How did they make cars fall apart in old movies (2017)

[mrb]

I immediately assumed this article was about the French movie Le Corniaud (1965) in which a 2CV falls apart in 250 pieces in an accident—this scene specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnLj5Xo4zBc&t=19s It became one of the most iconic scene of French comedy movies. To prepare the scene, the special effects engineer sawed off the car in 250 pieces, reattached every piece with hooks, and secured the hooks with "explosive bolts". At the right moment, the actor driving the car pushed a button to trigger the (tiny) explosives which made the car fall apart. Here is a French article about it: https://2cv-legende.com/expo-de-la-2cv-du-film-le-corniaud-a...

PS: the French wikipedia article on the movie has a picture of the explosive bolts they used: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corniaud#L'accident_de_la_2...

[yowzadave]

The one I thought of was the Silver Hornet from Revenge of the Pink Panther:

https://youtu.be/0z-FtAMg6Vw?si=zGsEnyt4NKtsMnLb

Even though I’ve seen many different versions of this gag, they are all still funny to me.

[amelius]

By the way, I always wondered why we got modern versions of the Mini and the Beetle, but not the 2CV.

[af78]

I'm not sure how to translate this line: « Ah ben maintenant elle va marcher beaucoup moins bien, forcément ! » (Bourvil reportedly improvised it, causing de Funès to start laughing and bow his head to hide it).

Google Translate: “Ah well now it’s going to work a lot less well, of course!”

Deepl:

- It's going to work much less well.

- It's going to run much less smoothly.

- It's going to run a lot less smoothly.

None of these suggestions sounds good to me (in case it isn't clear I'm not a native English speaker).

[4gotunameagain]

Super impressive ! Thanks for sharing.

Similar (albeit a bit heavier from the all paperwork) explosive bolts are user for stage separation in launch vehicles (rockets).

[moffkalast]

That scene would've been a lot more impressive if wasn't edited like Liam Neeson jumping over a fence, haha

[llsf]

I also thought first about the 2CV in Le Corniaud (1965) :)

I had no idea that explosives were involved!

[wisty]

For those who don't know, Keaton was amazingly dedicated as a comedic stuntman - a silent era Jackie Chan (he was less popular after the silent era, but kept working until his death in the 60s).

From Wikipedia: Garry Moore recalled, "I asked (Keaton) how he did all those falls, and he said, 'I'll show you.' He opened his jacket and he was all bruised. So that's how he did it—it hurt—but you had to care enough not to care." This would have been in about 1955, when Keaton (born 1899) was an old man and well past his heyday of really dangerous stunts (he once broke his neck during an early stunt).

And he usually had an amazing commitment to film in a lot of other ways. The first time he was shot in a film he took a camera apart to figure out how it worked, because he really cared about every detail (though in the middle of his career this really hurt him, as execs wanted to just trot him up in front of the camera as a high paid celebrity - they didn't want him wasting his valuable time fussing over details, or risk their investment letting him do stunts).

[keiferski]

Video of some of his better stunts: https://youtu.be/yOo_ZUVU_O8?si=1OEwZTk-d88ma2Zs

And a great Every Frame a Painting film essay on his work: https://youtu.be/UWEjxkkB8Xs?si=n-4ZNr_cMnYVKijs

He was truly an innovator that makes today’s “films of people talking to each other” look amateurish.

A few months ago the local theatre was playing Sherlock Jr. with a live band, and it was awesome. Try to see it in similar circumstances if possible.

[exitb]

> He opened his jacket and he was all bruised. So that's how he did it—it hurt—but you had to care enough not to care."

It reminds me of the glass eating trick by David Blaine, where the trick is to… just eat glass. It makes it quite bittersweet, as after all, those men are trading some of their wellbeing for some of their fame. Not sure how to feel about it.

[krisoft]

> He opened his jacket and he was all bruised. So that's how he did it—it hurt—but you had to care enough not to care.

I don't want performers to risk their safety, health and life for my entertainment. Obviously I cannot stop it, but I can stop watching those who engage in things like this. (And I don't just mean the stunt performer, but the director, the producers, the studio and the franchise.)

I have unsubscribed from youtube channels when I felt that they were pushing themselves in dangerous directions. It is not like that alone will stop them, but if I would keep watching I would be complicit in the harm which might befall them.

There is the principle attributed to Houdini by Penn Jillette that a performance/trick should not be more dangerous than sitting in one's living room. Especially when it appears dangerous. I don't know about the exact line though. Strictly interpreting the "not be more dangerous than sitting in one's living room" definition would disqualify any performance where the performer had to drive (or be chauffeured) to the location of their performance. And that would be a bit ridiculous.

[draven]

I saw a Jackie Chan interview years ago (20 or so) in which he said Keaton was an inspiration.

[adamc]

You can see some classic Keaton in "A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". He remained great, even as an old man.

