History Film / Twister

* WindsOfChange: A sudden gust spinning all of the weather vanes signify the arrival of a tornado in Jo's hometown. The aftermath convinces Jo to steel her resolve and see her project throug, to launch Dorothy and see if they can learn more about a tornado's dynamics.

--->'''Bill:''' Dusty, why don't you explain to Melissa...why you are the way you are?\\

* {{Narcissist}}: Jonas very clearly has a very bloated opinion of himself, which explains why Bill and Jo look down on him so much. He makes little to no actual effort to succeed in his career, instead preferring to rely on his own subordinates and colleagues to do his own homework for him while he sits by, and is also willing to cheat by blatantly passing the ideas of others off as his own. Furthermore, he has no legitimate interest in meteorology and only joined to [[ItsAllAboutMe gain recognition]] and get a [[OnlyInItForTheMoney big paycheck]], not sincerely caring about saving lives or the passion of the job, and is a firm believer in making his corporation look as pretty and busy as possible. He also makes the calls and doesn't listen to anyone, even his own team, unless {{he}} he sees he has a "good" reason to. The last one ends up paving the way for his fate.

* {{Narcissist}}: Jonas very clearly has a very bloated opinion of himself, which explains why Bill and Jo look down on him so much. He makes little to no actual effort to succeed in his career, instead preferring to rely on his own subordinates and colleagues to do his own homework for him while he sits by, and is also willing to cheat by blatantly passing the ideas of others off as his own. Furthermore, he has no legitimate interest in meteorology and only joined to [[ItsAllAboutMe gain recognition]] and get a [[Greed big paycheck]], not sincerely caring about saving lives or the passion of the job, and is a firm believer in making his corporation look as pretty and busy as possible. He also makes the calls and doesn't listen to anyone, even his own team, unless {{he}} he sees he has a "good" reason to. The last one ends up paving the way for his fate.

* Narcissist: Jonas very clearly has a very bloated ego, which explains why Bill and Jo look down on him. He makes little to no actual effort to succeed in his career, instead preferring to rely on his own subordinates and colleagues to do his own homework for him while he does nothing but wait for the results, and is also willing to cheat by passing off others' ideas off as his own. Furthermore, he has no legitimate interest in meteorology and only joined to [[ItsAllAboutMe gain recognition]] and get a [[Greed big paycheck]], and not sincerely caring about saving lives or the passion of the job. He also makes the calls and doesn't listen to anyone, even his own team, unless {{he}} he sees he has a "good" reason to. The last one ends up paving the way for his fate.

'''Bill:''' Dusty, why don't you explain to Melissa...why you are the way you are?\\

* Cloudcuckoolander: Dusty, epitomized by Bill:
--->'''Bill:''' Dusty, why don't you explain to Melissa...why you are the way you are?\\

** It slams home that he's utterly despicable when everyone realizes he is waiting for ''Bill'' to make the first move because '''[[KnowNothingKnowItAll he lacks chase instincts]], instead relying solely on real-time data (which only gets you so far when chasing tornadoes, which are notoriously fickle even by meteorology standards) and the instincts of his rivals.'''

** It slams home that he's utterly despicable when everyone realizes he is waiting for ''Bill'' to make the first move because '''[[KnowNothingKnowItAll he has no idea what he's doing]].'''

* PlagiarismInFiction: One of the many things that settle Jonas' position as the film's HateSink is the fact that he stole Bill's "Dorothy" project and copied it near-perfectly (except for some additional gizmos because corporate funding/shilling) as "[[FunWithAcronyms D.O.T.]]" (guy couldn't even think of a different name). When Bill, quite understandably, confronts him about his theft, Jonas just gloats that (at the time) Dorothy was an "unrealized" idea, which in his book meant it was okay to steal it.

* BlandNameProduct: Jo's team is run out of "Muskogee State College," while Jonas's team is run out of "Oklahoma Polytechnic University." It is unknown which real life Oklahoma universities they are supposed to portray.[[note]]The University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman has one of the most famous meteorology programs in the world, and runs the National Severe Storms Laboratory concurrently with the National Weather Service. One of the "Dorothy" experiment props is on display at the National Weather Center locatedon the OU campus.[[/note]]

* CasualDangerDialog:

A sequel titled ''Twisters'' is in the works nearly ''[[SequelGap thirty years]]'' after the original movie's release.

