Joea 0 #1 January 8, 2008 Skydiving has got to be one of the most misrepresented sport in movies and television. Directors love using it and taking serious artistic license with it because they know the majority of people watching won't know that you can't do a 3 minute free fall from 4000 feet with room to spare, or that two guys can't fight each other while in the air, under their canopies. Anyone want to compile a list of the most ridiculous skydiving scenarios you've seen? How about the opening scene of Moonraker, where James Bond jumps without a chute, catches a guy mid air, steals his chute and Jaws lands safely on a circus tent?... just like real life!It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. - Clarence Worley from "True Romance" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,470 #2 January 8, 2008 > Skydiving has got to be one of the most misrepresented sport in movies and television. I suspect you haven't participated in very many other sports, then! Rock climbing, skiing, general aviation, SCUBA diving - all are used in movies, and in all cases, the requirements of the plot easily overwhelm any desire to keep it technically accurate. Heck, they generally ignore basic physics, much less the technical points of skydiving. Which is good. The Point Break scenes you mentioned would suck if they were real. Imagine 50 seconds of ear-splitting wind noise accompanied by a video of a flailing first jump student. I can get that for free at my DZ. The stuff that Ray Cottingham and Tom Sanders shot (and that the editor spliced together) was some awesome footage, and was one of the high points of an otherwise mediocre movie. >just like real life! Why would anyone watch a movie that was "just like real life?" Real life is getting a flat, or doing a bad level 1 with a dearched student, or watching the landing follies at Lost Prairie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joea 0 #3 January 8, 2008 nahh... I'm aware there's other sports that are pushed to and beyond the extreme in movies, I was putting a skydiving spin on it because this is a skydiving forum! I just thought it might be an interesting topic because of some of the uber-experienced folks here who see something they would laugh at that someone who's never done it would look at and say "WAY COOL!" Ask a NASCAR driver what he thinks about 'Days of Thunder'.As a newb, I was also hoping to strike up some acquaintances here. I thought I might have better luck with a topic that has some teeth, rather than asking what kind of helmet I should buy. *sigh*... I'll just sit over here and be quiet. It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. - Clarence Worley from "True Romance" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alw 0 #4 January 8, 2008 Just sit over there and be quiet. In the Meantime . . . How about the opening of one of the survivor series where the host gets up from the cockpit, goes to thte back of an otter and puts the idol in the main compartment of his rig then jumps out, lands and gets on a motorcycle and drives away. Or the cheese commercial where people are chasing a Baby Bel in freefall. The best most recent is the Centrum Vitamins - their seperation is way too long for them to end up in their eventual formation. Who would believe that! With all that said, I cfind I cannoect comment on the incongruities of film and video when my family is present - they all tell me to shut up and quit spoiling the show. OHHHHH! forgot one just a little off subject. This recent DB Cooper thing. The parachute (Reserve) that they said proved he most likely knoew littl about skydiving (because it was a trining reserve and sewn shut) was left on the plane. That seems like a good idea, leave a sewn reserve on the plane - who needs it in freefall? --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yarrum 0 #5 January 8, 2008 How about the last scene from Crank? Making a phone call from freefall?!? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC07 0 #6 January 8, 2008 You guys can be cruel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #7 January 8, 2008 This has been discussed to death time and time again over the years. But yeah, some of the scenes are ridiculous. Okay most of them are."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowwhite 0 #8 January 8, 2008 After talking to Norman Kent, I am looking forward to the release of "Get Smart" this summer. At least they took a comic look at skydiving, and made no bones about it. I'm hoping the sequence that Norman did for them is about a 12 minute freefall.skydiveTaylorville.org [email protected] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vdschoor 0 #9 January 8, 2008 Quote How about the opening of one of the survivor series where the host gets up from the cockpit, goes to thte back of an otter and puts the idol in the main compartment of his rig then jumps out, lands and gets on a motorcycle and drives away. I know of a jump pilot that lands with the door closed all the time in the winter with an Otter.. so its really not that extreme.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeJD 0 #10 January 8, 2008 Like Billvon says, it's all about entertainment and you only really see the logic holes in the stuff you know something about. But technically, the freefall gunfight in 'Shoot 'Em Up' - otherwise quite an enjoyable film - was the most horrible simulation of skydiving I've ever seen. Not a second of genuine freefall footage as far as I could make out, just awful green screen/ CGI work that I don't think would have convinced anyone, skydiver or not. Yep, the whole movie had a cartoony kind of vibe, but I couldn't believe that was the best they could do in such a recent movie. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dfairleigh11 0 #11 January 8, 2008 I just watched Shoot 'Em Up too... ...wow, what a shake-your-head bad movie, even if it did have it's entertaining moments. The gunfight in freefall was absolutely awful. I would have sped through it if I could have found the remote. I watched the TV movie Cutaway for the first time a couple months ago, and while there was some well done stuff, it was entertaining to see Stephen Baldwin's character doing head down at something like 17 jumps, and doing 8-way speed stars and CRW accuracy landings shortly thereafter "We'll start the ass kissing with you" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #12 January 8, 2008 Quote I just watched Shoot 'Em Up too... ...wow, what a shake-your-head bad movie, even if it did have it's entertaining moments. The gunfight in freefall was absolutely awful. I would have sped through it if I could have found the remote. I watched the TV movie Cutaway for the first time a couple months ago, and while there was some well done stuff, it was entertaining to see Stephen Baldwin's character doing head down at something like 17 jumps, and doing 8-way speed stars and CRW accuracy landings shortly thereafter I thought his first few landings were hysterical! YAAAAAAAH crash! I'm okay! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,470 #13 January 8, 2008 >At least they took a comic look at skydiving, and made no bones about it. Oh, I expect people here will still point out all the glaring inconsistencies! Personally I look for good sequences as opposed to believable sequences in such movies nowadays. The first Point Break jump was a beautiful piece of cinematography. The twilight bigway at the end of Drop Zone was a well-done segment. The cinematography in Terminal Velocity wasn't all that impressive, but I was impressed by the coordination of the stunts in the car drop (most of which were actually done in freefall, albeit in pieces.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #14 January 8, 2008 Quote >Imagine 50 seconds of ear-splitting wind noise accompanied by a video of a flailing first jump student. I can get that for free at my DZ. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowwhite 0 #15 January 8, 2008 Quote>At least they took a comic look at skydiving, and made no bones about it. Oh, I expect people here will still point out all the glaring inconsistencies! Personally I look for good sequences as opposed to believable sequences in such movies nowadays. The first Point Break jump was a beautiful piece of cinematography. The twilight bigway at the end of Drop Zone was a well-done segment. The cinematography in Terminal Velocity wasn't all that impressive, but I was impressed by the coordination of the stunts in the car drop (most of which were actually done in freefall, albeit in pieces.) On big bad snowy days here, we forward thru those movies to see just the jump sequences, and then we forward thru to the end credits and say "I know him, and him and him" Then we watch all of the boogie stuff we have collected thru the years, and dream of goood weather. We're heading to Fl next week for a couple of days for a conference I have to attend, and Streaker is taking his logbook in case we have time to hit a dz.skydiveTaylorville.org [email protected] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #16 January 8, 2008 The movie Dropzone. Wesley Snipes is dropped out of the "trap door" and his tandem master waits a good 30 seconds before diving out after him, catches him and succesfully attatches the harness and pulls and lands safely. Oh yes, once she reaches him they flail in the hook up for another 20 seconds. And my guess is they did this all from 10K. I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lastchance 0 #17 January 8, 2008 I especially like the landing where he is plastered to the side of a moving garbage truck shrugging his unbroken shoulders. I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
