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A GUIDE TO HELICOPTERS IN CINEMA & TELEVISION |
| HOME A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
La Dolce Vita (1960) - in the rather bizarre opening sequence of Fellini's tragicomedy, a giant statue of Christ is suspended beneath two Bell 47 helicopters and flown across Rome! La Femme Nikita (1997 - 2001) Canadian TV series about a female secret agent (played by Peta Wilson), based on the 1990 film by Luc Besson. In 4th season episode View Of The Garden (2000), the spymaster's Eurocopter AS-350 is destroyed by a terrorist's rocket.
The Land Unknown (1957) - this monster movie has a helicopter crashing in Antarctica where the survivors discover a hidden valley of dinosaurs. The visual effects are awful - but the film is good fun, anyway.
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life (2003) - in best rotary action of Jan de Bont's sequel adventure, the villains are hovering in a chopper above a Chinese pagoda in Shanghai, ready to trade (a suitcase of money for an ancient artifact) with gangsters, when heroine (Angelina Jolie) pole vaults from a nearby rooftop to plant a tracking bug on the baddies' helicopter so that she can follow the flight to Hong Kong. There's also MI6 agents' Agusta-Westland A-109E Power landing at Croft Manor, a heavily modified Eurocopter AS350 was used for the water crash scene, and two helicopters (AS-350 Squirrel and EC-155 B1) appear in the finale's jungle scenes. Last Action Hero (1993) - John McTiernan's adventure vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, features a Boeing (MD) 520 gunship that shoots a glass elevator into swiss cheese, and then lands (off-screen) on top of the hero's car. The Last Boy Scout (1991) - private detective Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) fights with main assassin Milo on scaffolding, to prevent him from killing a senator. At one point, a police JetRanger intervenes but is forced to veer away when Milo shoots at them. When Willis finally defeats Milo and throws him off the scaffold, he falls down into the spinning blades of the police chopper and is shredded. - BILL HIERS
The Last Dragon (2004) - this ponderously slow TV mini-series mixes fantasy quest with natural history documentary (in the manner of the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs), and tells of an obsessive British zoologist's discovery of a dragon's nest in Romania. For the scientists' arrival in the Carpathian Mountains, they reach the high altitude scene in a Eurocopter AS 350, supplied by the local police. The Last Sentinel (2007) - this sci-fi actioner of apocalyptic warfare between humans and robots, features brief CGI shots of a sky full of military helicopters (mostly Chinooks and Apaches). Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace  (1996) - in the run up to this SF adventure's climax, a helicopter is
remotely flown by the virtual reality villain Jobe (Matt Frewer), and used like a cyber-guided missile to destroy the hacker hero's hideaway shack.
Then, burning wreckage pursues the fleeing good guys across rugged terrain until a final crash and big explosion.Lethal Weapon
(1987) - Richard Donner's successful action thriller has two helicopter sequences: an airborne sniper fires at a hilltop mansion to kill the occupant,
and there's a mirage-like appearance of a chopper during the cops' hostage exchange meeting with the villains out in desert.Lethal Weapon 2
(1990) - this sequel features a spectacular night-time air strike - on the hero cop's beach house - by two helicopter gunships crewed by the main
villain's henchmen, which completely destroys the entire property!"At the beginning of the film, a Bell JetRanger appears out of nowhere, and rescues two South African drug dealers that cops are chasing." - BILL HIERS Lethal Weapon 3 (1993) - with more comedy adventure than action thriller, this sequel has a Bell 412 that medevacs our heroes after the climactic shootout. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) - features a police Bell 206 JetRanger hovering over the arsonist, and a Eurocopter AS355 used as L.A.P.D. air support going after the gangsters attempting to murder the hero's family. Trivia: LAPD helicopter division actually uses single engined AS350-B3 A-stars.
"Later in the film, an Aerospatiale 350B A-Star is seen in a few quick shots." - NATHAN DECKER The Dolphin (US-speak for Dauphin) is actually in Eurocopter demo markings for a pending USCG contract! - BERND BIEGE The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) - "in this comedy adventure, Bill Murray plays a marine biologist modelled on Jacques-Yves Cousteau. On top of his boat is a helicopter that looks like a 'baby Bell' (an experimental aircraft like a Bell 47). During a pleasure flight, the chopper suffers a power loss and the pilot is forced to try autorotation for a risky landing." - JUSTIN TRAVIS Lifeforce (1985) - Tobe Hooper revisits Quatermass And The Pit in this horror film about possession by aliens. In one gory scene, Patrick Stewart's body explodes while aboard a helicopter that's flying over London street riots. Lightning Force (1991-2) - "a syndicated TV series from Canada, this show was about an elite strike team of four (American, Canadian, French, Egyptian) who went on various covert missions. The sole female (played by Guylaine St-Onge) was their French pilot, and she usually flew an Aerospatiale AS350 / AS355 Ecureuil. It had one heavy machinegun or cannon mounted under the fuselage. I have a few episodes on tape, nothing on DVD yet." - WES CARR Lightspeed (2006) - this TV movie, about a fast-running superhero (Jason Connery), features a Robinson R44 'Raven II' helicopter, used by the villain for his getaway vehicle after kidnapping the heroine. Lions For Lambs (2007) - Robert Redford's political drama about college students going to war features a brief shot of an Apache gunship over Afghanistan. Later scenes of military action involve a Chinook transport from Bagram airbase carrying US Rangers to a mountain peak, where the flight is hit and damaged by enemy snipers. One soldier falls out of the helicopter's rear landing ramp, and his friend jumps down to save him. Live And Let Die (1973) - "as Bond (Roger Moore) and Solitaire (Jane Seymour) sneak through the poppy fields, a Bell 206 JetRanger strafes them for a bit." - NATHAN DECKER
Logan's War: Bound By Honor (2001) - US Army Rangers on a rescue mission in South America return fire from the air when enemies on the ground shoot at their helicopter. Lonely Are The Brave (1962) - modern day western about a rebel cowboy (Kirk Douglas) on the run through mountain wilds from a sheriff's posse (led by Walter Matthau), that use a Jeep, a radio, and a US Air Force Bell 47G-2 helicopter to track the wily fugitive. "The harassed Douglas uses his Winchester rifle to shoot down the helicopter by hitting its tail rotor." - NATHAN DECKER
Lost Command (1966) - "a Bell 47G helicopter participated in this war movie by Mark Robson about guerilla actions in Algeria." - NATHAN DECKER |
