Wilhelm scream: Difference between revisions

For the punk rock band, see A Wilhelm Scream.

The Wilhelm scream is a stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. Actor-singer Sheb Wooley is considered to be the most likely voice actor for the scream, having appeared on a memo as a voice extra for the film.

The Wilhelm scream has been featured in many films and television programs since. Alongside a certain recording of the cry of the Red-tailed Hawk, the "Universal telephone ring", the Goofy holler, the Tarzan yell and "Castle thunder", it is probably one of the best-known cinematic sound clichés.

History

The Wilhelm's revival came from Star Wars series sound designer Ben Burtt, who tracked down the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labelled "Man being eaten by alligator"). Although Distant Drums was the first known use of the sound, Burtt named it after "Pvt. Wilhelm", a minor character who emitted the same scream in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.

Although the identity of the individual who recorded the scream (which was actually one of a series of six) remains unknown, researcher and Star Wars sound effects editor Ben Burtt uncovered documentation suggesting the scream might have been recorded by singer Sheb Wooley, who was one of the actors in Distant Drums.[1]

Usage

The Wilhelm scream is often used when a character is plummeting to a great distance, usually falling off a ledge. Its use in the Star Wars films was the beginning of something of an in-joke among some sound designers of the film industry, especially at Skywalker Sound, and Weddington Productions (now a division of Technicolor Sound Services). They continued to try to incorporate it into films wherever feasible.

Because of the popularity of the sound, people are still finding it in older movies and shows. The following is a list of media that has been found that uses the Wilhelm scream.

Movie franchises

• Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King
• Star Wars films: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol.1 & 2, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi

1950s

• The Command (As an Indian is shot off his horse during an attack the wagon convoy attack)
• The Charge at Feather River (By the character Wilhelm, who gave his name to the scream, and some other characters)
• Distant Drums (The original use of the sound. Used when a character is eaten by an alligator and when three Indians are shot)
• Helen of Troy (1956)
• Land of the Pharaohs (A man is eaten by crocodiles)
• The Sea Chase (1955)
• Spoiler of the Plains (When Gregory Camwell falls from an oil derrick)
• Springfield Rifle (1952)
• A Star Is Born (1954 version with Judy Garland. In the projection room, During the song "Somewhere There's a Someone")
• Them! (A giant ant attacks a boat crew; Also when Sgt. Ben Peterson is killed by an ant; And when a soldier is struck by debris in a sewer)

1960s

• The Green Berets (Before Peterson says "That's what its all about Mr. Beckworth!" Again when the villagers camp is attacked. Finally, you see a soldier pick up a VC and throw him to the ground)
• Harper (Harper (Paul Newman) strikes Pudder (Roy Jenson)in the head with a rasp)
• Hercules vs. the Moon Men
• Impasse (Twice when Morrison (Burt Reynolds) and a thug fall to the bottom of some stairs and off a balcony, during a fight in a warehouse)
• The Italian Job (When one of the Charlie's crew is hit by the water cannon)
• PT 109 (A crew member of PT-109 screams as Japanese destroyer smashes through the patrol boat)
• The Scarlet Blade
• Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
• Swiss Family Robinson
• The Wild Bunch (A member of the Bunch is shot in the face during the opening scene of the movie)

1970s

• Chisum (1970)
• Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
• Mad Max
• More American Graffiti (1979)
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (A Stormtrooper is shot by Luke and falls down a shaft in the Death Star)
• The Star Wars Holiday Special (A Stormtrooper falls over edge of Chewbacca's family treehouse)
• Shout at the Devil (1976)

