# Movie/TV stunts we've seen enough of **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675 "2004-12-08T02:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/41 "2004-12-09T09:10:10Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The special **human-sized ventilation ducts** found only in Hollywood sets. There are just _ **so many** _ problems with these: I agree. Unfortunately I also have the urge to add that when they film one of these scenes, it’s known as… … …wait for it… … duct tape! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/42 "2004-12-09T09:53:57Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > I’m sick of seeing characters dangling at the edge of a precipice, only to have another character haul them up to safety usually using only one arm, and with no leverage or support. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see Character B try to pull up Character A, only to have both tumble to their deaths? _Sigh_ … I think that addressed in **Last Action Hero** where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a movie cop who gets transported to the real world (kind of like what happened in **Purple Rose of Cairo** ) and pals around with a kid. During one scene, the kid is hanging off of a building. Arnold grabs him, using one arm, and pulls the kind onto the roof. Afterwards he mentions what a hard thing that was to do. Anyway, I guess I don’t have anything to add. Everybody pretty much covered everything. The only thing I can think of is a car rolling over several times, and then, after stopping, the people just crawl out and walk away, mostly, or completely unharmed. 20 years ago, my mother and I got into a minor (at least, comparitively speaking) fender bender and got hurt worse than that. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/43 "2004-12-09T10:46:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And then there’s the action movie staple “extra villain gets shot and tumbles over a railing.” The MST3K movie _Space Mutiny_ overused this stunt beautifully. As did [Hot Shots! Part Deux](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107144/), in the scene where the bad guys (about 8 off them) are lined up along a rail, and the good guy shots them all, and they all fall over the rail in the manner of a group of swimmers going into the pool in an old MGM water musical. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/44 "2004-12-09T12:01:42Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The special **human-sized ventilation ducts** found only in Hollywood sets. There are just _ **so many** _ problems with these: > > Problem 1: I’ve never seen ducts in any building large enough to crawl through. Have you? > > Okay, let’s just say there are some ducts that big, somewhere. :rolleyes: Good Guy opens the vent to make his escape. This raises… > > Problem 2: The vents are always conveniently hinged and require no tools to open. Why hinges? So that repairmen can crawl in to make repairs? No, the only reason that movieland vents are hinged is because if they weren’t, Mr. Good Guy would have to fumble around trying to get the vent closed behind him (probably a little tricky to do _with your feet!_), or he’d give away his hiding place. Oh, and the vent is usually conveniently placed at floor level, so he doesn’t have to do any gymnastics to get in. > > So Mr. Good Guy crawls in, trying to get to some other part of the (usually very large) building, where he can spy on the bad guys, get into the high-security vault, or escape from the bad guys. In quick succession, we run into… > > Problem 3: The ducts are very well lit… > > Problem 4: …spotlessly clean (have you ever seen the hideous dust and other crap that builds up inside your home ducts over the years? Uggghh!)… > > Problem 5: …have no sharp edges to cut him or snag his clothes… > > Problem 6: …and are marked with convenient directional signs (“This way to the bad guys–\>”). We never see them, but how else do you explain the fact that he goes straight to where he needs to be, without getting lost or even making a wrong turn? > > Problem 7: Mr. GG is able to crawl around _completely silently_, without banging his elbows, knees, or feet, and with no flexing or creaking of the sheet metalwork that would attract the attention of office henchmen in Bad Guy HQ. > > Problem 8: There’s never any sign of a significant volume of air flowing through the ducts at temperatures 20 degrees above or below room temperature. > > Problem 9: His destination is always on the same floor as his starting point, and never requires a vertical transition (or if it does, he has thoughtfully brought exactly the right gear to make the climb). > > Problem 10: He gets to his goal in almost no time at all (how fast can \*you \*crawl a hundred yards on your stomach?), and just in time to overhear the bad guys’ evil plot. > > If he has to get out, naturally the other vent is also conveniently hinged. And finally… > > Problem 11: If he is discovered by the bad guys, they inevitably shoot into the ducts, but he is somehow able to outrun (outcrawl, actually) the bullets! > > I’m sure I’m leaving out some other implausibilities. So let’s just drop the jumbo-sized ducts, shall we, Hollywood? I’ve been in ducts big enough to walk through (hi-rise HVAC rooms). I was too scared to wander in any direction, lest I plummet 14 stories to the sub-basement through a riser, because yes, they’re dark as heck. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/45 "2004-12-09T13:38:23Z")
Another cliché: police officers are always comically bad drivers. The miscreant, even in a crappy car, will always outmanoeuvre the half-dozen police cars chasing them. Not only that, but the police cars will always then end up crashing into each other in a big pile, leading to the sirens slowly fading and slowing down to a stop: Wooo-Wooo-Wooo-Wooooooo…Wooooooooooooooo…[sub]wuhh[/sub] (Cue police officers clambering out of cars, at least one of which is now upside-down, and beating the bodywork with their fists in frustration as our hero/villain makes his escape.) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/46 "2004-12-09T14:08:47Z")
