Did anyone notice that this whole story could have been its own twilight zone story? A director who thinks he's at the top of the world and ignores all the safety and doesn't care about the rules and it ends up bitting him back in the end?
I do have to say, watching that footage of the helicopter accident for the very first time, really left me shocked and horrified, it happened so instantly quick. I just cannot believe that they actually thought it was okay to have Vic Morrow and two children involved in an effects-ridden action scene involving explosions and an actual helicopter flying at a very low altitude. Completely negligent on Landis's part.
Omg Landis did some fucked up things that led to the accident. 1st to save time and $ he asked 2 families he knew if their young child would be in the movie instead of doing the legal honorable thing and hiring child actors. He asked the families because he knew that child labor laws wouldn't allow the children to work at night , be on set for more than 4 hours and it's mandatory that a representative of Child Labor must be on set every second the child is there to ensure their safety and protect them from any illegal actions.2nd despite being warned multiple times he kept telling the helicopter pilot to get lower and closer to the explosives on the ground which caused the rotors to delaminate which caused the pilot to lose control and crash. Landis was well known for being a dictator on set. I feel so horrible for the parents. Could you imagine allowing your 6 or 7 year old to be in a major motion picture only for this to happen. I'd literally murder the man responsible
Matthew Daley they died because he was a cheating liar who bribed parents to get their children on set! Even if they survived a court case would’ve happened! It’s awful what happened and both landis and the crew should’ve said something before hand.
You are few decades too late. Mourning over people you do not not who died making a movie you have never seen.... Fuck! You are pathetic. Your feelings are not empathy. They are pathetic, bordering on sociopathic.
@@chrismulwee4911 the film was far from a bomb. It's not considered as the best Twilight zone media but it made $42 million off a $10 million budget and you'd be hard pressed to find someone whos more familiar with the series than the film. I am having watched reruns in the UK when I was about 6 years old but I can genuinely speak with most people I know who only know the "imagine if you will" meme (which is never said by serling), the movie (mainly it's still a good life and nightmare at 30,000 feet because of Simpsons parodies) or the Jordan Peele reboot.
True story: I was working in a bookshop in Beverly Hills in the 2000s. Larry King and Landis (still in his motormouth phase) were checking out at the same time. Landis thought it was a good idea to rib King about his long-ago conviction for whatever. King was good-natured about it, but the minute Landis walked away, Larry King said - not at all quietly - "At least I didn't kill anybody." YIKES
+kirby march barcena Out of curiosity, has..James Cameron ever negligently caused the death of a crew member or actor during his career? I was wondering about that since Cameron is also a huge perfectionist like Landis.
Landis should have been guilty. His gross negligence cost the lives of Vic Morrow and the two young kids. I'm glad he was held responsible in the civil suit and Morrow's daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh was able to file a wrongful death suit for the family and get a settlement out of it.
That was an absolute tragedy. The video of their shooting that scene and their subsequent deaths is on here. Vic and one of the children were decapitated and mutilated by the rotor blades, the other child was crushed by the tail. All because Landis wanted a the copter to get lower for a better shot.
I completely disagree about Landis "having to deal with the guilt." The guy is a sociopath, therefore he doesn't experience guilt over anything. If anything I think he's just pissed that everyone considers his name excrement in Hollywood.
Yeah, im sure he Cries himself to sleep over it, every single night. in his MULTI Million Dollar Mansion, laying on his Mountains of Cash. The Family that lost 2 Young Children, and a Father don't got Cash or nice places to live and i PROMISE YOU they deal with much worse.
I loved when 3rd Rock from the Sun addressed this. The big giant head (William Shatner) was picked up from the Airport by the gang. The big giant head said he looked outside and there was something on the wing! Dick (John Lithgow) exclaimed “That happened to me too!”
D Anderson: I'm sure they do miss their kids daily, but are you aware that they were on the set during that _middle of the night_ shoot? Apparently mommy and daddy had no problem with the production ignoring child labor laws and being paid under the table.
@Chief Scheider .... you’re right, they made a bad choice chasing fame and money for their kids.... however Landis ignores repeated warnings, and quite frankly insisted that the kids where there illegally in the first place. His direct orders led to that horrific event. He is NOT absolved of any guilt just because weak people allowed him to get his way.
10:04- I remember reading that Playboy interview. Eddie Murphy also claimed he only worked with Landis to help get the director's career back on track, ultimately realizing it was a huge mistake.
I thought it was just a sad accident when I heard of the actors being killed, but the full footage really makes it clear how reckless and abusive the scene was. The kids were near explosions, flames, the helicopter blades, dropped repeatedly including in water, etc. It was also a scene carrying them in a dark chaotic space, dummies could have been used without much difference.
John Landis was lucky he didn’t go to jail. He just ruined his hot career. Landis just wanted the explosion bigger and bigger and some say he triggered the explosion before it was scheduled to go and he had the helicopter fly lower and lower. Morrow and two young Asian kids pretty much cut to shreds. It ended the practice of studios just giving young directors a ton of money and no supervision. It was no mishap, Landis overrode the safety officer and made the explosion bigger and bigger.
If it was any other person , a regular middle class , blue collar person he would be in prison for 3 manslaughter charges and a whole bunch of other charges and justice would have actually been served. But not in America were money talks and rich men walk. It's almost like common everyday knowledge that it goes that way in court , if it even goes to court. It posses me off knowing that the only reason why it even went to court in the first place is because he didn't want to pay the families the money. He thought his game and power and his gang of 1,000$ an hour lawyers would be enough to have it thrown out before appearing in front of a judge. Pure SCUMBAG move. All about the money with these blood sucking people. They are there own class of people..hopefully things like this and the rape or sexual assault allegations , all stop and actors and crew can work without that fear bothering them. That goes for Men , Woman and Children.! I would be super pleased if these people were forced to read the comments about them.
DISCO-INFERNO-70 that goes without saying. But when the Serling Estate And His Daughter gave their blessings and approve of the reboot, then it’s a step in continuing the excellence of Rod Serling.
The original series of The Twilight Zone was incredible, but I thought the Kick the Can episode was poor in the series, but in the movie it was really good.
He was most likely wrongly acquitted, but the reason we have the "innocent until _proven_ guilty" system is because human nature is the exact opposite. People will hold shit against you for the rest of your life even if you can prove you _didn't_ do it -- unless, of course, you can pin the blame on someone more unpopular than yourself. In this situation, the law seeks to counterbalance human nature to try to get some sense of fairness, on-average, but there will always be a few situations where someone gets wrongly acquitted.
people do that for all sorts of reasons. he knew he ws putting the lives of those kids at risk and still went ahead with it telling himself that nothings gonna happen theyll be alright. must have come as a shock when it took the worst turn possible. im 10% sure he felt guilty about it. a smile can indicate many things, like nerousness, or a reaction to ptsd. doesnt mean hes some evil guy who enjoyed it. im sure he learned his lesson with the change in direction his editing took, may he become a better individual
Kyle Santos Tragically in the set for the first segment of the movie. They had to change the ending for it and it affected Hollywood in terms of getting children casted in the movie.
@@fernandorosales599 I have heard a lot of people on TH-cam saying that Landis reputation as a director and as a human being pretty much went to shit after the twilight zone incident.
@@alienboy1322 Thing is, his career didn't just go to shit. The man carried on making movies - Classics as if the event never happened. Trading Places - Thriller The scary thing is, Landis didn't appear too bothered by the incident. His career wasn't hit as hard as one would expect. The man was protected probably by his powerful high profile inner circle. The event barely made the news and it was mostly swept under the carpet as he continued to work.
A word of finale, given in the style of Serling himself, regarding Landis: " Consider the eyes that follow John Landis, and will continue to regard him with contempt, and see him only in the light of one night of his life. This is the face of John Landis, the face those millions of eyes cannot help but see. Director John Landis, a would-be god in blood-stained jeans , strangled by a shadow caught by the camera that gave him power, that will-o'-the-wisp mirage that dangles from the screen in front of the eyes of all ambitious filmmakers with hearts made of celluloid, all movie nerds who think the film is the be all and end all-and any resemblance to the creature known as Nosferatu is hardly coincidental, for both suck the life out of moments in time, whether it be here or in the Twilight Zone. ".
Damn, reading that in Serling's voice legit gave me chills, not just because you nailed the style of Serling's prose but because of how profound it is regarding an actual tragic event that happened.
He continued to work with him. His Morals went out the window when it came to Money and Transvestites. Let’s not kid ourselves that Eddie Murphy is a moral compass
The Joe Dante and John Lithgow segments were brilliant. The John Landis segment was okay, despite the accident. But I didn't like Spielberg's segment as I found it boring and out of place.
@UCTlO3MgUhv0pZ0pSb2Vzhrw : "The accident changes the film for boring to horrific." The changes being that the Vietnam War sub-plot was removed from the segment and the film entirely, and that the segment ended differently, a tragic ending of loss instead of an ending of redemption through rescuing two children (that were killed with him). And it's _from_ boring to horrific, not "for", see, _from_ , FROM, man hehehehehehe You can Edit out your typos after posting comments, ya know hehehehehe
This is what a TH-cam video should be about - it's significant, it's relevant, it's engaging, it's informative, skillfully executed and very entertaining. Well done.