** The F4 that strikes both the drive-in and Wakita is stated to have been caused by a merger of two supercells. While storm cell mergers often result in the complete disorganization of the tornadic cell’s mesocyclone, they sometimes can cause the mesocyclone to “cycle” — the weakening of the original meso, preceding the development of a new circulation elsewhere within the merged supercell, provided the cell is able to sufficiently ingest wind shear, moisture and heat to regenerate mesocyclonic rotation.

** The F4 that strikes both the drive-in and Wakita is stated to have been caused by a merger of two supercells. While storm cell mergers often result in the complete disorganization of the tornadic cell’s mesocyclone, they sometimes can cause the mesocyclone to “cycle” (the weakening of the original meso, preceding the development of a new circulation elsewhere within the merged supercell).

* TruthInTelevision: Jo says the main reason for tornado research is to develop better forecasting methods to provide an advance warning system, specifically wanting to increase the lead time[[note]]The time between the tornado warning being issued and the tornado (and/or its associated mesocyclone) arriving at a particular location[[/note]] from 3 minutes to 15 minutes. This was a ''big'' problem at the time the film came out: methods for predicting tornadoes were sketchy at best and often tornado warnings weren't issued until after a tornado was already on the ground and the average lead time ''was'' three minutes[[note]]And in some cases, like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Barneveld_tornado_outbreak#The_Barneveld_Tornado the F5 that hit Barneveld, Wisconsin in 1984]], the warning wasn't issued until ''after'' the tornado had already flattened the town[[/note]]. However, thanks to more sophisticated research done throughout the 1990's and 2000's (such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VORTEX_projects Project VORTEX]]), by the 2010s the lead time had increased to 15 minutes and in some cases could be as high as 30.

* DanBrowned: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20000520102725/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wtmovie.htm Tornadoes do not work that way!]]
** Tornadoes are given a rating by studying the damage they leave behind, not their size.
*** This point is specifically mentioned while eating at Aunt Meg's house. By discussing ratings beforehand, they are estimating based on things like size and wind speed what the Fujita rating will eventually be.

* DanBrowned: [[http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wtmovie.htm Tornadoes do not work that way!]]

''Twister'' was also one of the first two film ever released on UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} outside of Japan (which got four simultaneous releases earlier in 1996). It was released on the format on March 25, 1997[[note]]A rare pre-digital-download era instance of a film not following the standard "release window", coming out on DVD just ''two weeks'' before ''Twister'' made its pay-cable debut on Creator/{{HBO}} (at the time, a film's home video and pay-per-view windows normally overlapped, while its premium cable premiere occurred on average of four to six months ''after'' its initial home video release)[[/note]] (the second title, ''Film/BladeRunner'', came out the next day). Coincidentally, it was ''also'' the last film put out on HD DVD in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates (though the very last HD DVD worldwide was a German release of ''Film/DeathProof''). It was also one of the first movies released on UsefulNotes/BluRay.

''Twister'' was also the first film ever released on DVD. It was released on the format on March 25, 1997[[note]]A rare pre-digital-download era instance of a film not following the standard "release window", coming out on DVD just ''two weeks'' before ''Twister'' made its pay-cable debut on Creator/{{HBO}} (at the time, a film's home video and pay-per-view windows normally overlapped, while its premium cable premiere occurred on average of four to six months ''after'' its initial home video release)[[/note]] (the second title, ''Film/BladeRunner'', came out the next day). Coincidentally, it was ''also'' the last film put out on HD DVD in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates (though the very last HD DVD worldwide was a German release of ''Film/DeathProof''). It was also one of the first movies released on UsefulNotes/BluRay.

** Several times in the movie the team explicitly mentions the Fujita rating of the tornado while chasing it and prior to the climax Dusty says that NSSL is "predicting an F5." While Fujita ratings are ''never'' given in advance (as both the old and new systems are based on the ''damage'' the tornado incurs after the fact), the Storm Prediction Center will occasionally issue a PDS[[note]]Particularly Dangerous Situation[[/note]] Tornado Watch, which is an indication that atmospheric conditions highly favor the development of one or more very strong tornadoes ([=EF3=] or higher) and/or a significant tornado outbreak is being forecast. Ironically, some television meteorologists in Tornado Alley have done this as well in recent years, using live footage from storm chasers and news gathering helicopters as well as radar-based wind velocity data to make an educated guess about a tornado's strength based on its size (although many tornadoes that have reached peak widths of one-quarter mile [0.40 km] have been rated [=EF3=] or greater, the size of a tornado does not necessarily always correlate to its strength).

