It's that time of year again when families and friends gather at restaurants and homes to celebrate with grateful hearts another Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving Day is a communal celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life. This is done by offering prayers, gifting your near and dear ones. The fourth Thursday in the month of November is marked for the yearly celebration.
The history of Thanksgiving in the United States begins with the pilgrims who came over from England and landed on Plymouth Rock. Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Native Americans that took place in the autumn of 1621. The origin story of the first Thanksgiving being celebrated really goes back to 1620. Late that year, the Mayflower, a small ship for ocean crossings, left England with over 100 passengers onboard. Some of them sought religious freedom in the new world and others simply were drawn by stories of the prosperity and promise in America. The journey to the new world lasted over two months. When they arrived, they found themselves well off course, near the tip of Cape Cod. They had been navigating for the Hudson River. They set up the colony at Plymouth on the other side of the bay over a month later. The settlers were ill prepared for the harsh New England winter and by the time spring came, they were down to about half of their original supplies. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. That spring they met a Native American who spoke some English. He introduced them to Squanto; the famous English speaking Indian who helped the settlers stay alive. He showed the otherwise hopeless settlers how to fish and hunt as well as how to grow corn and tell edible plants from poisonous ones. Squanto introduced the settlers to a friendly local tribe called the Wampanoag. With the help of the Native Americans the settlers prospered and later that year, in November of 1621 the settlers were ready to celebrate the successful harvest of their first crop of corn. The settlers invited about 91 of their Indian allies to the party. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The gathering, festivities and cuisine was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance.
The feast lasted three days. It is no secret that most Thanksgiving Day traditions revolve around food. Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl. It is certain that they also had venison at this feast. Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums. Indeed, the turkey is the symbol of Thanksgiving. Wild turkeys are still quite common in many parts of the United States, so most historians would concede that turkey was probably on the menu. However, there were probably lots of other types of meat on the menu too, like venison and pork. What is more telling is what was missing from that first Thanksgiving. There were probably very few if any vegetables at the Thanksgiving feast. Today we have mashed potatoes, yams, squashes and other veggies, but neither the pilgrims nor the Indians had any way to keep vegetables fresh that far into fall. Another major difference is the lack of desserts at the first Thanksgiving. Today, dessert is a major part of the Thanksgiving meal. However by autumn of 1621, the pilgrims were running low on sugar and probably didn't make any pumpkin pie or peach cobbler.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
Given below are the citations from the two original writings followed by an analysis of the roots of Thanksgiving. Winslow, Mourt's Relation :
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation :
"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their house and dwelling against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned by true reports."
It took a very long time for Thanksgiving to become an annual event, for it to have a universally accepted date, and for it to be celebrated as a federal holiday. Various Thanksgiving-type celebrations were held irregularly during the fall months for nearly 150 years before it was suggested by the Continental Congress that the country should have a national day of Thanks. Some historians suggest that this was a political move as much as anything. The emerging country was in need of its own traditions and customs to help create a separate non-English, American identity. Thanksgiving was perfect because it was a way to honor the pilgrims, the people who originally left England to be free of persecution
The celebration, at the time, had a very obvious patriotic and anti-English subtext. People began celebrating Thanksgiving Day more regularly. However, depending on where you were, the day of the celebration might be different. In 1817, New York was the first state to adopt Thanksgiving as an official holiday. By the time the Civil War erupted in the 1860's, every state had also made Thanksgiving a state holiday. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November. Since that time, every president has issued a Thanksgiving Day Proclamation every Thanksgiving, declaring it to be a national day of thanks. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt declared that the Thanksgiving would be on the third Thursday in November. Congress approved that declaration two years later in 1941.
The reason for the earlier Thanksgiving celebrations in Canada has often been attributed to the earlier onset of winter in the north, thus ending the harvest season earlier. Thanksgiving in Canada did not have a fixed date until the late 19th century. Prior to Canadian Confederation, many of the individual colonial governors of the Canadian provinces had declared their own days of Thanksgiving. The first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15, 1872, when the nation was celebrating the Prince of Wales' recovery from a serious illness. By the end of the 19th century, Thanksgiving Day was normally celebrated on November 6. However, when World War I ended, the Armistice Day holiday was usually held during the same week. To prevent the two holidays from clashing with one another, in 1957 the Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving to be observed on its present date on the second Monday of October. Since 1971, when the American Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, the American observance of Columbus Day has coincided with the Canadian observance of Thanksgiving.
Much as in Canada, Thanksgiving in the United States was observed on various dates throughout history. From the time of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln, the date Thanksgiving was observed varied from state to state. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. Thanksgiving was first celebrated on the same date by all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday, Lincoln proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states.[28] Because of the ongoing Civil War and the Confederate States of America's refusal to recognize Lincoln's authority, a nationwide Thanksgiving date was not realized until Reconstruction was completed in the 1870s.
On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost.
Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has “pardoned” one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.
In many American households, the family feast is an important tradition during Thanksgiving. The entire family sits at the table during dinner and offer prayer to the Lord Almighty for his continuous grace. It is also a time for relatives living in different places to come together and celebrate.
Turkey has become a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it is all but synonymous with the holiday. Today, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate. At the meal, many families observe the ritual of going around the table to express what each member is thankful for. Some family members will travel long distances to attend this yearly reunion.
During the meal, the family may break the turkey wishbone. Does your family fight over the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey? Known as a "lucky break" the tradition of tugging on either end of a fowl's bone to win the larger piece and its accompanying "wish" dates back to the Etruscans of 322 B.C. The Romans brought the tradition with them when they conquered England and the English colonists carried the tradition Whoever pulls away the larger piece gets a wish granted
Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York City’s Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters. The traditional Thanksgiving parade probably started with President Lincoln proclaiming it an official day. The full- dress parade is a way to display the country's military strength and discipline. The main aim of such parades is to lift the spirits of the spectators, provide them with wholesome entertainment. In the present day, parades are accompanied with musical shows and celebrities.
Throughout the United States, football on Thanksgiving Day is as big a part of the celebration as turkey and pumpkin pie. Dating back to the first intercollegiate football championship held on Thanksgiving Day in 1876, traditional holiday football rivalries have become so popular that a reporter once called Thanksgiving "a holiday granted by the State and the Nation to see a game of football." The traditional game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers continues. One of the most memorable games having been played on this day. If your Thanksgiving celebrations are like my families, most of the football fans head right for the television as soon as they hit the door.
In addition to these traditions folks do other things as well. Many churches hold a special Thanksgiving Day service centered on giving thanks to God. Some will observe the holiday through charity work. Common activities include serving and preparing meals at homeless shelters and soup kitchens, organizing food and clothing drives, and participating in community outreach programs.
Whatever you do with your holiday this week, stay safe and thankful. Enjoy time with those you care about and have some wonderful food. Happy Thanksgiving from Cactus Tactical.
Gunfights and Films - 80's Science Fiction Future Edition
Gunfights and Films - 80's Science Fiction Future Edition
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction film directed by James Cameron that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the title character who is a killer cyborg sent by machines from the future with the sole mission of eliminating Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman who will give birth to the leader of the future human resistance. Michael Biehn co-stars as Kyle Reese, a human soldier also sent from the future in order to protect Sarah. Arnold Schwarzenegger would reprise the role in the sequels Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) as well as appear via CGI in 2009's Terminator Salvation. He returned to a starring role in the 2015 sequel Terminator: Genisys. This franchise has been around a long time and gone through many changes in cast but sticks with the plot line while still maintaining twists and turns with plenty of action packed sequences. As film technology advances so did the Terminator films, going from the initial cybernetics to the current model in high definition CGI. Let's take a look at this iconic film of futuristic robotics.
Over an apocalyptic battlefield in the year 2029, the ruins of the city of Los Angeles are dominated by robotic war machines, some like tanks, others are hover crafts, a title card tells us that in the future, humans will wage a long war against an enemy known as the Machines. The "final battle" however, will not be fought in this future world, but in the past, specifically our present, as in that night.
The scene then opens up to Los Angeles, May 12, 1984 at 1:34 am. At the Griffith Park Observatory overlooking the city, lightning emanates from above a garbage truck, knocking out power. The driver sees an object ahead of him and flees as the electrical surge dissipates. The object is revealed to be the Terminator, a naked and heavily muscular cyborg. We watch as he stands up and starts walking toward the city where he is spotted by three young punks. The Terminator orders the men to give him their clothes, and the punks produce knives in response. The Terminator swats two of the punks aside, the third manages to stab him; but the Terminator tears open the punk's body with his bare hands, and kills him. One of the subdued punks immediately takes off his jacket and offers his clothes to the Terminator.
In a downtown alley, a homeless man sees another bright, circular light just above the ground, similar to the one at Griffith Park. A scarred, naked man appears who is muscular but much smaller in size than the other man who arrived in a similar but seemingly more painful fashion.This is Kyle Reese. Reese takes the homeless man's pants, just as a police car pulls up and two cops yell at him to freeze. Reese is able to hide and attacks one of the cops, taking his pistol and demanding the cop tell him the date and year. The cop becomes puzzled by Reese's question. When the cop's partner arrives, Reese runs into a department store. He steals several items, including a pair of Nike sneakers and a long coat and escapes the store. In another alley outside, he steals a shotgun from an unoccupied squad car. Finding a phone book nearby, he looks up the name of the woman he's been sent to find: Sarah Connor.