@@matthewdaley746 Every time I watch an episode of one of my favorite old shows, Combat!, I remember Vic dying making this movie. I loved him as the Sgt on Combat!. I really didn't like his story on this movie. Really sucks he and those kids died that way.
@@shadowwolf7622 What's really tragic is that the original ending where his character redeems himself by saving those two kids in the story never happened and thus we get a really terrible ending to an already pretty bad story. No one should have to die for their craft period. Landis deserves a special place in hell for what he did.
The sad irony is that Vic Morrow obviously saw something was TERRIBLY wrong 5 to 10 seconds prior and actually did try to save those kids right before the accident.
By the look on Vic's face you can tell he was really struggling while slogging through water carrying a child under each arm and actually slipping and dropping one of the children, at that point they should have yelled cut, Vic was such a trooper
@@TRINZINI Not directly a biography but I Told You I Was Ill has Vic Morrow's last words in it and those last words were 'I'd have to be crazy to pull off that shot'
@@nathanforester5993 There's also the excellent book FLY BY NIGHT by Steve Chain on the whole TZ trial. It mentions that one of Vic's last phrase was to his woman assistant (right before the last shot) when he looked at her and said half-jokingly "Send flowers !" 😥
Landis literally only cared his career was ruined. During the trial they say he had zero remorse. Also he made this scene so dangerous looking & as realistic as possible to try & top Spielberg. His narcissism caused 3 deaths. I also read he showed up at morrow funeral uninvited & told everyone " vic thanked me b4 he died for casting him" unbelievable. That jury screwed up big time. They had all the 3vidence they needed to convict on manslaughter. How ? 3 died & landis was responsible. Ir does not matter if he did not intend that. He was warned by several people the stunt was too dangerous. His comment of " u ain't seen nothing yet " is Sickening & prophetic. Yea nobody saw a real life horror like that. 2 people decapitated & one crushed. 2 of the 3 were little kids who they illegally hired to get around child labor laws. As eddie murphy said " if 2 kids get killed & 2 get their heads cut off at 2am u really screwed up. " landis directed Murphy in trading places. Murphy refused to sit in the court as landis requested of many celebs to impress the jury w/ the people who supported him. Murphy said ur still my friend but I'm not going to support something that's wrong. Landis name & rep was in the gutter so murphy threw him a bone & pushed the studio to hire landis for coming to America. He said Landis was a total a hole & yelled at him " u didnt support me. I was very close to going to jail " so that s how much remorse this narcissist had , instead of being humbled & guilt ridden & being thrilled he got a stupid jury he proved he did not care by yelling at Eddie for not showing up in court to support him. ??? What a creep. Speilberg ended his friendship w/ him. Oh & the irony is everyone agrees neither landis nor Spielberg's segments were great , George Miller's segment w/ the creature on the wing was hands down the best one.
I watched that movie so many times in the 80s and I had no idea about that terrible accident, until now. John Landis definitely should have done prison time for that.
jeff goldsmith is the youngest .Jerry is the oldest. john and jeremy are twins and are the middle children. father is jacob and mother is joanna. pet fish is jason and the cats name is jack born and raised in Jacksonville and he drives a jetta
I used to love this movie as a kid. Though I was always most puzzled as to why the Spielberg segment was such a letdown. He could have made a spooky story about absolutely anything, but do we get? A tale about a few old folks kicking a can around. A few years ago I stumbled on an article as to what happened during this movie's production, and honestly, I've never really wanted to watch it since. The Twighlight Zone is tragically one of those movies where the story behind it is more fascinating than the end product itself. Spielberg obviously wanted to distance himself from the project following the horrible tragedy, and hence why his episode is so lackluster. His heart clearly wasn't in it anymore. And really, who can blame him? In my opinion the entire project should have been cancelled. While the John Lithgow and Joe Dante segments are very good - and what really elevates the movie above mediocre. There's something distinctly morbid about the Vic Morrow story still being included in the movie. Maybe it was done out of some awkward sign of respect for the actor, not cutting his final role? But the subject matter of the episode with him playing an unlikeable racist who never finds his redemption is hardly a fitting tribute to the man. It was originally intended that the scene of him saving the two children was what would have redeemed his character and allowed him to escape his torment at the end. But knowing this now only makes the cobbled together version that exists in the movie seem all the more sinister. Primarily, just the fact that three people were tragically killed while making this very mediocre story leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. Landis savagely went down in my estimation after finding out about the tragedy. In hindsight, you can clearly see his reckless obsession for over the top carnage in other early movies of his like The Blues Brothers. He was an accident just waiting to happen. I'm sure the man was deeply scarred by what happened, but it's unbelievable that he walked away from this without so much as a slap on the wrist and allowed to continue his career relatively unscathed. He deserved to be severely reprimanded in some way at least. Jail time would have been getting off very lightly indeed. And utter shame on WB for essentially sweeping this under the carpet. They'd never have been able to keep it so low key in the internet obsessed age of today. But having enough money can indeed buy you out of anything it seems.
The original 'KTC' TZ segment was good but they had many eps way, way better including the mostly forgotten hour long ep ' The Parallel' about the astronaut on a lookalike planet to Earth. They could have remade one of these. You are right. Spielberg's film segment was deeply overly tame and disappointing. To think he made 'Jaws'! Spielberg's life story and the way he kinda went too soft parallels the USA. Softies is what most American men and the USA have become.
I don't feel bad for John Landis, his life continued and went on to direct more movies, who I really feel bad for is Vic Morrow and the two children who lost there lives cause of a horrible accident, and the families of the victims.
@@mrcritical6751 The hell he isn't; if the tables were turned and a white director said half of the same crap about black actors that Peele says about white actors, then there would be riots and the mobs would call for the director's head on a pike. But, a black man being openly racist against white people is fine because "muh diversity"? Nope, it's still racist and Peele should be chased out of Hollywood like an openly racist white director would be.
The last segment with the gremlin remains one of my all time favourite pieces of film. The Shatner version was hamstrung by a non-scary monster and a slower pace, but the Lithgow/Miller remake was just anxiety personified.
It's impossible to talk about this film without bringing up the tragic accident. More terrifying and unsettling than anything you can create in a horror film.
"If he carries the guilt then that's appropriate." Well said but has Landis ever apologized? Did he ever take responsibility? 3 people died because of him and he still had a career afterwards. Where was the justice in that?
Fun Fact: Ethel from the "It's a Good Life" segment is the voice of Bart Simpson and some other characters from The Simpsons. She is the girl with no mouth. Looking at her with no mouth scared the hell outta me as a kid.
No. She isn't the girl without a mouth. Sara doesn't have a mouth. Ethel is the one Anthony sends into the tv, where she gets eaten by an animated wolf. Nancy Cartwright plays Ethel and is more recently known as the voice of Bart Simpson and other characters on The Simpsons. Cherie Currie of the punk rock group The Runaways, played Sara.
Landis got away with murder. The fact that he continued finishing that segment and just changing the ending is the epitome of a narcissistic apathetic Hollywood a-hole!
@Guilt free White man!! that's not respect the guy wanted it fucking done, i am a year late but fucking God you are stupid, hope you're still alive to realize that
"He didnt get off easy, he lives with the guilt" bs, he got off easy because he got to live on and work making millions and never served time Imagine letting a murderer go free and being like "dont worry hes not getting off easy, he as to live with what he did"
I recently watched The Cursed Film series in the last episode. It's in Shudder and It gives more details about the happening. Also for a heads up, it did show an actual clip of an accident. I have never seen the film before and I know my gut feeling well watching a documentary didn't sit right. I'm beyond stunned and heartbroken than ever. I'm disappointed in my favorite films of John directed such as Blues Brothers, National Lampoon Animal House, Trading Places, Coming to America, and American Werewolf in London (I never seen it too but I've heard the makeup or CGI design was great), lastly is Michael Jackson one. My heart goes out to Vic and two children. Including their loved ones and workers who are traumatized forever.
I interviewed John Landis about 6 years ago, (nice guy, a bit of a jerk) and the ONE thing the publicist hammered home was DON'T ASK ABOUT THE TWILIGHT ZONE! As if I would... it was a terrible tragedy and the movie wasn't that good for all that.
During this period a lot of the helicopter pilots in TV and movies were Vietnam trained pilots. Gave their scenes a certain "WOW" factor. When the accident happened the word was that a piece of the tail prop got broken off the helicopter which caused the helicopter to go out of control with no chance of recovery.
Oh, yeah! Not that Landis didn't, at some level, deserve to be shamed for his lethal thoughtlessness (he was a major studio director at that point, not some student filmmaker trying to replicate Hollywood-level setpieces on a lunch money budget!) - but there's something seriously off when Landis got dragged through Hell and back while Alex Proyas, who was every bit as negligent which led to the death of his star(!), didn't. Proyas was the one who wanted to save money by not having the Armorer on-set when he was shooting a scene involving guns, as the Armorer would have known enough to be SURE the misfiring cartridge in an earlier sequence had been ejected before letting the gun be used again. The Prop Master, not being trained in arms, didn't know to check - and so the previously lodged shell, knocked out of the barrel by a subsequent blank round, gut-shot Brandon Lee, ultimately killing him.