[vodou]

Here is the stunt where he broke his neck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOo_ZUVU_O8&t=187s

[ErigmolCt]

His dedication was truly next-level

[hilbert42]

Those reasons seem to make sense but I'd say just as much has to do with Buster Keaton himself, he had nerves of steel.

During the filming of the Civil War movie The General there are images of Keaton doing things that even the bravest of stuntmen wouldn't do these days and we'd now rely on film animation and tricks to make the scenes work.

For instance, Keaton—who obviously was very fit and agile—is filmed sitting on a cowcatcher of a moving locomotive whilst removing rail ties that were placed on the line to impede the train's progress and then tossing them aside.

I read somewhere that Clyde Bruckman the film's director gave instructions to the cameraman "to keep filming the scene until finished or until Keaton is killed" or words to that effect.

I can't remember whether Bruckman was referring to this scene or another such as when he's running across the locomotive's tender (the comment could equally have applied to many other scenes I reckon). Others who are more knowledgeable could perhaps fill in the details.

I like this movie, Keaton was a great performer and his movies are a testament to that.

[ggm]

My favourite Keaton movie is the one near his end where he goes across Canada by hand crank car on rail roads.

"The railrodder" (1965)

Kenton died 1966

[mkl]

I found the movie interesting in that they managed to make the Confederates the good guys by simply never showing a Black person on screen or mentioning slavery. There were a few good stunts and it was worth watching as a historical curiosity, but I didn't think it was all that good as a movie. I'm not American, so may have missed some things that would have let me follow the story better.

[watersb]

I'm surprised there's no mention yet of the incredible scene from the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers".

https://youtu.be/QfN1GRqKXpM?si=-4Mwmipl5sCFtCWN

This practical effect took weeks to set up.

I can't find documentation specifying any special techniques used to create this version of the car. I recall reading an interview naming the builder who set it up, and how no one on set was allowed to touch it except the actors, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd. Only one take. Can't find that interview now.

[blululu]

I remember watching that movie recently and seeing that the cast was almost half stuntmen. The fact that the Chicago police basically gave them free range and unlimited extras also made a lot of things possible. The final chase scene is about 15 minutes of car crashes including the one where the neonazis fly off the bridge and the camera jump cuts to the car dropped from an airplane into Lake Michigan. https://youtu.be/FD9N7v5qGig?si=p-QYJSkkYJIlN3b4&t=110

[gregoriol]

It's a very nice scene, but not as good as the 2CV from Le Corniaud.

Also looking at it closely, you can see at the camera angle change that the car is not the same (roof shape cut, rear door a bit open, ...), and that it is not standing on its wheels with supports appearing below

[Cumpiler69]

>This practical effect took weeks to set up.

Today that's replaced by crappy CGI done on a crunch by a sweatshop.

[lenerdenator]

takes off hat

[csours]

"The only secret of magic is I'm willing to work harder on it than you think it's worth" - Penn Jillette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trRJ4J15xU8

[wisty]

Spending more time and effort than other people are willing to do works in a number of fields.

[vodou]

I love Buster Keaton. For me he might be the greatest performer ever.

I actually watched the video linked in the comments with his greatest stunts and also one short movie together with my kids (5 and 8 years old) just the other day. They laughed their heads off!

So if you can hear me, Buster, wherever you are: Your films are holding up a hundred years later. That is quite a feat.

[sandworm101]

Much of these tricks comes from how cars used to be constructed. Without any concept of safety cages, they were basically a bunch of very light structures secured atop a heavy metal frame. So long as the actor remains on the seat above the frame, they are in a falling house of cards. Today we build the frames around the people. Pull such a stunt in a modern car and you will be trapped amongst twisted metal rails.

Cars were also much simpler to take apart. A few bolts here and there and a couple people could remove an engine. A few more and the roof came off too. Today, it is all spot welded and tight tollerances. Removing any substanial part of a modern car, anything beyond the seats, requires planning and specialized tools.

[OuterVale]

This made me think of the scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when Lionel Jeffries is captured and forced to convert a car into the titular phantasmagorical fuel-burning oracle. I was wondering just the other day how they achieved that effect.

Wonderful little read. Thanks!

[ErigmolCt]

It’s hard to believe they could make cars fall apart so perfectly without the tech we have today.

[mkl]

Seems easier back then; way fewer parts, not held together as well, no roof.

[monkeymeister]

This is both engineering and art. Magnificent.

[ErigmolCt]

They didn’t just build cars to fall apart... they choreographed it like a performance

[radar1310]

Kinda looks like the Michael Waltrip 1990 crash at Bristol in the NASCAR race.it’s on YT, look it up.

[sirshmooey]

Just don’t look up how they made the horses fall down.

[Over2Chars]

tripwires?

[josefritzishere]

This is brilliant. Today it'd all be CGI trash.

[DonHopkins]

Or a CyberTruck dumpster falling apart, bursting into flames, then exploding, naturally.

[betimsl]

They loosened the screws.