Blue Thunder vs. Airwolf

[Expo67]

In 1983, Columbia Pictures released a science fiction/action thriller(well a science fact/action thriller)with a serious social commentary behind it. One involving the access to personal information from an unlikely source(precursor to the internet)and the misuse of Government hardware at the hands of corrupt government offcials.

What the 1968 police thriller 'Bullitt' did for car chases, John Badham's Blue Thunder did the same for helicopter chases and shootouts over the cesspool city known as Los Angeles.

A year later, Universal Pictures released a television series about another U.S. Government, military issued stealth helicopter known as Airwolf. While Blue Thunder dealt with local law enforcement, Airwolf dealt with 'international law enforcement'.

Like the foolish debate between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, the controversy between the movie Blue Thunder and the television series Airwolf has been an on-going one.

The question is, which is better? If not, who would win in an aerial duel to the death?

You have Frank Murphy(Roy Scheider)in the Blue Thunder corner and Stringfellow Hawke(Jan Michael Vincent)in the Airwolf corner. Two experienced pilots and Vietnam veterans who don't back down from illegal opposition.

Who would win and which production do you prefer?

 

[theenglish]

Blue Thunder was also a short lived television series.

 

[captcalhoun]

Airwolf has air-to-air missiles. and is bulletproof. all blue thunder had was a gatling gun. Airwolf FTW.

 

[Yminale]

Dude just don't go there

 

[Silvercrest]

Airwolf has air-to-air missiles. and is bulletproof. all blue thunder had was a gatling gun. Airwolf FTW.

IIRC, Airwolf had something like 14 different weapons, could fly at Mach speeds, and had stealth capability. Airwolf all the way, baby.

 

[Expo67]

Blue Thunder was also a short lived television series.

I'm trying to forget about that abomination.

 

[sojourner]

^Maybe they'll do a remake that's better.

 

[Starkers]

If we suspend disbelief then Airwolf wins given it's supersonic speeds, Knight Rider body armour, and ability to carry and fire weapons that would never fit inside the body of the craft

Blue Thunder was way more realistic, but this lended itself more to a one off film than an ongoing TV show (especially given that Airworlf at least looked like a regular helicopter so could blend in/go undercover..I have visions of a helicopter in a hat and dark glasses now)

I really like the film, can't recall much about the TV show. Airwolf I loved at the time, but in hindsight it didn't have the charm of, say, The A-Team. I got a DVD with some episodes on a few years back and have to say you could basically condense the show to two things; the main titles and the dogfight at the end, everything else is kinda poor (with maybe some exceptions, the premise was interesting and I've always liked Borgnine.)

Airwolf has one hell of a cool soundtrack though!

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

If we suspend disbelief then Airwolf wins given it's supersonic speeds, Knight Rider body armour, and ability to carry and fire weapons that would never fit inside the body of the craft

It's also bigger on the inside...

 

[Pingfah]

Like the foolish debate between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, the controversy between the movie Blue Thunder and the television series Airwolf has been an on-going one.

No it hasn't. Nobody gives a shit about them.

 

[T'Baio]

Regardless of tech, I could never get Roy Scheider vs. Jan Michael Vincent out of my mind. Much like the whole "Batman could beat anyone with time to prepare" defense, I must believe that Scheider would kick Vincent's ass any day of the week.

Besides, Blue Thunder was way cooler.

 

[saturn5]

Let me settle the argument;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g29eXR_nZc8

Airwolf would always win purely because of their superior theme music;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCXbvRrz7Uo

 

[Romulan_spy]

Airwolf. No contest!

 

[Forbin]

Well, the Bell 222 was way prettier than the hacked up bug-eyed Gazelle (?) they bashed Blue thunder out of.

I watched Airwolf all the way thru not too long ago. Yeah, it was rife with stupid 80s plots (another paramilitary desert slave compound!?) and bad acting, but the things they did with that beautiful helicopter were amazing - MAN those stunt pilots must have had a ball!

And yeah, the pretty, bullet-proof mach 3 chopper full of retractable sidewinders () will beat the ugly, non-bullet-proof slow chopper with the greenhouse on its nose, every day.

 

[saturn5]

Well, the Bell 222 was way prettier than the hacked up bug-eyed Gazelle (?) they bashed Blue thunder out of.

I watched Airwolf all the way thru not too long ago. Yeah, it was rife with stupid 80s plots (another paramilitary desert slave compound!?) and bad acting, but the things they did with that beautiful helicopter were amazing - MAN those stunt pilots must have had a ball!

And yeah, the pretty, bullet-proof mach 3 chopper full of retractable sidewinders () will beat the ugly, non-bullet-proof slow chopper with the greenhouse on its nose, every day.

Yeah, that's the truth. Got fed up when they slashed the budget and you got the same shot of the same rocket hitting the same cliff face each week. It also went off the rails when Hawk stopped being the sensitive loner who played his cello and started being a regular guy who played the guitar and banged the bimbo of the week. The end of the cold war also didn't help.
Loved Jean Bruce Scott though
Best ep, Moffat's Ghost, love the scene where Hawk does his kamikaze dive at the end to knock out Airwolfs infected computer, best use to the awesome theme music ever

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Preferred Blue Thunder to Airwolf, simply as Blue Thunder actually looked as if it could do the things it was meant to do in the show, while Airwolf looked like it ought to be ferrying oil workers out to offshore platforms. I even prefered the TV series of BT to Airwolf, but that was only through twenty years of gold tinged nostalgia. I finally re-watched Blue Thunder the TV series last year and it stank. It was cancelled after only 12 episodes, and you can see why. By the final episode, they decided to turn it into Airwolf, when the CIA came in and commandeered it for a mission in South America, Dana Carvey was ditched from the cast, and a babe brought in as co-pilot. The only good things about it was Bubba and Ski.