It happened because in movies, you have a gun round that shoots blanks for showing a person getting shot, a gun round for showing the shooter's point of view - the latter typically having more gun powder than a normal round for thematic purposes, and finally sometimes they'll use actually bullets for up close scenes of reloading (never actually fired). Well, they used the same gun for both scenes. Since the budget for the film was real tight, they made their own blanks and lead tips for close ups. I guess they weren't really paying attention when shooting scenes and one of the lead tips was lodged in the chamber without anyone noticing. Then a blank was placed directly behind that. And like I said earlier, blanks tend to have more gun powder than normal rounds. So when it was fired, the lead tip had no where to go except where it was aimed - at Brandon Lee. Some people believe it was a conspiracy. Another interesting fact is that the actor who fired the gun, ended up taking off for a year and never got over his role in the accident, even though it really wasn't his fault.
Interesting story, I worked w/Jennifer Jason Leigh on Set as a Day Player/Extra in Fall of 1997 in Hallmarks "Love Letters" ... As we wrapped the scene, one of my fellow actresses fell to the pavement. Jennifer rushed over to see if she was allright. I didn't understand why one of the "Stars" would be so attentive to one of the Day Player/Extras. When I went back to my hotel room, I recalled her Father was Vic Morrow, who died tragically in one of H'woods most unfortunate on Set accidents in history.
Good story about Landis getting shamed by the Grindhouse scene. A bit of a twofer since it was both on the nose and how modern cgi in cinema can pull off the kind of scene he wanted but couldn’t achieve. This very much should follow him always.
I liked the critter busting the airplane segment. John really nail the crazy dude persona, lol trying to convince others there was a critter out there being all paranoid like xD. he always makes the crazy dude acting hilarious yet disturbing all at the same time, you literally don't know if it's better to laugh or to just run for your life!
This changed a lot of the industry after this happened.The other incident that changed the industry again was on the set of the show Cover Up.The actor on the show Cover Up was playing with a prop gun between takes and blew his brains out in front of the cast and crew.He was rushed to the hospital and died.Then there was the Brandon Lee incident.Safety regulations were changed where now,there has to be safety people on the set at all times involving gunfire or complicated stunts.
Ohhh...I think they'd do more than stare, dont you? ;) A secret sauce and broken glass souffle for his ham and eggs every morning no doubt. They REALLY hate kid killers.
5 ปีที่แล้ว +4
The great pity of Vic Morrow's passing is that his turn in the role would've surely catapulted him back into mainstream success. Little doubt remains about that.
Its a real shame Morrow's career ended up the way it did for him to have to be in this film, he was a pretty talented guy just found himself sidelined because of "Combat," He was also not a bad director he directed a double length Episode of "Combat" Hills are for Heroes, its dated of course but holds up to a lot of 60s war films.
In the video where the accident took place you can see Morrow and one of the kids head taken off gruesome. One of the stage hands runs over to see if the actors were alright he takes one look and jumps back in horror.
"Landis blamed it on a fx crew member ...." Most likely he was under instruction from his legal team to blame that person, knowing crew members wouldn't be convicted.
Yes and no. The prosecutor pushed to convict him for murder and didn't try for supplemental charges like involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide. THAT'S largely why he walked. There's not enough evidence for murder, but there's easily enough evidence for negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter.
Cuz he's gonna pull his pants down and show you how much his dick looks like a nose!! And majority of people surprised by how little it offends them compared to a normal dick go 'Ahhh man, so that's where you got that joke from in Nothing But Trouble!! Well I'll be damned...... but Dan seriously......you couldve just told me that verbally, advice for next time I guess"
this is probably the most detailed version of what happened, thanks I've heard the story a few times but never realized that 3 people died, I was always under the impression Vic Morrow died and that was it.... still I grew up on this movie, it's always been one of my faves....
12:00, my response would have been along the lines of. "I'm pretty sure Vic Morrow and those two kids did not appreciate having a helicopter crash on them, but I digress. Can I get your autograph?"
I remember the infamous “Twilight Zone Trial”. Terrible miscarriage of justice. The film was a mixed bag for me...some segments were better than others. I saw it at a drive in when it first came out.
Weird how some celebrities say something slightly controversial and their careers are ruined, while others get away with murder. Matthew Broderick, anyone?
@@BigBadJerryRogers I believe he was driving in England, got confused and ended up on the wrong side of the road, ended up killing someone in a head-on crash.
Was 12:06-12:23 supposed to be a reference to what happened with Myca Dinh Le, Vic Morrow & Renee Shin-Yi Chen in mid-1982 & that was the reason as to why a bunch of people turned towards John Landis during the screening of 'Grindhouse' & look at him?...
After all this time I thought this whole thing was a freak accident but after learning how hard Landis was and demanding, it paints him in a different light wow
I've loved The Twilight Zone since the 80s. I thought Twilight Zone: The Movie was good, but I had no idea of the tragic history behind it. That's a real eye-opener.
Same here. I'm sure I'd seen Morrow in other things, but the first thing I remember seeing him in is when I picked up the 1981 "Jaws" knock off "The Last Shark," where he played the pseudo Quint role. I really liked his performance in it, so I checked his wiki page and then I saw how his life and the lives of two children were tragically cut short by this film.
I wish warner bros. would restore the original early 80's WB logo to twilight zone the movie that i remember seeing at the movie theater in the summer of 1983 on the blu-ray release. Creedence Clearwater revival played better with the 1983 wb logo.
The story was kind of swept under the carpet, even at the time of the event. The average member of the public didn't even associate John Landis with the tragic and disgusting incident. He was apparently an absolute tyrant on set his career didn't really suffer to badly - he was protected by his powerful high profile inner circle. Disgraceful all round.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1982, Morrow and two child actors, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le, and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were filming on location in California, in an area that was known as Indian Dunes, near Santa Clarita. RIP we lost a legend and two future bright stars that day...
@@matthewdaley746 whoppty do...thats like saying AB won't play in the winningest team in the NFL again...he will play again if he wants...but not for the Patriots..
I think its underrated, John Landis' segments were decent, the last 2 were great even Rob Ager did a long analysis of Joe Dante's segment and yeah the weakest one is Spielberg. Rob Bottin's effects are amazing, good soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith especially the last story which has a similar Gremlins theme (You would think Joe Dante would direct that segment but oh well) & John Lithgow's over the top insane performance.
Well good for you. I found them memorable except Spielberg's segment. Sure its not the best anthology movie ever made but its pretty good. By the way, have you seen the new Creepshow tv show?
Matthew Daley - I know the facts. And yes, you are spamming by making essentially the same response to nearly every comment on this thread. We get it- Landis bad. Move on. Some of love his films, even the work he’s done after TTZ.
I disagree, I think he's a great director, he just made some weak or unnecessary movies like Blues Brothers 2000. They certainly better than M Night's crap. These things happen all the time sometimes its the script or not having total control or picked the wrong project or even having too much control. Look at Jaws, it was thanks to the Shark for not working that saved the film, its not always the director that does everything or is the reason why the film was successful. Poltergeist, sure it feels like a Spielberg movie but I'm pretty sure Tobe Hooper came up with some interesting ideas, the guy managed to make a scary movie that had no gore and was supposed to rated R even though it feels like you're watching a PG-13 movie. Then I guess Joe Dante didn't direct Gremlins, it was Spielberg....oh well, the sequel was much better. At the end of the day, we agree to disagree. And its ok, I love the fact that we are discussing these things, its interesting to listen to other people's thoughts and opinions.
At this point I personally do not care if John Landis feels 'slighted' by people still looking at him funny in public, or during a screening of Planet Terror, where some film maker was sickly inspired to have heads similarly decapitated by helicopter blades. The fact that Landis served zero jail time for the murder of 3 people, two of which were underaged and he deliberately hid from an on-set social worker because he knew their participation was illegal, merely to get his scene in the camera, is obscene. Oh, he's had to live with it. Well, guess what? Morrow and the two kids had to die for it. If one believes in an afterlife, Landis' won't be pretty.
And the icing on the cake, Landis's segment got to stay, with Vic Morrow still in it. U really think the man would want that if he was around to have a say? F*** NO!! and don't even get me started on the guy showing up to all three funerals to make it about him...
I saw this movie when it was new. I knew something mysterious had happened but nobody was telling anyone specifics back then. Thank you for this video. What a terrible thing to have happened. The 12-year-old me finally has his answers.
I’m at the age I remember the WHOLE thing. (Those kids would be my age right now) Vic Morrow was a legend and cared his heart out in that segment. It was actually one of my favorites in the movie, I’m glad they left it in to give him a final farewell, so to speak.. but it was very tragic, and Landis apparently learned his lesson
I was 11 when this happened and I remember feeling a lot of anger at Landis especially because of those kids. Plus, he killed Sgt. Saunders. Great actor. RIP.
You should, he had NO BUSINESS shooting that scene like he did.
5 ปีที่แล้ว +1
I read a while back that Indian Hills is very private property now as gore tourists would often visit at all hours of the night in macabre fascination of the events. I just think its so tragic that Vic Morrow delivered his most compelling performance & died as it was rolling to a close. Untimely, inopportune & ghastly, I think Landis pays every day a little something of the soul & in some beliefs...that's a hell of itself. He might be alive & well, but no one would swap places with him for all the radiation in Chernobyl. Apart from that, his Masters of Terror segment "Family" is macabre & surrealistically noir. You'll never see George Wendt the same way.
