Did those 2 movies do for the Beretta 92 what Dirty Harry did for the S&W 29? They are playing on AMC and it got me to thinking.

Yes, I believe they did. It made me lust for one and buy one. I’ll admit that I do not shoot them well despite it feeling remarkable in my hands. Yesterday, I took out 2 92FS Compacts that have been in my safe NIB and untouched since 2011 & 2013 respectively. I gave one to my adult son a few years back but this was the first time we shot them. I did install a D spring and a G conversion on both last Friday. I shoot the compact significantly better than the full sized M9 for some odd reason.

BTW, I was a young impressionable teen when those two movies came out.

I would say they did. Beretta 92s were also a fixture in 1980s-90s era Hong Kong gun-fu action movies, especially those directed by John Woo or starring Chow Yun Fat.

Glock can thank Die Hard 2 for making Glock a household name.
"That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me. You know what that is? It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. It doesn't show up on your airport X-ray machines here, and it costs more than what you make in a month!"

Yes, alongside its adoption by the US military around the same time.

The military adopted the M9 in 1985, Lethal Weapon came out in 1987, and Die Hard came out in 1988.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Lethal Weapon came out in 1987, and Die Hard came out in 1988.

Great Christmas movies.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I would say they did. Beretta 92s were also a fixture in 1980s-90s era Hong Kong gun-fu action movies, especially those directed by John Woo or starring Chow Yun Fat.

Yes! Chow Yun-Fat was duel wielding 92s in A Better Tomorrow in 1986, a year before Lethal Weapon was released. The film at that time was of course unknown in much of the West, but it took Asia by storm. Of course, most there could not own a real one.

I think most cop-shows from the mid-80's well into the 90's the Beretta's 92-series was commonly used. Usually the uniform cop or, younger 'detective/agent' had a Beretta and the older, more seasoned cop had a revolver of some kind. I think the 92 was also well suited for the new gas-gun technology for props.
After RoboCop ('85?) and Point Break, you started to see more Sigs and Glocks appear along with the above.

I remember Robert Urich using Beretta 92 in the show Spenser for Hire, about, what, 85-88?

A bit of trivia, the screen-used Beretta 92 from Die Hard is the same gun used by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. If you look closely you can spot the extended slide stop lever in both films, a feature added for Bruce Willis.

quote:

Originally posted by cth1974:
A bit of trivia, the screen-used Beretta 92 from Die Hard is the same gun used by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. If you look closely you can spot the extended slide stop lever in both films, a feature added for Bruce Willis.

That last part would only make sense if Die Hard was shot first... But it was shot a year after Lethal Weapon.

Lethal Weapon: Shot August 6, 1986 to November 14, 1986

Die Hard: Shot November 2, 1987 to March 4, 1988


A quick Google shows that Rigg's 92F in Lethal Weapon doesn't have an extended slide stop lever:





So the extended lever was added after Lethal Weapon, and for/before Die Hard.

quote:

Originally posted by cth1974:
That last part would only make sense if Die Hard was shot first... But it was shot a year after Lethal Weapon.

Lethal Weapon: Shot August 6, 1986 to November 14, 1986

Die Hard: Shot November 2, 1987 to March 4, 1988


A quick Google shows that Rigg's 92F in Lethal Weapon doesn't have an extended slide stop lever:

(Snipped the pics)

So the extended lever was added after Lethal Weapon, and for/before Die Hard.

Thank you, sir! I’m a doofus and switched the two in my mind, and I’m sure that’s why I imagined Riggs holding the version equipped with the extended release.

I question whether that slide release was installed specifically for Willis or his character McClane, who is left-handed. It wouldn't really help him operate it any more efficiently. Also did not recall him doing any quick reloads using the release to bring it back to battery.

Pretty cool!!! Didn't know about the connection with the two movies. I liked the scenes with Riggs at the indoor shooting range and the encounter with the helicopter. If that particular pistol ever came up for auction, bet it would be in the six digits.

Back in '90-'91 my department was in the process of transitioning from revolvers to pistols. I volunteered to be in the test group, and had to purchase my own weapon from an approved list, Beretta, Glock, S&W, sig, H&K, etc. Most were out of my price range, but the Beretta and the Glock were within $4.00 of each other.

I had watched Lethal Weapon on HBO or something, so when the range master asked why I wanted the Beretta over the others I said, "If it's good enough for Mel Gibson, it's good enough for me."

Lethal Weapon and Die Hard are the 2 reasons why the 92FS was my first gun I ever purchased and carried. It's still my primary.

I don't remember where I read this but the 92 was preferred by production departments because it was easy to get blanks to work.

A friend has one and I'd like to say it is a very nice pistol.