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A GUIDE TO HELICOPTERS
IN CINEMA & TELEVISION

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Game For Vultures (1978) - James Fargo directs sluggishly for this wearisome drama about racism and terrorism in Rhodesia. Oppressive whites (represented by Richard Harris) and black guerrilla fighters (led by Richard Roundtree) do battle with words and guns over a shipment of US Army surplus helicopters smuggled from the arms market in Germany. For all the many possibilities of its action movie plotting, there's a surprising lack of airborne thrills and no realistic use of military gunships during the bush combat scenes.

Gamer (2009) - this sci-fi actioner features (probably CGI candy) visuals of a Huey in one urban battle sequence of 'slayers'. This helicopter flies low, darting between buildings, and it fires rockets but mostly at off-screen targets.

Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe (1995) - cheesy but enjoyable monster movie about a gigantic flying turtle hero (look, forget about those silly teenage ninja types!), who saves Japan from the menace of man-eating 'prehistoric' birds, is great fun. Model helicopters are ubiquitous on the miniature Tokyo cityscapes (including three choppers that lead young beasties into a trap under the sports stadium dome) where most of the urban action takes place but, in an early sequence, one of the winged reptiles threatens a Eurocopter AS 350 chopper in which the quick-thinking heroine uses a camera flashgun to frighten the nocturnal creature away.

Gamera II: Advent Of Legion (1996) - this splendid sequel adventure has a Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, of the Japanese Navy, spot Gamera's emergence from the sea. In the climactic battle against the space invaders, the Defence Force use a squadron of Bell AH-1 Cobras to destroy the legion of flying creatures swarming over a radio antenna.
"Also features a great sequence where a Boeing CH-47J Chinook evac helicopter, full of women and children, is menaced by the big nasty Legion monster at a military airfield. Gamera comes to the rescue, allowing the chopper to escape. Later, during the Japanese military's response to a Legion threat, we see a Bell UH-1J Huey ferrying officials around Japan." - NATHAN DECKER

Gangsta Gangsta (2006) - "(what a shock title for a rap video!) by Lil Scrappy, was filmed on the 6th Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles. It features a Bell 206 JetRanger that we use all the time in TV shows 24 and The Unit." - RICHARD HART (National Helicopter Service). Photos copyright © by Craig Dyer.

The Gauntlet (1977) - the maverick cop (Clint Eastwood) runs into big trouble while escorting a female witness (Sondra Locke) to trial. When he's using a stolen motorbike to get into town, he's chased and shot at by the bad guys in a low-flying helicopter, an Aerospatiale Gazelle, that is destroyed when it strikes overhead power lines.

The General's Daughter (1999) - despite an obvious lack of co-operation from the armed forces for this detective story, concerning the military's cover-up of a sex-murder on a US Army base, the film production manages a good showcase of aerial sequences. The officer of the title (James Cromwell) makes an entrance via chopper (a Sikorsky S-61L Shortsky), some Bell UH-1 Hueys overfly an Army fort and West Point scenes (including stylised flashbacks to a gang rape on a large scale, mock battlefield), and only a couple of brief helicopter shots are obviously digital creations.

James Cromwell in The General's Daughter

George of the Jungle (1997) - "in this warm-hearted comedy based on the cartoon, George's (Brendan Fraser) rescue of a trapped parachutist on the Golden Gate Bridge sees a Eurocopter A-Star news chopper present for much of the scene. It doesn't do much except hover there, although whilst swinging on a bridge cable, Tarzan-style, George (or rather the guy doubling Fraser) does look like he comes dangerously close to the helicopter's blades for one brief instant." - BILL HIERS

Get Smart (2008) - a remake of the mid-1960s' spy-spoof TV series, this knockabout comedy caper features a Eurocopter AS-350, which flies the secret-agent heroes' boss (Alan Arkin) from a rooftop helipad, across Los Angeles to the Disney concert hall, in time to prevent a presidential assassination.

Ghosthouse II (1988) - a helicopter is used by police to search for missing people on a remote New England island.

GHOST IN THE SHELL

Johnny Blaze jumps over Black Hawks in Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider (2007) - Nicolas Cage stars as Johnny Blaze in this first adaptation of the Marvel comic book. The film has loads of CGI work, including a flight of six Black Hawks (that arrive while Ride Of The Valkyries tune plays), which line-up, for the hero to jump his bike over, after landing inside a covered football stadium. Later, there's a scene atop a tower block, where Ghost Rider lassos the 'annoying' police chopper (a Bell JetRanger), spins it around the building, and then lets it fly away undamaged.