Despite the tragedy surrounding this film, it's not a bad movie. Definitely check it out if you can. I saw it as a kid and I LOVED the last two stories.
@Christopher Cory Are you serious lol, your probably the same type of person to watch Clownhouse despite knowing a child was being raped by the director behind the scenes on a consistant basis. Tragedy should effect the way you see things, supporting something despite the horrible actions of others is giving them a pass and telling them it's all good to committ crimes as long as your good at you job which should NEVER be acceptable. Can just tell you have never had tragedy effect your life because if you had maybe you would broaden your own perspective and understand others point of view, we aren't the ones who should change ours your the one who needs to if you think accepting criminality that left victims in there wake is all good because you get a good movie.
My dad told me about the tragedy in the 90's. I just saw the graphic footage for the first time. Knowing some of the behind the scenes details and seeing that, it's just horrific. I'm surprised John Landis had a career after that.
The reason the helicopter crashed was because explosives 🧨 were used on set to create the illusion that the helicopter firing into the village. During the filming of the scene, the special effects guy detonated one explosive too early that hit the helicopter causing it to crash. John Landis try to convince people that the special effects guy was the reason why three actors died. But that not true because John Landis had the helicopter fly to low and made the set a very dangerous place to set foot on
12:40 Feeling guilt over deaths you caused through you gross negligence *IS* getting off light. It's one thing to take due precautions, then having a fatal accident. It is something else entirely to be careless and have a fatal accident.
At the end when "Truth is stranger than fiction" a twilight zone sound/music should've been played; That would've been perfect. But i bet with DMCA copyright you can't use that.
F**king WOW!!! I had no idea that one of my favorite childhood movies and the director of my favorite werewolf movie have such a tragic history. Thanks for the research.
Makes you appreciate how incredibly dangerous filming was, back when scenes like that were shot for real. We've all seen scenes in older, pre-CG, movies where a character gets buzzed by a plane or helicopter, it's a relatively common shot, and there's always the potential for random accidents. It can never be 100% safe. In this case, it was debris from a pyrotechnic damaging the tail rotor of the helicopter, causing it to spin out and crash onto the actors. The kids should not have been there, at night, filming a scene with that kind of danger. That's the real sin here; everything else is accident. Some good came of the tragedy, though, because it was a watershed moment for on-set safety - new regulations were introduced, and this incident stands as a warning to productions that take unnecessary risks to get that perfect shot. As Spielberg said, no film is worth dying for.
the reaction of the people at the screening of Planet Terror multiplied across every single day of the rest of his life and his career being ruined is the least of punishments he deserves
Did anyone notice that this whole story could have been its own twilight zone story? A director who thinks he's at the top of the world and ignores all the safety and doesn't care about the rules and it ends up bitting him back in the end?
You're right. It truly would.
Issue is it didn't bite. He escaped free
A dark irony, in a way it creeps me out how pin pointed this concept is since I thought about it too, sadly life imitates art.
@@brandonhenderson9164 Guilt bites him for good
@@girlongirlTV69 He doesn’t seem to care much from what I’ve seen
I do have to say, watching that footage of the helicopter accident for the very first time, really left me shocked and horrified, it happened so instantly quick. I just cannot believe that they actually thought it was okay to have Vic Morrow and two children involved in an effects-ridden action scene involving explosions and an actual helicopter flying at a very low altitude. Completely negligent on Landis's part.
George Bean it looks so goddamn dangerous theres no way he shouldve skated by and continued his career.
Yes indeed.
Agreed
Omg Landis did some fucked up things that led to the accident. 1st to save time and $ he asked 2 families he knew if their young child would be in the movie instead of doing the legal honorable thing and hiring child actors. He asked the families because he knew that child labor laws wouldn't allow the children to work at night , be on set for more than 4 hours and it's mandatory that a representative of Child Labor must be on set every second the child is there to ensure their safety and protect them from any illegal actions.2nd despite being warned multiple times he kept telling the helicopter pilot to get lower and closer to the explosives on the ground which caused the rotors to delaminate which caused the pilot to lose control and crash. Landis was well known for being a dictator on set. I feel so horrible for the parents. Could you imagine allowing your 6 or 7 year old to be in a major motion picture only for this to happen. I'd literally murder the man responsible
Helicopter Pilot, should have known better.
Rip Vic morrow and the two children lost in production.
Matthew Daley they died because he was a cheating liar who bribed parents to get their children on set! Even if they survived a court case would’ve happened! It’s awful what happened and both landis and the crew should’ve said something before hand.
You are few decades too late. Mourning over people you do not not who died making a movie you have never seen.... Fuck! You are pathetic. Your feelings are not empathy. They are pathetic, bordering on sociopathic.
@@garcemac That was so edgy that I better not come to school tomorrow!
@@garcemac
You sound sociopathic, being unable to empathize with loss of lives that aren't directly connected to you.
You're 37+ years late.
What's so surprising is that, there's no "This Film is Dedicated To The Memory of Vic Morrow -1929--'82" in the closing credits. Anyone agree?
@Variable Volume They didn't cancel the movie, but the movie bombed AFAIK so audiences did the cancelling.
Not to mention the 2 kids that died with him. But yeah, I agree with you.
@@chrismulwee4911 the film was far from a bomb. It's not considered as the best Twilight zone media but it made $42 million off a $10 million budget and you'd be hard pressed to find someone whos more familiar with the series than the film. I am having watched reruns in the UK when I was about 6 years old but I can genuinely speak with most people I know who only know the "imagine if you will" meme (which is never said by serling), the movie (mainly it's still a good life and nightmare at 30,000 feet because of Simpsons parodies) or the Jordan Peele reboot.
YES!!!!!!! You figure the film would be dedicated to his memory and those children's memories, but no..... as the late John Belushi would say.
Yes. It should be taken to Shout Factory instead.
True story: I was working in a bookshop in Beverly Hills in the 2000s. Larry King and Landis (still in his motormouth phase) were checking out at the same time. Landis thought it was a good idea to rib King about his long-ago conviction for whatever. King was good-natured about it, but the minute Landis walked away, Larry King said - not at all quietly - "At least I didn't kill anybody." YIKES
Sadly, his son Max seems to have the same "Higher Level" attitude of arrogance.
King was arrested for Grand larceny, but he was right, at least he didn't kill anyone
Oh god, I later worked with one of Max's pals. Complete nightmare@@van8ryan
Ouch! Such catty gossip
Shots fired. No coming back from that one lol
So much for being a perfectionist at the expense of two kids and an actor
Unfortunately Landis wasn’t the first to make dangerous decisions like this, but this tragedy will never be forgotten for the horrific aftermath
+kirby march barcena
Out of curiosity, has..James Cameron ever negligently caused the death of a crew member or actor during his career? I was wondering about that since Cameron is also a huge perfectionist like Landis.
Landis should have been guilty. His gross negligence cost the lives of Vic Morrow and the two young kids. I'm glad he was held responsible in the civil suit and Morrow's daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh was able to file a wrongful death suit for the family and get a settlement out of it.
@@matthewmoran5297 I have no idea about James but this video is not about him
That was an absolute tragedy. The video of their shooting that scene and their subsequent deaths is on here. Vic and one of the children were decapitated and mutilated by the rotor blades, the other child was crushed by the tail. All because Landis wanted a the copter to get lower for a better shot.
That first 5 mins in the car scared the $hit out of me when I was kid.
The last 30 seconds scared the shit outta me. I found the first 4½ minutes pretty funny.
Same lol
@@chiefscheider naw
Yup 😆
Me too broski
I completely disagree about Landis "having to deal with the guilt." The guy is a sociopath, therefore he doesn't experience guilt over anything. If anything I think he's just pissed that everyone considers his name excrement in Hollywood.
Yeah, im sure he Cries himself to sleep over it, every single night. in his MULTI Million Dollar Mansion, laying on his Mountains of Cash.
The Family that lost 2 Young Children, and a Father don't got Cash or nice places to live and i PROMISE YOU they deal with much worse.
Surprised he went on to make even more films in the years ahead.
@@Polygonlin ppl a
Agreed, 1000%
It is not excrement. It is PUPÚ like the one tu haces cuando vas a kgar.
I loved when 3rd Rock from the Sun addressed this. The big giant head (William Shatner) was picked up from the Airport by the gang. The big giant head said he looked outside and there was something on the wing! Dick (John Lithgow) exclaimed “That happened to me too!”
That is my favorite moment from Third Rock! I fell out of my chair laughing.
Third Rock...man, I miss that show.
You mean this? :) th-cam.com/video/xPenP6VS-ng/w-d-xo.html Incidentally, it was that video that introduced me to Volbeat. Totally love that band now.
That never fails to crack me up too
Now that's ironic because they both played the same part
God damn, that man asking for Landis to sign his book has steel balls.
lol
Tony Peppermint he’s a hero
Not really. It's not like John Landis is Mike Tyson or something. xD
Who made him judge, jury and executioner?
Thank god there wasn't a helicopter nearby that day...
Yea....I don’t have any sympathy for John Landis. He should be reminded about what happened daily. Those parents miss their kids daily.
I can't forgive him for Max Landis.
D Anderson what happened?
@@lvialviaquez9146 watch the video
D Anderson: I'm sure they do miss their kids daily, but are you aware that they were on the set during that _middle of the night_ shoot? Apparently mommy and daddy had no problem with the production ignoring child labor laws and being paid under the table.
