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scientist." Johnston's friend, USGS geologist Don
Swanson, who, due to other commitments had convinced Johnston to take his place at the Coldwater II observation post on the day of the eruption, believed that a movie based on Johnston's true life and exploits would have been a hit because of his friend's character.
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Prior to the film's premiere, 36 scientists who knew
Johnston signed a letter of protest against the depiction of Johnston in the form of the David Jackson character. They wrote, "Dave's life was too meritorious to require fictional embellishments," and "Dave was a superbly conscientious and creative
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As the volcanic activity increases, so does the attraction between David and Linda, and the two eventually fall in love. Presumably on the day before the eruption, David packs Linda and her son off to safety and stays behind for the scientific work he still needs to do on a ridge a few miles north of
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One of the film's associate producers, Seattle filmmaker Otto Seiber, nearly lost his life in a filming expedition on Mount St. Helens shortly after the eruption. His film crew had been dropped off by helicopter in the area on May 23, 1980, and as they filmed the devastation, their compasses started
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The photos during the depiction of the May 18, 1980, eruption showing the north face of Mount St. Helens collapsing and exploding were taken by an amateur photographer at the Bear Meadow campsite 11 miles (18 km) northeast of the peak. The photographer, Gary
Rosenquist, became a household name
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The behavior of the movie's David
Jackson character sparked controversy. David Johnston's parents criticized the film, arguing that it possessed not "an ounce of David in it" and that the fictional Jackson character portrayed him "as a daredevil rather than a careful scientist." Johnston's mother
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stated that the film had misrepresented many aspects of the eruption and had depicted her son falsely as "a rebel" with "a history of disciplinary trouble." Johnston's family threatened to sue the makers of the film because they felt that it had sullied his memory.
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agrees to let them into the danger zone as long as they sign waivers agreeing that the state has no liability for death or injury they suffer due to volcanic activity. On April 30, 1980, state officials in Cougar give them waivers of liability to sign.
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On the morning of May 18, 1980, David hikes to a ridge 6 miles (10 km) north of Mount St. Helens to monitor a massive bulge that has been growing on the north face of the mountain for the past few weeks, while Harry goes fishing in
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Filming of the movie began in
November 1980 and finished in April 1981. The film premiered on May 18, 1981, on the first anniversary of the eruption. The film was given a limited theatrical release, mostly in the Pacific Northwest.
338:, with the story beginning on the day volcanic activity started on March 20, 1980, and ending on the day of the eruption, May 18, 1980. The film premiered on May 18, 1981, on the first anniversary of the eruption.
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One of the film's writers was Larry
Sturholm, a Portland and Seattle television news reporter and personality known for humorous local news stories. Sturholm was murdered in 1989 before his subsequent screenplay,
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Gerri
Whiting, the sister of lodge owner Harry Truman, served as a historical consultant for the film. According to her, Harry Truman and David Johnston were indeed friends and spent some time together.
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After
Washington declares a danger zone around the volcano and prohibits anyone from entering it, owners of property inside the prohibited area demand access to their property. To appease them, the
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struck Mt. St. Helens, signaling the first signs of volcanic activity there in 123 years. During the earthquake, a flock of quail becomes disoriented and smashes into the windshield of an
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filmed during that expedition were included in the movie, as were clips from a previous expedition to the Mount St. Helens area several weeks before the May 18, 1980, eruption.
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shortly after the eruption, and his photo sequence was widely used by the scientific community to reconstruct the events that led to the eruption.
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volcanic chain) served as the pre-eruption Mount St. Helens, and the film opens with a picture of Mount
Bachelor and the Central Oregon Cascades.
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627:. This resulted in them getting lost and nearly killed by a second large explosion on May 25, 1980. Brief clips from the 1980 documentary film
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The film ends with a scene of a small tree growing amidst the barren moonscape of the posteruption North Fork Toutle River valley.
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was first broadcast on television in the United States on May 18, 1981. In the
Philippines, the film was theatrically released as
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The eruption images of Mount St. Helens were sourced from actual file footage of Mount St. Helens, much of it from
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The setting for the Mount St. Helens Lodge was Elk Lake Lodge, located about 30 miles (48 km) from Bend along
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The setting for the pre-eruption Spirit Lake was actually Sparks Lake, located west of Mount Bachelor.
418:(Art Carney), has a defiant attitude toward the idea of leaving his home on the slopes of the volcano.