The Terminator steals a car and goes to a local sporting goods store where he has the owner show him several assault weapons and a pistol with laser sighting. The owner tells his customer that he can take the rifles right away but the pistol has a waiting period. As he explains the process, the Terminator casually loads the shotgun and shoots the clerk. Shortly after, the Terminator finds a phone book and looks for a name we see a second time, that of Sarah Connor. The Terminator discovers three listings in the Los Angeles area. He goes to the address of the first listing; as he walks to the front door, a small dog barks at him. When this Sarah Connor opens the door, the Terminator forces his way inside and shoots her with the pistol he acquired. Not long after, at the diner where she works, Sarah's co-worker drags her to the television where she sees a news report about women sharing her name being murdered by an unidentified assailant.
That evening, Sarah and her roommate, Ginger, prepare for separate dates. Ginger's boyfriend, Matt, will be coming over to spend the night. Sarah gets a message from her date, who cancels. Sarah decides to go out for pizza and sees another news report where the police announce the death of another woman sharing her name. Sarah becomes worried, and when she sees she is being followed, she ducks into a small dance club called Tech Noir. She tries to call Ginger, however Ginger and Matt are too busy to hear the phone. Not long after Sarah's call, the Terminator attacks and fatally shoots both Ginger and Matt, before hearing Sarah's voice on a message machine saying where she is. Sarah then phones the police department and is connected to Lt. Traxler, the detective investigating the Sarah Connor killings. He tells Sarah to stay put until he can get a squad car to her. The Terminator arrives at the club, dispatches a bouncer, and works his way inside.
In the meantime, Reese has also entered the dance club. Sarah is spotted by the Terminator, which aims its laser sighted pistol at her. Reese fires on the Terminator, hitting it with several blasts and knocking it to the floor. He tells Sarah "Come with me if you wanna live" and Sarah sees the Terminator impossibly rise to its feet. Reese and Sarah escape through the back door of the club, with the killer chasing them. As the chase begins we learn that the Terminator is a weaponized robot who's only mission is to eliminate Sarah Connor. During the chase, Reese frantically identifies himself and explains that Sarah has targeted and that the killer chasing them is not a man but a machine called a "terminator"; a metallic combat chassis covered with living human tissue to make it appear human. Reese tells Sarah that the first and larger 600 Series Terminators had rubber skin, but the newer 800 Series are very hard to identify which is why he followed Sarah and waited for the Terminator to make it's move so he could identify it.
While hiding out in a parking garage, Reese also explains that Sarah is destined to give birth to the humans' future leader John Connor. Reese goes on to say that a nuclear war will be initiated by a new, powerful computer system know as "Skynet" that is going to be tasked with controlling all defense systems. Reese himself has not seen the ensuing nuclear holocaust but was born and grew up destitute and dystopian ruins. He was enslaved and marked with a bar code and was forced to work loading bodies into incinerators. The human race, he says, will be on the verge of extinction when Sarah's son, John, is able to organize the remaining humans into an effective resistance movement that, by the time Reese will be sent back to the present day by Connor himself, had actually defeated Skynet. In desperation, Skynet has sent the Terminator to the present day to murder Sarah and eliminate John Connor's existence. Reese also explains that the Terminator pursuing Sarah, is a new model, one that appears infinitely more human than its predecessors. Reese tells her the android will bleed, sweat and even has bad breath to enhance the disguise. Reese is doubtful that he can defeat the android without having the advantage of advanced weaponry from the future.
While hiding out in a parking garage, Reese gets rid of his first car and steals a second one. The Terminator finds them there and the chase resumes. Reese has Sarah take over driving and is able to hit the Terminator with a few blasts from his shotgun. Sarah stops their car and the Terminator crashes into a wall. When she and Reese are arrested, she sees that the Terminator has escaped the scene.
At Traxler's police precinct, Sarah is told that Ginger is dead and that Reese has been given to a criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Silberman. His story about the Terminator is treated as the babbling of extreme delusion. While watching the videotape of the interview, Silberman eagerly says that a case like Reese's could be career-making. During the interview, Silberman asks Reese why he didn't bring weaponry from the future with him, to which Reese replies that only living material will go through the time portal. Reese quickly becomes agitated and begins to scream into the camera that the Terminator must be destroyed or it will not stop until it kills Sarah.
The Terminator goes back to a shoddy hotel room where it hides out. It removes one of its eyes that had been damaged when it was shot by Reese. Under the eye is a sophisticated robotic eye that glows red. It dons a set of sunglasses, changes into different clothes and marches out to resume the hunt for Sarah, taking a pump-action SPAS shotgun and an AR-15 automatic rifle.
At the police precinct, the Terminator arrives in the foyer just as Dr. Silberman is leaving and asks to see Sarah. The desk sergeant refuses to let the Terminator in. The Terminator looks menacingly at the desk sergeant and the most famous line is spoken in utter calm - "I'll be back." The Terminator goes outside and one minute later crashes a car through the front door. It marches through the precinct, mercilessly shooting every officer in its path. The Terminator gets to a circuit panel and after ripping out a main circuit cable, shoves the live wire into the fuse box creating an electrical surge that blows out all lights in the building, leaving the policemen at a disadvantage. In the battle, Traxler is killed and Reese escapes confinement. He finds Sarah and the two escape the precinct.
While hiding out in a sewer tunnel, Sarah realizes that Kyle's story is true. Reese tells her more about the future where humans barely survive amid the wreckage of cities and the predictions of the Terminators. Initially, Skynet's vehicles, HK's, would use infra-red technology to find and kill humans. Kyle mentions that John Connor's talent for strategy helped the Resistance to defeat them. Later, the new Terminators, also known as "infiltrators" like the one he and Sarah are on the run from, appeared and began to find hidden bunkers where humans hid out. Sarah lapses into sleep and has a nightmare of a firefight where Terminators break into a human sanctuary and massacre scores of civilians. Kyle himself is there; after finding a place to rest after a Resistance patrol, he takes out a Polaroid photo of Sarah and admires it. Alerted by dogs at the entrance to the bunker, Reese joins the valiant fight to destroy a Terminator that has gotten in. The Terminator, carrying a heavy plasma gun, slaughters everyone and causes an explosion that cripples Reese. Reese sees the picture of Sarah being burned nearby.
Meanwhile, the Terminator is back in its seedy motel room hideout looking at an address book that it took from Sarah and Ginger's apartment and sees a list of names including that of Sarah's mother who lives upstate. After harshly dismissing the hotel owner, the Terminator then leaves its room and gets on a stolen motorcycle and takes off on the road.
Later, the duo on the run reach a roadside motel, where Kyle goes to purchase chemicals needed to make explosives. While he is shopping Sarah showers and phones her mother, telling her the phone number where she is, unaware that the Terminator is on the other line and recreating the voice of Sarah's mother. Sarah's mother is nowhere in sight, but the appearance of the cabin's knocked down front door with a large shotgun blast hole in it suggests that the Terminator most likely forced its way in and probably shot Sarah's mother and waited for Sarah to call. The Terminator then phones the motel and, using its real voice, asks the desk clerk to give him the motel's address.
At the motel, Sarah and Kyle make a stockpile of pipe bombs filled with plastique, a compound that Kyle had learned to make and teaches Sarah to make as well, also showing her the cautious process involved to make the bombs. When Sarah asks Kyle if he has ever had a lover, he replies he has not, a fact that touches Sarah. Kyle then mentions having a photo of Sarah and how he has fallen in love with her. Realizing he has gone too far, he furiously begins loading explosives, but Sarah stops him and kisses him. The two lose their inhibitions and have sex. Their consummation results in the conception of Sarah's and Kyle's son, John.
That evening, the Terminator tracks them to the motel and the two flee again in a stolen pickup truck. As they race down a wide highway, Reese makes a valiant effort to destroy the Terminator with the pipe bombs he and Sarah made, however, he is hit by gunfire. Sarah manages to knock the Terminator off it's motorcycle and her truck flips over.
The Terminator recovers and is immediately struck by a semi-tanker truck and dragged for a short distance. After the driver stops, the Terminator kills him and takes control of the truck, attempting to run down Sarah. Sarah is able to get Kyle out of their wrecked pickup before the Terminator runs it down.
Near a factory, Kyle uses another pipe bomb to detonate the truck's tank trailer, which explodes. As Reese and Sarah embrace, the Terminator emerges from the wreckage, its "flesh" completely burned off. Reese and Sarah retreat into the factory, which is automated. Reese switches on as many of the machines as he can, making tracking more difficult for the Terminator. They are finally cornered and Reese places his last bomb in the endoskeleton of the Terminator, which explodes, scattering pieces of the android. Sarah, nursing a severely injured leg, manages to find Reese, but he's dead.
