Damnation Alley

Damnation Alley (1977)

Timing: 1:31 (91 min)

5.119/10
109

5.758/10
768

5.3/10
6500

All about film

Video 2

Photo 24

Actors and characters

Release date

1977-09-10

Country

United States

Production

20th Century Fox

Genre

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction

Budget

$17 000 000

Revenue

$8 720 000

Website

Director

Jack Smight

Actors

George Peppard, Jan-Michael Vincent, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield, Kip Niven, Jackie Earle Haley, Robert Donner, Seamon Glass, Roger Creed, James R. Parkes
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Paul Maslansky, Jerome M. Zeitman, Hal Landers, Bobby Roberts

Operator

Harry Stradling Jr.

Composer

Jerry Goldsmith

Artist

Audition

Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton

Editing

Frank J. Urioste
All team (38)

• A fully functional Landmaster amphibious all-terrain vehicle, costing $300,000, was constructed for the film's shooting. The 10-ton, 11-meter-long hull consisted of two articulated sections made of sheet steel and aluminum, had 12 wheels, and a 7-liter Ford engine. It traveled at a speed of about 60 km/h on land and developed 5 knots in the water. Inside, there were bunk beds, a shower, and a bathtub. Later, the Landmaster was used in episodes of the films "Army of Machines" (1994), "Hybrid" (1997), and the series "Get A Life" (1990-1992).
• In 1976, this film was considered the most expensive science fiction project of the 20th Century Fox film company. Hoping for a successful release, the studio spared no effort in promoting it. At the same time, George Lucas's film "Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope" (1977) could not boast such an advertising budget, and everyone at the studio was absolutely convinced that it would not be successful. Everything turned out exactly the opposite.
• The terrifying killer cockroaches are, in fact, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, just over seven centimeters long and quite friendly. They communicate with each other through hissing, or it is a sign of excitement. Live insects were filmed in close-up, and for shots from a distance or when filming several cockroaches at once, prop insects were used.
• Three hundred male cockroaches were used in the film (to prevent breeding). It took a week to film the scenes with the cockroaches.
• The scene in which Ian-Michael Vincent (1944-2019) dodges giant scorpions on a motorcycle was initially filmed with full-size animatronic insect models. It didn't turn out very well, and images of real scorpions were superimposed on the images of the models during post-production.
• A fully functional Landmaster amphibious all-terrain vehicle, costing $300,000, was constructed for the film. The 10-ton, 11-meter-long body consisted of two articulated sections made of sheet steel and aluminum, had 12 wheels, and a 7-liter Ford engine. It traveled at around 60 km/h on land and reached 5 knots in the water. Inside, it featured bunk beds, a shower, and a bathtub. Later, the Landmaster was used in episodes of the films "Army of Machines" (1994), "Hybrid" (1997), and the series "Get A Life" (1990-1992).
• In 1976, this film was considered the most expensive science fiction project of the 20th Century Fox film company. Hoping for a successful release, the studio spared no effort in promoting it. At the same time, George Lucas’s film "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope" (1977) could not boast such an advertising budget, and everyone at the studio was absolutely convinced that it would not be successful. The exact opposite happened.