Movies that you stopped watching because of inaccuracies

[Solo4114]

The Germans did create the first military helicopter, but the one in that movie was a Bell 47, which was like the helo in MASH. So it wasn't built until the early 50s.



Going back and watching Red Dawn, my biggest minor peeve is that they show M1 Abrams tanks just sitting and firing stationary. I don't know if it was an actual M1 or a mockup, so it's possible they couldn't move. Oh and the fact that Americans gave up all their guns that quickly! In real life, those Cubans and Russians would probably get bogged down and annihilated in the first few cities they came across, by civilians.

Yeah, I mean, Red Dawn is...a weird one. I gather it was heavily inspired by stories of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the early 80s, and just spun that out into "What if it happened here?"

There's a ton of stuff that doesn't make sense in the film, though.

Like:

- Why are they even attacking this podunk town? It'd be one thing if it was, like, strategically located at a major crossroads or next to a base or missile silo or something, but otherwise, what's the military case for "Let's go attack small town America"?

- The geography also doesn't make a ton of sense. Where is this even happening? It's gotta be somewhere in a mountainous region, like in the Rockies. But...where? And how'd the Soviets manage to penetrate that far west without being intercepted and shot down? The initial explanation that the downed pilot gives them is "They came in disguised on commercial airliners," which might explain the paratroopers, but....

- ...how'd they get ANY kind of heavy equipment/materiel there? I mean, it's already wobbly enough to buy that air defense wouldn't have shot down the paratrooper planes, but...where'd the armor or APCs come from and how are they traveling through the country unopposed?

There are, of course, ways you could make this all make sense. Like if someone re-did Red Dawn as a limited series or something, you could depict the progress of the war and explain this stuff away. The movie doesn't really have time for it, and to be honest, the logistics of stuff like supply lines and whatnot are entirely beside the point. The point here is showing bad ol' commies fighting against brave Brat Pack partisans and such.

But still, you start actually thinking about it, and it doesn't hold up to much probing.

 

[Keiko]

... Where Eagles Dare where I got about 3 mins in and they had a helicopter that wasn't around in WW2. I did go back and watch it recently because, well Clint Eastwood.

I turned if off at the same point for the same reason around 25 years ago. Then, about 5 years ago, I went to Austria and saw the actual castle from the movie. Newly interested, I tried the movie again and found it decent.

 

[laellee]

Car/truck goofs always bug me because I'm too familiar with them.

I'm more forgiving when it comes to aircraft because there was little choice about it before CGI. You can't just take real planes and start adding fake engines & changing the shape of the wings.

Funny story with the topic of modifying planes...

When I was living in Florida, a local sale came up for one of the 'Zeros' from Tora Tora Tora. Apparently in flyable condition, and only $6k if I remember correctly? Cheap enough that I could have bought it. Any ways, those Zeros were actually T-6 Texans that had clipped tails and a repaint. I don't know where I would have parked it lol, but 6k for a piece of history like that even 25 years ago sounded like a bargain.

 

[batguy]

Funny story with the topic of modifying planes...

When I was living in Florida, a local sale came up for one of the 'Zeros' from Tora Tora Tora. Apparently in flyable condition, and only $6k if I remember correctly? Cheap enough that I could have bought it. Any ways, those Zeros were actually T-6 Texans that had clipped tails and a repaint. I don't know where I would have parked it lol, but 6k for a piece of history like that even 25 years ago sounded like a bargain.

IIRC they used those same T6s for the Zeroes in 'The Final Countown.' That's about all they could do before CGI.

There were two real flyable Zeroes left on the planet the last time I checked.

For (the original) 'Flight of the Phoenix' they tried building a real flyable version of the Phoenix. It barely flew and ended up crashing & killing the pilot. They finished the movie with a less convincing modification on another plane.

 

[laellee]

IIRC they used those same T6s for the Zeroes in 'The Final Countown.' That's about all they could do before CGI.

There were two real flyable Zeroes left on the planet the last time I checked.

For (the original) 'Flight of the Phoenix' they tried building a real flyable version of the Phoenix. It barely flew and ended up crashing & killing the pilot. They finished the movie with a less convincing modification on another plane.

I had no idea there were that few actual Zeros still out there.... I would have thought they were nearly as numerous as, say, a P-51.

 

[Keiko]

IIRC they used those same T6s for the Zeroes in 'The Final Countown.' That's about all they could do before CGI.

There were two real flyable Zeroes left on the planet the last time I checked.

That's correct. Same for Baa Baa Black Sheep and Empire of the Sun.

 

[batguy]

I had no idea there were that few actual Zeros still out there.... I would have thought they were nearly as numerous as, say, a P-51.

There are a few other non-flyable Zeroes parked on display in museums.

It's not unusual with old WW2 airplanes. There's often just a tiny number of flyable ones left.
There are only 9 flyable B-17s left, but the number of grounded "complete" display ones is in the dozens.

It's relatively easy to keep a non-flyable plane looking intact at a museum. Aluminum doesn't rust like steel does. Display planes don't need working engines or anything. On the other hand it's very hard & expensive to keep an 80yo plane legally certified for flying. The mechanical/safety inspection processes are much more stringent than for old cars & trucks.


The 'Top Gun Maverick' crew had to do the F-14 Tomcat scenes with CGI because there isn't a single flying F-14 left in the US. There are a few still flying in Iran (we sold them to Iran decades ago when we were on better terms with them). The US scrapped almost all their entire stock of F-14s in the 2000s just to avoid having the spare parts find their way to Iran. The only real prop F-14 in the movie was a museum display body that they borrowed & painted up.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Yeah they destroyed F-14s with extreme prejudice to keep parts from Iran. It's a shame because now you'll never see one at an airshow.