She is suddenly attacked by the top half of the Terminator's skeleton. She desperately crawls away, finally luring the Terminator into a giant hydraulic press. She traps it there and, as it mindlessly tries to break her neck, pushes the button activating the press. The Terminator is crushed until its red glowing eye fades, singling it's extermination.
Sarah is taken to an ambulance and sees the paramedics loading Kyle into a body bag. Later, she is driving a Jeep in the desert, a large dog in the passenger seat, seemingly towards Mexico, stopping at a gas station. She is more visibly pregnant with John Connor and has been recording her voice using a cassette player; the tapes are for her son. One of the questions she poses is whether or not she should tell John about Reese being his father and if that will affect his decision to send the warrior back in time to meet and save Sarah. While the Jeep's tank is filled, a young boy takes her picture with a Polaroid camera. She and the boy bargain over the price and she buys it. The boy says something in Spanish and the gas station owner tells her he said "A storm's coming!" Sarah sees the storm approaching her response indicates she is aware of what is coming and will ride it out.
This movie was absolutely a milestone in science fiction films of that era. The movie is pretty cheesy by today's standards but it's still an action packed thrill ride, especially when it was released. Let's take a look at the weapons used in this classic movie.
The ".45 Longslide" that the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) acquires in the gun store is an AMT Hardballer Longslide with a primitive laserlock sight (a one-off made by someone from a company that would later become SureFire) shortly after his arrival from 2029. The pistol is first seen used to terminate two women from a phone book who share the name Sarah Connor. When he arrives at the apartment of the real Sarah Connor, the Terminator is seen with it when confronting her roommate, Ginger Ventura (Bess Motta). Upon tracking Sarah to the Tech Noir nightclub, the Terminator loses this weapon when Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) intervenes in the attempted termination, at which point he switches to his IMI Uzi.
AMT Hardballer Longslide with laser lock sight as used in the film - .45 ACP
In 1984, laser sights were rare, and required a high level of power. This helium neon laser needed 10,000 volts to turn on, and a further 1,000 volts to maintain its brightness. The cables were run up Arnold's arm to a battery that was in his M65 field jacket. The laser was activated by his other hand.
A shot of the Terminator inspecting the gun.
The Terminator aims the .45 at Ginger's (Bess Motta) answering machine.
The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) aims his .45 at Sarah's head seconds before being stopped by Kyle Reese.
To watch the gun shop scene you can do so here:
Another weapon the Terminator acquires from the gun store is a full-size "Uzi 9 millimeter" as stated specifically in the film. The Terminator purchasing an Uzi with a short barrel would be rather unrealistic, since civilian semi-auto Uzi carbines were always sold with a 16" barrel per legal requirements. A short dummy barrel was sometimes installed to entice buyers; the gun sold here, however, is just a regular open-bolt Uzi. Director James Cameron mentioned in the magazine "Soldier of Fortune" that he assumed that in story terms the Terminator had converted the Uzi and the AR-18 into full auto weapons in his hotel room. The Terminator uses the Uzi mainly in the Tech Noir nightclub, when Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) interferes with his attempts to terminate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). After losing his .45, the Terminator unloads several rounds at the nightclub, killing quite a few innocent bystanders, but fails to hit Sarah, or Kyle. He loses the weapon when Kyle uses his Ithaca to blast him out of the club's window. Another Uzi with a wooden stock is very briefly seen in a flashback sequence of Kyle Reese remembering the "Skin Job" Terminator attacking his Resistance base.
IMI Uzi - 9x19mm
The gunshop owner (Dick Miller) retrieves the Uzi from a shelf. Note that the short barrel is installed, which if live would not be legal to sell over the counter, even in 1984.
The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) whips out his Uzi at the Tech Noir night club. Though in the story, the Terminator 'converts' an over-the-counter semi-automatic Uzi Carbine, the weapon used by the film's armorers was an open bolt select fire Uzi. They wouldn't convert a Carbine (and pay the ATF tax stamp) just for the sake of the film, when they could use existing full auto Uzi Submachine guns from Movie Armory inventories.
The Terminator fires his Uzi at Sarah Connor.
To watch the scene in the nightclub you can watch it here:
Upon arriving in present day Los Angeles, Reese (Michael Biehn) procures an Ithaca 37 shotgun from an unattended police car. In addition to having a high-capacity magazine tube, Reese saws off part of the stock to give it a pistol grip instead, making it easier to conceal under his trenchcoat. He is also seen attaching it to himself with a piece of rope. Reese notably uses it against the Terminator in the Tech Noir nightclub shootout and the ensuing car chase after he and Sarah escape the car garage. Between acquiring the Ithaca and discharging it for the first time in the night club, Reese pumps the handle three times. First when he saws off the stock, again when he wakes up from his nightmare and for the third time just before shooting the Terminator at the nightclub. Not a single time is a shell ejected from the extraction port, which suggests Reese unloaded it prior to sawing off the stock, and only loaded it before he entered the nightclub.
Full-stocked Ithaca 37 with extended magazine tube and sling - 12 Gauge. The one in the film has a sawed-off stock and lacks a sling.
For the best slings in the business you can check out what we have in stock here: rifle and carbine slings
Kyle retreats from the alley with his Ithaca 37.
Kyle wraps a string around the Ithaca's sawed down grip.
Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) fires his Ithaca 37 at the Tech Noir nightclub.
Kyle fires his Ithaca 37 during the car chase with the Terminator.
During the assault on the police station by the Terminator, several police officers head to the armory and begin passing out M16A1 rifles with 20-round magazines. Lt. Edward Traxler (Paul Winfield) is seen with an M16A1 and uses the rifle to shoot the Terminator in the back (which resulted in the Terminator turning around with his own AR-18 rifle). Detective Hal Vukovich (Lance Henriksen) opens up on the Terminator with one after finding Traxler wounded by the cyborg. The Terminator returns fire with both the AR-18 and SPAS-12.
M16A1 - 5.56x45mm
Traxler, Vukovich, and a few other officers prep their M16A1s.
Lt. Traxler (Paul Winfield) fires his M16A1 before being gunned down.
To watch the police station shoot out you can do so here:
So many great scenes it was hard to narrow it down. Grab some crackerjacks and fire up the tv for a great movie marathon you can watch the whole Terminator franchise.
Another iconic futuristic movie, RoboCop, was the 1987 science fiction action film that marked the first American film directed by Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven. Peter Weller stars in the film as Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer who after being gunned down by a vicious gang, is resurrected by a mega-corporation as the cybernetic law enforcement officer of the future. As he begins his new life as "RoboCop", Murphy starts to regain a bit of his humanity with the help of his former partner Anne Lewis. The popularity of the RoboCop character would spawn two more feature films, a 1994 live-action series, two animated television series, a four-part movie miniseries as well as a 2014 remake.
The movie opens with a news report advertising the way of life in this future, which seems to be far from ideal. Among other stories, three police officers have been murdered and a fourth, Frank Frederickson, has been left critically injured in an attack by unofficial Old Detroit crime boss Clarence Boddicker, wanted for the deaths of over 31 police officers. The Detroit Metropolitan Police Department's union representatives blame Omni Consumer Products (OCP), who have recently entered a contract with the city to run and manage the DPD, for putting their men in such dangerous environments.
At the Metro West Precinct in Old Detroit, officers respond to a variety of cases when veteran officer Alex Murphy arrives, having been transferred in from another department. Desk Sergeant Warren Reed gets Murphy a set of riot armor and introduces Murphy to the other cops, who are not happy about how OCP seems to be trying to run the police force into the ground. As Murphy and the other cops are suiting up in the locker rooms, one of them suggests that they go on strike to pressure OCP into giving them better working conditions. At that point, Reed and another officer come in, carrying an evidence tray. Reed removes Frederickson's nameplate from his locker, announcing that Frederickson has died, much to the disappointment of the other cops in the locker room. Reed tells them that a memorial service will be held the next day and admonishes them harshly about striking.
Murphy is brought upstairs where he sees a criminal assaulting his arresting officers. The female officer involved quickly beats the suspected criminal into submission. This is Anne Lewis, a hardened and experienced cop. Reed decides that she will be partnered with Murphy. They leave to go on patrol; Murphy insists that he drive the car.
The action changes to OCP Headquarters, where executives Donald Johnson and Bob Morton are on their way to a board of directors meeting. They're elevator dialogue consists of what the meeting might be about. Johnson figures that the Old Man is greenlighting the Delta City project, despite Morton pointing out that OCP never does anything ahead of schedule. Morton thinks that Dick Jones is trying to show off his ED-209 series.
The Old Man, as he is known, starts the meeting off by reminding everyone that he has had a vision for over a decade, of demolishing "Old Detroit" and redevelop it as a high-end utopia called "Delta City." There's a problem with Old Detroit: it's riddled with crime, and this crime must be eradicated before they can build Delta City. To that end, OCP President Richard "Dick" Jones has funded the development of a new type of law enforcement robot: the Enforcement Droid Series 209, ED-209 for short.
