im actually getting pretty good at hearing them now.
I think it has even been put into Modern Warfare 2 but I cant confirm this yet.

From Wikipedia;

The Wilhelm scream is a frequently-used film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums.[1] The effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke) after it was used in Star Wars and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games.[2] The scream is often used when someone is either falling to his death from great height or from an explosion.

The Wilhelm scream has become a well-known cinematic sound cliché, and is claimed to have been used in over 149 films

The sound effect originates from a series of sound effects recorded for the 1951 film Distant Drums. In a scene from the film, soldiers are wading through a swamp in the everglades and one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator. The scream for that scene was recorded later in a single take along with five other short pained screams, which were slated as "man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams." The fifth scream was used for the soldier in the alligator scene—but the 4th, 5th, and 6th screams recorded in the session were also used earlier in the film—when three Indians are shot during a raid on a fort. Although takes 4 through 6 are the most recognizable, all of the screams are referred to as "Wilhelm" by those in the sound community.

The Wilhelm scream's revival came from motion picture sound designer Ben Burtt, who re-discovered the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled "Man being eaten by alligator") and incorporated it into a scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, when Luke Skywalker shoots a Stormtrooper who screams as he falls. Burtt named the scream after Private Wilhelm, a minor character who emitted the same scream in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.[4] Burtt began incorporating the effect in other films he worked on, including most projects involving George Lucas and/or Steven Spielberg. Other sound designers picked up on the effect, and inclusion of the sound in films became a tradition among the community of sound designers.[2]

Although the identity of the individual who recorded the scream (or more correctly, the entire series of screams) is unknown, Burtt uncovered documentation suggesting the scream might have been recorded by singer-actor Sheb Wooley. Burtt discovered a file at Warner Brothers that contained paperwork from the editor of Distant Drums. Amongst the paperwork was a short list of names of actors who were scheduled to come in to perform various lines of dialogue for miscellaneous roles in the movie. After reviewing the actors' names and listening to their voices, Burtt determined that Sheb Wooley seemed to be the most likely suspect. Wooley played the uncredited role of Private Jessup in Distant Drums, and was one of the few actors assembled for the recording of additional vocal elements for the film. It is conceivable that he was asked to perform additional vocal elements, including the screams for a man being bitten by an alligator

The original


And a compilation of them.....

intriguing i will listen for this in future

I love little tidbits like this. The scream is funny to me.

as he say it's in every star wars film....easiest to spot at tbe start of episode 3 when the cruisers are blasting at eachother side by side and the clone troopers huge cannon room explodes.

Also in the Indiana Jones films...obviously

Ben Burtt doesn't use it anymore, but the trend has caught on with so many other sound editors, the scream is everywhere.

It actually takes me right out of the movie when I hear it.

Mars23 said:

same here. i can't stand it

Mars23 said:

its funny you say that,when i hear it now it takes me out the movie too.
Curse the Wilhelm Scream

Did I just catch the Star Wars Christmas Special in there?

It's in X-Men 3 toward the end, when one no-name mutant is scaling a wall then falls to his death after being depowered.

That is too

aaaaahhhh!
aaaaahhhh!
aaaaahhhh!
It sounds funny.
I would want royalties for my scream though

Too funny...Guess you just don't mess with perfection.

The Wilhelm Scream cracks me the fuck up.

JayJai said:

He's dead.

Mars23 said:

JayJai said:

Didn't you see him get eaten by that alligator?

Nice catch.