The guys with the Pinto were the ones who were originally going to perform this stunt, they showed the flying Pinto as a proof of concept to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, but they were killed before they could ever perform the stunt.
Great CCs in every shot as the Matador weaves around parked Toyota Crowns and a MK2 Zephyr it looked ok when first shown back in the day but now? At least when the Matador tries to lift its wheels over a slight hump it doesnt disintegrate like a certain orange shirbox Charger on landing.
Give me a break. You’re comparing the moves they put these cars through to the crazy stunts in the Dukes? And then using that to gauge the relative abilities of the vehicles?
I love blatant product placement when it comes to cars on movies or TVs. “Sorry sir, you cannot drive your Chevrolet here, only Fords are in this city.”
As funny as it was when Ford or Chrysler did this, a movie with all of these AMC cars is doubly funny, given their absurdly low market share at the time. Maybe they filmed the James Bond movie in Kenosha. I’m sure that it looks pretty much like someplace in Thailand to American film audiences.
Reminds me of a Mr. Ed show where Ed was driving a stepvan out in traffic. It seems that almost every car and truck on the road was a Studebaker. Hmmmm, the California traffic scenes were filmed in South Bend Indiana?
Plus, the trunk of that Matador coupe was big enough to fit an entire Bond Girl (Ms. Goodnight). It can fly and fit your favorite hostage in the trunk.
That was from the boat chase, in the filthy river, which Roger Moore later stated he saw what the local undertakers did with the indigent dead….dump ’em in the river where they were filming.
I don’t know where this was filmed, but I don’t think it was Bangkok. One of the scenes where the cars are weaving around seems to show a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville . The Thai police driving Matadors?
Well the Matadors were supplied by AMC, who also supplied the Matador and the Hornet, you do realize this is a movie, not a documentary. American cars were also sold outside of the US, believe it or not.
I recall a special showing of this movie which described the Hornet car jump in great detail:
The film crew only had one chance to get the jump itself right, due to budget and time restrictions. Just out of the field of view of the camera is a crane (with a magnet, like in a junkyard), which was in position to immediately retrieve the car if it failed its jump.
The Hornet itself had to be going an *extremely* precise speed to make the jump work, and it was actually a pretty low speed. I remember it being like 38.5mph, plus or minus 0.5mph. The shot of the car rotating is gorgeous, and there is a poster somewhere that shows the car upside down in midair.
They actually paved a road leading up to the bridge so the car would have enough road to get up to speed, they also had divers standing by to in case the car went into the drink.
And of course they had to ruin that gorgeous shot with a most undignified slide-whistle sound effect.
I also recall Live and Let Die existing in some strange alternate-universe where every single taxi and cop car is a brand-new Bel Air or maybe a Nova, and Fords are relegated to backdrops…
It appears he learned from the errors of the guy who tried this with the Pinto!
The guys with the Pinto were the ones who were originally going to perform this stunt, they showed the flying Pinto as a proof of concept to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, but they were killed before they could ever perform the stunt.
Our article on the flying Pinto has become the go-to one on the web. The daughter of its builder is bringing out a book shortly.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-pintos-brief-life-as-an-airplane/
The real Matador never really took off. I remember reading that, when you actually see the car in the sky, it was a scale model.
Great CCs in every shot as the Matador weaves around parked Toyota Crowns and a MK2 Zephyr it looked ok when first shown back in the day but now? At least when the Matador tries to lift its wheels over a slight hump it doesnt disintegrate like a certain orange shirbox Charger on landing.
Give me a break. You’re comparing the moves they put these cars through to the crazy stunts in the Dukes? And then using that to gauge the relative abilities of the vehicles?
Now were talking, I do love how the Bangkok police seems to share their color scheme with the LAPD. Also, an AMC dealer in Thailand, how exotic….
AMC flung their empire far and wide New Zealand had an assembly plant, it still exists as a Toyota plant refurbishing used Toymotas ex JDM
Great clip. I love the blatant AMC advertisement on the front and rear license plates of the Hornet.
I love blatant product placement when it comes to cars on movies or TVs. “Sorry sir, you cannot drive your Chevrolet here, only Fords are in this city.”
As funny as it was when Ford or Chrysler did this, a movie with all of these AMC cars is doubly funny, given their absurdly low market share at the time. Maybe they filmed the James Bond movie in Kenosha. I’m sure that it looks pretty much like someplace in Thailand to American film audiences.
Reminds me of a Mr. Ed show where Ed was driving a stepvan out in traffic. It seems that almost every car and truck on the road was a Studebaker. Hmmmm, the California traffic scenes were filmed in South Bend Indiana?
Da plane! Da plane!
Maybe it was actuatlly. The plain, The plain.
Better quote is from the little kid trying to sell a piece of tourist art to Bond in a scene not long before this one: “Bloody TOURISTS!”
Plus, the trunk of that Matador coupe was big enough to fit an entire Bond Girl (Ms. Goodnight). It can fly and fit your favorite hostage in the trunk.
That was from the boat chase, in the filthy river, which Roger Moore later stated he saw what the local undertakers did with the indigent dead….dump ’em in the river where they were filming.
I was worried he was going to take out the 55-56 Plymouth instead of swerving around it.
I don’t know where this was filmed, but I don’t think it was Bangkok. One of the scenes where the cars are weaving around seems to show a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville . The Thai police driving Matadors?
Well the Matadors were supplied by AMC, who also supplied the Matador and the Hornet, you do realize this is a movie, not a documentary. American cars were also sold outside of the US, believe it or not.
I recall a special showing of this movie which described the Hornet car jump in great detail:
The film crew only had one chance to get the jump itself right, due to budget and time restrictions. Just out of the field of view of the camera is a crane (with a magnet, like in a junkyard), which was in position to immediately retrieve the car if it failed its jump.
The Hornet itself had to be going an *extremely* precise speed to make the jump work, and it was actually a pretty low speed. I remember it being like 38.5mph, plus or minus 0.5mph. The shot of the car rotating is gorgeous, and there is a poster somewhere that shows the car upside down in midair.
They had one chance, and they nailed it!
They actually paved a road leading up to the bridge so the car would have enough road to get up to speed, they also had divers standing by to in case the car went into the drink.
And of course they had to ruin that gorgeous shot with a most undignified slide-whistle sound effect.
I also recall Live and Let Die existing in some strange alternate-universe where every single taxi and cop car is a brand-new Bel Air or maybe a Nova, and Fords are relegated to backdrops…
Almost every car in Live and Let Die is a 1973 Chevrolet.
And of course they had to ruin that gorgeous shot with a most undignified slide-whistle sound effect.
Unbelievable, isn’t it? Who was the SFX man on this, Sideshow Mel?
But then, this is the Roger Moore years we’re talking about, so…
That is awesome – plus the “flying Matador” is a clone to my great uncle’s 1974 Coupe!!!