In old films, why do characters flail around when they're shot?
When characters get gunned down in old films by repetitive fire, they often flail side-to-side while standing... for a loooong time...
E.g. in Robocop (videos contain "blood"):
Was this done for comedic effect?
Flailing around like that while getting shot, without dying, looks extremely silly nowadays (pretty sure it's been parodied a lot too, in more modern media).
I wonder why older films do this as if it's normal.
Best Answer
This kind of acting/behavior isn't limited to "older" films. When I first read this question I immediately thought of Alonzo's death from Training Day.
Granted, the movie is from 2001, but still, it's more modern than not.
And the flailing about actually has a trope dedicated to it, called the Multiple Gunshot Death:
Expect the victim to flail and twitch dramatically (or hilariously) with each new wound. The amount of blood shown is directly dependent on the work's rating or amount of Narm needed. Sometimes, the shooter would continue firing at the corpse to Make Sure He's Dead.
So to answer the OP's question,
Why do characters flail around when they're shot? Is it simply for comedic effect?
it's really a combination of all of the above -- comedic effect, plain bad acting, directing decisions, etc.
Pictures about "In old films, why do characters flail around when they're shot?"
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Markus Spiske, Amina Filkins, George Milton, SHVETS production