To demonstrate the droid's effectiveness, Jones asks a younger executive, Kinney, to volunteer as a test subject to simulate a typical arrest and disarming procedure. Kinney is handed a Desert Eagle pistol, and Jones instructs him to use it in a threatening manner. Kinney aims the pistol at ED-209. When he cocks it, ED-209 immediately turns on and aims its machine guns at Kinney, ordering him to drop his gun in the next 20 seconds. Kinney immediately tosses the pistol away, but ED-209 suddenly steps forward, growls and tells Kinney he now has 15 seconds to comply, as he is in violation of Penal Code 113, Section 9. The board goes into chaos and the scientists frantically try to shut ED-209 off as Kinney tries to hide among his fellow executives, who push him back into the line of fire. When ED-209 reaches zero, he declares that he is authorized to use physical force and opens fire, throwing Kinney onto the model of Delta City and riddling him with bullets. He continues to shoot Kinney for fifteen seconds, only stopping once the engineers are able to unplug him.
The Old Man is not happy with the outcome of Jones's product, citing the expense involved in designing the droid and the potential for lost interest payments, even though Jones insists that this the problem is a simple glitch. Morton takes advantage of the opportunity to tell the Old Man about his own project. He and the people at Security Concepts have been working on a backup plan in the event that ED-209 would not function properly, known as "RoboCop." Morton also states that he hopes to have the first RoboCop in prototype within 90 days, and he's had the police force restructured so that the best candidates for the project are in the highest risk areas. The Old Man is impressed by Morton's idea and decides to put his project up as priority. Jones, however, is not pleased at being upstaged.
Meanwhile, Lewis and Murphy are out on patrol and stopping for coffee. Murphy is relaxing by spinning his pistol on his fingers, which he explains to Lewis a move he learned from a television show that his young son watches. He believes that all good cops like him need to be role models to their kids. As they are chatting they are interrupted by a radio call about a pharmaceutical company being robbed by a group of men driving a silver panel truck. Murphy and Lewis jump into their car and drive off to track them down.
In the back of said panel truck are Clarence Boddicker and his gang - Bobby, Leon Nash, Joe Cox, Steve Minh, and getaway driver Emil Antonowsky, who have just successfully robbed the aforementioned pharmaceutical company and emptied the store's safe of money. Boddicker is furious to find that Bobby had burned all the money when blowing the vault's door open, rendering it useless. He goes off on a tirade on Bobby, slapping him several times, but is stopped when Emil looks in his reviewer mirror and yells that there's a cop on their tail. Leon rushes over to the back doors, looks out the window, and sees Murphy and Lewis following them. Boddicker orders Emil to slow down so they can ambush their pursuers. Emil thinks Boddicker is crazy, but reluctantly obeys, as Boddicker and the other gang members begin loading their shotguns.
In the police car, Murphy radios for help, but to his and Lewis' dismay, there is no backup available to assist them. He draws his pistol and Lewis' sidearm as well and they speed up, hoping to take the panel truck by surprise.
On Boddicker's signal, Bobby kicks open the back doors and the gang members open fire in to empty air. They wonder where the unit has gone, until Emil looks out the passenger window and sees Murphy and Lewis driving alongside them. Boddicker rushes to the passenger window, shotgun in hand and fires at Murphy, who fires back with twin pistols. Lewis drops back behind the truck, and Murphy opens fire again. Suddenly, Bobby falls, two bullets in his right leg. The other gang members continue shooting, and riddle the car with bullets. Boddicker decides that Bobby's time to be useful has expired so the other gang members grab him and Boddicker asks, "Can you fly, Bobby?" Bobby pleads for his life, only for the other gang members to throw him onto the police car, crushing the windshield. Lewis is startled and spins the car out while Boddicker and his gang drive away, cackling manically. Lewis and Murphy back up, rolling Bobby off the car, and then drive off in pursuit.
Murphy and Lewis track the truck down to an abandoned steel mill. They become separated as they split up to search for Boddicker and his men. Lewis stumbles on Cox as he is relieving himself. He attacks her and pushes her from a catwalk, knocking her unconscious. Murphy finds Emil and an unnamed henchman watching a terrible sitcom. Surprised by Murphy's appearance, an unnamed thug tries to grab a shotgun, but is shot dead by Murphy. He forces Emil to surrender. But as Murphy is about to put his handcuffs on Emil, Steve Minh and Leon Nash appear with shotguns in hand and train them at his head. As the two advance on Murphy, Emil disarms Murphy, then grabs his own shotgun, pumps it.
At this point, Boddicker himself shows up, and kicks Murphy to the ground with the butt of his shotgun, demanding to know where Murphy's partner is. This is answered when Cox enters the room and jokingly talks about taking out Lewis. Boddicker puts his hand on the side of Murphy's neck and asks the cop what he thinks of him. Murphy replies, "Buddy, I think you're slime." The other gang members laugh, and Boddicker admits that the problem is usually that cops do not like him, and he does not like cops.
Boddicker throws Murphy to the floor and aims his shotgun as he moves it across Murphy's body while miming the sound of a tracker, until he shoots off Murphy's right hand. Murphy tries to stifle the bleeding with his left hand as he stands up and tries to stagger away. Emil then takes his turn and fires, the bullet ripping off Murphy's right arm at the shoulder. Murphy screams in agony as Emil, Leon, Cox, and Minh proceed to empty their shotguns into Murphy, riddling his torso with bullets. Lewis is a witness to most of this, though she doesn't see Murphy getting hit, but from behind a chain link fence, she can see the gang shooting firing-squad style. Amazingly, when the gangs' shotguns run out of ammo, Murphy is still alive. Boddicker casually lights a cigarette, then pulls a pistol and shoots Murphy in the face. Murphy falls to the floor, while Boddicker and his men depart. Once Boddicker leaves, Lewis finds Murphy's mutilated body. Murphy is rushed to a nearby hospital but there is little that the doctors can do and he is declared dead.
We cut to a montage from an unknown perspective as Bob Morton and his staff take Murphy's body and turn it into RoboCop. RoboCop is built with a unique set of schematics and state-of-the-art equipment including titanium and Kevlar-laminated armor and mechanical hands that can exert 400 fl/lbs of force. Morton is very pleased with the work being done.
Several months later, Morton unveils RoboCop to his fellow OCP executives. A large convoy of scientists and engineers transport him to Murphy's old precinct. At the station, Reed is dealing with a repeat offender at the desk when a large team of scientists and men and women in lab coats start wheeling equipment in through the front door. Reed is about to protest to Morton and his assistant when he is interrupted by odd-sounding footsteps. Behind a pane of frosted glass, we see RoboCop striding in. The other officers eagerly run through the halls to see what is going on as RoboCop is led to his charging station and command center in the holding cells.
At the command center, the engineers tell Morton that RoboCop is fed a rudimentary paste to sustain his organic systems. Johnson tries the paste out and finds that it tastes like baby food. To make sure RoboCop works, they use a pen to test his tracking abilities, and a voice stress analyzer to test his ability to record and playback. Morton then asks RoboCop what his three prime directives are. 1. Serve the Public Trust, 2. Protect the Innocent, and 3. Uphold the Law. Possibly unknown to Morton and most of his staff, a fourth directive has also been uploaded but is not revealed, listed only as "Classified".
Lewis and some other officers are next seen on the shooting range, but everyone's attention is distracted when RoboCop shows up and begins shooting his own custom pistol, as part of a test of his sharpshooting skills. RoboCop is a straight shooter, successfully using his gun to obliterate the cardboard target. After the demonstration is complete, RoboCop puts his gun away, and we notice that he twirls it around his fingers on his right hand before storing it in a leg holster built into his right leg. Morton tells Reed that RoboCop will need transportation. Reed grabs a set of car keys from his desk and tosses them. RoboCop snatches them out of the air and departs. Morton watches him, saying, "Go get 'em, boy!"
RoboCop's first night is quite active. It starts at a mom-and-pop convenience store, when a robber wearing a trench coat enters, and buys a magazine. As he is paying for it, he asks the owners to empty their cash register and safe. When they stall, he whips out a rifle and orders them to give him their money. The robber trains his weapon on the husband and orders him to open the safe. The husband stalls, and the robber, furious, kicks aside a pile of beer cans to reveal the safe, and threatens to shoot the wife. As he is counting to three, RoboCop suddenly barges in and orders him to drop his weapon. The robber fires at RoboCop, but his bullets only bounce off the machine's bulletproof casing. He continues shooting until RoboCop uses his super strong hand to bend the barrel of his rifle. The robber decides to try fleeing, and RoboCop delivers him a blow and throws him into a refrigerator.
RoboCop is later driving when he receives a report of a sexual assault in progress. Two lowlifes are chasing down a blonde woman and attempting to cut her hair and rape her. One of them is about to cut her skirt open when a police car screeches to a stop. RoboCop emerges and draws his firearm. One of the two men grabs the woman and threatens to slit her throat. RoboCop's second directive activates. He tracks, aims his pistol, and fires it with an aim so precise that the bullet goes through the woman's skirt between her legs and hit her hostage taker in his testicles. While the hostage taker collapses, screaming in pain, the grateful woman rushes up to RoboCop and hugs him gratefully, and he offers to call a rape crisis center.