1980s

• The Big Brawl (1980)
• The Black Cauldron (the Henchmen Frighten of the Lights)
• The 'Burbs (Hans, when he crashes the ambulance through the door of Art's house)
• Explorers (when people are watching a drive-in movie)
• The Great Muppet Caper (Kermit screams what sounds like the "first scream" when Beauregard drives through the doors to the Happiness Hotel)
• History of the World, Part I (1981)
• Howard the Duck (A duck hunter falls out of a boat shortly before Howard yells, "Banzai!")
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (When two Nazi soldiers fall out of the back of a truck)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (When Indy is pushed into the band-stand in Club Obi-Wan. Again when Indy shoots driver of Lao Che's car. Finally, Mola Ram is eaten by alligators)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (When one soldier is killed with a grenade during the desert chase,then the "first scream" is heard right after.)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (During the funeral when attendees look towards the cliff off which Arthur has been chased,very faint.)
• Poltergeist (After the family eats breakfast, Carol Anne Freeling is watching TV. A soldier dies)
• Red Dawn
• Spaceballs (Barf uses a section of tubing to reflect four laser bolts back at guards,the fourth one hit screams)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (During the Hoth battle, a turret dish is destroyed. Also, Chewbacca throws a Stormtrooper during the carbonite scene)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (When Luke kills one of Jabba the Hutt's guards (a Weequay) above the Sarlacc Pit. Later, Han throws a bag of charges at an Imperial officer in the Endor bunker, knocking him backwards over a railing. That Imperial officer is sound designer Ben Burtt in a cameo appearance, who did his own impression of the "Wilhelm". In the Special Edition, a Stormtrooper does a Wilhelm while being savaged by a crowd on Coruscant, another occurs after another Weequay is knocked from a barge by Luke Skywalker, and when Boba Fett was knocked onto the Sarlaac)
• Swamp Thing (The swamp thing grabs a thug and tosses him out his speedboat)
• Three Fugitives (When the van crashes into the bathroom.)
• Under Fire
• Willow (When the soldiers chariot crashes during chase scene, when a man falls off his horse, and when the Brownies trigger a larger spear)

1990s

• Aladdin (As the villagers flee in terror when the Genie lifts the palace into the air)
• Batman Returns (When Batman turns a corner, punches and grabs an enemy and hurls him towards a railing)
• Beauty and the Beast (After Chip says, "You guys got to try this thing," during a fight between the villagers and the household objects)
• Dante's Peak (Dr. Paul Dreyfus falls into the mudflow when the bridge gives way)
• Die Hard: With a Vengeance (Scream is truncated) (John McClane (Bruce Willis) is driving through Central Park and almost hits a mime)
• The Fifth Element (When Leeloo kicks the Mangalores into the hallway during the fight in Plavalaguna's chamber, very faint)
• A Goofy Movie (During the song "On The Open Road", Goofy's car plows through a construction scaffold)
• Gummi Bears: The Movie 2000 (Tummi Gummi and Ratigan's Tugs Falls into the Water of an Earthquake)
• The Jungle Book Strikes Again (During the song "The Bare Necessities (Reprise)," Baloo's plows through a construction scaffold)
• Gremlins 2 (As a victim is covered in gremlins and he falls off of a ledge)
• Hercules (As the villagers flee in terror when the Cyclops titan first starts crushing buildings looking for Hercules)
• Jumanji (When the kids get scared and scream, one is a Wilhelm scream)
• Legion of Iron
• Lethal Weapon 4 (When the flamethrower man in the opening scene flies into the gas truck)
• Matinee (Can be heard a couple of times in the movie within the movie "Mant")
• Mom and Dad Save the World (A Spnego guard is shot in the fortress docking bay, imitation of the sound effect)
• Pokemon: The First Movie
• Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S: The Movie (English dub only; Emitted from random civilian outside restaurant when frozen by a snow dancer)
• Reservoir Dogs (Mr. Brown is shot in his car, when Mr. Pink pushes someone out of his way while running down the sidewalk)
• The Second Civil War (Vinny Franko is watching an old movie with John Wayne, and John throws a grenade)
• Uncle Sam (A man is killed in an orchard)
• Small Soldiers (Brick gets cut inhalf by a bike, also during the electric scene.)
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Two men are shot in the Naboo hangar. Also, "Trailer B" when a fighter pilot is shot down)
• Tank Girl (Tank girl throws a soldier under the tire of a moving truck full of weapons)
• Toy Story (Buzz Lightyear is knocked out of a window)
• Titanic