 

[Ron]

The whole "F-14 parts finding their way to Iran" was never a serious possibility and even if they somehow did, it wouldn't matter because those planes have outdated tech anyway (which pains me to say as I love the F-14) compared to modern fighters. It would be like racing a C3 Corvette against a C8. Every security analyst will tell you it was unnecessary and done more as a 'statement' (a statement of stupidity if you ask me).

So yeah, chances are we'll never get to see an American one fly again. Good job, D.C.

 

[batguy]

That was my feeling too. I don't think it would really be that hard to prevent F-14 parts from ending up in Iran.

As for the Iranian F-14s being outdated? Yeah they are, but it's kind of beside the point for the security issue. Russia is throwing old 1950s tanks at the Ukraine mess. An F-14 can still do damage.

 

[Ron]

For sure. They can still do damage and 40 older jets are 40 more than you would have otherwise. I'm just not sure how much longer they can effectively fly them even with replacement parts. Then again they're still flying F-4s that reportedly have been upgraded by the Chinese.

 

[batguy]

I've read that the Iranians have built their own dupes of Phoenix missiles. The US was pretty proud of those things when we came up with them.

They can probably keep a handful of flyable F-14s for a few more years. By that point drones will have taken over almost all of their duties.

 

[joberg]

That was my feeling too. I don't think it would really be that hard to prevent F-14 parts from ending up in Iran.

As for the Iranian F-14s being outdated? Yeah they are, but it's kind of beside the point for the security issue. Russia is throwing old 1950s tanks at the Ukraine mess. An F-14 can still do damage.

Sure, according to context of course...T-54s are used as artillery piece by the Russians, not used as regular tanks doing tank jobs.

 

[TazMan2000]

Sure, according to context of course...T-54s are used as artillery piece by the Russians, not used as regular tanks doing tank jobs.

Actually, recently the Russians have been using the T-54s as front line tanks.

TazMan2000

 

[laellee]

There are a few other non-flyable Zeroes parked on display in museums.

It's not unusual with old WW2 airplanes. There's often just a tiny number of flyable ones left.
There are only 9 flyable B-17s left, but the number of grounded "complete" display ones is in the dozens.

It's relatively easy to keep a non-flyable plane looking intact at a museum. Aluminum doesn't rust like steel does. Display planes don't need working engines or anything. On the other hand it's very hard & expensive to keep an 80yo plane legally certified for flying. The mechanical/safety inspection processes are much more stringent than for old cars & trucks.


The 'Top Gun Maverick' crew had to do the F-14 Tomcat scenes with CGI because there isn't a single flying F-14 left in the US. There are a few still flying in Iran (we sold them to Iran decades ago when we were on better terms with them). The US scrapped almost all their entire stock of F-14s in the 2000s just to avoid having the spare parts find their way to Iran. The only real prop F-14 in the movie was a museum display body that they borrowed & painted up.

Where I grew up, close to the largest USAF base in the US (Eglin), we have the armament museum. I won't post pictures here but maybe on another thread, any ways they have EVERYTHING there. From Stratofortresses to a Blackbird and everything between. An f105 (my dad's go-to) inside, a duplicate of Fat Man, and all run by volunteer vets! So as a kid I would go visit, and a wheel would be off something like a Mitchell, and it was because it was being borrowed by a flyable one. All of those planes are on permanent loan by the USAF, but it's fun to think how one of them might need to be pulled for something in the next 20 years.

OK I will stick a couple pics in And FYI if any of you make it down near FWB Florida, this museum is FREE.

 

[batguy]

Where I grew up, close to the largest USAF base in the US (Eglin), we have the armament museum. I won't post pictures here but maybe on another thread, any ways they have EVERYTHING there. From Stratofortresses to a Blackbird and everything between. An f105 (my dad's go-to) inside, a duplicate of Fat Man, and all run by volunteer vets! So as a kid I would go visit, and a wheel would be off something like a Mitchell, and it was because it was being borrowed by a flyable one. All of those planes are on permanent loan by the USAF, but it's fun to think how one of them might need to be pulled for something in the next 20 years.

OK I will stick a couple pics in And FYI if any of you make it down near FWB Florida, this museum is FREE.

Nice place. I'd like to visit that one.

 

[joberg]

Actually, recently the Russians have been using the T-54s as front line tanks.

TazMan2000

Working well for the Russians lately: 6718 tanks destroyed so far, in two years

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Working well for the Russians lately: 6718 tanks destroyed so far, in two years

The funniest part is how Putin and all their politicians are out threatening NATO even after we saw their clown army. They can still do damage, but a former British Army general was on the news the other day saying if they tried to attack a NATO country it would be over very quickly.

 

[joberg]

The funniest part is how Putin and all their politicians are out threatening NATO even after we saw their clown army. They can still do damage, but a former British Army general was on the news the other day saying if they tried to attack a NATO country it would be over very quickly.

I think that, as History has demonstrated, the Russians aren't afraid to send people (criminals just released from jail as an example) to feed the cannons (Stalingrad, anyone?) They have some sophisticated weapons provided by others (Iran, China) to lob against the Ukrainian army.
If they were "alone" is this conflict, it would've stopped months ago. I hope that Ukraine's allies will still supply the country with great weapons for the present and near future!

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I've heard that they are also being careful to use soldiers from rural areas. Supposedly the people there don't have a lot of communications so those communities aren't hearing from one another about the losses they are taking. If they get to the point of having to conscript from big cities, they will be in trouble because I guess those people don't want to fight. I think Iran, China, and North Korea are just using this as a way to keep the U.S. (and by extension NATO) busy and to spend money/munitions more than they really care about the outcome for Russia.