    • @DM-yi1ur
      @DM-yi1ur 4 роки тому +1

      Son of a bitch!

  • @DM-yi1ur
    @DM-yi1ur 4 роки тому

    I'm from 97 but this is my favourite Movie of all time and I never get tired of watching it all over again and I still have the VCD of this.

  • @nunosarnadas
    @nunosarnadas 5 років тому +1

    I love this movie, and the helicopter is something I loved so much I learned to draw it when I was a kid, when the TV show was on. Underrated, for sure.

  • @WyldstaarStudios
    @WyldstaarStudios 5 років тому +4

    Fun Fact for all you Doctor Who fans. There is a clip from Blue Thunder used in the Christopher Eccleston era episode, simply titled "Dalek". In a voice over, the helicopter is referred to as "Bad Wolf One".

    • @90lancaster
      @90lancaster 5 років тому

      Amusingly Schnider was also Menaced by stock footage of Airwolf in an episode of SeaQuest DSV

    • @Sonofdonald2024
      @Sonofdonald2024 5 років тому

      Bizarre coincidence (given I have barely seen any of new doctor who's I watched that episode the other day) :)

  • @himdwnstaresgaming4050
    @himdwnstaresgaming4050 5 років тому +3

    I was from LA (Culver City) when this was out, its really a love letter to the city......awesome movie.

  • @centurian318
    @centurian318 5 років тому +17

    Blue Thunder can be used for crowd control!
    Murphy : “That’s been tried before. It didn’t work then, either.”
    “Where was that?”
    Murphy: “Vietnam,”

  • @robwin0072
    @robwin0072 5 років тому +1

    JoBlo, I recall seeing this movie in college; and I was slated for flight training. When, that chopper did a 360 degree loop; an applause sprung to life that theater, with cheers and a standing ovation. And that silent mode listening scene - quite futuristic. I agree with you on this one. Also, the plot was first class.

  • @rickshorrock6046
    @rickshorrock6046 5 років тому +1

    i remember having the American Cinematographer magazine issue that featured the making of the movie. Shower the depth of the practical effects. The Blue Thunder chopper was based on the French Gazelle helicopter design. The production actually flew low level stunts through LA, and at one point blew up an actual derelict building that was slated for destruction by the city. The production dropped nearly 100 real fried whole chickens on stunt performers during this shot.

  • @TheTonyahawk
    @TheTonyahawk 5 років тому +6

    Roy was great in the French Connection and the Seven-Ups as well.

  • @troyevitt2437
    @troyevitt2437 5 років тому +4

    "Blue Thunder" showed at the same theater that would soon carry "Return of the Jedi" and I actually went to "B/T" to see the "Jedi" trailer, this was the first time many of us saw that "Revenge" had been changed to "Return".

  • @Calbeck
    @Calbeck 5 років тому +3

    This flick has always been one of my fave action flicks from the era.

  • @elanthys
    @elanthys 5 років тому +2

    Iconic movie. This soundtrack gives me chills every time.

  • @Vim-Wolf
    @Vim-Wolf Рік тому

    Still a film I love to return to, hasn't aged that badly and aspoointed out here the topics are still ongoing. No fancy 'look at all the clever tech', just a heli that wasn't far off what could be made at the time. And Roy Scheider acting his socks off, which is always such a pleasure.

  • @spacedigger
    @spacedigger 5 років тому +4

    Seen the movie.. only 50000 times. Love it!

  • @charlesbrowning9748
    @charlesbrowning9748 3 роки тому +3

    apparently the researcher for this video needed to dig a little deeper because he didn't mention the impact this movie had on robocop. the lead characters are both named Murphy. and the actors that played newscasters are the same in both movies.

  • @thedungeondelver
    @thedungeondelver 5 років тому +8

    By the way, until the mid 2000s or so, the carcass of the Blue Thunder helo was sitting on a lot at Universal Studios Orlando. I've been there a few times and remember seeing it.

    • @williestyle35
      @williestyle35 5 років тому

      Same thing happened to a couple of the original 'Blade Runner' vehicles ..