@Chief Scheider .... you’re right, they made a bad choice chasing fame and money for their kids.... however Landis ignores repeated warnings, and quite frankly insisted that the kids where there illegally in the first place. His direct orders led to that horrific event. He is NOT absolved of any guilt just because weak people allowed him to get his way.
10:04- I remember reading that Playboy interview. Eddie Murphy also claimed he only worked with Landis to help get the director's career back on track, ultimately realizing it was a huge mistake.
I thought it was just a sad accident when I heard of the actors being killed, but the full footage really makes it clear how reckless and abusive the scene was. The kids were near explosions, flames, the helicopter blades, dropped repeatedly including in water, etc. It was also a scene carrying them in a dark chaotic space, dummies could have been used without much difference.
John Landis knew ALL of this, and, STILL shot the scene, NO ONE thought it was worth risking their jobs to stop him.
John Landis was lucky he didn’t go to jail. He just ruined his hot career. Landis just wanted the explosion bigger and bigger and some say he triggered the explosion before it was scheduled to go and he had the helicopter fly lower and lower. Morrow and two young Asian kids pretty much cut to shreds. It ended the practice of studios just giving young directors a ton of money and no supervision. It was no mishap, Landis overrode the safety officer and made the explosion bigger and bigger.
Most rich people do not go to jail. Look at Matthew Broderick or Vince Neil.
Luck had nothing to do with it.
If it was any other person , a regular middle class , blue collar person he would be in prison for 3 manslaughter charges and a whole bunch of other charges and justice would have actually been served. But not in America were money talks and rich men walk. It's almost like common everyday knowledge that it goes that way in court , if it even goes to court. It posses me off knowing that the only reason why it even went to court in the first place is because he didn't want to pay the families the money. He thought his game and power and his gang of 1,000$ an hour lawyers would be enough to have it thrown out before appearing in front of a judge. Pure SCUMBAG move. All about the money with these blood sucking people. They are there own class of people..hopefully things like this and the rape or sexual assault allegations , all stop and actors and crew can work without that fear bothering them. That goes for Men , Woman and Children.!
I would be super pleased if these people were forced to read the comments about them.
Nothing will ever match the brilliance of the original television series.
I wouldnt mind seeing a twightlight zone movie using spielberg, roth, del toro, tarantino, peele, just to see hold it could hold up
DISCO-INFERNO-70 that goes without saying. But when the Serling Estate And His Daughter gave their blessings and approve of the reboot, then it’s a step in continuing the excellence of Rod Serling.
Hollywood and their ilk should let the original "Twilight Zone," rest in peace. You cannot DUPLICATE a masterpiece meant for another era.
The original series of The Twilight Zone was incredible, but I thought the Kick the Can episode was poor in the series, but in the movie it was really good.
Yes and the movie was more of a horror movie anyway. A good attempt but the original TZ will never get touched.
The director was guilty of negligent homicide. That’s WTF happened.
@@matthewdaley746 Hollywood disowned him because he stopped making them money. They don't give a shit about anything else.
He got away scott free...NOW THATS THE real TWILIGHT ZONE.
He was most likely wrongly acquitted, but the reason we have the "innocent until _proven_ guilty" system is because human nature is the exact opposite. People will hold shit against you for the rest of your life even if you can prove you _didn't_ do it -- unless, of course, you can pin the blame on someone more unpopular than yourself. In this situation, the law seeks to counterbalance human nature to try to get some sense of fairness, on-average, but there will always be a few situations where someone gets wrongly acquitted.
@@deusexaethera those innocent children
@@pgaven9396: How does that rebut what I said?
Saw an interview with Landis. He had a smile on his face when talking about the tragedy. Disgusting.
True he has sick smile on his face
People are sick
I saw you posting this comment with a smile on your face. Disgusting.
@@kyliethelittlespider-mangirl94 They are. That's why they like scary movies.
people do that for all sorts of reasons. he knew he ws putting the lives of those kids at risk and still went ahead with it telling himself that nothings gonna happen theyll be alright. must have come as a shock when it took the worst turn possible. im 10% sure he felt guilty about it. a smile can indicate many things, like nerousness, or a reaction to ptsd. doesnt mean hes some evil guy who enjoyed it. im sure he learned his lesson with the change in direction his editing took, may he become a better individual
I know wtf happened... PEOPLE DIED ON THE FREAKING SET!
Kyle Santos Tragically in the set for the first segment of the movie. They had to change the ending for it and it affected Hollywood in terms of getting children casted in the movie.
@@fernandorosales599
I have heard a lot of people on TH-cam saying that Landis reputation as a director and as a human being pretty much went to shit after the twilight zone incident.
That's what I was thinking. "I'll tell you what happened; Jon Landis indirectly decapitated Vic Morrow and two Chinese kids."
Kathleen Kennedy was involved!?!? Will her bloodlust never be quenched?!?
@@alienboy1322 Thing is, his career didn't just go to shit.
The man carried on making movies - Classics as if the event never happened.
Trading Places - Thriller
The scary thing is, Landis didn't appear too bothered by the incident.
His career wasn't hit as hard as one would expect.
The man was protected probably by his powerful high profile inner circle.
The event barely made the news and it was mostly swept under the carpet as he continued to work.
A word of finale, given in the style of Serling himself, regarding Landis: " Consider the eyes that follow John Landis, and will continue to regard him with contempt, and see him only in the light of one night of his life. This is the face of John Landis, the face those millions of eyes cannot help but see. Director John Landis, a would-be god in blood-stained jeans , strangled by a shadow caught by the camera that gave him power, that will-o'-the-wisp mirage that dangles from the screen in front of the eyes of all ambitious filmmakers with hearts made of celluloid, all movie nerds who think the film is the be all and end all-and any resemblance to the creature known as Nosferatu is hardly coincidental, for both suck the life out of moments in time, whether it be here or in the Twilight Zone. ".
Damn, reading that in Serling's voice legit gave me chills, not just because you nailed the style of Serling's prose but because of how profound it is regarding an actual tragic event that happened.
You should write a book!
It's kind of ironic that such a Twilight Zone twist would happen during filming.😢
👏👏👏
I'll never forget John Lithgow in the plane scene it was amazing.
He played the part so convincingly well.
Lithgow should be hated. He is weird just to look at and he shows his depressing bald head so much.
Eddie Murphy statement was on point!
Yet he still worked with him multiple times.
Dolores Plumlee true
Same with Spielbergs’. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS ABOUT TO GO WRONG FUCKING YELL CUT!!! AND GET THEM OUT OF THERE!!!
Agreed....it would be fair to say that any of us would say the same thing he did
He continued to work with him. His Morals went out the window when it came to Money and Transvestites. Let’s not kid ourselves that Eddie Murphy is a moral compass
The Joe Dante and John Lithgow segments were brilliant. The John Landis segment was okay, despite the accident. But I didn't like Spielberg's segment as I found it boring and out of place.
@UCTlO3MgUhv0pZ0pSb2Vzhrw : "The accident changes the film for boring to horrific."
The changes being that the Vietnam War sub-plot was removed from the segment and the film entirely, and that the segment ended differently, a tragic ending of loss instead of an ending of redemption through rescuing two children (that were killed with him).
And it's _from_ boring to horrific, not "for", see, _from_ , FROM, man hehehehehehe You can Edit out your typos after posting comments, ya know hehehehehe
@@codeoptimizationware2803 No need to be such a Grammar Nazi, but, my point stands, the META subtext, makes the film MUCH more painful to watch.
Which was Spielbergs segment?
@@rickyray2794 Kick the Can which in my opinion was kinda boring and out of place.
With a few notable exceptions, most everything Spielberg has done in his career has been boring, so this is no great surprise.
This is what a TH-cam video should be about - it's significant, it's relevant, it's engaging, it's informative, skillfully executed and very entertaining. Well done.
“You wanna see somethin’ really scary?” 🧟♂️ I still say this on long car rides at night.
When "Midnight Special" comes on the radio.
That would have to be my all time favourite line.
Joe Dante and George Miller picked up the slack on the Twilight Zone movie.
Thankfully for that Miller and Dante are probably 2 of the last great minds in cinema
Poor Landis got asked to sign a book.
Meanwhile 2 kids are dead and he’s still rich.
I thought that guy asking Landis to sign his copy of that book was awesome.
And not many people know.
Mike Paul I did too. Since it seems he was never punished I’m glad other people make sure he never forgets.
Who told you life was supposed to be fair?
Bruciphers Dungeon 2 kids and a father
i have that book -"outrageous conduct'... shame what happenred to vic morrow he was great in this
@@matthewdaley746 Every time I watch an episode of one of my favorite old shows, Combat!, I remember Vic dying making this movie. I loved him as the Sgt on Combat!. I really didn't like his story on this movie. Really sucks he and those kids died that way.
@@shadowwolf7622 What's really tragic is that the original ending where his character redeems himself by saving those two kids in the story never happened and thus we get a really terrible ending to an already pretty bad story. No one should have to die for their craft period. Landis deserves a special place in hell for what he did.
The sad irony is that Vic Morrow obviously saw something was TERRIBLY wrong 5 to 10 seconds prior and actually did try to save those kids right before the accident.
