Blue Thunder (1983)

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Dan O'Bannon (written by) &
Don Jakoby (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's Out There...

Plot:

The cop test pilot for an experimental police helicopter learns the sinister implications of the new vehicle.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Helicopter | Police Helicopter | Los Angeles Storm Drain | Observation

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Officer Frank Murphy
Warren Oates	...	Capt. Jack Braddock
Candy Clark	...	Kate
Daniel Stern	...	Officer Richard Lymangood
Paul Roebling	...	Icelan
David Sheiner	...	Fletcher
Joe Santos	...	Montoya
Malcolm McDowell	...	Col. F.E. Cochrane
Ed Bernard	...	Sgt. Short
Jason Bernard	...	Mayor
Mario Machado	...	Himself
James Murtaugh	...	Alf Hewitt
Pat McNamara	...	Matusek
Jack Murdock	...	Kress
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Allen (as Clifford Pellow)

Also Known As:

Blue Thunder the Movie (UK) (video box title)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #26781) | West Germany:12 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

That Casio LCD watch with that "countdown" Murphy uses to "check his sanity" actually belongs to John Badham, the director.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kate is stopped by the police on the bridge, the second officer can be seen standing behind the first before he has moved around from the passenger side of the car.

Quotes:

Frank Murphy: [reading off a monitor] File under repair?
Lymangood: Did you break your file?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Reno 911!: Miami (2007)

FireFox Meet's AirWolf! Excellent Stuff!

'BLUE THUNDER' Is a cracking leave your brain behind entertainment that never let's up! 'Roy Scheider' Plays Frank Murphy,A former Vietnam Veteran,who is a helicopter pilot,for the Los Angeles police department,who becomes handpicked to pilot the eponymous 'blue thunder' which is a state of the art chopper designed for supreme law enforcement, Unfortunately for Murphy the test pilot behind this superb flying machine is Malcolm Mc Dowell,who also was on duty in Nam with Scheider, and serves as the film's all too English baddie! A young Daniel Stern, is a rookie who is assigned with Scheider, together the pair unravel a deadly conspiracy,involving said helicopter which climaxes with a superb aerial chase through the packed streets of Los Angeles,