Did the Chinese Military Use Top Gun Footage? 226
heidaro writes "'As part of its ongoing expansion, has the People's Liberation Army signed up Goose and Maverick? Chinese bloggers are accusing state broadcaster CCTV of using re-purposed footage from the 1986 film Top Gun for a story on a recent air force drill.' Is it just me or are communist nations very skilled at embarrassing themselves?"
"Commies skilled an(sic) embarrassing themselves"? (Score:2, Interesting)
Secondly, apparently it was used as a demonstration of effects of their new missile - using a footage of exploding F-5 is even somewhat fitting, might even be not simply a case of lazy TV crew... (even if not lazy, capturing real hits would be extremely hard for little effect, they aren't particularly "cinema impressive")
And generally, regarding embarrassments - yeah, because in non-commie lands works of visual fiction would never be used in real military contexts [wikipedia.org], that's unheard of, would be
But yes, you all read that right, their main TV broadcaster is called CCTV / sarcasm meter implodes
PS. BTW, regarding such movies - Les Chevaliers du ciel (aka Sky Fighters), while obviously also with completely redundant plot, is much more enjoyable all-flash-no-substance kind of deal - it has much more spectacular cinematography, nvm lots more minutes of actual flying. Unlike Top Gun (where most flight sequences filming was done from the ground) - in Les Chevaliers du ciel the majority of filming was done from the air, largely via cameras hidden in modified fuel tanks of fighters, to great effect.
Plus it's much less of "a story about a man's struggle with his own homosexuality" (via Quentin Tarantino)
Re:Embaras? You dont get it.. (Score:5, Interesting)
I beg to differ. China has made all sorts of bellowing noises against things they felt would embarrass them on the international stage. I'm thinking here of the film about the Uighur leader that China demanded an Australian film festival not show, and the film festival's website was suddenly the victim of cyberattacks pretty obviously coming from China.
China is extremely sensitive of its reputation.
Re:"Commies skilled an(sic) embarrassing themselve (Score:5, Interesting)
PS. BTW, regarding such movies - Les Chevaliers du ciel (aka Sky Fighters), while obviously also with completely redundant plot, is much more enjoyable all-flash-no-substance kind of deal - it has much more spectacular cinematography, nvm lots more minutes of actual flying. Unlike Top Gun (where most flight sequences filming was done from the ground) - in Les Chevaliers du ciel the majority of filming was done from the air, largely via cameras hidden in modified fuel tanks of fighters, to great effect.
Anyone who like technology, fighters, sonic boom at ground level, real footage from fighters, post-combustion by night, ... in widescreen should see this awesome movie.
Re:What does communist have to do with it? (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you really thing that a government body is THAT stupid? Its probably misinformation to look stupid - a very common political tactic, especially if you cross it with the current spotlight on whether or not they created a space plane. Just look at it this way: how does this make you perceive them, as a gut reaction - I know my first reaction was "well if they doctored footage with Top Gun as a basis for avionics propaganda, surely they couldn't have a space plane"
My tin foil hat has multiple layers - for foil-penetrating mind-control.
Re:What does communist have to do with it? (Score:5, Interesting)
The difference is, in the US or the UK, if you feel that you have a better idea than the government you can run for office and try to change things.
Do you really believe that ? I mean really, give it a try. Without money, without support from "big business", nobody will ever hear about you. And even if people hear about you, you won't be one of their favorites, mostly because they don't know you. Running for office involves much more than just the will to do it.
And the kind of people that have the will, the money and the support are in the game for power, for their own benefit, not for ours.