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Author
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Topic: Film Critics
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted August 24, 2009 01:03 AM
A couple of weeks ago the family came around and asked me about putting some movies on, one was "Outland" and if you know the movie there is a bit of a shootout near the end some of which is outside in space, well my son ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif) said to me thats wrong you cant fire a shotgun in space like that it wont work.
Now here is the question?.. I would like to put to you, was he right can a shotgun be fired in zero gravity as its shown in the movie? anyone tried it ![[Smile]](smile.gif) well I used to enjoy this film until the armchair critics picked on that one ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Another letdown and this happend a while ago to one of my favourite films Steve McQueen in "Bullitt" which has what I consider one of the best car chases ever put on film, now I dont watch it so much since my wife told me long ago, do you realise that during the chase they keep passing the same green VW, well I did check this out and she was right. I think I counted about seven passes now if I do watch it its Oh! there is that green VW again so I land up watching out for that car instead, drat!
Another is "The Mag Men in Their Flying Machines" and I think its in the 400ft digest its where Terry Thomas lands his plane on the train you can see what I think is a nuclear power station in the background, as Terry would say "blast"
Once upon a time people used to just enjoy movies faults an all now its thats not right etc etc even at work our part time projectionist took a friend to a movie we were running. I thought at the time I bet his poor friend does not know what he is in for, sure enough at the end they payed me a visit in the projection room. I asked what did you think of the film? the answer came back that it was OK...quickly followed with the comment Oh! my splices look good ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) "he had put the film together"
So there you have it there are experts everywhere...I give up.
How do get on watching movies.. there is a scratch on the extreme one side did not see that before, or oh! there are the dots for the reel change coming up and so on... does anyone actually watch the movie these days?
Graham.
Any ideas on the shotgun thing?
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted August 24, 2009 08:06 AM
Not to drag Isaac Newton into this (...oh, why not, he's not too busy these days!), but the shot will actually shoot out of the barrel pretty much as normal. The forces of the expanding charge will be equal (and opposite) on the gun and on the shot. The shot will accelerate much faster than the gun and gunman because it much less mass, but what is just a "kick" here on earth where we have gravity and friction with the ground to hold us in place will shove a floating space gunman backwards and probably send him spinning too (..unless he is willing to apply the force of the kick directly to his center of mass by perhaps applying the butt of the gun to his navel: NOT RECCOMENDED!). There will be no stopping this until he can grab onto something much more massive than himself (or maybe fire some sort of jet pack) and get rid of all that unwanted momentum.
I guess we can't go killing people in Space until we make lasers much better!
I think without air resistance the shot will be much more likely to stay clumped together rather than spread out, so a shotgun in space would work a lot more like a regular rifle.
If your aim was good, you could hit targets at vast ranges because the projectiles would travel so much further, but since it would be harder to keep yourself stationary it would be harder to aim.
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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Joe Caruso
Film God
Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted August 25, 2009 08:19 AM
Movie experiences are not what they were originally intended; Most of the 'tongue-in-cheek' has gone pale, as has the willingness to suspend one's self in disbelief - Thing is, do people watch a performance or nitpick for later gossip. Savvy individuals know the score, so to speak and when asked about what they watched will undoubtedly enter into a dissertation on the merits of the film production; Codes, LLP, IB-Tech, switchd reels, all that - Connery's film was like Buck Rogers or Falsh Gordon per se, it's for the kids, a fantasy that ahs to be taken with sugar. Actually, OUTLAND should have been relegated as a series (serial), dating back to the 30's - Alas, we no longer marvel at that today. In that case, yes you can fire a gun in space (even the latter-day 60's cartoons from Marvel & DC have cosmic battles throughout space, and are so accepted) BULLITT's repitition is something to question, perhaps Osborne on TCM can offer insight or if you contact the director on that (Might be a passage about it in some book) For my money, the FRENCH CONNECTION chase was choice (No repeating there that I can see), and as for Terry landing near a nuclear pklant, well, look at the film's title - It's arcane and wonderful - Crazier ideas have been created - In A&C MEET THE KEYSTONE KOPS, Fred Clark says (The Boys) will be rescued by a submarine - What a reaction when it appears - Cheers, Shorty
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