    • @thedungeondelver
      @thedungeondelver 5 років тому +1

      @@williestyle35 Oof. That hurts. :(

  • @bomsbravo
    @bomsbravo 4 роки тому +1

    I watched this in 1994 and it was a magical experience. I'd like to thank this channel for bringing this one up.

  • @marnixgroot9538
    @marnixgroot9538 4 роки тому +1

    I love Blue Thunder! Roy is so cool in this movie. Thanks for making this show!

  • @ValleyRC
    @ValleyRC 5 років тому +3

    The biggest visual strength is that they used a real helicopter and REALLY made major aesthetic alterations to it. The fact that they didn't attempt to use models for the air to air footage means it is inherently "real" ad hence will always look amazing.
    The ironic thing is that if they remade it, they would undoubtedly either use full CGI or add GCI bling around real helicopter footage. Either way it wouldn't look as good and would age worse.
    This is the reason I'm so glad that *most* of the footage in the new Top Gun is real air to air footage, it doesn't matter how crappy it turns out to be, those aerial shots are going to be jaw dropping.

    • @Allan_aka_RocKITEman
      @Allan_aka_RocKITEman 5 років тому

      In SOME aerial shots, you can see a film camera mounted on top of Blue Thunder's vertical stabilizer.

    • @kennethfharkin
      @kennethfharkin 5 років тому

      They absolutely used models for many shots. I agree it is better than CGI and there are plenty of real helo shots but the quality of the model work shows in how little you notice it.

    • @kennethfharkin
      @kennethfharkin 5 років тому

      ua-cam.com/video/8UNlAf6JsBs/v-deo.html 4:35 is the famous loop.

  • @deezimmo4814
    @deezimmo4814 5 років тому +9

    I saw Blue Thunder at a cinema. It was great on the big screen. Malcolm McDowell is always good at being bad.

    • @MrKiwi1960
      @MrKiwi1960 5 років тому

      "Follow my leader!"

    • @billslocum9819
      @billslocum9819 5 років тому

      You really sense the bad history he and Murphy had without any big fireworks up until the helicopter duel, which is classic snarling Malc. He's even likable in a small scene where he makes a face at some bad tea he is given.

  • @MrJohnni9999
    @MrJohnni9999 2 роки тому +3

    Absolute best childhood movie!

  • @IgorKolar
    @IgorKolar 5 років тому +1

    One of the favourite movies of my childhood

  • @garenosborn
    @garenosborn 5 років тому +1

    I saw Blue Thunder in a sneak preview with my best friend when we were in middle school. Such a great memory to be reminded of.

  • @rosselliswilkinson
    @rosselliswilkinson 5 років тому +9

    Warren Oates improved every film he was in.The Wild Bunch,Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,Stripes,The Cockfighter,Dillenger.

    • @sheep83
      @sheep83 5 років тому

      Ahhh, Stripes. That's where I know him from

    • @coolcat6303
      @coolcat6303 5 років тому +1

      Yeah he was great in this iconic film. My fav line of his: "You think I don't know about that silly twit up in Encino, for Chrissakes? I had twenty years in this outfit, when your idea of a good time was sittin' in front of the TV tube, watchin' Bugs Bunny and gnawing on your fudgcicle!"

  • @diGritz1
    @diGritz1 5 років тому +4

    I'll see your Blue Thunder and raise you a lesser known Sorcerer (1977).
    Both of these are must see for Roy Scheider fans.

    • @martinb.770
      @martinb.770 3 роки тому

      Absolutely - especially as Sorcerer is one of the few US remakes of a french classic that comes near the original, by acting and script, not effects and adding dumb sex&violence or arbitrary big names.

  • @johnheffner7797
    @johnheffner7797 Місяць тому

    I just watched this film again ( I saw it with my dad when I was a kid) man what good memories this brings back, it still holds up for me, great review as always !!

  • @juanch6936
    @juanch6936 3 роки тому +2

    I saw this in the theater when it came out and I have the DVD! Classic!

  • @orcokiwo6703
    @orcokiwo6703 5 років тому +31

    Blue Thunder and Firefox.....two of my all time favourite.
    By the way would you consider doing a video on the movie THE PARK IS MINE....great movie too.

    • @erichoffman2243
      @erichoffman2243 5 років тому +2

      WOW...The Park is Mine. Haven't heard that title in a long time. That was a really great movie. Tommy Lee Jones was superb.