Airwolf the TV series was much more typical of the era, a tech heavy action show, best served by the Cold War, but it got horrendously routine very quickly.

Of course Blue Thunder wins the battles of the movies hands down. The Airwolf movie was just the pilot episode re-edited, the actors brought in to ADR some swears into the dialogue to up the rating. Utterly lame. Would you believe that it's been released on Blu-ray in the UK? It's the world's only Blu-ray transfer of what looks like a videotape source.

Blue Thunder had naked yoga! And a whole commentary on the Big Brother society before it even became an issue. Blue Thunder was less a hero vehicle in that movie as it was a distillation of the social message of the story.

 

[saturn5]

Preferred Blue Thunder to Airwolf, simply as Blue Thunder actually looked as if it could do the things it was meant to do in the show, while Airwolf looked like it ought to be ferrying oil workers out to offshore platforms. I even prefered the TV series of BT to Airwolf, but that was only through twenty years of gold tinged nostalgia. I finally re-watched Blue Thunder the TV series last year and it stank. It was cancelled after only 12 episodes, and you can see why. By the final episode, they decided to turn it into Airwolf, when the CIA came in and commandeered it for a mission in South America, Dana Carvey was ditched from the cast, and a babe brought in as co-pilot. The only good things about it was Bubba and Ski.

Airwolf the TV series was much more typical of the era, a tech heavy action show, best served by the Cold War, but it got horrendously routine very quickly.

Of course Blue Thunder wins the battles of the movies hands down. The Airwolf movie was just the pilot episode re-edited, the actors brought in to ADR some swears into the dialogue to up the rating. Utterly lame. Would you believe that it's been released on Blu-ray in the UK? It's the world's only Blu-ray transfer of what looks like a videotape source.

Blue Thunder had naked yoga! And a whole commentary on the Big Brother society before it even became an issue. Blue Thunder was less a hero vehicle in that movie as it was a distillation of the social message of the story.

Whilst the Blue Thunder movie was great I think it tried to have it's cake and eat it. Saying 'Ow isn't the idea of these facist armed police helicopters terrible' but at the same time just GREAT FUN TO HAVE ONE!

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Preferred Blue Thunder to Airwolf, simply as Blue Thunder actually looked as if it could do the things it was meant to do in the show, while Airwolf looked like it ought to be ferrying oil workers out to offshore platforms. I even prefered the TV series of BT to Airwolf, but that was only through twenty years of gold tinged nostalgia. I finally re-watched Blue Thunder the TV series last year and it stank. It was cancelled after only 12 episodes, and you can see why. By the final episode, they decided to turn it into Airwolf, when the CIA came in and commandeered it for a mission in South America, Dana Carvey was ditched from the cast, and a babe brought in as co-pilot. The only good things about it was Bubba and Ski.

Airwolf the TV series was much more typical of the era, a tech heavy action show, best served by the Cold War, but it got horrendously routine very quickly.

Of course Blue Thunder wins the battles of the movies hands down. The Airwolf movie was just the pilot episode re-edited, the actors brought in to ADR some swears into the dialogue to up the rating. Utterly lame. Would you believe that it's been released on Blu-ray in the UK? It's the world's only Blu-ray transfer of what looks like a videotape source.

Blue Thunder had naked yoga! And a whole commentary on the Big Brother society before it even became an issue. Blue Thunder was less a hero vehicle in that movie as it was a distillation of the social message of the story.

Whilst the Blue Thunder movie was great I think it tried to have it's cake and eat it. Saying 'Ow isn't the idea of these facist armed police helicopters terrible' but at the same time just GREAT FUN TO HAVE ONE!

There is that. But you can also look at the way that we've fallen in love with surveillance society. Video cameras all over the place, people being monitored left right and centre, Police Camera reality shows clogging up the schedules. That's the way it is now, and we love it for the perceived effect it has on ensuring our safety as citizens, and I admit that I don't give much weight to the civil rights implications of it all, as long as Mr Bad Guy gets taken off the streets. It's only when you hear of a miscarriage of justice that you start thinking about the whys and wherefores.

I see it in the same way with the movie, a wary sort of love affair with the technology at first when you see what good you can do with it, but it was only when Murphy was slapped in the face with the negative implications of the technology that he took a stand against it. And his final disposition of the helicopter was a definite choice between the two, not a cake and eat it mentality.

 

[Pauln6]

Best ep, Moffat's Ghost, love the scene where Hawk does his kamikaze dive at the end to knock out Airwolfs infected computer, best use to the awesome theme music ever

Absolutely! Most of the show (like most 80s shows) was forgettable dross with an oft-used reset button but I distinctly remember that episode. It was very well done. The other thing I lamented was that they didn't use Archangel's assistant Marella(?) (played by Deborah Pratt?) more often. She always seemed to have loads of hidden potential as a genius Lady Penelope style character in an era when most of the female characters were tagged on for no particular purpose at the start and end of the episodes.

 

[Forbin]

Loved Jean Bruce Scott though

Oh, was she not just the most adorable lil' thing ever?