Later still that night, disgruntled ex-city councilman Ron Miller enters City Hall with a submachine gun and takes the mayor and his staff hostage, and kills an aide who refuses to cooperate. The police and SWAT team arrive and set up a perimeter. Reporters gathered at the scene are interviewing Lt. Hedgecock, the hostage negotiator, but are distracted when another police car arrives, breaks through the crime tape and comes to a stop. RoboCop climbs out and is swarmed by the media. The police work to get the reporters out of the way, and RoboCop tells Hedgecock to stall Miller, while he himself goes inside and starts making his way to the second floor.
Hedgecock gets on the mic and offers to hear out Miller's demands. Miller demands to have his old job back. He also demands a bigger office and a new car on the city's bill. Hedgecock offers the 6000 SUX, but eventually Miller loses his patience. He grabs the mayor and pushes him to the window. As Miller prepares to execute the mayor, RoboCop punches through the wall, grabs Miller and pulls him backwards, his submachine gun firing wildly into the air. RoboCop then spins Miller around and punches him out a glass window, and he falls to the street.
Bob Morton is thrilled by the success of his product, and the fame that RoboCop brings him. However, Dick Jones is still very angry about Morton's upstaging him, and vows revenge. He also warns Bob that his creation's service record had better be spotless.
Some nights later, RoboCop is resting when he begins having seizures as memories begin to flow through his head, which we realize are the last things Murphy ever saw. As it begins with a flashback shot of Clarence Boddicker shooting him in his hand. RoboCop then writhes as he imagines Boddicker's gang emptying their shotguns into him, which causes the reading on a graph to go off the charts. Things get to a head when in his dreams, he sees Boddicker pull a pistol and shoot him in the face. RoboCop stands up and leaves to find these men when he is confronted by Lewis. RoboCop has no reaction to Lewis, until she refers to him as Murphy. As the cyborg officer leaves the precinct, one of the doctors assigned to RoboCop calls Morton, who shows up and reprimands both Lewis and Reed for interfering with his project.
In a different part of town, Emil arrives at a gas station on a motorcycle with a submachine gun and robs the bookish attendant on duty. Emil then waits as his gas is pumped into his bike. He is about ready to shoot the attendant when RoboCop shows up, pistol in hand. RoboCop steps towards Emil, saying "Dead or alive, you're coming with me!" Upon hearing those words, Emil immediately realizes that he's dealing with Murphy, the very man he and the rest of Boddicker's gang murdered at the steel mill. He screams, "We killed you!!" panics, and tries shooting at RoboCop, to no avail. RoboCop pauses, recalling where he remembers Emil from. Emil then uses the leaking gas pump and lit cigarette to blow up the gas station. As he flees, his motorcycle is shot out from under him by RoboCop. RoboCop takes Emil into custody and uses a data spike built into his right hand to access the police mainframe and look up Emil's data and known associates. One of the names on the list is Boddicker's name. His rap sheet includes charges for the murder of Officer Alex J. Murphy.
Bob Morton is cavorting with two high-priced hookers in his house. It is going well until the doorbell rings. Morton goes to answer the door, thinking it's someone delivering champagne, but is shocked when he opens the door and Clarence Boddicker himself enters, carrying a suppressed pistol. While holding Morton at gunpoint, he orders the two hookers to hastily depart. Once they are out, Boddicker shoots Morton in the legs several times, leaving them unable to stand. While Morton gasps in pain, Boddicker then takes out a CD and plays a video message for Morton from Dick Jones. Jones tells Morton that he refused to follow OCP protocol and became too ambitious in pushing past Dick's authority, and he's cashing Morton out of the equation. Boddicker primes a hand grenade, pulls the pin with his teeth, and puts it on the coffee table, just out of Morton's reach and leaves. When the timer hits zero, the grenade detonates and blows up Morton and his house.
Meanwhile, RoboCop tracks down Leon Nash to a nightclub, and demands to know where Clarence is. Clarence is at a meeting with a competitor at a competitor's cocaine processing factory. RoboCop arrives and threatens to arrest them all. They open fire and RoboCop kills most of the gangsters and finds Clarence. He brutally beats Clarence, tossing him through several plate-glass windows, as well as threatens to break the crime lord's neck. Clarence begs for his life, revealing his connection to Dick Jones. RoboCop realizes that he is a police officer and cannot simply kill Clarence out of revenge.
Back at the police station, the officers have voted to go on strike. After a huge gunfight in a cocaine factory owned by a rival gangster, RoboCop brings in Clarence Boddicker and orders him to be booked on charges of murdering police officers. Dick Jones arranges for Clarence to be freed on bail.
RoboCop goes immediately to Dick Jones' office. As he marches in, he plays a video recording of Clarence's admission of his connection with Jones. RoboCop charges Jones with aiding and abetting and attempts to arrest him, but his systems immediately begin to shut down due to a "Product violation." Jones explains that Directive 4 was created by himself to prevent OCPs "product" from taking action against an OCP Official.
Jones activates ED-209 to destroy RoboCop and admits that he had Bob Morton killed. RoboCop is damaged, but manages to escape by running down a flight of stairs. This plan works because ED-209's massive feet render him unable to climb or descend stairs without falling -- the robot throws a temper tantrum while RoboCop escapes. Several officers attempt to stop RoboCop for his supposed attack on Jones, opening fire and damaging him severely. Upon arrival Lewis rescues him and they both retreat to a hidden factory. RoboCop repairs most of the damage to his robot body and removes his helmet, revealing the face of Murphy. Murphy asks what happened to his wife and son; Lewis responds that they moved away after Murphy's funeral to start a new life. Lewis tries to comfort him but he asks to be left alone.
Released from jail, Clarence meets with Jones, who chastises Clarence for involving him, saying that RoboCop's recorded video of Clarence's admission is admissible in court. Dick orders Clarence to destroy the cyborg. At first, Clarence declines the offer, however, Dick is able to change Clarence's attitude by offering the crime lord free reign during the construction of Delta City. Delta City is a planned community that will replace the crime-ridden streets of Detroit, the concept conceived and championed by The Old Man. Clarence will be permitted to extend his influences in drugs, prostitution and gambling to the workers of Delta City, an offer that Clarence knows is too good to pass upon. Dick agrees to provide Clarence with military-level weapons and gives him a tracking device to find their common enemy.
Clarence rallies his gang of thugs to go out and kill RoboCop. Jones had given them large .50-caliber rifles to destroy their nemesis. The crew tracks RoboCop and his partner to the abandoned steel mill where they're hiding. One by one, they are defeated and killed by Lewis and RoboCop. Joe Cox is killed almost immediately when Murphy targets and shoots him; Emil drives his truck into a giant tank filled with toxic waste that melts his flesh. Lewis, involved in a car chase with Clarence, is injured when the villain shoots her several times. Murphy becomes pinned down by scrap metal dropped on him by Leon, and is immediately attacked by Clarence, who wields a large rail bar. Murphy is able to fend off Clarence's attacks and stabs Clarence in the neck with his data spike, killing the crime lord.
RoboCop returns to OCP and, using the giant rifle taken from Clarence's gang, destroys the ED-209 Jones has guarding the entrance to their headquarters. RoboCop interrupts a meeting of the OCP board and openly accuses Dick Jones of murder and states that his programming will not allow him to arrest any executive of OCP. Over Jones' protests that the cyborg is psychopathic, Murphy uses his data spike to play the video of Jones' admitting to Morton's murder, which Murphy had recorded just as Jones activated ED-209 in his office.
Jones grabs a gun and takes The Old Man hostage, demanding a helicopter to safely evacuate. The Old Man angrily fires Jones, voiding Directive Four and allowing RoboCop to take action. RoboCop shoots Dick Jones several times, who falls out a window, screaming as he speeds toward the pavement below. The Old Man thanks the cyborg for his actions, asking what the cyborg's name is. RoboCop pauses for a second before responding: "Murphy."
Another action packed movie filled with futuristic thrills. Again, we didn't have the CGI then that we do now but this film still has some great scenes. Let's take a look at some of the weapons used.
The main weapon used by RoboCop (Peter Weller) is the "Auto 9". This is a Beretta 93R machine pistol which was heavily modified for the film, featuring a longer barrel with an enormous compensator/flash hider shaped like a casket, plastic grips, and a taller rear sight to match the raised front sight. Typically, RoboCop fires this weapon in 3-round burst mode. The fictional stats of the weapon claim it has an implausibly huge 50-round magazine.
Beretta 93R "Auto 9" - 9x19mm
RoboCop fires his Auto 9 on the range.
RoboCop shows that he can fire his Auto-9 without targeting visually.
A close-up of the Auto 9's compensator in action, as RoboCop practices at the range.
To watch the scene with the directives and the gun range you can watch here:
Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) uses two different types of the Desert Eagle in the film. His main weapon is an Desert Eagle Mark I in .357 Magnum with an elongated threaded barrel (sometimes fitted with a suppressor). He also uses one without the extended barrel during the drug lab shootout. A chrome (or possibly nickel) version is used by Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) in the climax of the film. The chrome pistol is the same weapon used in the infamous scene in which the hapless OCP executive Kinney (Kevin Page) is hamburgered whilst "threatening" the ED-209 prototype. The Desert Eagle was originally supposed to be RoboCop's main firearm, but it looked too small in RoboCop's hands once the suit was completed.
