History Film / Tank1984

* SocietyMarchesOn: The plot of the film is based on the idea that if they can flee across the state line to Tennessee, they can be safely beyond prosecution. When the movie was made in 1984, that was the law in the United States, under the Supreme Court ruling Kentucky v. Dennison from 1861. However, three years after the film was made, that ruling was overturned in Puerto Rico v. Branstad which ruled that states cannot refuse extradition requests from other states. The plot of the film wouldn't have worked just three years later. Not to mention how the country would react in a post 9/11 environment to a vigilante with a vintage tank blasting his way across the southern US.
** Although it should be pointed out that Zack wasn't fleeing with his son to Tennessee to avoid prosecution as he knew that there would be an extradition request. Which means there'd be a hearing, but not the KangarooCourt that his son was subjected to. They in turn would be given a chance to explain their side of the story to a Judge, which would trigger an investigation on the CorruptHick Sheriff. In his words, they weren't running from the law, they were running toward it. Even if extradition were granted, by then there'd so much public attention and witnesses that there would be no way for the Sheriff and his cronies to cover it up or avoid an investigation.
** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to both State and Federal investigations for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a ''very'' dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion along with ordering a posse to fire on unarmed civilians outside his jurisdiction. The same would go for the Judge of that KangarooCourt who would find himself removed from the bench for abuse of power and possibly facing conspiracy charges.

** The titular tank is a fully-functional, fully-''armed'' World War II era Sherman tank that Sgt. Carey has restored on his own time with resources from his base's motor pool.

CallingMeALogarithm: When Sheriff Buelton approached the General to request military support in apprehending Zack, only for the General to incite the Posse Comitatus Act, Buelton is initially confused when he said it, believing that he was calling the Sheriff a "Pussy Communist".

* HumiliationConga: The second half of the film pretty much amounts to this for Sheriff Buelton, starting with his office being flattened and ending with him landing face-down in the mud.
* KangarooCourt: The "trial" that Carey's son gets: In only a few hours the defense attorney is found in contempt of court and jailed, Carey's son is arraigned, tried, and sentenced to years of prison on felony drug charges, and immediately shipped off to prison later the same day.

CallMeALogarithm: When Sheriff Buelton approached the General to request military support in apprehending Zack, only for the General to incite the Posse Comitatus Act, Buelton is initially confused when he said it, believing that he was calling the Sheriff a "Pussy Communist".

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Sheriff Buelton referrs to Carey’s friend Tippet (who is black) as “boy” and advises Carey against getting “some Jew lawyer” to help Billy, among other slurs.

** Buelton returns the favor with [[spoiler:a fully functioning and firing Panzerschreck, easily capable of penetrating the Sgerman's armor.]]

** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to an DOJ Investigation for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a ''very'' dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion along with ordering a posse to fire on unarmed civilians outside his jurisdiction. The same would go for the Judge of that KangarooCourt.

** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to an FBI Investigation for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a ''very'' dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion along with ordering a posse to fire on unarmed civilians outside his jurisdiction. The same would go for the Judge of that KangarooCourt.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The titular tank is a fully-functional, fully-''armed'' World War II era Sherman tank that Sgt. Carey has restored on his own time with resources from his base's motor pool.

''Tank'' is a 1984 action-{{dramedy}} film starring James Garner (from ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' primarily, but also the antagonist of ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''), Shirley Jones (''Series/ThePartridgeFamily''; ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'') and C. Thomas Howell (''Film/RedDawn1984''), and also James Cromwell (''Film/{{Babe}}'', ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', ''Film/TheGreenMile'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', ''Film/IRobot'', ''Film/TheLongestYard'' and ''Film/{{Surrogates}}'') and G. D. Spradlin (''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'') as TheDragon and the CorruptCop, respectively.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: The titular tank is a fully-functional, fully-''armed'' World War II Sherman that Sgt. Carey has restored on his own time with resources from his base's motor pool.

* BrutalHonesty: The biker gang decides to commandeer some heavy cable in order to pull the tank over the state line. The driver of the cable truck comes up:
--> Driver: "Hey, what're you guys doin'?"
--> Biker: "Stealin'."

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Sheriff Buelton referrs to Carey’s friend Tippet (who is black) as “boy” and advises Carey against getting “some Jew lawyer” to help Billy, among other slurs.

* SmugSnake: Sheriff Buelton, oh so very much, especially when showing Carey the work farm and just twisting the knife and floating about the power he holds over him. This makes his HumiliationConga all the more sweeter.

* WouldHitAGirl: Euclid and Sheriff Buelton slap around Sarah and beat her with a belt, respectively. It’s the former incident that triggers the events of the film.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Sheriff Buelton referrs to Carey’s friend Tippet (who is black) as “boy” and advises Carey against getting “some Jew lawyer” to help Billy, among other slurs.

* WouldHitAGirl: Euclid and Sheriff Buelton slap around Sarah and beat her with a belt, respectively. It’s the former incident that triggers the events of the film.

* BrutalHonesty: The biker gang decides to commandeer equipment to pull the tank over the state line. The driver of the truck comes up:

* TankGoodness: It's in the ''name''.

