Lockpicking in Motion Pictures?

[Emrys]

What do you guys think about some of the lockpicking you see in movies? Some are kind of hokie, but some look like they might actually know how locks work.

-Rob

[Timtam]

No. The locks most likely have no pins. There is no way you can pick a lock the way/speed they do it. Ever noticed they don't have a tension wrench?

[JackNco]

depends on the movies, ive ranted on IRC about how in dexter he even has the southord set with the brass handle and makes a couple of references about how some locks are to hard for him.

Gone in 60 seconds has a couple of realistic bits that would be considered advanced on here.

[Emrys]

lol yea, I love how they never have tension wrenches. I point that out to the g/f everytime I see it

Have you guys seen "see no evil" yet? You know, where the group of kids stay the night at a hotel? One of the kids is wicked good at picking (I think) lever locks with 2 paper clips. lol He's skills are impressive Wish I could pick as good as him.

-Rob

[Eyes_Only]

"The Skulls" had a quick segment on lockpicking which I'll remember for the rest of my life cos I saw it during high school and it was before locksports even existed in the US. The guy actually did use a tension wrench in this one though.

[jgor]

Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives of Others) has a few cool picking scenes in it. Here's a clip of one of them:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1kYNK5PjoZ0

They use some sort of electric pick gun on the front door (no tension wrench though). Later upstairs the guy uses a manual pick and tension wrench properly, but manages to open the lock in like 2 seconds. And I thought they didn't have Kwikset in Germany

[josh0094]

that pick gun otta be one of the coolist things ive ever seen.

[kg4boj]

Looks very similar to one of those southord style electric pick guns, but didnt he put it in wrong? look carefully, arent the pins on the bottom of that lock in question? and gone in 60 seconds? witch one? the new one or the old one? I don't recall very realistic auto theft techniques being used in any moves... well... the guy in the original Gone in 60s had some kind of frameless window tool to lift a button on an older car, and I think they showed a kit with a slide hammer or something , and earlier on in the movie someone showed someone a pair of curtis clippers to someone else and made some remark... its been about 5 years since I last saw that movie so my memory is rusty.

You want to know how MOST real criminals steal cars ( the kind that do it for real $$$ from CARS).... They go into the car with.... a hammer..... they sit down..... and star hammering..... hammer fail big guy use pry bar.... pry for a while.... lock no work... go to next car... hammer....

Its extremely unsophisticated when you see as many stolen cars as I have, no one is going to take the time to do anything complex, its a try something.... if it doesnt work, they'll try a car across the street and so on

[jgor]

Looks very similar to one of those southord style electric pick guns, but didnt he put it in wrong? look carefully, arent the pins on the bottom of that lock in question?

Nice catch, I completely missed that! Also, I don't know what's typical for locks in Germany, but it seems kind of strange that the lock turned counter-clockwise and unlocked after only 45 degrees.

[JackNco]

its a Euro profile lock. very common. although they don't open after 45° (Unless there a mech I havent seen)

John

[raimundo]

hey jack, is that 45 degrees celsius, or is it farhenheit?

[Emrys]

If you have a chance, check out Mission Impossible 3. There's a scene where Ethan (played by Tom Cruise ) tears off a strip of wood from a nearby door and picks the door in like 3 seconds. lol He used a piece of wood. I guess I need to go to secret spy school too to learn that.

I guess it's not that impressive since I've seen someone pick a lock with a banana peel on youtube. Hell, I even seen someone pick a lock with a toilet paper roll. lol

-Rob

[raimundo]

that method was from back in the day when wood had grain, now, its just a thin woodgrain veneer over pressed sawdust, or perhaps he found some quality veneer to use as a pick

[JackNco]

the only think i remember about MI3 was EVERYthing was magnetic, i swear EVERYTHING

[Emrys]

US Marshalls had a few scenes where they were picking their way out of handcuffs. The inmates would hide pins under their skin in the palm of their hands. One of the fbi agents picked a set of handcuffs off with a pair of sunglasses lol is that possible?

-Rob