I really have to say that beginning electrocution scene is like no other I have ever seen. It is too realistic to belief. My skin crawls everytime I see it.
Watch those toasters, and of course coffee makers guys, puhleeze!!!
That opening scene was so hoaky that my son almost peed his pants when he saw it.
A. Why would that lady stand in the milk like that?
B. Why would she stick her finger in that blownout coffee pot with the sparks and what not.
C. She wouldn't have died from such an occurance anyhow.
The small amount of voltage,plus the fact that she was still grounded because her feet were touching the floor through a thin layer of milk, makes it so nonsensical, its hard to even talk about it.
At worst, she would have burned the hell out of her finger, providing she was dumb enough to do that in the first place.
Chicken Lickin's lickin chicken!
I thought this scene was realistic and disturbing also.
It probably won't work for today's generation since we are so nit-picky, but back then, it was pretty believable.
go stand in some liquid and play around with electrical appliances and see if you like it. i don't know if you'd die or not, i'm not a doctor and just because you maybe know something about electricity means you know anything about the human heart or how such a shock would affect it. lots of musicians have died from badly grounded amplifiers and microphones. it hardly ever happens but ya know dude, it was a movie right?? if she just would have had a congenital heart defect and dropped dead, would that have been better for you?
shareI don't think anyone who would ground their bodies to protect themselves from electric shock knows enough about electricity to play around with it.
You've got the right idea, it seems. Ground the bloody equipment so that if it comes into contact with the high voltage there's a lower resistance path than the first person who happens to touch the equipment.
I know this is an ancient message, but feel compelled to mention that you DO NOT want to ground yourself if there's danger of shock.
The equipment you touch that may come into contact with high voltages should be grounded, not you. The idea of grounding something is to allow it to dissipate a large electric potential into a reservoir. A ground wire provides a path of least resistance that will take on most of the current.
If YOU are grounded and you touch something at a much higher voltage, then you become the path of least resistance, and the current will pass through your body.
The only time it's a good idea for people to ground their bodies is when they want to prevent static discharges (which could damage delicate circuitry). For someone working with high voltages it's far preferable that your body isn't the path of least resistance to anything.
Yeah, I know whenever I spill a large amount of liquid on the floor, I always go and stand right IN IT to clean it up. haha
Because in addition to the big mess, I want to have to wash my feet too... esp. if my whole family is already running late.
Yeah. I'm not saying she was a waste of humanity but I don't think she was finding a cure for AIDS any day soon, with that brain.
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My relative, who spent his life as a contractor, has complained about this scene EVERY time he/we have seen the film (only maybe twice I admit) for exactly the reasons you say about every aspect. The only thing he ever truly worried about were "live changeovers."
"On Pet Rescue today, the clever stoat keeps everyone on their toes in Somerset!"
Not to make a pun, but the electrocution scene of The Believers was rather shocking. (Or maybe it is a pun. :D ) Actually, IMO it's probably the most effective and memorable scene in this otherwise so-so movie. (The "victim" was the very pretty and talented Canadian actress, Janet-Laine Green. She done good! :D )
But yeah. It is possible for a person to be killed like that if their heart was firing in the wrong way at the time the electric current hit them. Electric charges of 110 volts are notorious for "grabbing" you, especially with a poorly grounded appliance. The vast majority of people could survive it, but some don't. In those few cases, you are essentially, as medics say, DRT (dead right there.)
I remember a car detailing shop where some guys would use some kind of car-cleaning appliance on a wet floor and get it to "grab" them on a dare. One guy couldn't let go one time and the paramedics had to be called. The guy survived, but the bosses nearly had a coronary. The appliance was found to be badly grounded and was promptly done away with.
i thought it was disturbing and martin sheen did a good job reacting to what's happening.
shareI love this scene, but it's highly unlikely to happen. For one the coffee pot was plastic and the switch she touched would have been low voltage (and it was plastic). I guess a spark could have arched to her hand, but at worst would have given her a jolt. It's possible the jolt could have stopped her heart, but she wouldn't have been standing there shaking like that.
I do wonder why anyone would stand there while their love one was being electrocuted and do nothing. They could have picked up a chair and used it to pull her away or ran to the breaker box.
People do die from 110 shocks all the time. Some people are better conductors than others. To be safe use ground fault interrupters anywhere where water may be.
I thought that scene was both startling and heartbreaking in equal measure; it's such a tragic and terrible way to die.
"We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Warren Oates/And Steven McQueen"
I thought that was a great intro to the movie, Martin Sheen is an incredible actor. It was a very startling and shocking (pardon the pun) way to begin the movie.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens.
I agree the beginning was a great way to begin this type of movie.
sharehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAMj_D-uTo
Here is the opening scene if anyone wants to watch it. I happened really fast.
I thought it was an effective opening.
What do you think this is, a signature? It's a way of life!
I loved the beginning of this movie! It hooked me for the rest of the film!
Love this movie!
Prostitute: What the *beep* are you doing?
Johnny: I'm gonna kill a bunch of people.
That is one of the all-time memorable movie beginnings, IMHO.
It jolts me everytime (sorry for the pun).
I cannot help but think about that scene from time to time when I use my coffee maker.
yep the electrocution scene was very creepy!When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
Just watched it today. Haven't watched it since 1987. It's aged fairly well. The wife's death feels almost like Black Magic was playing a part. Get her out of the way. We need the son for our ritual. Of course the movie never went with that, but it could have worked. Well I think it could have. NYC has changed a lot hasn't it. At least on the surface.
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