Directed by: Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante, George Miller
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Doug McGrath
Continuity mistake: In the airplane, the window shade in the seat next to the main character repeatedly opens and closes between shots.
Continuity mistake: After the old folks turn into kids, Harry, the boy with the glasses, is seen climbing up the side of the house, yet in the next shot, he is running through the bushes toward the camera.
Revealing mistake: As Mr. Connor flies into the retaining wall after being thrown from the Vietnam setting, you can see the "stone" structure wobble.
Mrs. Weinstein: Birdie with the yellow bill hopped upon my window sill, cocked his shining eye and said 'ain't you shamed you sleepy head?'.
Trivia: During the opening credits where the eye comes toward the viewer, if you look at the pupil, you will see a picture of Rod Serling.
Question: During the Vietnamese child-rescue scene (in which Vic Morrow and two child actors were horrifically killed in real life), why on earth did they allow Vic Morrow and the children to perform their own stunt work in what was, without question, an incredibly chaotic and deadly-dangerous night-time shoot? With several large pyrotechnics exploding on all sides and helicopters hovering less than 20 feet over the actors' heads, it was a recipe for disaster. Why did the film makers consider it worth the risk to capture a few frames of Vic Morrow's blurry likeness in a wide, distant shot?
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Answer: It's unlikely we'll ever fully understand. However, there were already a number of violations involving the children, prior to the stunt. It seems to boil down to the audiences at the time demanding more and more dangerous stunts and actions in their films that the film makers, and Landis, tried to accommodate. Landis also seemed less concerned about the dangers and either didn't think it would be that risky or was more concerned about finishing production on time. For whatever reason, Landis ignored warnings of the dangers. But given that he violated night time production laws involving the children, including hiding the children from welfare workers and telling them to keep everything a secret, shows he was more concerned with getting the shots and must have felt the stunt was that important.
Bishop73