    • @gregory3340
      @gregory3340 5 років тому

      blue thunder was in the firefox film ...they used same helicopter on the ice landing scene

    • @orcokiwo6703
      @orcokiwo6703 5 років тому

      @@erichoffman2243 YEAH MAN!! A good movie indeed, one of my 80's fav.

    • @erichoffman2243
      @erichoffman2243 5 років тому

      @@gregory3340 sorry man but no the helicopters in the ice landing scene were not Blue Thunder.

    • @gregory3340
      @gregory3340 5 років тому

      @@erichoffman2243 yes it was :-) ..they used the same model...check google

  • @tonys623
    @tonys623 5 років тому +8

    I've seen Blue Thunder many times.

  • @michaelcampion541
    @michaelcampion541 5 років тому +1

    I watched this movie during the initial release and could not believe how good the acting was. It is a great movie with many "one-liners" ... RIP Roy Scheider.

  • @BumKnuckle
    @BumKnuckle 5 років тому +2

    I saw it in the theater when I was 12, then again a few years ago. Great movie.

  • @Murrlin27
    @Murrlin27 5 років тому +6

    Good heavens I forgot how cool this movie was! You gotta do my other fave helicopter-actiony movie, CAPRICORN ONE

  • @piotrd.4850
    @piotrd.4850 5 років тому +25

    One day, this movie will recevie recognition on pair with "They Live".

    • @slapittywapitty8173
      @slapittywapitty8173 5 років тому +1

      Yup. Flying drones are here. Surveillance, 'crowd-control,' etc. - already happening.

  • @STB-jh7od
    @STB-jh7od 5 років тому +1

    I saw this in theatre and loved it. I have the blue ray. The scary part of this movie is at the beginning when it's stated "All the weapons, surveillance, and technology showed in this movie is real and currently exists." That was 30+ years ago.

  • @ericlane8555
    @ericlane8555 4 роки тому +2

    I saw thus in the theater opening weekend I was 13. I love this movie.

  • @machinech183
    @machinech183 5 років тому +10

    Best movie you never saw... if you grew up in/before the 80's you saw it... then again we're talking about someone that though Firefox was "bizarre"...

    • @Elthenar
      @Elthenar 5 років тому

      Firefox did suck. I thought so in the 80's, I think so now.

    • @machinech183
      @machinech183 5 років тому

      ​@@Elthenar that's impressive, tell us more

    • @Elthenar
      @Elthenar 5 років тому +1

      @@machinech183 What do you want to know. I haven't seen it in 20 years so it's not so fresh, but I remember it being unbearably cheesy with shit effects and worst of all, it was boring.

    • @billslocum9819
      @billslocum9819 5 років тому

      @@Elthenar "Firefox" isn't bad but it's a routine popcorn actioner that hasn't aged well. Too reliant on the special effects. Clint was wooden, too.

  • @DarkFortressPictures_Official
    @DarkFortressPictures_Official 4 роки тому +1

    God! I don’t want them to remake this! This is such a classic action flick that’s a underrated gem.

  • @UnleashedCode
    @UnleashedCode 5 років тому +1

    I loved this film.... from my childhood to now.... great movie!

  • @Switcharoo12
    @Switcharoo12 5 років тому +4

    You forgot Roy Schneider as Dr. Benway in Naked Lunch...epic!

  • @borgullet3376
    @borgullet3376 5 років тому

    I'm 54, Blue Thunder was the "Swann Song" movie to my childhood.. The book end to Burt, Charles, Clint and Bruce Flicks.
    It came on cable a few years back. It was the first time I'd seen it uncut since back in the day..
    An Absolute Scheider Classic, right up there with The 7 UPS

  • @ereini0n
    @ereini0n 5 років тому +2

    I've seen this movie half a dozen times growing up.

  • @abdalabinladen
    @abdalabinladen 5 років тому +4

    I remember the Monogram 1/48 scale model in a supermarket shelf back then. I chose the Huey Hog instead...

    • @abdalabinladen
      @abdalabinladen 5 років тому

      @Steve G.A. definitely. 36 years later I'm still building models, and I regret that decision. Monogram is still putting out the Huey...