The Most Dangerous Road in Germany
Near the village of Aldenhoven in western Germany is a rather famous segment of Autobahn. The particular stretch is about one kilometer (just over a half mile) long, four lanes wide with a "Jersey barrier" concrete center strip, straight except for a gentle curve in the middle that can be taken at close to full speed. It is engineered and maintained to the exacting standards one would expect of the German highway system.
The experts tell us that the Autobahnen are among the safest superhighways in the world, and this particular Autobahn appears harmless enough--but this is unquestionably the most crash-prone kilometer of road in Germany, if not all of Europe. Hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles have been destroyed here since it was completed in the fall of 2005. This short stretch regularly sees frenzied high-speed chases, violent multiple-car pile-ups, and spectacular explosions--not to mention a considerable bit of gunfire and occasional strafing runs by attack helicopters.
Was gibt???? How could the Germans, generally known for their orderly ways, routinely allow such uninhibited carnage on their highways? The answer may surprise you.
Motion picture production is an expensive and complicated process, depending on precise control to achieve believable results. When the scene takes place outdoors and involves moving vehicles, it can take several hours or even days of effort to produce just a few seconds of usable footage. If the scene to be filmed requires crashes, explosions, or other stunt work, that only makes it more complex. Staging a scene like this on public freeways requires the cooperation of the local government and inconveniences those who normally use the road as a road. For instance, the Akron Innerbelt freeway was used for the filming of a TV commercial in the summer of 2001, an event which took the road out of service (and messed up my morning commute) for most of a week. The Innerbelt was used in that case because it is rather lightly-traveled; imagine the disruption that would result from closing down a main artery in, say, Chicago or Los Angeles, for film purposes.
The alternative, of course, is to film on a studio backlot or some other location which is not in general use as a highway. There are a few stretches of out-of-service highway here and there--the most notable of which is a 13-mile segment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike abandoned in 1968--that might be suitable for film purposes. The lighthearted 1970s motorcycle cop action show CHiPs staged many of its chases and crash sequences on newly-constructed freeways that had not yet opened to traffic. That would be much harder to do today, since the Interstate highway system is mostly complete.
Also, if a series re-uses distinctive locations or stock footage too frequently, it risks spoiling the willing suspension of disbelief. If you watched The Dukes of Hazzard more than two or three times, you eventually noticed that Roscoe was chasing Bo and Luke down the exact same California Georgia dirt road, week in and week out.
The Filmautobahn is cleverly designed to allow it to convincingly portray any Autobahn nearly anywhere in Germany without becoming too familiar. It's planted with trees on one side, and in the other direction there is a low earth berm and a vista across nondescript open fields. By simply pointing the camera one way or another, the filmmakers can make it look like the road passes through either a forest or open country. Urban-style noise barrier walls can be placed on the side of the road, giving it yet another look. Digital effects technology--something undreamed of when CHiPs and The Dukes of Hazzard were in production--can also be used to change the roadside and background scenery, as shown in the screencap above and in FTL's promotional videos here. There is a small parking area area on the outside of the curve that can
be used to simulate an interchange, a rest stop, or, with a few
digital embellishments, a service plaza.
FTL will happily rent the Filmautobahn to anyone who might want to use it as a film set, test track, or even a quarter-mile dragstrip. Its main customer, however, is the German film company Action Concept, the makers of the wonderfully crash-happy, over-the-top TV series Alarm fur Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei. The typical Cobra 11 episode has three or more slam-bang action sequences, and the writers are quite fond of enormous pileups and stuff blowing up. It has even been suggested that the script of a Cobra 11 episode exists only as an excuse to string the stunts together!
I wanted to post a video of a Cobra 11 stunt sequence staged on the Filmautobahn, but every time I found one that was suitable for embedding, die Copyrightpolizei had it removed from YouTube within hours. The best I can do is treat you to a few screencaps from a French-language fan site, all of which are from sequences shot on die Filmautobahn.
As for what's going on in each sequence, well . . . this is Cobra 11, after all. Don't worry about the fridge logic (or lack of same), just enjoy the spectacle!
I do wonder, though, where's the Luftwaffe when you really need them?
The aerial view of the Filmautobahn and the shot at the top of the article came from FTL's website; the photo of stuff blowing up right below it comes from this Dutch Cobra 11 fansite; I snagged the windmill shot out of a YouTube video.
--Alarm fur Cookie-Hund 11
That Car Guy on December 11, 2009 at 07:14 AM
Great post, Cookie! Now you've got me wanting to learn more German words LOL.
What do "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Back To The Future," and "The Misadventures Of Sheriff Lobo" have in common? They all used the same fake courthouse and town square on the Universal Studios lot.
Also, The Cleavers ("Leave It To Beaver") and Marcus Welby, M.D. lived in the same house. It was right across the street from the Munsters' humble abode, also at Universal.
Jason on December 11, 2009 at 09:37 AM
I wonder how this compares to the highway constructed for the second Matrix film. Say what you want about the franchise, the highway and chaes scenes were well done.
Rob the Audi Guy on December 11, 2009 at 10:45 AM
I hated the Matrix chase. The fact that every single vehicle was a NEW GM vehicle totally ruined that movie for me.
jjd241 on December 13, 2009 at 09:04 PM
Ich möchte mich für Alarm für Cobra 11 Laufwerk: Autobahnpolizei sterben, damit ich alles erfunden, können Schlag real good!
jjd241 on December 13, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Ok...i did that with google translate. But when I tried to retranslate from german to english it was totally different! Try it. What I entered was that I want to drive for Cobra 11 so I can blow stuff up real good. So much for modern technology!
Steaming Pile on December 14, 2009 at 10:35 AM
My wife eats this stuff up. $24/month to have Dish Network pipe this in, and that's all she watches. Oh, and "K" on a license plate means Cologne.
Austin Powers on December 15, 2009 at 06:02 AM
"Danger" is my middle name.
bkwa on December 15, 2009 at 06:29 AM
English to German translation doesn't work. A suggestion:
Ich möchte einen Job haben, für "Alarm fur Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei" zu fahren, weil ich Sachen gutes explodieren kann.
James Cloninger on December 15, 2009 at 08:28 PM
What do "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Back To The Future," and "The Misadventures Of Sheriff Lobo" have in common? They all used the same fake courthouse and town square on the Universal Studios lot.
Don't forget "The Music Man".