I've watched this before but didn't notice this until this time...
There was no reason why they had to back the truck to the end of the ramp. After they did they just drove it forward again. Turning around didn't require nearly that much room.
I guess they liked the look of the location and thought nobody would notice (which I didn't at first).
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them ...well, I have others. -Groucho Marx
I'll look again at the film when I check it out. Perhaps the precariousness of the load meant one could not make tight turns but instead keep it as straight as possible. Side shifting of Nitro? Just a guess.
I disagree. An old vehicle of that size would have had a small turning circle and steering at this time was incredibly physical. I knew someone who was a London bus driver at this period in his life and had to retire because he had a heart condition that was aggravated by the power needed to steer the bus. That was a bus, not a truck and it wasn't packed with explosives! At the outset they are told that the type of trucks they're driving would be all 'arms and leg' work, i.e. physical activity to move it. This coupled with the speed they would have been taking such a bend at meant they needed the best angle and most space they could achieve for negotiating the bend, which was acutely angled.
Why problem make? When you no problem have, you don't want to make ...
Hi Poppy, thanks for contributing. I haven't seen it in quite awhile, but as I recall, they didn't use that length for adjusting. They just went straight back and straight forward as someone else mentioned I think.
Like I say, though. It's been too long to remember exactly.
Cheers
Coffee's for closers. - the guy from Mitch and Murray (Alec Baldwin)
They needed it for momentum to turn and head the other direction. It was a sharp bend, and the only solution was to do a sort of 3-point turn bu pulling back to get as much oomphf as possible to get the truck through.
considering both trucks got caught on the edge of the road when coming off the platform, it seems there was no extra oomph gained by backing onto the platform
I simply told myself, "suspend disbelief" and went along with the movie
They'll hang you as sure as 10 dimes will buy a dollar
The picture you linked to gave me an idea. I suppose they had to use what they had available, but they could, perhaps, have acquired some cheap props (that look unmovable) to "clutter" the area and limit where the truck could go.
... and the rocks it pummels. - James Berardinelli
No, they definitely had to back up on the wooden ramp, because they had to make a very tight turn, and a vehicle that size and weight cant make a tight turn so easily, so they had to back it up
trust me, I walk this sharp bend at least a year, I know nearly every location of this movie. There's without doubt enough space to turn the truck. It's only for the suspence!