I took up target pistol shooting a couple years back and I’ve always liked playing spot the brand when it comes to firearms in T.V. shows and movies (and nowadays I’m really looking for good trigger discipline (finger OFF the trigger when not shooting!)) so after all of that (to keep the upcoming spoiler from appearing in the mouse-over preview), my observation/question:
I was watching the episode Trash and I noticed that Inara, (possible plot spoiler)
when she holds YoSafBridge at gun point in the desert
uses a pistol that is clearly a dandied up Ruger MkII/MkIII .22 pistol. Has anyone else noticed specific base guns/models that have been futurified for this series?
Does anyone have other good examples in other popular Sci-Fi movies/series (MG-42s packed by storm troopers in Star Wars (along with the British Sterling MkIV), Mauser C96 used as a basis for Han Solo’s blaster).
You do that too? That’s one of the first things I look for. It drives me nuts when supposed experts in guns have their finger wrapped around the trigger. One time, the opposite occurred (damn, but that word looks funny). The character had apparently never picked up a gun in his life, but his trigger finger was parallel with the barrel, perfect form.
No answer to your question, though. I can’t usually identify guns on sight.
One note: They were advised wrongly on the ‘guns in space’ issue, and are now REALLY REALLY aware that you can, in fact, fire powder weapons in vaccum.
Stormtroopers in Star Wars used real life firearms that were just made up to look futuristic. I think they used WWII era weapons though I suppose this might just be an urban legend or something.
I believe the Lawgiver in Judge Dredd was a Beretta.
The P90s on Stargate SG1 were chosen because they drop the brass downwards when firing, so it won’t glint and mess with the filming.
Nope, the guns are real and fired blanks so the red beams could be synced up. If you look closely you can see ejecting shells! They may have been cleaned up in the special editions though.
A while back at the NRA museum, they had an exhibit of weapons used in film and TV. There were a lot of great guns there, from some Bond pistols to the Rifleman’s rifle to the pistol from the Manchurian Candidate.
Also included were two light sabres from the original Star Wars movie.
My mom has a copy of “Demolition Man” so I’ll have to take a look at that for the G11.
It’s been a long time since I saw Robocop but I’ll try to spot the Barrett and Barretta next time I give that a whirl (I may be feeling a little Verhoevenish in the medium-term future)
I’ll also have to check out some early SG1 (as in the parts of an episode I just saw, most of the characters where using snake guns of some sort)
I’ll try to spot the AK’s in Niska’s episodes (I remember seeing those too and having the thought “My, things really haven’t changed have they?”)
The Ruger just stood right out because they have a really distinctive back end to them, but I don’t know if there is a sizeable population that would have noticed and identified it.
Y’all might enjoy this interview with a movie armorer (the guy who coordinates firearms handling on set). It’s specifically about his work on the recent Assault on Precinct 13 remake, but he also talks about how he got into the business. He describes some of the weapons he’s fancied up for the screen; he calls the doodads “furniture.”
Out of curiosity, how well do folks who wield guns for a living follow professional trigger discipline? Is this one of those things they really should do but mostly ignore, or is it something that everyone actually does?
And sloppy weapon use in the movies drives me nuts, too. Pvt. Gomer Pyle was supposed to be a good shot in Full Metal Jacket (after his buddies gave him their support) but Vincent D’Onofrio was bouncing that barrel around like it was on a trampoline.
The longarms in Total Recall were mostly Ruger Mini-14s in aftermarket stocks, and a Striker shotgun. The machine pistols were MAC-11s or clones (I believe), and Tec-9s.
In Aliens The M41 pulse rifles carried by the Colonial Marines use are made from a Thompson M1A1 machine gun with a Franchi SPAS 12 shotgun underneath. The smartguns were MG-42 machineguns mounted on SteadiCam mounts. The Lieutenant’s sidearm was a HK VP70Z.
I can’t find a reference but a gun wrangler I used to know claimed that Deckard’s sidearm in Blade Runner was made from a cut-down Mauser bolt-gun receiver and a Ruger single action revolver frame with a bunch of LEDs tacked on it. (There are a couple of close-up shots which show how nicely detailed this thing is, just like the rest of the props for the film.)
The Glock in various configurations used to fill in as a futuristic sidearm in a lot of films back before every other police department issued them. Now everybody makes plastic-framed handguns and it’s no big deal.
It’s not sci-fi, but the long-barreled handgun you see Sean Connery holding up against his chest in various posters for Thunderball is actually a compressed air gun (Crossman, I believe, but I can’t find the exact model offhand).
The Calico rifles and pistols were quite popular in films for a while due to their “futuristic” (albeit clunky) looks. I think this was their singular selling point, as their actual function was typically to reliably feed-jam every third round.
