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A GUIDE TO HELICOPTERS IN CINEMA & TELEVISION |
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I Am Legend (2007) - this action-packed sci-fi monster-movie (technically a remake of The Last Man On Earth, and The Omega Man,
but the first adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel to re-use the book's title), includes one flashback sequence, at the Brooklyn bridge,
featuring a Black Hawk, which lands at the film-set's pier, and a US Coast Guard HH-65 'Dolphin' that apparently crashes on takeoff (crash only
implied, as it happens off-screen) when it's hit by a New York police helicopter spinning out of control, with hangers-on falling off the landing
skids, when it evacuates from a riverside launch pad. In the post-holocaust scenes, a high-angle view reveals some helicopter wreckage (a Bell 206)
on a damaged rooftop. I believe the paint scheme of the EC120 that crashes into the Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin was actually that of well-known New York tour company Liberty Helicopters (rather than being a New York police helicopter). - ALEX YOUNGS Iceman (1984) - this SF drama is notable for its blurry images of a helicopter, which a thawed-out caveman (John Lone) mistakes for the bird-god he worships, and he believes will carry him away into sky.
Inception (2010) - this sci-fi action movie about dreams within dream worlds, features a white Eurocopter EC 135-T2, flown from a rooftop helipad across a city in Japan to an airport. The Incredible Hulk (2008) - in this follow-up to Ang Lee's Hulk, the Marvel hero's franchise gets a reboot with a new cast and re-written origin story, and different military hardware appears in this film. Bell 205 'Huey' types are used for transport when army commandos make an effort to capture lone scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). On the campus, General Ross (William Hurt) calls up air support from just one AH-64D gunship (all CGI work), which attacks the Hulk, and the Apache is wrecked by thrown debris, so it plummets to the ground as detached rotors pinwheel overhead and the helicopter crashes and explodes while Hulk shields heroine Betty (Liv Tyler) from the fiery blast. While villain Abomination rampages through New York streets, Banner drops from the rear loading-ramp of a Sikorsky (S-80E) CH-53E Super Stallion. In later scenes, this helicopter shoots at the super-villain and whirls around just above Harlem rooftops as both Abomination and Hulk struggle while hanging from the chopper's underside. When the crashed Super Stallion leaks fuel and catches fire, threatening the heroine, Hulk blows out the flames with shockwave from a thundering handclap. The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) - in this TV movie, Bill Bixby's scientist hero turns into bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno's green-skinned giant again, and meets the Norse thunder god Thor but, even working together, the heroes' muscle power fails to prevent the bad guys - gunmen, shooting darts, who kidnap a lady scientist - from escaping in a sheriff's helicopter (a Bell 206L LongRanger).
President 'Lone Star' (Bill Pullman) escapes from Washington aboard a Sikorsky S-61L, just before the invading aliens nuke the White House. Another helicopter, presumably carrying his staff, is destroyed by spillover from the fried White House. - NATHAN DECKER In addition to the 'welcome wagon' choppers, and the presidential ones (some note ought to be made, I think, that the scene in which the second of these tries to takeoff as the White House is exploding is one of the most iconic shots ever), there's also the small helicopter that the First Lady uses, and is later found crashed, when trying to leave L.A. Will Smith swipes a Huey to go looking for his missing girlfriend. - BILL HIERS
Inspector Gadget (1999) - Disney's live action version of the popular cartoon show gives us Matthew Broderick as the titular cyborg law-enforcer who, among other built-in contraptions, has rotor blades (computer animation, of course) emerge from his hat so that he can fly around the city.
The Interceptor (aka: Zapreshchennaya realnost, 2009) - this Russian sci-fi actioner has a pair of Hind gunships (all CGI work), flying towards a target building in climactic scenes. One crashes into the other, and both helicopters are destroyed in midair, when a writhing mass of giant alien tentacles launch their pre-emptive anti-aircraft strike.
Into The Sun (2004) - in this film's pre-titles sequence, a US paramilitary 'black ops' team (led by Steven Seagal's hero), caught up in a 'Golden Triangle' firefight, are saved from death by the timely arrival of their Bell Twin Huey gunship, which is defended by its side-mounted machine-gun during the special forces' medevac flight.
Invasion U.S.A. (1985) - this action movie starring Chuck Norris features a Hughes 300 fitted with a loudhailer warning citizens to stay indoors, and other helicopters drop leaflets to inform the public of a military curfew. The bad guys have a Bell Huey to land their gunmen on the roof of a government office building, but our hero uses a grenade launcher to destroy the chopper. Finally, three gunships hover above the climactic street battle, and one chopper shoots at a group of terrorists. The Invisible (2007) - in this ghost-story movie, a red Eurocopter AS-350 police rescue helicopter takes off from the search location in the woods.
Iron Man (2008) - this superhero action movie features a couple of Sikorsky Black Hawk choppers, which find Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) alone in the desert, after he escapes from the Afghan camp.
The Island (1980) - a charmingly ludicrous but quite entertaining adventure thriller adapted by Peter Benchley from his novel about nasty pirates in the Caribbean. After the climactic massacre of all the baddies by stalwart hero (Michael Caine), a US Coast Guard helicopter (a Sikorsky S-62) discovers the Coast Guard ship, but the chopper is unable to land on the vessel because there are bodies strewn all over the flight deck.
Island Of Greed (1997) - an impressive gangster thriller set in Taiwan and directed by Michael Mak, this action drama sees a political bigwig thrown out of a helicopter with a noose around his neck. In the spectacular finale, the heroic cop's gunship attacks an escaping convoy of triad gangsters and, even though the helicopter is shot down, the bad guy still gets beaten.
It Came From Outer Space (1953) - "in this alien invasion B-movie classic, we see an extremely rare Bell 47D, with an open roadster cockpit and landing wheels instead of skids. The movie was filmed in fabulous 3-D (with coloured glasses handed out in theatres) and, in one scene, the Bell descends towards the camera - and you, the viewer - until it fills the entire screen." - NATHAN DECKER
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - "in this comedy treasure-hunt movie by Stanley Kramer, we see a sheriff department's Bell 47G helicopter chasing Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett in a light plane." - NATHAN DECKER |