> [@Master Control](#): > > I think that addressed in **Last Action Hero** where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a movie cop who gets transported to the real world (kind of like what happened in **Purple Rose of Cairo** ) and pals around with a kid. During one scene, the kid is hanging off of a building. Arnold grabs him, using one arm, and pulls the kind onto the roof. Afterwards he mentions what a hard thing that was to do. My favourite bit in the same sequence is when Arnie shoots an escaping car with his handgun. Nothing happens. “They usually blow up when I do that.” Very underrated movie. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/47 "2004-12-09T17:54:38Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Yeah, I hate when that happens. So much so, that I posted it earlier (see #3). > > 😃 See, I read your post. I really did. However, for some strange reason, I thought you were talking about a car flipping end over end, like when Hellboy punched the hood of the car. Siddhartha “I would never ignore Mr. Blue Sky” Vicious ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/48 "2004-12-09T18:07:41Z")
Two thrilling chase scenes: Scenario 1 - Car leaps over drawbridge or unfinished highway overpass. It my bottom out on landing and produce a shower of sparks, but is otherwise undamaged. Scenario 2 - Car goes over side of cliff and immediately explodes into a ball of fire slightly larger than that produced by nuclear weapon test. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/49 "2004-12-09T18:25:18Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > As did [Hot Shots! Part Deux](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107144/), in the scene where the bad guys (about 8 off them) are lined up along a rail, and the good guy shots them all, and they all fall over the rail in the manner of a group of swimmers going into the pool in an old MGM water musical. That’s funny. Although Hot Shots! was _trying_ to be funny. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/50 "2004-12-09T18:35:48Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The special **human-sized ventilation ducts** found only in Hollywood sets. There are just _ **so many** _ problems with these: You forgot something – our hero will conveniently find some place to turn around just before exiting the vent, allowing him to exit feet first, rather than falling on his face. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/51 "2004-12-09T18:56:06Z")
Just wanted to point out an amusing scene in _Top Secret!_ where Nick (Val Kilmer) escapes from his jail cell by crawling through ducts. > [@commasense](#): > > Problem 2: The vents are always conveniently hinged and require no tools to open. He actually needed tools to open the grate. Luckily, there was a crowbar leaning casually against the wall of his cell. 😃 > [@](#): > > Problem 6: …and are marked with convenient directional signs (“This way to the bad guys–\>”). We never see them, but how else do you explain the fact that he goes straight to where he needs to be, without getting lost or even making a wrong turn? If you haven’t seen it, watch the move. I can’t do justice with a verbal description. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Problem 7: Mr. GG is able to crawl around _completely silently_, without banging his elbows, knees, or feet, and with no flexing or creaking of the sheet metalwork that would attract the attention of office henchmen in Bad Guy HQ. Not to mention the fact that the ducts are apparently engineered to support the weight of a full grown male. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/52 "2004-12-09T21:18:02Z")
What other movies use that so-called cliche from The Right Stuff? I can only recall seeing it in deliberate parodies. It was also parodied in Armageddon - Bruce Willis’ crew is called ‘The Wrong Stuff’ at one point. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/53 "2004-12-09T22:18:41Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The special **human-sized ventilation ducts** found only in Hollywood sets. There are just _ **so many** _ problems with these: > > Problem 1: I’ve never seen ducts in any building large enough to crawl through. Have you? I have in a gym, but those ducts were way up in the rafters and I don’t see how one could get to or into them You forgot a couple. -The Ducts hold the hero’s weight. -The vents are always big enough to get in and out of. And god forbid if you need to turn around. I have similar problems with Sewers. They are almost always far too clean, well lit and spacious to be real. ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/54 "2004-12-09T22:54:24Z")
Or how about that bit in horror films where the heroine is alone in the creepy house when there’s a killer on the loose. She goes to investigate a mysterious sound and finds an open door or window. She shuts and locks it, breathes a sigh of relief, and then _slowly backs away_. You’ll know what she’ll see when she turns around, right? ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/55 "2004-12-09T22:57:13Z")
Or she’ll close the medicine cabinet - and there’s the boogyman! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/56 "2004-12-09T23:39:32Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > As did [Hot Shots! Part Deux](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107144/), in the scene where the bad guys (about 8 off them) are lined up along a rail, and the good guy shots them all, and they all fall over the rail in the manner of a group of swimmers going into the pool in an old MGM water musical. And in a similar scene in “Weird Al” Yankovic’s **UHF,** Al’s character has a daydream where he’s a muscle-bound Rambo rescuing his friend Stanley from evil Viet Cong soldiers. During the rescue, three dozen Viet Cong appear at the top of a hill, firing madly at them, and missing. Al then pulls out a _humongous_ chain gun, fires it on full-auto while swinging it– –and we cut to the Viet Cong, who all wait a beat before falling down _simultaneously._ ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/57 "2004-12-10T01:14:01Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > My favourite bit in the same sequence is when Arnie shoots an escaping car with his handgun. Nothing happens. “They usually blow up when I do that.” > > Very underrated movie. So true. Man, it’s been forever since I’ve seen it. There’s also that good scene where the bad guy (It’s been over 10 years or so, I forgot everybody’s names) in the real world shouts out that he just killed a man, only to have somebody shout back “Shut Up!!!”. And in the movie world, Sylvester Stalone played all of Arnold’s parts. OK, OK, I’m babbling. I’ll shut up now and order the movie on Netflix. Oh, and so I don’t just babble, I’ll try to add something else useful to this thread. It’s not really a stunt, but any time there’s a timer counting down, say, there’s only 15 seconds, yet it’s counting down very slowly, and in reality, all the action actually takes about 2 or 3 minutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675.md?page=2)