8 Famous Movie Scenes That Were Hell To Film
Shoots that put the cast and crew through the meat grinder.
Iconic movie scenes often become way more famous than the film they belong to. Their imagery becomes part of the collective conscious and their dialogue is quoted by people who have no idea where the words they're repeating originated from.
Even those who appreciate these scenes the most and have every frame memorised have no idea how much work went into filming them, and quite often, there was more blood, sweat and tears involved than you might think.
What looks straightforward enough on the cinema screen may have needed countless takes to complete, with the cast and crew hampered by all kinds of unforeseen hardships, from the brutal elements to special effects that just won't do as they're told.
When behind-the-scenes stories of these arduous shoots emerge years later, it can make you see the whole sequence, and even the entire film, in a different light, or at least feel a great deal of sympathy for all of those involved, the folks who went to hell and back in the name of entertainment.
8. The Helicopter Scene - Apocalypse Now
There's a certain irony to the fact that many consider Apocalypse Now to be one of the most authentic depictions of armed conflict ever seen on the big screen, because most of the cast and crew likened the entire 68-week shoot to fighting in a war.
That scene where the squadron of helicopters looms large while Ride of the Valkyries blares out and is about as iconic as they come, and it's been imitated countless times by everything from Zack Snyder's Watchmen to Kong: Skull Island.
The reason this sequence caused director Francis Ford Coppola such a headache is because Phillipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos kept stealing the choppers. Well, technically they belonged to him and were on loan with the production crew, but he swiftly took them back at one point to crush an attempted coup.
The Marcos government also provided pilots to fly the helicopters and was quick to recall them when they were needed in battle. This caused Coppola yet more woes while filming the scene, as their replacements did not know the flight patterns.
In fairness, any scene from Apocalypse Now could have made this list as its production was also marred by Martin Sheen's heart attack, rogue tigers breaking loose on set, a typhoon and the theft of the entire payroll.
Is it any wonder Coppola threw away the Oscars he won for his Vietnam War epic?