Ghost Rig (aka: The Devil's Tattoo, 2002) - this British supernatural mystery thriller features an Aerospatiale AS 322L Super Puma (from Bristow Helicopters), which transports a mixed group of eco-activists to meet their respective fates on a haunted oilrig in the North Sea.

Ghost Whisperer (2005-8) - a supernatural fantasy TV drama, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt as cheerful psychic medium Melinda, who sees ghosts, communicates with angry lost souls or earthbound spirits, and helps them crossover to the other side. The 'pilot' episode, about a Vietnam veteran, features brief shots of a Huey crashing. Dead Man's Ridge has a Eurocopter A-Star doing search-and-rescue work in the mountains.

G.I. Jane (1997) - Ridley Scott's feminist military drama includes one shot of a military chopper hovering over Navy SEAL trainees (including the heroine of the title, played by Demi Moore) during their hard workout in the surf, adding wind chill to the rough conditions. Later there's proper rotary action when helicopters (including a Cobra gunship) from a US aircraft carrier evacuate the rescue team from a Libyan beach.

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (2009) - the first action sequence of this live-action sci-fi movie features two Boeing (MD) AH-64D Apache helicopters on convoy escort duty. A hi-tech stealth aircraft zaps one Apache, so it explodes in midair and burning wreckage blocks the roadway. The second gunship fires missiles but the VTOL enemy blasts them and then destroys the Apache, too in another crash 'n' burn sequence. There's also stock footage of an Apache squadron in the Iraqi flashback, and a pair of Black Hawks (CGI?) pass over the bomb site.

The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) - Jamie Uys' action comedy, made in South Africa, features an early version of Aérospatiale's heavy transport SA-321 Super Frelon.

Godzilla (1985) - the famous giant reptile swats annoying helicopters from sky in this Japanese remake of the original 1954 monster movie. Later, a Huey attempts to rescue some heroes from a damaged skyscraper.

Godzilla (1998) - Roland Emmerich's Hollywood blockbuster version of the Japanese monster movie is visual effects feast but hopelessly bland as generic action adventure. In one sequence, a flight of military helicopters (AH-64A Apaches) pursue and attack the gigantic lizard through the skyscraper canyons of Manhattan's island city. Although most of this is digitally-generated footage, some 1:8 scale miniature helicopters were used by the filmmakers.
"At the beginning of the movie when we first meet Matthew Broderick's character, he is visited by Russian soldiers who arrive in an odd-looking twin-rotor chopper. This is a classic 1950s' vintage Piasecki H-21B, nicknamed the 'Flying Banana', and the helicopter is the last operating example of its type in the world. I believe that the owner of the helicopter company with the H-21B had some connection with director Roland Emmerich, or maybe his son, and that's why this particular helicopter appears in the movie. Later, when the heroes follow gigantic footprints across the Panama lowlands, we see Bell UH-1 Hueys and OH-6 Cayuse helicopters giving us an aerial view." - NATHAN DECKER

Godzilla 2000 (1999) - "this monster movie gives us two different helicopters: a military OH-6D Cayuse is seen flying around the crashed silver spaceship in the second act. And, during the Japanese military's futile attack on Godzilla on the coastline, a flight of Bell AH-1S Cobra attack choppers make a run, firing stock footage anti-tank missiles that do little more than annoy the big lizard." - NATHAN DECKER

Godzilla versus Destoroyah (1995) - "in the beginning of the film, we see a G-Force Hughes 500 helicopter flying over the recently nuked Birth Island. Later, the chopper flies the psychic chick Miki over the battlefield as Godzilla Jr fights Destoroyah in the flaming ruins of Tokyo. The Japanese military, and the special branch tasked with chasing monsters, use several different types of helicopters in the film. During the final attack in the heart of Tokyo, we see some Boeing (MD) AH-64 Apaches. These are completely CGI and strangely only appear in the scenes leading up to the battle, not in the actual battle itself. As well, we see a Bell UH-1 Huey following the swimming Godzilla as it approaches the Japanese coast." - NATHAN DECKER

G-Force chopper in Godzilla vs Destoroyah

Godzilla versus King Ghidorah (1993) - "an HSS-2B ship-borne helicopter is used to ferry the psychic chick Miki out to sea to look for Godzilla. The HSS-2B is a Japanese version of the American Sikorsky Sea King, built under licence by Mitsubishi." - NATHAN DECKER

military helicopter in Godzilla vs King Ghidorah

GOLDENEYE

Goldfinger (1964) - Pussy Galore (great name) takes Goldfinger to Fort Knox in a Hiller UH-12E4. At the end of the movie, a Brantley B2 is used by Felix Leiter to search for Bond. - NATHAN DECKER