IMI Desert Eagle Mark I - .357 Magnum. (One of the guns used by Kurtwood Smith has a threaded barrel.)
Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) holds his suppressed Desert Eagle. The suppressor is somewhat pointless, as he blows the house up moments later.
Clarence with the Desert Eagle during the final confrontation. Note the extended & threaded barrel.
To watch the final shootout you can do so here:
When Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his gang are asked by Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) to kill RoboCop, they are provided with an experimental military weapon being developed by OCP called the "Cobra Assault Cannon". The Cobras are actually older-specification Barrett M82 long-range .50 BMG rifles which have been dressed up extra plastic housing over the receivers and fitted with gigantic scopes (The scopes were originally supposed to show computer-generated targeting information, but this idea was scrapped due to budget constraints). The Cobra fires some type of powerful high explosive incendiary round that explodes upon impact (judging by the lack of substantial recoil, this is likely some form of low-pressure grenade); in the film, Clarence Boddicker memorably tests the weapon by firing it at the 6000 SUX sedan stolen by Joe Cox (Jesse D. Goins), destroying the vehicle (much to Cox's chagrin). Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen) obtains one of these rifles and uses it against Leon Nash (Ray Wise) during the shootout at the abandoned steel mill. After RoboCop and Lewis take out Boddicker and his gang, RoboCop takes one of the Cobra Assault Cannons (presumably, the same one used by Lewis) to the OCP office building and uses it to destroy the ED-209 Robot out in front.
Barrett M82 - .50 BMG (12.7x99mm)
"Wait... wait a minute, Clarence! Clarence!!"
Boddicker demonstrates the power of the 'Cobra Assault Cannon' (actually a modified Barrett M82) on Joe's new car, much to his protests.
Emil {Paul McCrane} with his Cobra Assault Cannon.
Lewis holds the Cobra Assault Cannon.
To briefly see the Cobra in action you can watch here:
For all your tactical needs don't forget to visit us here: Rifle barrels
Grab some soda and plenty of snacks and catch up on the Robocop franchise for the upcoming holiday. Plenty of time to eat and watch great movies. Enjoy!
Today we take a look at a film franchise that has become an institution in the history of cinema. The legacy of 007 spans over decades. I'm looking at two of my personal favorites today, from very different era's in cinema, Goldfinger and Quantum Of Solace. Bond is synonymous with clever spy games, extraordinary villains and a martini, shaken not stirred. A gentleman's gentleman, Bond has swagger, gets the girls and is the ultimate spy. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him. So, let's check out these films and their weapons.
Goldfinger
is the third entry in the official James Bond film series. The 1964 sequel follows Bond, portrayed by Sean Connery, as he is assigned to investigate the smuggling of Nazi gold. In the course of his investigation, he stumbles upon a plot to destroy the US gold reserves in Fort Knox that appears to be orchestrated by a wealthy magnate who is obsessed with owning the precious metal. The film was the first blockbuster in the series and would set the tone for the majority of the films to follow.
The pre-title teaser sequence shows Bond emerging from the water in a Latin American country. His mission is to destroy the operations of a drug lord, who deals heroin to finance revolutions. Bond infiltrates the man's secret lab and lays out a large quantity of C4 explosive with a timer. Shortly after he meets his contact in a nearby bar, the bomb explodes, destroying much of the drug lord's base of operations. Bond's contact tells him his flight to Miami is confirmed and Bond follows an exotic dancer to her dressing room. Bond takes off his shoulder holster and pistol and kisses the woman. However, all is not as it seems as a man emerges from behind an armoire and attacks Bond, who holds the woman up as a shield. He struggles briefly with the henchman and throws him into the bathtub. The man seizes Bond's gun, prompting Bond to throw an electric heater in the water-filled tub, electrocuting the man. Bond leaves, plainly disgusted with the woman who betrayed him.
Bond's CIA contact, Felix Leiter, finds the agent in Miami Beach on respite. He informs Bond that M had charged him with a new mission; the observation of a man named Auric Goldfinger, an international jeweler who is suspected of smuggling. Bond charms his way into Goldfinger's hotel room and finds Jill Masterson, Goldfinger's mistress, watching him play cards through a set of binoculars. From her vantage point, Jill can see Goldfinger's opponent's hand and can relay instructions to Goldfinger, allowing him to cheat and win. Bond disrupts Jill's spying, telling Goldfinger that the Miami Beach police department would arrest him if they found out his scheme. He also orders Goldfinger to begin losing gradually to his opponent.
Bond invites Jill back to his own hotel room where they spend the afternoon and evening together. While Bond retrieves another bottle of champagne, he is hit from behind and falls unconscious. There is a shadow on the wall revealing a bulky figure wearing a brimmed hat, but that's all we see. When Bond awakes, he finds that Jill has been murdered; her entire body has been covered in gold paint and she has died of skin suffocation. Bond calls Leiter immediately to report the incident.
Bond reports back to London, meeting with M, who is largely disappointed at the turn of events. He threatens to replace Bond on the mission with 008, however, Bond reassures his boss that he can complete the mission himself. M orders Bond to attend a dinner meeting with a representative from the British Office of Finance to learn more about Goldfinger. As it turns out, the tycoon is a legitimate jeweler and thereby permitted to trade and refine gold legally around the world, yet his means of transporting his gold internationally remains unknown and Bond's mission is to prove if Goldfinger is smuggling his gold illegally. Bond suggests that he and his adversary meet socially and that he'll need some sort of bait to entice Goldfinger. The representative suggests a gold bar smelted by the Nazis during World War II.
Bond makes a brief visit to the lab of his weapons specialist, Q, who provides him with two tracking devices and a new car, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. The car comes equipped with a tracking screen for the bugs that were given to Bond as well as a formidable weapons system as well as bulletproof glass and revolving license plates. Bond gadgets have inspired filmmakers throughout the years as they have always been technologically advanced and wicked cool.
Bond meets Goldfinger at a country club and joins him in a game. The two play to the 17th hole and, when Goldfinger suggests that Bond did not merely want to meet to play golf. Bond offers the Nazi gold bar to Goldfinger as a prize for winning the game. While playing the next hole, Bond discovers that, like cards, Goldfinger cheats at golf as well, finding a loose ball in the rough, planted there by Goldfinger's caddy. The caddy is named Oddjob and he is a large Korean man in a suit and bowler hat, also a devoted servant of Goldfinger. They play to the last green and Goldfinger seemingly wins the match until Bond points out that he played the wrong ball. As a result, Goldfinger loses the match and any chance of obtaining the gold bar Bond had offered. While his car is being packed up by Oddjob, Bond plants the larger tracker in the car and settles up with Goldfinger for his winnings. Goldfinger warns Bond to stay out of his affairs and orders Oddjob to demonstrate his favorite weapon, his blade-rimmed bowler hat, which he uses to decapitate a nearby marble statue. Goldfinger leaves for the airport, having his car loaded into a cargo plane and boarding it himself for Geneva, Switzerland.
Bond follows Goldfinger to Geneva, and while observing him from a mountain switchback above, is nearly hit by a shot from a nearby assassin. Bond pursues the assassin, forcing her off the road with the tire slashers mounted on his car. Not realizing that Bond caused the damage to her car, the driver asks Bond to drive her to the nearest auto shop. Bond notices that she's carrying a wooden case with the initials TM. She says they are a set of ice skates. Bond leaves her at the shop and continues his tracking of Goldfinger. He arrives at an industrial plant owned by Goldfinger. Hiding in the forested hills above the plant, he infiltrates the facility at night and overhears an conversation between Goldfinger and a Chinese associate where Goldfinger explains his gold smuggling operation: specific parts of his Roll Royce are solid 18 karat gold, which are smelted at the plant. Bond also hears Goldfinger mention something called "Operation Grand Slam." As he leaves the grounds, he sees someone nearby wielding a rifle. He wrestles with the person, discovering it is the woman who seemingly attempted to assassinate Bond earlier. It turns out she is Jill Masterson's sister, Tilly, who wants to kill Goldfinger and had tried unsuccessfully earlier on the mountain road, the same shot that nearly hit Bond. During their struggle, Tilly sets off a tripwire, summoning Goldfinger's security guards to their location. Bond is able to dispatch several guards with his cars weapons system, however, he is captured and Tilly is killed by Oddjob.
Bond awakens in Goldfinger's laboratory, strapped to a table. Goldfinger has his operatives activate a giant laser which threatens to cut Bond in half from his crotch upwards. This scene is iconic in cinema and is solidified as such with a great line of dialogue. Bond tries to inform Goldfinger that he has full details of his plans and that he'll be replaced by another 00 agent if he dies. Goldfinger, however, does not plan to torture Bond for information, just to kill him. Bond plays his last card, saying that he knows of Operation Grand Slam, as does 008. Goldfinger realizes that he should keep Bond alive so word of his plan doesn't leak.