''Tank'' is a 1984 action-{{dramedy}} film starring James Garner (from ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' primarily, but also the antagonist of ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''), Shirley Jones (''ThePartridgeFamily''; ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'') and C. Thomas Howell (''Film/RedDawn1984''), and also James Cromwell (''Film/{{Babe}}'', ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', ''Film/TheGreenMile'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', ''Film/IRobot'', ''Film/TheLongestYard'' and ''Film/{{Surrogates}}'') and G. D. Spradlin (''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'') as TheDragon and the CorruptCop, respectively.

* {{Dramedy}}

** Although it should be pointed out that Zack wasn't fleeing with his son to Tennessee to avoid prosecution as he knew that there would be an extradition request. Which means there'd be a hearing, but not the KangarooCourt that his son was subjected to. They in turn would be given a chance to explain their side of the story to a Judge, which would trigger an investigation on the CorruptHick Sheriff. In his words, they weren't running from the law, they were running toward it. Even if extradition were granted, by then there'd so much public attention that there would be no way for the Sheriff and his cronies to cover it up.
** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to an FBI Investigation for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a ''very'' dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion.

** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to an FBI Investigation for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a *very* dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion.

** Although it should be pointed out that Zack wasn't fleeing with his son to Tennessee to avoid prosecution as he knew that there would be an extradition request. Which means there'd be a hearing, but not the KangarooCourt that his son was subjected to. They in turn would be given a chance to explain their side of the story to a Judge, which would trigger an investigation on the CorruptHick Sheriff. In his words, they weren't running from the law, they were running toward it. Even if extradition were granted, by then there'd so much public attention that there would be no way for the Sheriff and his cronies to cover it up. ** Also, today, if a law enforcement official did those things, he'd find himself subject to an FBI Investigation for Civil Rights violations. Law Enforcement takes a *very* dim view of people abusing their authority to do things like sexual slavery and extortion.

** Although it should be pointed out that Zack wasn't fleeing with his son to Tennessee to avoid prosecution as he knew that there would be an extradition request. Which means there'd be a hearing, but not the KangarooCourt that his son was subjected to. They in turn would be given a chance to explain their side of the story to a Judge, which would trigger an investigation on the CorruptHick Sheriff. In his words, they weren't running from the law, they were running toward it. Even if extradition were granted, by then there'd so much public attention that there would be no way for the Sheriff and his cronies to cover it up.

** Although it should be pointed out that Zack wasn't fleeing with his son to Tennessee to avoid prosecution as he knew that there would be an extradition request. Which means there'd be a hearing, but not the KangarooCourt that his son was subjected to. In other words, hey'd be given a chance to explain their side of the story to a Judge, which would trigger an investigation on the CorruptHick Sheriff. In his words, they weren't running from the law, they were running toward it. Even if extradition was granted, by then there'd be a lot of public attention that would put the Sheriff and his cronies under a microscope.

* PrecisionFStrike: "Sergeant, that's the best fuckin' apple cobbler I ever tasted." And in a PG movie, too.

* AFatherToHisMen: And to his kid, and to other people's kids.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The Kangaroo Court (see below) that Billy Carey gets. Even if somehow the rest of the state was corrupt enough to uphold such an absurd proceeding, Federal Courts would strike it down in a heartbeat, not the least of which would be not having the benefit of counsel after having his attorney imprisoned on sham grounds of "contempt of court" and then trying him without a defense attorney.

* SocietyMarchesOn: The plot of the film is based on the idea that if they can flee across the state line to Tennessee, they can be safely beyond prosecution. When the movie was made in 1984, that was the law in the United States, under the Supreme Court ruling Kentucky v. Dennison from 1861. However, 3 years after the film was made, that ruling was overturned in Puerto Rico v. Branstad which ruled that states cannot refuse extradition requests from other states. The plot of the film wouldn't have worked just 3 years later. Not to mention how the country would react in a post 9/11 environment to a vigilante with a vintage tank blasting his way across the southern US.

* WifeBasherBasher: Zack informs one of his subordinates in explicit terms that he can't beat up his wife, he needs to get counseling, and if he does it again, nothing, not the stockade or loss of his pension will stop him. "I will destroy you in place."

'Tank'' is a 1984 action-{{dramedy}} film starring James Garner (from ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' primarily, but also the antagonist of ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''), Shirley Jones (''ThePartridgeFamily''; ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'') and C. Thomas Howell (''Film/RedDawn1984''), and also James Cromwell (''Film/{{Babe}}'', ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', ''Film/TheGreenMile'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', ''Film/IRobot'', ''Film/TheLongestYard'' and ''Film/{{Surrogates}}'') and G. D. Spradlin (''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'') as TheDragon and the CorruptCop, respectively.

'''''Tank''''' is a 1984 action-{{dramedy}} film starring James Garner (from ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' primarily, but also the antagonist of ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''), Shirley Jones (''ThePartridgeFamily''; ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'') and C. Thomas Howell (''Film/RedDawn1984''), and also James Cromwell (''Film/{{Babe}}'', ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', ''Film/TheGreenMile'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'', ''Film/IRobot'', ''Film/TheLongestYard'' and ''Film/{{Surrogates}}'') and G. D. Spradlin (''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'') as TheDragon and the CorruptCop, respectively.