He even reportedly say so in the biography that was written about him.
By the look on Vic's face you can tell he was really struggling while slogging through water carrying a child under each arm and actually slipping and dropping one of the children, at that point they should have yelled cut, Vic was such a trooper
@@nathanforester5993 Is there REALLY a Vic Morrow biography out there ? (apart from Wikipedia ?) I mean an actual book)
@@TRINZINI Not directly a biography but I Told You I Was Ill has Vic Morrow's last words in it and those last words were 'I'd have to be crazy to pull off that shot'
@@nathanforester5993 There's also the excellent book FLY BY NIGHT by Steve Chain on the whole TZ trial. It mentions that one of Vic's last phrase was to his woman assistant (right before the last shot) when he looked at her and said half-jokingly "Send flowers !" 😥
Landis literally only cared his career was ruined. During the trial they say he had zero remorse. Also he made this scene so dangerous looking & as realistic as possible to try & top Spielberg. His narcissism caused 3 deaths. I also read he showed up at morrow funeral uninvited & told everyone " vic thanked me b4 he died for casting him" unbelievable. That jury screwed up big time. They had all the 3vidence they needed to convict on manslaughter. How ? 3 died & landis was responsible. Ir does not matter if he did not intend that. He was warned by several people the stunt was too dangerous. His comment of " u ain't seen nothing yet " is Sickening & prophetic. Yea nobody saw a real life horror like that. 2 people decapitated & one crushed. 2 of the 3 were little kids who they illegally hired to get around child labor laws. As eddie murphy said " if 2 kids get killed & 2 get their heads cut off at 2am u really screwed up. " landis directed Murphy in trading places. Murphy refused to sit in the court as landis requested of many celebs to impress the jury w/ the people who supported him. Murphy said ur still my friend but I'm not going to support something that's wrong. Landis name & rep was in the gutter so murphy threw him a bone & pushed the studio to hire landis for coming to America. He said Landis was a total a hole & yelled at him " u didnt support me. I was very close to going to jail " so that s how much remorse this narcissist had , instead of being humbled & guilt ridden & being thrilled he got a stupid jury he proved he did not care by yelling at Eddie for not showing up in court to support him. ??? What a creep. Speilberg ended his friendship w/ him.
Oh & the irony is everyone agrees neither landis nor Spielberg's segments were great , George Miller's segment w/ the creature on the wing was hands down the best one.
I watched that movie so many times in the 80s and I had no idea about that terrible accident, until now. John Landis definitely should have done prison time for that.
Who the F is Jeffrey Goldsmith? Is that Jerry Goldsmith's brother?
Yep, he's the basket case, locked up in the Goldsmith's basement.
And his other brother Jeremy Goldsmith
Few posters bother to proof edit anything on the Net. It's like, 'Uh, close enough.'
Lol, I heard that too!
jeff goldsmith is the youngest .Jerry is the oldest. john and jeremy are twins and are the middle children. father is jacob and mother is joanna. pet fish is jason and the cats name is jack born and raised in Jacksonville and he drives a jetta
Yoooo! Dan Akroyd's part terrified me when I was kid. The thumbnail still gives me the creeps.
Yeah, that’s the only scary part of the movie, use to rewind it, and watch it over an over 🤣
I grew up in the 80s, obsessed with horror movies like Freddy and Jason, but this part always made me watch with my eyes half covered.
Same
George Miller’s Gremlin Segment is nothing short of a pure, unfiltered, concentrated Masterpiece of Suspense and Terror.
You know that's a remake from an original twilight zone episode right?
Lithgow is a weird guy. He even looks strange.
@@bnelso2833It's just the way he is.
This was George Miller's first American picture as co-director in its fourth segment.
@@markelijio6012 Weird looking indeeed.
I used to love this movie as a kid. Though I was always most puzzled as to why the Spielberg segment was such a letdown. He could have made a spooky story about absolutely anything, but do we get? A tale about a few old folks kicking a can around.
A few years ago I stumbled on an article as to what happened during this movie's production, and honestly, I've never really wanted to watch it since. The Twighlight Zone is tragically one of those movies where the story behind it is more fascinating than the end product itself.
Spielberg obviously wanted to distance himself from the project following the horrible tragedy, and hence why his episode is so lackluster. His heart clearly wasn't in it anymore. And really, who can blame him? In my opinion the entire project should have been cancelled.
While the John Lithgow and Joe Dante segments are very good - and what really elevates the movie above mediocre. There's something distinctly morbid about the Vic Morrow story still being included in the movie.
Maybe it was done out of some awkward sign of respect for the actor, not cutting his final role? But the subject matter of the episode with him playing an unlikeable racist who never finds his redemption is hardly a fitting tribute to the man. It was originally intended that the scene of him saving the two children was what would have redeemed his character and allowed him to escape his torment at the end. But knowing this now only makes the cobbled together version that exists in the movie seem all the more sinister. Primarily, just the fact that three people were tragically killed while making this very mediocre story leaves a really bad taste in the mouth.
Landis savagely went down in my estimation after finding out about the tragedy. In hindsight, you can clearly see his reckless obsession for over the top carnage in other early movies of his like The Blues Brothers. He was an accident just waiting to happen.
I'm sure the man was deeply scarred by what happened, but it's unbelievable that he walked away from this without so much as a slap on the wrist and allowed to continue his career relatively unscathed. He deserved to be severely reprimanded in some way at least. Jail time would have been getting off very lightly indeed. And utter shame on WB for essentially sweeping this under the carpet. They'd never have been able to keep it so low key in the internet obsessed age of today. But having enough money can indeed buy you out of anything it seems.
a man died in topgun, please dont tell me u dont like that either
The original 'KTC' TZ segment was good but they had many eps way, way better including the mostly forgotten hour long ep ' The Parallel' about the astronaut on a lookalike planet to Earth. They could have remade one of these.
You are right. Spielberg's film segment was deeply overly tame and disappointing. To think he made 'Jaws'!
Spielberg's life story and the way he kinda went too soft parallels the USA. Softies is what most American men and the USA have become.
I don't feel bad for John Landis, his life continued and went on to direct more movies, who I really feel bad for is Vic Morrow and the two children who lost there lives cause of a horrible accident, and the families of the victims.
Tons of other directors have broken rules or skirted laws, they just didn’t have an accident while they were doing it.
Plenty of people have driven drunk and not killed anyone.
Proves he was to ambitious and cared more about the shot than the safety of his actors.
Truer words have never been spoken by anyone.
Saw this at a young age, damn this was a weird but amazing movie too me, the opening, the weird kid and the airplane bit scared me.
TH-cam has a documentary called "Masters of Horror" on it. At 7:13, Landis says "shredded child" with a smile on his face. Weird flex.
They should make a twilight zone episode based on this.
I think it'll be interesting.
@America is great Because it's good The new Twilight Zone has white leads...
Carrier-Crow no he isn’t
@@mrcritical6751 The hell he isn't; if the tables were turned and a white director said half of the same crap about black actors that Peele says about white actors, then there would be riots and the mobs would call for the director's head on a pike.
But, a black man being openly racist against white people is fine because "muh diversity"? Nope, it's still racist and Peele should be chased out of Hollywood like an openly racist white director would be.
@@Dargonhuman agreed
The last segment with the gremlin remains one of my all time favourite pieces of film. The Shatner version was hamstrung by a non-scary monster and a slower pace, but the Lithgow/Miller remake was just anxiety personified.
It's impossible to talk about this film without bringing up the tragic accident. More terrifying and unsettling than anything you can create in a horror film.
RIP Vic and those 2 children.
Three people died for a terrible, forgettable, film.
You are 37+ years LATE.
@@QuantumRift Mourning has no time frame.
@@shadowwolf7622 If you are mourning Vic Morrow 37 years late you have a problem with 'mourning'.
@@QuantumRift dude, shut up. As if it's that important to have you commenting on it. Leave them be
"If he carries the guilt then that's appropriate." Well said but has Landis ever apologized? Did he ever take responsibility? 3 people died because of him and he still had a career afterwards. Where was the justice in that?
Plus there's NO WAY the technicians knew more about how to shoot the scene, EXCEPT they totally did!
Also in the court interviews, he smug like an asshole. That's no regret.
actually marrow could have refused n the parents shuldnt have allowed it. landis is at fault but acting like the victums were helpless
@@grahamjarman Horrific disaster unquestionably.
He definitely considers the movie an old shame of his, he has never directly apologized for it but he has mentioned it.
Fun Fact: Ethel from the "It's a Good Life" segment is the voice of Bart Simpson and some other characters from The Simpsons. She is the girl with no mouth.
Looking at her with no mouth scared the hell outta me as a kid.
Nancy Cartwright
No. She isn't the girl without a mouth. Sara doesn't have a mouth. Ethel is the one Anthony sends into the tv, where she gets eaten by an animated wolf.
Nancy Cartwright plays Ethel and is more recently known as the voice of Bart Simpson and other characters on The Simpsons.
Cherie Currie of the punk rock group The Runaways, played Sara.
David Baer you’re right, the kid 🧒 sends her into the TV 📺 to be eaten by the monster and says, “That’s all Ethel”. Creepy!
Shes also in Maximum Overdrive and the Legend of Billie Jean...
why are you saying it's the same girl when it's 2 different girls?