Bond is flown from Geneva to Goldfinger's stud farm near Fort Knox, Kentucky. On the plane, he meets Goldfinger's personal pilot, Pussy Galore, whom makes a point of informing Bond that she is immune to his charms as she doesn't prefer male company. When they land, a small squadron of planes lands; they are all female pilots trained by Galore herself. At Goldfinger's ranch, Goldfinger meets with several organized crime associates, telling them of his plan; he will rob the gold depositories at Fort Knox. The gangsters, who had helped Goldfinger smuggle the equipment and personnel needed for the operation into the United States, scoff at his plan, saying the area is too heavily fortified by the United States military. Goldfinger explains to them that his plan will involve using a nerve gas to pacify the troops stationed nearby. The remainder of Ft. Knox' defenses will then be systematically defeated. Bond, escaping from his holding cell, writes a note describing the operation, while standing underneath one of the models used by Goldfinger in his presentation. He is discovered by Pussy Galore, who takes him to Goldfinger. As they leave the area underneath the model, one of Goldfinger's men releases the nerve gas into the room with the gangsters, killing them all.
Outside, one of the gangsters, Mr Solo, is preparing to leave with his fee, $1 million in pure gold, deeming Goldfinger's plan too audacious. As he leaves, Bond slips the note and his smaller tracking device into Solo's pocket. Solo is driven to the airport by Oddjob. On the way, Oddjob deliberately passes the airport exit and turns off on a side road. He kills Solo and drives the car to a nearby auto wrecking yard where it is compacted with Solo's body. Oddjob returns to Goldfinger's ranch with the compacted car where Goldfinger comments, to Bond's dismay, that he needs to retrieve his gold from it.
Bond meets again with Goldfinger and begins to discuss Grand Slam, citing the fact that removing $15 billion in bullion from Fort Knox would be logistically impossible, taking several days. The plan would fail quickly when the United States armed forces would move in and stop the operation. Goldfinger counters by saying he has no plans to actually steal the gold from the depository; he will detonate a small nuclear bomb inside the vault area. Bond surmises that the entire gold supply of the United States will become radioactive for decades and therefore useless. Bond also predicts that the resulting financial meltdown of the United States economy will force other nations to buy gold from Goldfinger himself, substantially increasing the tycoon's wealth. Pussy Galore meets Bond and takes him on an impromptu tour of the ranch. In a nearby barn, the two match judo moves on each other until Bond is able to gain the upper hand and seduce the aforementioned man hater.
The next morning, Galore's flight squadron sprays the nerve gas over the area surrounding Ft. Knox, pacifying all the troops and population of the area. Goldfinger's ground force, including Bond and Oddjob, move in and easily penetrate the immediate defenses of the fort and move into the vault area. The bomb arrives on a helicopter and is moved into the vault, where Bond is handcuffed to it. However, the gas sprayed by Galore's pilots was a ruse; during their tryst, Bond had somehow been able to convince Pussy to switch the canisters for something harmless. The armed forces of the area move in and surround Goldfinger and his crew, starting a furious battle. Goldfinger closes the vault door, trapping Bond, Oddjob and one of his henchmen inside. Bond manages to retrieve the key for his cuffs from the man after Oddjob kills him and battles with Oddjob directly. Bond is little match for Oddjob himself, but is able to retrieve Oddjob's deadly hat. Throwing it at Oddjob, he misses and it becomes embedded in a nearby set of bars. As Oddjob grabs it to take it out, Bond touches the bars with a severed electrical cable, electrocuting Oddjob, who falls dead. Outside, Goldfinger escapes by killing several guards in the guise of a US Army Colonel and flies off in Galore's helicopter.
Bond races to the bomb, trying desperately to disarm it. The US army enters the vault, lead by Leiter. One of the men with Leiter shuts the bomb off easily; the timer on the bomb clearly reads 007. Bond is scheduled to fly to the White House for a personal meeting with the President. While on the private jet to Washington, Goldfinger emerges, pointing a pistol at Bond. He tells Bond that he intends to kill the agent and fly the plane to Cuba. Bond asks where Pussy is, distracting Goldfinger, and attacking him to seize the gun. As they struggle, the gun goes off, blowing out a window, causing the plane to depressurize. Goldfinger is sucked outside and the plane plummets. Watching on a radar screen, Felix and the Air Force see a blip coming off the plane's radar signature. A search party is sent out, one that fails to notice a parachute nearby. Pussy begins waving to the helicopter but Bond grabs her, covering them with the parachute, cheekily saying they don't need to be rescued at that moment. Like I said, Bond always gets the girl.
Excitement, action, and Sean Connery, this movie has a great plot line and awesome retro dialogue. Let's take a gander at the weapons they used, shall we?
James Bond (Sean Connery) keeps a brown-gripped .32 ACP Walther PPK in his shoulder holster, seen most prominently when a Cuban hitman, "Capungo" (Alf Joint, one of Sean Connery's stunt doubles), tries to grab it during the pre-credits sequence. The film marks the first time Bond does not fire a single round from his trademark weapon. Trivia: Capungo is not the name - it's frequently used as a synonym for the word "hitman" in Spanish-speaking countries, particularly Mexico and Cuba. In the original novel by Ian Fleming Capungo was killed by Bond by just a single kick to his neck.
Sean Connery with a Walther PPK in a publicity photo.
Bond's PPK can be seen in the shoulder holster as he hangs up his tuxedo jacket.
"Capungo" (Alf Joint, one of Sean Connery's stunt doubles) reaches for Bond's PPK before meeting his "shocking" end.
To watch the scene titled Positively Shocking you can go here:
Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) is seen holding a Smith & Wesson Model 22 revolver while flying to the United States. Bond correctly identifies the revolver as a "Smith & Wesson .45" and adds that a bullet fired from the gun would pass through him and the plane.
Smith & Wesson Model 22 - .45 ACP
Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) is seen holding a Smith & Wesson Model 22 revolver as she asks Bond if "he wants to go the easy way or the hard way".
To watch the scene on the plane you can do so here:
During the raid on Fort Knox, Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) can be seen carrying a Colt Official Police revolver with a gold-plated finish and ivory grips while disguised as a U.S. Army Colonel, even using it to shoot at Mr. Ling (Burt Kwouk). Note: In the novel, Goldfinger uses a Gold-plated Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket and killed his victims with one shot through the right eye.
Colt Official Police - 5" Barrel
Goldfinger brandishes his gold-plated revolver while disguised as a U.S. Army Colonel in a publicity photo.
Armed with his gold-plated revolver, Goldfinger approaches Bond on the plane.
Bond and Goldfinger struggle over the revolver.
To watch the sequence between Goldfinger and Bond you can watch here:
This was the first Bond film I ever watched and much like the rest of America, I was instantly hooked. 50 years of Bond is a great way to spend a month long movie marathon so stock up on extra popcorn.
We have guns, gear andmore on our website, to outfit yourself like Bond you can check us out here:
is the 22nd entry in the official James Bond film series and also is the only Bond film to be a direct sequel to its predecessor which was Casino Royale). In the 2008 film, James Bond (Daniel Craig) investigates the circumstances which led to the death of his love Vesper (Eva Green) and uncovers the existence of a global organization bent on controlling the world's resources. The film's cast included Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Almaric, and returning from Casino Royale, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, and Jeffrey Wright. Quantum of Solace also marked the return of the Walther PPK as the sidearm of choice for Bond.
The film opens soon after the events of Casino Royale with Bond driving from Lake Garda to Siena, Italy. With the captured Mr. White in the luggage compartment of his car, Bond is attacked by pursuing henchmen. After evading his pursuers, and killing several of them, Bond arrives at an MI6 safe house. M updates Bond on Vesper's boyfriend, Yusef Kabira, whose body had been found off the coast of Ibiza, however, the body is not Kabira's, leading M to conclude that he's still alive. Bond pockets a picture of his former lover Vesper Lynd and Kabira.
Bond and M interrogate White regarding his secretive organization and it becomes apparent that MI6 knows little to nothing about them. White is quite amused and tells them that they "have people everywhere," as in, right in this very room. At that moment, M's bodyguard, Craig Mitchell, reveals his allegiance to the organization by shooting the MI6 guard and attempting to assassinate M. Bond thwarts the attempt by throwing a chair at Mitchell; allowing M to escape. As Bond struggles with Mitchell, a stray bullet from Mitchell's gun hits White, who seems mortally wounded. Bond pursues Mitchell over several rooftops, eventually ending up in a building under renovation, momentarily causing chaos in the Palio di Siena horse race. A hand-to-hand fight ensues, Bond and Mitchell lose their pistols. Bond is able to recover his own and kills Mitchell. When Bond returns to the safe house, he discovers White has escaped and the place deserted.
Following a forensic investigation into Mitchell's apartment and the discovery of marked American currency, Bond heads to Port au Prince, Haiti to track down Mitchell's contact, Slate. Moments after Bond enters Slate's hotel room, Slate attacks Bond, and Bond is forced to kill him. Bond assumes Slate's identity and picks up a briefcase held for Slate at the front desk. As he exits the hotel, a Ford hatchback arrives and he is picked up by a woman named Camille Montes, who believes Bond is Slate. Examining the briefcase, Bond learns that Slate was sent to kill Camille Montes at the behest of her lover, Dominic Greene, the chairman of an ecological organization called Greene Planet. Camille tries to shoot Bond and fails, and kicks him out of her car. Bond steals a motorcycle and follows her to the waterfront. While observing her meeting with Greene, Bond learns that Greene is helping a dangerous Bolivian general, Medrano, overthrow his government in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of desert. What he is unaware of is that Camille seeks revenge against Medrano after he murdered her family years ago.
