Superfluous cop cars in 80s films - Why?

MementoMori

Ok was channel hopping there and saw a scene in one of the Beverley Hills Cop films (doesnt matter which one) Anyway there is a scene where a huge number of cop cars show up. However it made me think why did so many films in the eighties contain a scene where a wildly inappropriate number of cops cars show up?

Just as an example of some of the sort of films I'm thinking of - Beverley Hills Cop, Police Academy, The Blues Brothers, assorted other 80 films

My main question is why did so many films do this? In the majority of cases there wasnt any obvious reason for such a large number of police many cars to respond. For example in Terminator 2 when they break into Cyberdine Systems company building a huge number of cars turn up, which seems wildly over the top for a break-in. Was it just to have stuff to blow up?

The strange thing is that is seems to have disappeared from films sometime during the nineties - I'm sure there are some films out there which still do this but it is a lot less common in films nowadays. Why is this? Anyone any ideas?

Volvoboy

Multi million $ budget.

In regard the Blues Brothers, they did have a 24 hour body shop for the cars, so there my of been only 50+ cars on set used over and over.

However the likes of the Dukes Of Hazzard would wreak about 3 cars a episode.

Pigman II

The hollywood cookie-cutter dictates that you must have lots of action and explosions in your movies. Car crashes and chases was the way they got it done back then. Nowadays they just replace car chases with big CGI disasters and explosions to get the publics blood rushing. Same old crap to fulfill the same obligation.

To answer your question "why did they do it", the answer is "because people liked it". The reason they don't do it now is because people would rather see giant cartoonish monsters, ridiculous physics-defying action and badly realised cgi landscapes these days.

~Rebel~

bring them back i say. And make it compulsory that the Benny Hill track has to run over it.

Nolanger

That's nothing - what about the superflous airplanes landing at airports in many American '70s movies?
Convinced these brief scenes of screeching aircraft was to wake up the audience.

bnt

Don't forget that cars in the USA are much cheaper than in Europe, plus you get car companies supplying cars for loan or at cost, in return for "promotional consideration". In the case of the Blues Brothers, the old police cars were obtained at auction for only $400 each, though more was spent repairing them after stunts (as noted). Major production companies aren't going to dealers, picking the cars out and paying list price for them.

TheIrishGrover

MementoMori wrote: »

Ok was channel hopping there and saw a scene in one of the Beverley Hills Cop films (doesnt matter which one) Anyway there is a scene where a huge number of cop cars show up. However it made me think why did so many films in the eighties contain a scene where a wildly inappropriate number of cops cars show up?

Just as an example of some of the sort of films I'm thinking of - Beverley Hills Cop, Police Academy, The Blues Brothers, assorted other 80 films

My main question is why did so many films do this? In the majority of cases there wasnt any obvious reason for such a large number of police many cars to respond. For example in Terminator 2 when they break into Cyberdine Systems company building a huge number of cars turn up, which seems wildly over the top for a break-in. Was it just to have stuff to blow up?

The strange thing is that is seems to have disappeared from films sometime during the nineties - I'm sure there are some films out there which still do this but it is a lot less common in films nowadays. Why is this? Anyone any ideas?

Good point but in the particular case of T2 I suppose it could be explained away due to the fact that Arnie was considered a copkiller from the first Terminator. I mean, y'know, if ya want to be a pedantic nerd like me

Also, did you see the amount of cars that were following OJ?

mike65

The whole point of the Blues Brothers was crashing cop cars! But yep there were alot of needless ones in stuff like BHC.

Capt'n Midnight

Blues Brothers great fun especially the pile of cars at the end and the long fall

brianthebard

Aren't they all comedies? possibly then it was for comedic effect?

SirLemonhead

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Good point but in the particular case of T2 I suppose it could be explained away due to the fact that Arnie was considered a copkiller from the first Terminator. I mean, y'know, if ya want to be a pedantic nerd like me

Also, did you see the amount of cars that were following OJ?

Bah beat me to it :P

monkeyfudge

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Good point but in the particular case of T2 I suppose it could be explained away due to the fact that Arnie was considered a copkiller from the first Terminator. I mean, y'know, if ya want to be a pedantic nerd like me

Also, did you see the amount of cars that were following OJ?

So what you're saying is that OJ is a cyborg killing machine from the future?

TheIrishGrover

monkeyfudge wrote: »

So what you're saying is that OJ is a cyborg killing machine from the future?

Nawwww, nobody would ever believe a nice guy like OJ would be a killer....... um

MementoMori

Some good answers

Just wondering - in Terminator 2 do the cops know that it's Arnie breaking into Cyberdyne when all of the cop cars respond (in which case it totally makes sense)

Good spot on the 70s films with airplanes landing as well

Good point re the OJ car chase as well

TheIrishGrover

MementoMori wrote: »

Some good answers

Just wondering - in Terminator 2 do the cops know that it's Arnie breaking into Cyberdyne when all of the cop cars respond (in which case it totally makes sense)

Good spot on the 70s films with airplanes landing as well

Good point re the OJ car chase as well

Yeah, you can hear on the radio as one cop car pulls in that they are suspects in a station shooting.

But that's not to negate your OP. It was a well observed point. Plus, all the cars seem to be those HUUUUUUUGE cars that seem to have their hubcaps held on with wet toilet paper (They always seem to fly off turning a corner)