Golpe de estadio (1998) - this Colombian comedy-drama (trans: stadium coup) is about police and guerillas making a truce so they can watch FIFA World Cup football games on a town's only TV set...
"There are scenes with helicopters, some above Bogotá city, some over-flying the jungle in Colombian police helicopters to launch rocket attacks on the guerrillas. A sequence near the end of the movie involves a lot of helicopters (Bell 412, Bell 206, Hughes 500, and Hueys), all flying to attack guerrillas. This scene reminds me of Apocalypse Now. When the movie was released, it was the most expensive Colombian movie of its time." - JAVIER 'TOPPER' FRANCO.

Gone In 60 Seconds (1974) - "has a couple of scenes of police helicopters taking off to give chase: a Bell 47G, a Hughes 269, and a Hughes 500. Nice collection for a small budget film. I only saw the 47G with any significant screen time. The Hughes machines only make brief appearances." - SHAUN J. GREANEY

Gone In 60 Seconds (2000) - airborne police chase after stolen vehicles in this remake of the 1974 crime thriller. During the climax, the heroic thief (Nicolas Cage) uses a sports car's nitrous oxide boost to outrun even helicopter pursuit.

Goodbye Lenin (2003) - "near the end of the film, a statue of Lenin is being flown away, sling-loaded beneath a helicopter, through Berlin. This scene is accompanied by dramatic music." - WINNIE LEUNG

Goodfellas (1990) - Martin Scosese's crime drama sees paranoid crooks so suspicious of police aerial surveillance, they get more furtive and shifty than usual whenever choppers fly overhead. Helicopter sound effects have the gangsters ducking and diving for cover.

Go Tell The Spartans (1978) - Burt Lancaster stars in Vietnam War story about defending an isolated army camp from Viet Cong. It features a Bell H-13 Sioux in one aerial sequence.

Grand Theft Auto (1977) - "Ron Howard's directing debut has two choppers. In the middle of the film, a Bell 47G hovers around watching the cars race; and in a later stunt scene, a low-flying Bell 206 JetRanger plays chicken with a Rolls Royce." - NATHAN DECKER

The Great Skycopter Rescue (1982) - a new prototype aerial invention (part hang-glider, part gyrocopter) is used to combat raiding bikers and save oil-rig drillers.

The Green Berets (1968) - a salute to US Special Forces teams in Vietnam, this stars John Wayne (also co-director). It features one spectacular yet unconvincing crash 'n' burn scene (filmed in close-up, using a mock-up helicopter apparently dropped from an off-camera crane).
"I flew one of the UH-1 helicopters during the filming at Fort Rucker, AL. I was 'tail-end Charlie'... The story was about a special forces team sent out to capture a VC (or NVA) General for interrogation. Of course a lot of things went wrong. I believe the accuracy of the conditions depicted in the movie were indicative of what these teams went through during the war." - JIM SNYDER, pilot
"Green Berets also features scenes of Hiller H-23s (or UH-12s) in very low level hovering at the field amongst a bunch of Hueys." - JIM BURLINGAME

Gridlock (1996) - directed by Sandor Stern, this TV movie copies the Die Hard scenario in general, and rips off the plot of sequel Die Hard With A Vengeance, in particular. In the opening scenes, NYPD pilot Jake (David Hasselhoff) flies to a siege situation, jumps down onto a rooftop, and saves all the hostages. What a hero... Later, he spots terrorist bombings on Manhattan bridges, and reports a hostage-taking robbery at the Federal Reserve Bank. Jake's Eurocopter 355 A-Star hovers around the building, but when he lands the police helicopter on the bank's rooftop, it's a Bell 206 JetRanger (damaged when a henchman shoots up the cockpit)! In the final chase, a Bell 205 pursues escaping thieves, Jake rides a cable down onto the bad guys' truck, hooks the chopper's winch to the vehicle, and the Huey tears off the truck's bodywork to reveal its haul of gold bullion. Job done!

Grizzly (aka: Killer Grizzly, 1976) - this monster B-movie from director William Girdler features a team of park rangers hunting a reportedly giant bear that's attacking campers. The hunters get help from a pilot (Andrew Prine), flying a Hughes 500-C... Eventually, however, the bear trashes the helicopter!

THE GUARDIAN

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