Greene has Camille escorted away on Medrano's boat to "sweeten" their deal, but Bond rescues her. Bond then follows Greene to a private jet, which flies him to a lavish performance of Puccini's Tosca at Lake Constance, Austria. On the plane, Greene meets with the CIA's section chief for South America, Beam, and Felix Leiter, who, when asked if he recognizes Bond from a picture, says he does not. Greene also confirms a deal he'd made with Beam to control whatever resources his organization finds in or under the seemingly worthless piece of desert in Bolivia. Beam assumes that Greene has discovered oil there.
Arriving in Austria, Bond discovers that Greene's organization is named Quantum and several members are attending Tosca. Bond infiltrates Quantum's meeting at the opera, stealing one of the member's earpieces, and listens in on their conversation which concerns their sinister business dealings around the world. Bond, by announcing that Quantum should probably "find a more secure place to meet", tricks them all into standing up to leave so he can take photos of them. He transmits the photos back to MI6 where M's agents begin to identify them.
As Bond leaves the theatre, a gunfight ensues in a restaurant. A bodyguard of Guy Haines, an adviser to the British Prime Minister, is killed by Greene's men and Bond is framed. M has Bond's passports and credit cards revoked because she believes Bond has killed too many potential sources of information. Bond travels to Italy to reunite with his old ally René Mathis, whom he convinces to accompany him to La Paz, Bolivia, to investigate one of Greene's business dealings there. On the flight over, Bond indulges in several glasses of his signature cocktail and broods over Vesper; he feels betrayed and heartbroken. In La Paz, they are greeted by Strawberry Fields, an MI6 field operative from the British Consulate, who demands that Bond return to the UK on the next available flight. Bond disobeys and, refusing to check into the seedy hotel Fields had chosen, checks into a luxury hotel with her. Bond seduces her in their hotel suite in his usual smooth manner.
Bond meets Camille again at a ecological fund-raiser being held by Greene, where she is busy spoiling the fun of Greene's party by pointing out his hypocrisy and lies to wealthy donors. Bond and Camille leave hastily together, but are pulled over by the Bolivian police shortly after that. The police order Bond to pop the rear hatch of his car, revealing a bloodied and beaten Mathis. As Bond lifts Mathis out of the vehicle, the policemen shoot and fatally wound Mathis. After Bond subdues the police, he has a moment of relative tenderness with Mathis as the dying man asks Bond to stay with him. Mathis tells Bond that Vesper gave her all for him. Mathis's dying wish is that Bond forgive Vesper, and that he forgive himself.
After depositing Mathis' body in a waste container, Bond and Camille drive to Greene's intended land acquisition in the Bolivian desert and survey the area in a Douglas DC-3 plane. They are intercepted and shot down by an Aermacchi SF260 fighter and a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. They escape from the crippled plane by parachuting together into a sinkhole. While finding a route to the surface, Bond and Camille discover Quantum is blockading Bolivia's supply of fresh water, normally flowing in subterranean rivers, by damming it underground. Bond also discovers that Camille has spent years plotting revenge on General Medrano for the murder of her family.
The two return to La Paz, where Bond meets M and learns Greene has killed Fields and left her sprawled on the bed, covered in petroleum. M tells Bond that Fields lungs are also full of the substance and that she was likely murdered by Quantum. Believing that Bond has become a threat to both friend and foe, and acting under higher orders, M orders him to disarm and end his activities in Bolivia. Bond escapes the agents who arrest him, defying M's orders to surrender. M tells her men to watch him because she thinks his hunches may be right. Even though he has gone rogue, M confesses that she still has faith in him, and that he is still someone she cares for. Before he leaves, Bond demands that M include in her report that Fields performed her duties to the best of her ability.
By this point, both the American and British governments have agreed to work with Greene, because they think he has control of vast supplies of oil in Bolivia. Bond meets with Felix Leiter at a local bar. Like Bond, Felix thinks his government is on the wrong track. Leiter discloses that Greene and Medrano will meet at an eco-hotel, the Perla des las Dunas, in the Bolivian desert. Bond is forced to run when several CIA commandos suddenly appear and open fire.
At the meeting in the hotel, Greene pays off the Bolivian Colonel of Police. Greene then threatens Gen. Medrano into signing a contract granting Greene's company an overpriced proprietary utilities contract in Bolivia, which will be the only source for fresh water for the country. At first, Medrano refuses but Greene counters saying that Quantum is extremely powerful and influential, able to work with or topple any government or dictator and that Medrano could possibly be castrated and replaced with someone else if he does not agree to Greene's demands. Medrano signs the document and leaves with the money.
After the meeting, Bond kills off the Colonel of Police for betraying Mathis, and sets off a chain of explosions in the hotel when a hydrogen fuel tank is hit by an out of control vehicle. He battles hand-to-hand with Greene, who flees the hotel. Camille foils Medrano's attempted rape of a servant girl, and after a fight, Camille shoots Medrano. Bond rescues Camille from the burning building, and captures Greene. After interrogating him, he leaves Greene stranded in the middle of the desert with only a can of motor oil. Bond tells him that he bets Greene will make it 20 miles across the desert before he considers drinking the oil, contrasting the resources of oil and water. Bond drives Camille to a train station, where she muses on what life holds for her now that her revenge is complete. They kiss briefly but passionately before she departs.
Bond travels to Kazan, Russia, where he finds Yusef Kabira. Yusef is a member of Quantum who seduces high-ranking women with valuable connections, getting them to give up government assets as ransom for himself in fake kidnappings where he is supposedly held hostage. He'd previously tricked Vesper Lynd into the same sort of betrayal of MI6 and plans to do the same with Canadian agent Corinne Vaneau, even giving her the same kind of necklace he gave Vesper. Surprising them at Yusef's apartment, Bond tells Corinne about Vesper and advises her to alert the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Bond leaves Yusef's apartment and is confronted by M who is somewhat surprised that Bond did not kill Yusef, but rather left him alive for questioning. M reveals that Leiter has been promoted at the CIA to replace Beam, and that Greene was found dead in the desert, shot in the back of the head and with motor oil in his stomach. Bond doesn't volunteer any information on Greene, but tells M that she was right about Vesper. M then tells Bond that MI6 needs him to come back to the agency. Bond walks off into the night telling M that he "never left." As he leaves, he drops Vesper's necklace in the snow. The traditional gun barrel sequence that opens nearly every film in the series appears just before the closing credits.
A true icon of multiple generations, our modern day Bond delivers with amazing cinematography and gadgets galore. Let's take a peek at the weapons used in this awesome film.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) now appears to carry a Walther PPK, which he carries until he loses it while freefalling from a crashing plane. He is later seen using the PPK again to threaten Yusuf at the film's conclusion. This marks the return of the classic PPK as Bond's primary sidearm, after the character was seen carrying the newer Walther P99 near the end of Tomorrow Never Dies until Casino Royale (2006).
James Bond (Daniel Craig) with his new PPK as he confronts Yusuf.
The PPK hits the ground as Bond fights Mitchell.
Bond fires the PPK while hanging upside down.
To watch the scene where Bond fights on the scaffolding you can watch it here:
During the boat chase in Haiti, one of General Medrano's men uses a SIG SG 542 assault rifle. When Bond smashes into their boat with his own, the gunner is seen either clearing a jam or attempting to reload the rifle and is unable to get it operational again before Bond makes a second pass and destroys the boat's outboard engine. A Bolivian soldier guarding the Perla Duna hotel garage is briefly seen with an SIG SG 542 slung over his shoulder.
SIG SG 542 - 7.62x51mm NATO
Medrano's man attempts to clear a jam in his SIG SG 542.
A Rubber SIG SG 542 is used by a guard at the Perla Duna
To watch the scene titled "Kidnapping Camille" you can watch here:
During the Tosca opera, performers are seen using blank-firing Colt Double Eagle Officer's Model pistols. The serrations on the slide give it away as an Umarex made blank firing replica. They are straight up and down, and not tilted.
Colt Double Eagle Officer's Model - .45 ACP
One of the opera performers with a Colt Double Eagle Officer's Model
The Glock 17 are used by Greene's bodyguards as they pursue Bond during the Tosca performance. A corrupt member of Special Branch guarding Guy Haines (a member of the British Government working for Quantum) also carries a Glock. Two of his henchmen also fire at Bond with Glocks at the Perla De Las Dunas hotel.
Glock 17 (Generation 3) - 9x19mm
"Drop it!" Bond confronts the corrupt member of Special Branch on the roof of the opera house.
Bond disarms one of Greene's men who is armed with a Glock in the opera house kitchen.
To watch the scene in the opera you can watch it here:
I love the whole Bond franchise, although Sean Connery and Daniel Craig are my favorite. Grab your friends and family and make it a 007 Saturday this weekend. Enjoy!