2000s

• 15 Minutes (When Eddie, chained in a chair, hits Emil before his death)
• 300
• 30 Days of Night (When the Vampires pillage the town eating people, an unknown villager falls off the roof)
• 3 Pigs and a Baby (When wolf is blown away by doomsday device)
• A Man Apart
• Abominable (When Lance Henriksen is killed by Sasquatch)
• Accepted (Heard from a kid as he flies from his skateboard)
• Æon Flux (Aeon shoots a guard off the ledge in the courtyard)
• Agent Cody Banks (As a henchman falls while E.R.I.S. facility is destructing)
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (During the first part of the gang fight, in a lower-than-usual pitch)
• Animatrix (In the episode Matriculated when the sentinels attack the humans in the lab near the end of the film)
• Are We Done Yet? (Nick Persons falls off his ladder [seen in the trailer]. Also Chuck throws a flaming stick that hits someone)
• Because of Winn-Dixie (after Winn-Dixie spots a mouse in a church he tries to catch it, during one point he slides down a row of chairs, someone screams)
• Black Sheep (During sheep attack on Angus's speech. Screamed by a German attempting to get into a car.)
• Blades of Glory (Heard in the trailer when the flaming fountain falls on the eight-ball character - not in the actual film)
• Cradle 2 the Grave
• Cars (When a car is hit by lightning in Lightning McQueen's dream sequence at the beginning of the movie)
• Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Chuck watches TV after returning home from a bar-fight)
• The Constant Gardener
• Date Movie
• Deck the Halls (After lights are seen from space by my earth)
• Death Proof (Stuntman Mike during the head-on car smash scene)
• Diabolical Tales: Part I (When FBI Agent Thompson is shot with an electro-incinerator)
• D-War (When the dragon step over the villager, during the battle in the city, a police officer gets bitten by a dragon rider and thrown into a car windscreen)
• DOA: Dead or Alive (As a guard gets kicked off the balcony)
• Down by the Riverside (A scream of joy from a fan in a office)
• Eagle vs Shark (When Lily and Jarrod are playing Fight Man)
• Enchanted (In the ball scene when the queen truns into the dragon)
• Epic Movie (The last scream when Dumbledore dies, during the sword fight of Harry Potter and Peter)
• Fantastic Four (In the final battle after the Thing throws a car at Doctor Doom and a bus is slid in Victor's direction, also shorty after when the light blows up)
• Flyboys
• Flushed Away (During the giant wave scene when the slugs jump for their lifes and land on pepole, A very faint wilhelm is herd when the slugs land on people.)
• Freddy VS Ghostsbusters (at the beginng when the three are at the bar pepole start to run away)
• Get Rich or Die Tryin (In the scene where people are getting shot in the recording studio)
• The Golden Compass
• The Great New Wonderful (In the soundtrack of an old movie being viewed on a TV by the Brighton Beach couple)
• Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (When Harold and Kumar are riding the cheetah and Harold is hit by a tree branch)
• Hellboy (When a Nazi scientist is sucked into the portal.)
• Horton Hears a Who (when Horton is about to dive in the river some ducks fly away)
• I Am David (during the riot scene between protesters and police)
• The Invisible (when a boy is pushed into the pool during the party)
• Just Visiting (Near the beginning. A man throws at Jean Reno, who dodoges it. It pass him,a we hear the yell at the knife strikes the man behind him. It's nice to hear that the yell is still being using.)
• The Kid (While Russ is talking to Amy, In a movie that Rusty is watching on TV)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (During the battle at the House of Blue Leaves. When a yakuza is chopped in half, again when another falls down the stairs)
• King Kong (A sailor is pushed over a cliff by a sauropod during the stampede)
• Kingdom of Heaven (A Muslim soldier is knocked off from his siege tower when a trebuchet missile hits it)
• License to Wed (During the car test when they almost hit the old man on the scooter)
• Life or Something Like It (At the amusement park, a roller coaster flies by)
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (A crew man jumps overboard just before ice falls onto ship)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (When Damian Drake tosses a grenade behind him; the scream is heard when it explodes)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (A Gondorian is dropped by a Nazgûl and a Haradrim is knocked off a mûmakil' by Legolas)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (An Elvish soldier falls off the Deeping Wall and scream)
• Madagascar (When people are fleeing from Alex the Lion in Grand Central Station)
• Meet the Spartans (When the immortals are pushed over the cliff)
• The Majestic (When they first test the Majestic's lit sign and it shorts out)
• Mission: Impossible II
• Monster-in-Law
• Monster House (During the scary movie Zee and Bones are watching, very faint)
• The Mist
• Norbit (When young Norbit and Kate are watching a scary movie together)
• Once Upon A Time In Mexico (During the motorcycle chase one of the gangsters is hit by an old man in a car)
• Osmosis Jones (Thrax throws someone out of their car)
• Over the Hedge (Bug gets zapped in the bug zapper, much higher pitch, not in the actual film)
• The Pacifier
• Paparazzi
• The Passion of the Christ
• Pathfinder
• Peter Pan
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (A soldier is tossed over the railing when the cursed pirates attack the Interceptor)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Heard when the kraken attacks the Royal Navy ship after Will escapes the crew)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• Planet of the Apes (Attar throws Tival down; General Thade hurls two humans into the air at once, later using his helmet, he stabs a human)
• Ratatouille

