MovieChat Forums > Operation Avalanche (2016) Discussion > Why Operation Avalanche?

Why Operation Avalanche?

posted 8 years ago by rp69
6 replies | jump to latest

The term was already used for an allied invasion of Italy in WWII. Didn't the film makers do any research?

According to wikipedia, it was also used for an internet child pornography investigation in the late 90s, and an operation in Afghanistan in 2003. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Avalanche_(disambiguation)

None that I know of in the 70s ... really strange name, but there must be a good reason for it.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[–] rp69 8 years ago

Oh. So Gov't agents in the 1990's were watching old films of NASA looking for porn, not realizing they got their "Operations" mixed up.

That could be a funny movie.

[–] hanfuzzy 8 years ago

I'm sure they researched it. The film re-uses other WWII code names as well, such as Operation Zipper and Operation Northwoods. It's kind of an inside joke, or just their way of making the names sound authentic by using real (but unrelated) names.

[–] rp69 8 years ago

Absolutely amazing. I just watched the trailer, and I have absolutely no recollection of seeing this movie. I've never even heard of it.
I must have seen it. I posted some pretty specific details when I started this thread.

I am completely dumbfounded. I hope it's not Kelly Bundy Syndrome, where the more new stuff I see, the more old stuff scrolls out the other side of my brain.

The movie looks fascinating though.

[–] benbo-3 7 years ago

The term was already used for an allied invasion of Italy in WWII. Didn't the film makers do any research?

I immediately thought this too. OK it's speculation, a stretch on my part but...
In May 1943 the British pulled off Operation Mincemeat, the famous 'Man who never was' con - a Welsh guy who died of pneumonia (chosen because of fluid in his lungs as cause of death, to be explained shortly) put in a Major's uniform, stuffed with phony personal effects and maps & plans that looked like an upcoming invasion of Greece in the fall. They then shot the body out of a sub off Spain, which was a German sympathizer but officially neutral; the body hit the beach, found, eventually everything gets discovered by German agents. It looked to them like this guy drowned & they buy the plan hook, line, & sinker. Valuable resources were diverted from the upcoming invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), and then Italy (Avalanche). Among the Brit intel agents involved in Mincemeat? None other than James-Bond-daddy himself, Ian Fleming.
All that is true - my speculation is, the filmmakers picked that name because it sounds better than 'husky'; the allegory is just like Mincemeat was the con to fool the Germans about Avalanche, this Avalanche is the con to fool the world (especially the Russians) about landing on the moon. A historical parallel to accomplish the main goal.

[–] rp69 7 years ago

I know mincemeat. Great movie too.