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The film is noted for being the first Hollywood soundtrack of the italian prog-rock group
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Echoes of Fury: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens and the Lives it Changed Forever
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Echoes of Fury: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens and the Lives it Changed Forever
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Film production crews used facilities at the Inn of the Seventh Mountain resort in
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Mount St. Helens, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
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751:. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. October 10, 2001. p. A27
450:. The eruption kills both David and Harry and continues for hours.
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500 times more powerful than the Hiroshima, Nagasaki atomic bomb.
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567:. In the film, both Mount Bachelor and the South Sister (of the
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the volcano. Later that night, he pays a last visit to Harry.
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David Jackson (David Huffman), a fictionalized version of
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the mountain's entire north face collapses in a massive
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On March 20, 1980, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the
592:(known now as the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway).
388:operations. The helicopter's pilot, Otis Kaylor (
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787:. The News-Journal Corporation. December 1, 1980
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438:at the foot of the mountain. At 8:32 a.m.
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779:"Family Unhappy With Film Portrayal Of Son"
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555:The entire movie was shot on location in
310:directed by Ernest Pintoff, and starring
71:Learn how and when to remove this message
971:Films with screenplays by Larry Ferguson
966:Films with screenplays by Peter Bellwood
34:This article includes a list of general
446:, causing the mountain to explode in a
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454:destroy everything in their path, and
16:1981 movie directed by Ernest Pintoff
706:, Bend Oregon, January 1, 1981, p30.
540:Van Hurst as Army National Guardsman
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941:Films produced by William N. Panzer
921:American historical adventure films
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671:by Mega Films on October 10, 2001.
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588:(Cascade Lakes Highway) to depict
458:sweep down into the valley of the
40:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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721:, Bend Oregon, November 20, 1980.
630:The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!
936:Films directed by Ernest Pintoff
537:Brendan Burns as David Crockett
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956:Films set in Washington (state)
401:United States Geological Survey
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784:The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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716:Writer gets shot at movie fame
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379:Aerospatiale SA341G Gazelle
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619:malfunctioning due to the
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268:Davis-Panzer Productions
926:American survival films
916:American disaster films
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460:North Fork Toutle River
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55:more precise citations.
701:St. Helen visits state
656:, could be completed.
392:), makes a successful
282:May 18, 1981
116:Michael Timothy Murphy
931:Films about volcanoes
516:as George Kilpatrick
961:Films shot in Oregon
911:1980s disaster films
906:1980s American films
563:in Central Oregon's
226:Production locations
731:Seattle Pi Archives
623:differences in the
498:as Clyde Whittaker
399:Shortly afterward,
300:is a 1981 made-for-
359:Agostino Marangolo
264:Production company
206:Executive producer
951:Films set in 1980
603:, ABC affiliates
452:Pyroclastic flows
408:David A. Johnston
394:emergency landing
363:Antonio Marangolo
351:Claudio Simonetti
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220:William N. Panzer
209:Michael T. Murphy
193:Original language
185:Country of origin
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448:lateral eruption
423:state government
355:Fabio Pignatelli
332:Mount St. Helens
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274:Original release
169:Nehemiah Persoff
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532:Henry Darrow
522:as Hendricks
496:Albert Salmi
490:Cassie Yates
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324:Albert Salmi
320:Cassie Yates
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256:Running time
165:Henry Darrow
149:Albert Salmi
145:Cassie Yates
86:
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61:January 2013
58:
39:
18:
675:Controversy
436:Spirit Lake
384:in use for
123:Directed by
53:introducing
901:1981 films
895:Categories
881:St. Helens
870:St. Helens
755:October 1,
688:References
665:St. Helens
551:Production
502:Ron O'Neal
475:Art Carney
390:Ron O'Neal
382:helicopter
336:Washington
316:Art Carney
297:St. Helens
286:1981-05-18
259:90 minutes
201:Production
153:Ron O'Neal
137:Art Carney
87:St. Helens
36:references
827:, p. 206.
559:, and at
444:landslide
214:Producers
96:Adventure
791:April 2,
719:Bulletin
704:Bulletin
613:Portland
601:ABC News
175:Music by
133:Starring
113:Story by
660:Release
609:KATU-TV
605:KOMO-TV
386:logging
284: (
279:Release
196:English
49:improve
847:
819:
456:lahars
412:Cougar
343:Goblin
322:, and
248:Editor
179:Goblin
38:, but
302:cable
93:Genre
875:IMDb
845:ISBN
817:ISBN
793:2010
757:2022
469:Cast
369:Plot
361:and
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440:PDT
365:).
334:in
330:of
305:HBO
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