Blue Thunder (1983)

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

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Dan O'Bannon, Don Jakoby

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Mario Machado
James Murtaugh	...	Alf Hewitt
Pat McNamara	...	Matusek
Jack Murdock	...	Kress
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Allen (as Clifford Pellow)

Storyline

Blue Thunder is a specially modified helicopter. It is for police work, but is armed and designed to counter street insurgencies. Its makers want to show what it will do, but have to train Los Angeles Police pilot Frank Murphy to fly and use it in order to allow it to operate in the city. Murphy and the project pilot have differences going back to Vietnam. The conflict between them continues to heat up as Murphy begins to suspect that Blue Thunder is more than has been disclosed.

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Plot Keywords:

helicopter | pilot | police helicopter | surveillance | police officer killed | 

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Taglines:

He's Out There...

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Relámpago azul

Filming Locations:

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Malcolm McDowell and Daniel Stern both played villains in the Home Alone franchise. Stern played Marv Merchants in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). McDowell played Sinclair in Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012).

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Goofs

The first time we see Kate, when she retrieves her blender from Murphy's house, her car is parked directly behind his. As she leaves, his Trans Am has disappeared and she drives straight down the road.

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Quotes

Lymangood: You mind if I ask you what you're doing.
Frank Murphy: No... I don't mind at all.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits are played over a still image of Murphy walking away from the wreckage of Blue Thunder.

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Alternate Versions

When "Blue Thunder" was first released on video in Sweden, the scene where Kate drives to the the TV station with the videotape, involved a crazy stunt when she drives into a narrow alley and meets a police car that comes the other way. To avoid a disaster, Kate flips her car on its side, hits its roof on a wall and flips back again. In later video versions, the stunt is gone. We only see the car when it enters the alley and then we see her driving on the freeway with a strange damage on the roof.

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Connections

Featured in The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo (2007)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Blue Thunder (Dance Version)
(uncredited)
Written by Arthur B. Rubinstein (as Arthur Rubinstein)
Performed by Arthur B. Rubinstein, Cynthia Morrow, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli (as the Beepers)
Produced by Anthony Marinelli & Brian Banks
Arranged by Reno Romano, Anthony Marinelli, Brian Banks & Evan Pace

User Reviews

More Timely Now Than Ever

Having now worked on an attack helicopter program, I was interested in

seeing "Blue Thunder." I skipped it on its first release. Good thing. "Blue Thunder" is more timely than ever, what with federal abuse of

power with massacres and attempted massacres in Philadelphia (MOVE incident, Ruby Ridge and Waco. Structurally, the film is a mess, taking a fair amount of time introducing us to "Blue Thunder" an "antiriot" (now call "antiterrorist") helicopter better equipped for mass murder than crowd control. Roy Scheider plays Murphy, a former Vietnam helicopter pilot haunted by his memories of 'Nam (this gimmick was getting tiring in 1983). Murphy finds himself the target of a "government conspiracy" when he "gets too close" for the REAL intentions of "Blue Thunder."

Reels of film must have been left on the cutting room floor. Certainly Candy Clark and Warren Oates shine in "nothing" roles, their "real" relationships to Scheider remaining pretty obscure. Malcolm McDowell makes an excellent villain, though his "real" relationship with Scheider doesn't pay off).

HOWEVER, when "Blue Thunder" works, it really rocks. See it.