Radio{the "first scream" is herd when a cop pushes Radio on the hood of the car}

• Resident Evil: Extinction (The man who is using the flamethrower when he gets knocked off the top of the truck by the infected ravens)
• The Salton Sea (Kujo (Adam Goldberg) is hit by a ambulance. The Wilhelm is the second scream he makes)
• Saving Silverman
• Saw (In the main room, once Adam wakes up, (faintly) right after first light is turned on)
• Scorched (Shmally crashes her motorcycle in the desert. There is a lot of other noise at the same time so it's hard to hear)
• Semi-Pro
• Snakes on a Plane(when the co-pilot gets bitten then immediately after Samuel L Jackson tells everyone to buckle up)
• Spider-Man
• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
• Soul Plane
• She's the Man (Shortly after Viola enters her brother's dorm, faintly on the TV set)
• Shrek the Third (During the pub fight when the screen focus is on Prince Charming)
• The Simpson Movie
• Sin City (Marv throws a cop out of his squad car while stealing it)
• The Singles Ward (Heard when Jonathan is talking on the phone to the fire department)
• Sixteen Blocks (Immediately following the bus tire being shot out)
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (During the attack of the giant robots in New York City, a robot squashes a car under its foot)
• Snapphanar (When the Swedes attack the Sandby Castle)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (When V'ger fires at the Enterprise, a crew member in the engine room screams when they are hit by an energy bolt. Only in the Director's Edition)
• Star Wars: Clone Wars (Vol. 1) (When the seismic tank fires for the first time. During the shock wave after)
• Star Wars: Clone Wars (Vol. 2) (General Grievous attacks in Palpatine's chambers. Also, when Magna Guards throw clones over an edge)
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (The "third scream" is heard as Padmé Amidala's ship explodes in the beginning of the film)
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (During the Battle of Coruscant,as a laser cannon explodes a clone trooper is sent flying,also when ever R2-D2 falls or slides a robot version is heard)
• Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (When the P-fleet security officers rush to the transport sled, and a babel 13 crewmember is shot.)
• Storm (In the first comic book scene)
• Superman Returns (When the train set in Lex Luthur's basement is destroyed)
• Taxi (When the red BMW drives down the sidewalk)
• Team America: World Police (When Gary first walks into the palace and says he has his pass right here, shooting 3 guards)
• Tears of the Sun (After the spy is discovered, two traps are laid and set off. The second trap kills some soldiers)
• Texas The Big Picture (IMAX) (At the end during the Alamo battle)
• The Time Machine
• Tomcats (Near the end of the film, a cello player at a charity fundraiser screams when Michael (Jerry O'Connell) collide with him.)
• Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale (It can be heard when the cats fall off a cliff.)
• Transformers (During the battle between Bumblebee and Barricade, when Sam kicks Frenzy's head, Frenzy screams a digitized version of the scream)
• Troy (During a battle sequence a soldier is hit in the chest with a spear, and screams)
• Van Wilder (When Van and Taj react to Sick Boy's giant goiter/boil)
• War of the Worlds (At toward the end of the film when the soldiers take down a tripod, it lands on a soldier)
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Just after the were-rabbit picks up Lady Tottington and steps on someone.)
• The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (When the soldiers' boat is capsized in the loch)
• Wet Hot American Summer (During the capture the flag game)
• Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! (When Pete is watching TV and every channel has Tad Hamilton playing, there is a war movie)
• Wild Hogs
• X-Men 3: The Last Stand (during the final battle when the mutant hanging underneath the scaffolding is shot with a cure dart)

Television shows

• American Dad (In multiple episodes: "Pilot", "Roger Codger", "Meter Made", "Most Adequate Christmas Ever", "Tearjerker")
• Angel (In A New World, when Connor throws a knife into an arm. Also, The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco when a guard is thrown, Not Fade Away)
• The Batman (Episode The Breakout, When Batgirl and Robin are fighting an organization in an elevator shaft)
• Ben 10: Race Against Time (In the trailer when Heatblast fires a firebolt into a croud of robbers. Also, it can be heard when Eon hits one of the plumbers.)
• Camp Lazlo (In Episode "Dosey Doe" in a brawl scene, very faint and people are talking)
• Chuck (In the episode "Chuck Versus the Truth" after Sarah shoots Kevin Weisman's character in the knee)
• CSI: New York (In the episode Grand Master where Mack and Aiden are on a fire escape. In a possible flashback of the murder)
• Class of 3000 (In the episode "Too Cool for School", When liquid carbonite falls on Mr. Bore)
• Doctor Who (During the "TARDISODE" for the 2006 episode "Tooth and Claw", a man is attacked by a werewolf)