* TruthInTelevision: Jo says the main reason for tornado research is to develop better forecasting methods to provide an advance warning system, specifically wanting to increase the lead time[[note]]The time between the tornado warning being issued and the tornado arriving[[/note]] from 3 minutes to 15 minutes. This was a ''big'' problem at the time the film came out: methods for predicting tornadoes were sketchy at best and often tornado warnings weren't issued until after a tornado was already on the ground and the average lead time ''was'' three minutes[[note]]And in some cases, like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Barneveld_tornado_outbreak#The_Barneveld_Tornado the F5 that hit Barneveld, Wisconsin in 1984]], the warning wasn't issued until ''after'' the tornado had already flattened the town[[/note]]. However, thanks to more sophisticated research done throughout the 1990's and 2000's (such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VORTEX_projects Project VORTEX]]), by the 2010s the lead time had increased to 15 minutes and in some cases could be as high as 30.

* WatchThePaintJob: Of ''course'' the brand-new truck that Bill doesn't have insurance on[[note]]though realistically, intentionally driving it into the path of a tornado would have forfeited any coverage he had, so it's probably for the best that he wasn't wasting money on coverage]] gets repeatedly damaged by debris [[spoiler:and finally sacrificed to the F5 so Dorothy IV can do its job]].

The main duo are scientist Dr. Jo Harding (Creator/HelenHunt) and her former husband [[TheDanza Bill]] Harding (Creator/BillPaxton). Among the many others is Dr. Melissa Reeves (Creator/JamiGertz), Harding's current fiancee, who would provide a LoveTriangle if she ever showed a fraction of affection towards Bill. Also a tale of ''vengeance'' against the evil tornadoes [[YouKilledMyFather that killed Jo's father]]. Also a rival team of tornado chasers led by villainous Dr. Jonas Miller (Creator/CaryElwes) that seek to beat Our Heroes to the punch at a scientific breakthrough.

* AccidentalPublicConfession: Bill's rant to Jo under YouCanTurnBack below was said within earshot of an active radio, thus transmitting it to the rest of the group...including his fiancee, who uses it in her decision to break up with him.

* DivorceIsTemporary: The main drama of the film is about how long it will take before Bill and Jo get back together - Bill arrives at the start of the film to collect the signed divorce papers from Jo and brings his fiance with him.

* EvilTwin: Used as a joke when Bill's buddies are telling embarrassing stories to his fiance. He blames the stories on Evil Bill, whom he killed.

* FootDraggingDivorcee: Bill Harding is only there in tornado-alley at the time because he came there to badger his wife Jo into finally signing the divorce papers. Subverted in that they [[DivorceIsTemporary wind up back together]] and never do get the papers signed. (She ''did'' sign them, but then Bill's new fiancee leaves him.)

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Jonas disregards Jo and Bill's urgent pleas to get the hell off the road he was on because he was within spitting distance of a twister that was heading his way and was killed as a result.]]

* MadeOfExplodium: Jonas' chase car, already impaled with a cell-phone tower and picked up by the tornado, explodes spectacularly when it hits the ground. Not only do cars in tornadoes not explode that way but the SpecialEffectsFailure is as blatant as it gets.

* NaiveNewcomer: Bill's current fiance, Dr. Melissa Reeves, acts in part as TheWatson for explanations of general tornado knowledge.

* TheWatson: Bill's fiancé Melissa has no specialized knowledge about tornadoes, so she is a natural source of questions about them that Jo's tornado chaser team can answer to educate her as well as the audience.

* EverythingsBetterWithCows: The iconic scene was so popular that the real-world [=NOAA=] named their cafeteria the Flying Cow Cafe after the film.

** Are the tornadoes mindless disasters or malicious killers? Jo believes that tornadoes ''purposefully'' direct themselves at humans, sparing uninhabited areas in favor of populations; "...seen it miss ''this'' house, and miss ''that'' house, and come after ''you!''" Bill tears into her for this belief; "Things go wrong. You can't explain it, you can't predict it." However, [[spoiler:once they manage to successfully deploy a DOROTHY, the F-5 they filled with sensors immediately changes direction and starts chasing them, as if it's supremely pissed that two puny humans have plumbed its secrets with the goal of depriving it of victims]].

* TheOphelia: Jo. She's a good person with good intentions, but she's definitely a little nuts due to her traumatic experience with tornadoes as a child. "You've never seen it miss this house, and miss that house, and come after ''you''!"