What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Suppressors

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These Suppressor Screwups Are Anything But Silent

Suppressors–what Hollywood calls “silencers”–are about as old as movies. Both were developed towards the end of the 19th century and each took a while to be properly refined. Yet, as the first films were “silent”, firearms couldn’t be heard, so no one probably thought of including a suppressor, even in early thrillers. Then in 1934, thanks to the National Firearms Act, ownership of sound suppressors was tightly controlled–and few moviegoers likely even knew they existed.  

Things have changed considerably in recent years as suppressors are now a staple of action films. Still, their film debut likely only came in 1962 with The Manchurian Candidate where Laurence Harvey’s brain-washed character used a suppressed Colt Official Police revolver to kill a U.S. Senator (played by John McGiver). Some modern viewers have suggested this is a mistake as revolvers generally can’t be used with suppressors, but the Colt firearm was one of only a handful of revolvers designed with a gas ejection system that enabled the use of a sound suppressor.  

Still, perhaps because of that film, inaccurate “silenced” revolvers showed up in numerous films, notably in the 1973 film The Sting and again later that year in the Dirty Harry sequel Magnum Force, and more recently Desperado (1995). 

What About That “Pew Pew” Sound?

What is also notable about The Manchurian Candidate is that the sound–although still likely not loud enough to be truly realistic–was a bit of a “crack” more than the low “pew” or “fwip” sound we’ve come to associate with movie suppressors. Beginning with the first James Bond film Dr. No in 1961, suppressors have been depicted as so silent that those standing nearby are none the wiser. 

This is most infamously seen in the 2017 film John Wick: Chapter 2 in which the title character played by Keanu Reeves engages in a shootout in a New York City PATH station (often misidentified as the city’s subway). Dozens of people are shown to not even acknowledge the exchange of gunfire, being even more aloof than the average New Yorker. Though the franchise has been noted for being cinematically impressive, it certainly has no basis in reality. 

Moreover, it is also far from alone in perpetrating the myth that suppressors can make a handgun or rifle nearly silent. That is seen in 1990’s Goodfellas when Joe Pesci takes out Samuel L. Jackson, while director Martin Scorsese used the same “pew” sound again in 1995’s Casino, notably when a pair of hit men kill Alan King’s character in a restaurant parking lot.  

Silent & Deadly 

That near-silent suppressor has increasingly been a theme in action films, seen in Die Hard (1988), The Professional (1994), Pulp Fiction (1994), Ronin (1998), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and Inception (2010), among many other films. These films have helped create a myth that suppressors could allow a gunfight to occur and the neighbors wouldn’t hear a thing. 

The sad irony is that it has served to confuse the issue, and that has impacted real-world efforts to have suppressors removed from the NFA list–including the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreation Enhancement Act and the Hearing Protection Act. Because of the films, concerns over what “silencers” could do have not fallen on deaf ears. On the contrary, many anti-Second Amendment lawmakers have believed what these films present as being all too accurate in the depiction of suppressors. 

The Ad Hoc Suppressors   

The other irony is that Hollywood has also tried to suggest that simply covering the muzzle of the barrel of a firearm – with everything from a pillow to a potato to a soda pop bottle–will reduce the sound of the “pop!” None of these will be the least bit effective, of course, yet lawmakers haven’t attempted to ban potatoes.  

Finally, as many shooters likely already know, it is possible to greatly reduce the audible level of a firearm with a proper suppressor, which requires an extensive background check, coupled with subsonic ammunition. But Hollywood rarely bothers with such details. 

Movie Misfires: Get a Grip on These All-Too-Common Firearm Mistakes 

Movies are filled with numerous “misfires” involving firearms–notably the constant ratcheting of shotguns and unnecessary operating the slides of semi-automatic pistols. All too often, those same slides fail to lock in the open position after the shooter has fired the last round, resulting in a ubiquitous “click, click, click.” 

It is also all too common to see improper grips–and many characters would certainly know better using the “teacup” grip. Likewise, in recent years, the Weaver Grip and Weaver Stance have shown up all too often in period films set years before being developed by Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jack Weaver during freestyle pistol competitions. 

We’ve also seen firearms that practically launch those who are hit across a room, along with massive muzzle flashes. And how many times have we had to endure near-impossible shots that saved the day? Of course, the latter one maybe isn’t an error, but a key point in the script. We should remember movies do require a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, and that is especially true where firearms are concerned.