Drake and Josh

• Drawn Together (In the episode "Dirty Pranking No. 2" when someone gets blasted with a robo-fly's raygun, in "The Lemon-AIDS Walk", when Captain Hero takes steroids, in "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special" during a barroom brawl, and in "The Drawn Together Clip Show" when the Producer opens fire on the audience)
• Family Guy (In several episodes, including: "North by North Quahog", "Blind Ambition", "The Perfect Castaway", "No Chris Left Behind", "Blue Harvest")
• Flash Gordon
• The Girls Next Door (Mutiny on the booty, During the montage while holly describes the trouble with her photo shoot)
• Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (Many episodes)
• Invasion (When a man is thrown over the edge of a pier during the series finale (May 2006)
• Island of Assassins (When Ellen is fighting in the opening scene (very faint). Only in the FUNimation dub)
• The League of Gentlemen (On the main menu of the second series DVD, accompanied by the show's theme tune)
• The Life and Times of Juniper Lee (In almost any, if not every, episode)
• Macross (In the episode "Blind Game" when Hikaru Ichijyo takes down a group of Zentradi police officers. Only in the ADV Films dub)
• Masters of Horror (In Episode 6 "Homecoming", one of the zombies is)
• Out of Jimmy's Head (in "Ghosts" Jimmy watchs a movie,very faint.)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Primeval (In the first episode, after the Spatial anomaly closes and the Gorgonopsid is chasing the team. It was also used twice in episode two, appeared on the episode three when the boy is killed by hesperonis, iIt was also used third in episode 6 when the lester's men is killed by future predator, twice in episode 7 when ryan is killed by future perdator, man is killed by Deionychus, In the episode 9 of the second series it's used in one of the roller-coaster shots, in the episode 10 When Conner Temple is pushed by Merqueen,)
• Ranma ½ (Episode "Enter Ryoga! The Eternal Lost Boy", as Ryoga goes down a "straight" path, he runs into a forest, 3rd variation)
• Robbery Homicide Division
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squirrel Boy (In the episode "Don't Cross Here" heard in the educational film. Also, in two other episodes, it can be heard when the stray cat is hit by a gumball and falls off the balcony and when a tree falls down, with Rodney,Andy,Leon, and Darlene are in it, Also, in "Treehouse Broken" when the bully is attack by bees)
• The Venture Bros. (In Tag Sale – You're It!, when #21 confronts Brock Samson, very faint. Also in Hate Floats when The Monarch, Dr. Venture and the henchmen come out of the door just before the closing credits. Also, I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills when the Monarch and his henchmen mistakingly raid an office)
• Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (When a jeep runs into a hay stack)
• X-files (In the season 7 episode "Chimera", just after the second death, the smoking man is watching a movie)

Video games

• Ant city (When someone is run over by a car.)
• Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
• Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Occasionally when killing infantry)
• Daleks vs Cybermen (A game based on Doctor Who episode "Doomsday." By humans "deleted" by the player-controlled Cybermen)
• Eragon (Demo: When Brom shoots the ropes holding the gate up and the gate collapses)
• The Game of Life PC game (When "TOO BAD!" appears on a calculator on a "Taxes Due" space)
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Sometimes be heard if an enemy is killed by an explosion)
• God of War (When you kill the man holding the bridge on the Rooftops of Athens. Also during a later cinematic scene where Kratos leads his troops into a church)
• God of War 2
• Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas (When you kill a gangster)
• The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (when someone is blasted off in the air they emits what sounds like a Wilhelm Scream)
• The Golden Compass
• Halo 3 (Occasionally when the Master Chief is killed in Multiplayer)
• Hellgate London (In the open cinematic, when one of the Hunters is killed by a demon)
• Jak X: Combat Racing (Very faintly in the opening cinematic, just before Jak drives through the fish tank)
• Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (From Obi-Wan or Anakin when the player dies during the Space Battle Over Coruscant level)
• Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Legendary (During the trailer for the game,when a goblin trows a man out the window)
• Lost Planet (Various times)
• MechWarrior 3 (During the opening movie, a Thor mech steps on a fleeing soldier)
• Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (During the opening Tarawa battle and during the strafing of the Pearl Harbor docks near the CINCPAC HQ)
• Metal Slug
• Neverwinter Nights II (Various times)
• Pirates of the Burning Sea (During the beginning of the tutorial as two crewman are killed by enemy fire)
• Psychonauts