Landis got away with murder. The fact that he continued finishing that segment and just changing the ending is the epitome of a narcissistic apathetic Hollywood a-hole!
@Guilt free White man!! that's not respect the guy wanted it fucking done, i am a year late but fucking God you are stupid, hope you're still alive to realize that
"He didnt get off easy, he lives with the guilt" bs, he got off easy because he got to live on and work making millions and never served time
Imagine letting a murderer go free and being like "dont worry hes not getting off easy, he as to live with what he did"
I recently watched The Cursed Film series in the last episode. It's in Shudder and It gives more details about the happening. Also for a heads up, it did show an actual clip of an accident. I have never seen the film before and I know my gut feeling well watching a documentary didn't sit right. I'm beyond stunned and heartbroken than ever. I'm disappointed in my favorite films of John directed such as Blues Brothers, National Lampoon Animal House, Trading Places, Coming to America, and American Werewolf in London (I never seen it too but I've heard the makeup or CGI design was great), lastly is Michael Jackson one. My heart goes out to Vic and two children. Including their loved ones and workers who are traumatized forever.
Richard Matheson pretty much summed it up in one sentence before the film's release: "A tragedy, just a bloody tragedy."
I interviewed John Landis about 6 years ago, (nice guy, a bit of a jerk) and the ONE thing the publicist hammered home was DON'T ASK ABOUT THE TWILIGHT ZONE! As if I would... it was a terrible tragedy and the movie wasn't that good for all that.
Rick Drew his son seems like a massive douchebag.
@@vhscopyofseinfeld He's also a serial rapist.
@@matthewdaley746
It's a shame because I liked Bright and Chronicle.
@@alienboy1322 He's just keeping up the family tradition of being irredeemable.
Hiw can he be a nice *and* a bit of a jerk? That makes no sense.
During this period a lot of the helicopter pilots in TV and movies were Vietnam trained pilots. Gave their scenes a certain "WOW" factor. When the accident happened the word was that a piece of the tail prop got broken off the helicopter which caused the helicopter to go out of control with no chance of recovery.
I've read that explosives were detonated too close to the heli, resulting in the damage. Congruent with what you explained
Would like to see a deep-dive into WTF happened to Brandon Lee and "The Crow"
Oh, yeah! Not that Landis didn't, at some level, deserve to be shamed for his lethal thoughtlessness (he was a major studio director at that point, not some student filmmaker trying to replicate Hollywood-level setpieces on a lunch money budget!) - but there's something seriously off when Landis got dragged through Hell and back while Alex Proyas, who was every bit as negligent which led to the death of his star(!), didn't. Proyas was the one who wanted to save money by not having the Armorer on-set when he was shooting a scene involving guns, as the Armorer would have known enough to be SURE the misfiring cartridge in an earlier sequence had been ejected before letting the gun be used again. The Prop Master, not being trained in arms, didn't know to check - and so the previously lodged shell, knocked out of the barrel by a subsequent blank round, gut-shot Brandon Lee, ultimately killing him.
Yes!!!!!!
@@drdarkeny If this is how lax safety standards were in the early 90's, it boggles the mind what they must've been like from the 30's up to the 80's.
Yes I would too!! I still believe that Brandon Lee was killed by the CURSE that also killed his Father BRUCE LEE!
It happened because in movies, you have a gun round that shoots blanks for showing a person getting shot, a gun round for showing the shooter's point of view - the latter typically having more gun powder than a normal round for thematic purposes, and finally sometimes they'll use actually bullets for up close scenes of reloading (never actually fired). Well, they used the same gun for both scenes. Since the budget for the film was real tight, they made their own blanks and lead tips for close ups. I guess they weren't really paying attention when shooting scenes and one of the lead tips was lodged in the chamber without anyone noticing. Then a blank was placed directly behind that. And like I said earlier, blanks tend to have more gun powder than normal rounds. So when it was fired, the lead tip had no where to go except where it was aimed - at Brandon Lee. Some people believe it was a conspiracy. Another interesting fact is that the actor who fired the gun, ended up taking off for a year and never got over his role in the accident, even though it really wasn't his fault.
Interesting story, I worked w/Jennifer Jason Leigh on Set as a Day Player/Extra in Fall of 1997 in Hallmarks "Love Letters" ... As we wrapped the scene, one of my fellow actresses fell to the pavement. Jennifer rushed over to see if she was allright. I didn't understand why one of the "Stars" would be so attentive to one of the Day Player/Extras. When I went back to my hotel room, I recalled her Father was Vic Morrow, who died tragically in one of H'woods most unfortunate on Set accidents in history.
Good story about Landis getting shamed by the Grindhouse scene. A bit of a twofer since it was both on the nose and how modern cgi in cinema can pull off the kind of scene he wanted but couldn’t achieve. This very much should follow him always.
He deserved to be shamed for his arrogance BEFORE it was the cause of three deaths.
I liked the critter busting the airplane segment. John really nail the crazy dude persona, lol trying to convince others there was a critter out there being all paranoid like xD. he always makes the crazy dude acting hilarious yet disturbing all at the same time, you literally don't know if it's better to laugh or to just run for your life!
"All footage involving the kids was deleted" ?
Not in the version I have.
This changed a lot of the industry after this happened.The other incident that changed the industry again was on the set of the show Cover Up.The actor on the show Cover Up was playing with a prop gun between takes and blew his brains out in front of the cast and crew.He was rushed to the hospital and died.Then there was the Brandon Lee incident.Safety regulations were changed where now,there has to be safety people on the set at all times involving gunfire or complicated stunts.
"if anyone thinks he got off light..." He did. His fellow inmate could have been staring at him everyday...
Ohhh...I think they'd do more than stare, dont you? ;) A secret sauce and broken glass souffle for his ham and eggs every morning no doubt. They REALLY hate kid killers.
The great pity of Vic Morrow's passing is that his turn in the role would've surely catapulted him back into mainstream success. Little doubt remains about that.
How did I grow up in the 80’s and never hear about this? Great video!
Its a real shame Morrow's career ended up the way it did for him to have to be in this film, he was a pretty talented guy just found himself sidelined because of "Combat," He was also not a bad director he directed a double length Episode of "Combat" Hills are for Heroes, its dated of course but holds up to a lot of 60s war films.
the score by "Jeffery Goldsmith"?
come on, one of the GODS of film scoring and you can't get his name right?
That's Jerry Goldsmith.
@@markelijio6012 I know. That was why I commented.
In the video where the accident took place you can see Morrow and one of the kids head taken off gruesome. One of the stage hands runs over to see if the actors were alright he takes one look and jumps back in horror.
He'd just witnessed three preventable deaths, can you really blame him?
Landis blamed it on a fx crew member for setting off the charge without looking where the helicopter was. And unfortunately the jury bought it.
"Landis blamed it on a fx crew member ...." Most likely he was under instruction from his legal team to blame that person, knowing crew members wouldn't be convicted.
Yes and no. The prosecutor pushed to convict him for murder and didn't try for supplemental charges like involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide. THAT'S largely why he walked. There's not enough evidence for murder, but there's easily enough evidence for negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter.
If Dan Akroyd ever asks if you want to see something really scary, you say NO.
Cuz he's gonna pull his pants down and show you how much his dick looks like a nose!! And majority of people surprised by how little it offends them compared to a normal dick go 'Ahhh man, so that's where you got that joke from in Nothing But Trouble!! Well I'll be damned...... but Dan seriously......you couldve just told me that verbally, advice for next time I guess"
Because this in case this he's not busting ghosts....he IS the ghost.
this is probably the most detailed version of what happened, thanks
I've heard the story a few times but never realized that 3 people died, I was always under the impression Vic Morrow died and that was it....
still I grew up on this movie, it's always been one of my faves....
The tragedy was a disaster that NEVER needed to happen, if ANYONE had spoken up, it WOULDN'T have.
12:00, my response would have been along the lines of. "I'm pretty sure Vic Morrow and those two kids did not appreciate having a helicopter crash on them, but I digress. Can I get your autograph?"
Well written, well made video. Good job.
I remember the infamous “Twilight Zone Trial”. Terrible miscarriage of justice. The film was a mixed bag for me...some segments were better than others. I saw it at a drive in when it first came out.
the best video on the subject i have seen on youtube so far
Weird how some celebrities say something slightly controversial and their careers are ruined, while others get away with murder. Matthew Broderick, anyone?
Am I missing something, what has Matthew Broderick been in in the last numerous years that has been notable?
@@BigBadJerryRogers He hasn't been in prison. That's the problem.
@@BigBadJerryRogers I believe he was driving in England, got confused and ended up on the wrong side of the road, ended up killing someone in a head-on crash.
I'll see your Matthew Broderick and raise you a Vince Neil
Was 12:06-12:23 supposed to be a reference to what happened with Myca Dinh Le, Vic Morrow & Renee Shin-Yi Chen in mid-1982 & that was the reason as to why a bunch of people turned towards John Landis during the screening of 'Grindhouse' & look at him?...
After all this time I thought this whole thing was a freak accident but after learning how hard Landis was and demanding, it paints him in a different light wow
It was ALL his fault, he wanted the best shot possible, and, he knew NO ONE would say no to him, the results speak for themselves.
I've loved The Twilight Zone since the 80s. I thought Twilight Zone: The Movie was good, but I had no idea of the tragic history behind it. That's a real eye-opener.
Same here. I'm sure I'd seen Morrow in other things, but the first thing I remember seeing him in is when I picked up the 1981 "Jaws" knock off "The Last Shark," where he played the pseudo Quint role. I really liked his performance in it, so I checked his wiki page and then I saw how his life and the lives of two children were tragically cut short by this film.
I wish warner bros. would restore the original early 80's WB logo to twilight zone the movie that i remember seeing at the movie theater in the summer of 1983 on the blu-ray release. Creedence Clearwater revival played better with the 1983 wb logo.
The 1972-1984 WB logo. Better use your brains next time.
Eddie Murphy's quote on the incindent is spot on.
The level of regret is something I don't want to even imagine. I think I might kill myself if I was responsible for that.
I didn't know this story... omfg.
I would have liked to know more details about the john lithgow segment, it's the best in the movie.
This story is probably why the film hasn't faded into obscurity.
The story was kind of swept under the carpet, even at the time of the event. The average member of the public didn't even associate John Landis with the tragic and disgusting incident. He was apparently an absolute tyrant on set his career didn't really suffer to badly - he was protected by his powerful high profile inner circle.
Disgraceful all round.
@@barryhercules6486 Once they saw he would NEVER stop, the same institutions, swiftly left him behind.
Yeah same here. I didn't know about this
@@tonyking7714 A disaster overtaking all.
That intro - You my friend is not Rod Serling
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1982, Morrow and two child actors, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le, and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were filming on location in California, in an area that was known as Indian Dunes, near Santa Clarita. RIP we lost a legend and two future bright stars that day...
Three people are dead because John Landis didn't care.
@@matthewdaley746 He should've gone to Jail!
@@pgaven9396 At least Hollywood guaranteed he'd NEVER direct a high-profile film like that again.
@@matthewdaley746 whoppty do...thats like saying AB won't play in the winningest team in the NFL again...he will play again if he wants...but not for the Patriots..
@@pgaven9396 For a diva like John Landis, being exposed as the hack that he was could be seen as pretty bad as well.
It’s Jerry Goldsmith, not Jeffrey. And George Folsey Jr, not Fosley.
Your reviews are a breath of fresh air... informative entertaining and a pleasure to watch ,no mean feat...thank you
I think its underrated, John Landis' segments were decent, the last 2 were great even Rob Ager did a long analysis of Joe Dante's segment and yeah the weakest one is Spielberg. Rob Bottin's effects are amazing, good soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith especially the last story which has a similar Gremlins theme (You would think Joe Dante would direct that segment but oh well) & John Lithgow's over the top insane performance.
Well good for you. I found them memorable except Spielberg's segment. Sure its not the best anthology movie ever made but its pretty good. By the way, have you seen the new Creepshow tv show?
The guy went on to do some decent things, although some of them I'm not the biggest fan but eh, they are fine, nothing special.
Matthew Daley - We get it. You hate Landis. You don’t need to spam the entire thread.
Matthew Daley - I know the facts. And yes, you are spamming by making essentially the same response to nearly every comment on this thread. We get it- Landis bad. Move on. Some of love his films, even the work he’s done after TTZ.
I disagree, I think he's a great director, he just made some weak or unnecessary movies like Blues Brothers 2000. They certainly better than M Night's crap. These things happen all the time sometimes its the script or not having total control or picked the wrong project or even having too much control. Look at Jaws, it was thanks to the Shark for not working that saved the film, its not always the director that does everything or is the reason why the film was successful. Poltergeist, sure it feels like a Spielberg movie but I'm pretty sure Tobe Hooper came up with some interesting ideas, the guy managed to make a scary movie that had no gore and was supposed to rated R even though it feels like you're watching a PG-13 movie. Then I guess Joe Dante didn't direct Gremlins, it was Spielberg....oh well, the sequel was much better. At the end of the day, we agree to disagree. And its ok, I love the fact that we are discussing these things, its interesting to listen to other people's thoughts and opinions.
At this point I personally do not care if John Landis feels 'slighted' by people still looking at him funny in public, or during a screening of Planet Terror, where some film maker was sickly inspired to have heads similarly decapitated by helicopter blades.
The fact that Landis served zero jail time for the murder of 3 people, two of which were underaged and he deliberately hid from an on-set social worker because he knew their participation was illegal, merely to get his scene in the camera, is obscene.
Oh, he's had to live with it. Well, guess what? Morrow and the two kids had to die for it.
If one believes in an afterlife, Landis' won't be pretty.
And the icing on the cake, Landis's segment got to stay, with Vic Morrow still in it. U really think the man would want that if he was around to have a say? F*** NO!!
and don't even get me started on the guy showing up to all three funerals to make it about him...
RIP Vic Morrow and the children what a travesty
I saw this movie when it was new. I knew something mysterious had happened but nobody was telling anyone specifics back then. Thank you for this video. What a terrible thing to have happened. The 12-year-old me finally has his answers.
I’m at the age I remember the WHOLE thing. (Those kids would be my age right now) Vic Morrow was a legend and cared his heart out in that segment. It was actually one of my favorites in the movie, I’m glad they left it in to give him a final farewell, so to speak.. but it was very tragic, and Landis apparently learned his lesson
No he didn't, which is why he ONLY directed films studios chose for him after this happened.
Great job with these videos. I’ve watched a couple and I’ve been very impressed.
I was 11 when this happened and I remember feeling a lot of anger at Landis especially because of those kids. Plus, he killed Sgt. Saunders. Great actor. RIP.
You should, he had NO BUSINESS shooting that scene like he did.
I read a while back that Indian Hills is very private property now as gore tourists would often visit at all hours of the night in macabre fascination of the events. I just think its so tragic that Vic Morrow delivered his most compelling performance & died as it was rolling to a close. Untimely, inopportune & ghastly, I think Landis pays every day a little something of the soul & in some beliefs...that's a hell of itself. He might be alive & well, but no one would swap places with him for all the radiation in Chernobyl. Apart from that, his Masters of Terror segment "Family" is macabre & surrealistically noir. You'll never see George Wendt the same way.
Despite the tragedy surrounding this film, it's not a bad movie. Definitely check it out if you can. I saw it as a kid and I LOVED the last two stories.
I CAN'T watch this film WITHOUT thinking about the tragedy.
@Christopher Cory Death overshadows everything.
@Christopher Cory She was a PAID stuntwoman, who KNEW the risks, NOT the same, AT ALL!
@Christopher Cory Are you serious lol, your probably the same type of person to watch Clownhouse despite knowing a child was being raped by the director behind the scenes on a consistant basis. Tragedy should effect the way you see things, supporting something despite the horrible actions of others is giving them a pass and telling them it's all good to committ crimes as long as your good at you job which should NEVER be acceptable. Can just tell you have never had tragedy effect your life because if you had maybe you would broaden your own perspective and understand others point of view, we aren't the ones who should change ours your the one who needs to if you think accepting criminality that left victims in there wake is all good because you get a good movie.
@Christopher Cory You're right, nothing will change the fact that three lives were wasted to a tyrannical director's ego, and, that's all.
My dad told me about the tragedy in the 90's. I just saw the graphic footage for the first time. Knowing some of the behind the scenes details and seeing that, it's just horrific. I'm surprised John Landis had a career after that.
The reason the helicopter crashed was because explosives 🧨 were used on set to create the illusion that the helicopter firing into the village. During the filming of the scene, the special effects guy detonated one explosive too early that hit the helicopter causing it to crash. John Landis try to convince people that the special effects guy was the reason why three actors died. But that not true because John Landis had the helicopter fly to low and made the set a very dangerous place to set foot on
Precisely, he could have done something safer, but, the shot wouldn't have been as spectacular, so disaster resulted.
12:40 Feeling guilt over deaths you caused through you gross negligence *IS* getting off light.
It's one thing to take due precautions, then having a fatal accident. It is something else entirely to be careless and have a fatal accident.
At the end when "Truth is stranger than fiction" a twilight zone sound/music should've been played; That would've been perfect. But i bet with DMCA copyright you can't use that.
Potoum A twilight zone music was played
They played the Twilight Zone theme at the start of the video.
F**king WOW!!! I had no idea that one of my favorite childhood movies and the director of my favorite werewolf movie have such a tragic history. Thanks for the research.
Landis should’ve received jail time.
Unrelated to the accident, but that opening sequence with Dan Akroyd gave me nightmares for months as a kid. Still terrifying to this day.
Makes you appreciate how incredibly dangerous filming was, back when scenes like that were shot for real. We've all seen scenes in older, pre-CG, movies where a character gets buzzed by a plane or helicopter, it's a relatively common shot, and there's always the potential for random accidents. It can never be 100% safe. In this case, it was debris from a pyrotechnic damaging the tail rotor of the helicopter, causing it to spin out and crash onto the actors.
The kids should not have been there, at night, filming a scene with that kind of danger. That's the real sin here; everything else is accident. Some good came of the tragedy, though, because it was a watershed moment for on-set safety - new regulations were introduced, and this incident stands as a warning to productions that take unnecessary risks to get that perfect shot. As Spielberg said, no film is worth dying for.
the reaction of the people at the screening of Planet Terror multiplied across every single day of the rest of his life and his career being ruined is the least of punishments he deserves