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A GUIDE TO HELICOPTERS
IN CINEMA & TELEVISION

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The Maddest Car In The World (1974) - a West German race adventure concerning a Volkswagen beetle called "Dudu." This gadget-packed European cousin of super car 'Herbie' (from Disney's The Love Bug) has built-in rotor blades for emergency flight.

Mad Max 2

(1981) - George Miller's post-apocalypse actioner co-stars Bruce Spence, as the pilot of an autogyro machine, who helps Mel Gibson's heroic ex-cop escape from the villains.

Magnum, PI (1981-87) - a TV detective show (starring Tom Selleck), this comedy adventure series is set in Hawaii, where Vietnam veteran chopper pilot, T.C. (played by Roger Mosley) is one of the hero's sidekicks. The show featured aerial scenes with various helicopters, ranging from the regular MD-500 and Bell 206 JetRanger to a US Coast Guard HH-52 (Sikorsky S-62) Sea Guardian.

Making Waves (2004) - TV drama serial about life aboard the Royal Navy frigate HMS Suffolk, this features a rare appearance of the GKN Westland naval HAS Mk.8 Super Lynx, with its distinctive 360-degree, under-the-nose radar pod.

Malibu Express (1985) - in this Andy Sidaris adventure, helicopter gunmen chase the hero's racing car and land on the highway to force him off the road.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - "Frank Sinatra stars in this 'Cold War' thriller by John Frankenheimer about Korean War veterans brainwashed into assassins. We get to see Bell 47J helicopters, with big red stars on them, posing as North Korean air force choppers." - NATHAN DECKER

The Manchurian Candidate (2004) - Jonathan Demme's remake of the classic Cold War drama features brief helicopter action during the film's early scenes, set in Kuwait, 1991, where two enemy Huey gunships are involved in a night attack a US Army patrol. Later winning a medal for his bravery, one of the American soldiers uses a heavy machine gun to shoot down one of the helicopters. We see the chopper on fire, and the side door gets blown off, but there's no actual crash scene, and the murky green-tinted footage (seemingly filmed with available light through night-vision lenses) is quite realistic in the documentary manner of a TV newsreel. The closing scenes feature a S-70C Firehawk (Brainerd Helicopters) as a UAE Air Force chopper (painted red and green).

Manticore (2005) - this TV movie about US soldiers in Iraq, where they stalked by a mythical Persian beast, features some low grade CGI work of Black Hawk helicopters, including one rescue flight that is boarded by the Babylonian creature which kills the pilot, and causes the military chopper to crash and burn when it gets briefly airborne. The monster survives the fiery wreck after the helicopter explodes.

The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) - the finale of this lively British comedy thriller (starring Bill Murray and Joanne Whalley) sees the bad guys' helicopter exploding in the sky over London, due to a hidden time-bomb.

The Marine (2006) - a police helicopter (a Bell 407) joins the cops' search of Carolina swamplands for a gang of robbers.

Martial Angels (aka: Chuet sik san tau, 2001) - this Hong Kong caper, about a gang of female thieves, features brief shots of an Aerospatiale Alouette II, when villains from the Russian mafia use a helicopter to drop henchmen into the girls' hideout and kidnap the heroine's boyfriend.

The Martian Chronicles (1980) - in this TV miniseries based on Ray Bradbury's classic SF book, the last man on Mars uses an autogyro to fly halfway around the planet in - supposedly - romantic pursuit of the last woman. Sadly, the vain blonde (Bernadette Peters) wasn't worth trip.

Radar detects incoming choppers, in MASH

M*A*S*H (1969) - Robert Altman's black comedy about US Army doctors in the Korean war has a minor, ambiguous-psychic character - amusingly nicknamed 'Radar' (played by Gary Burghoff), who can sense incoming medevac helicopters (bearing more wounded soldiers) before anyone else can hear their approach to the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital camp. A long-running, sitcom-format, and very popular TV series followed (1973-84), which used footage of the Bell 47D-1 air ambulances from Altman's film in its title sequence.

The Matrix

(1999) - this stunning virtual reality thriller boasts a spectacular action sequence in which the hero (Keanu Reeves) jumps out of a hovering chopper to catch his falling mentor (Laurence Fishburne) in mid-air, followed by the bullet damaged helicopter's crash into the side of an office building. The pilot (Carrie-Anne Moss), who only learnt to fly moments earlier via a computer program download into the VR scene, escapes from the explosion tethered to the hero, just in time.

Max Payne (2008) - an action fantasy thriller, based on a videogame, features this brief appearance of a New York police helicopter (A-star type) during a night sequence.

The Medallion (2003) - Gordon Chan's fantasy adventure stars Jackie Chan, and features a Sikorsky S-70 UH-60 Black Hawk carrying the film's hero across Hong Kong harbour. The villain's henchmen use a Bell 430 with a rope ladder to kidnap a Chinese boy from the rooftop of a block of flats in Dublin, and their helicopter flies to the bad guys' hideout on the Irish coast, where it enters a huge cave (some obvious digital visual effects here) and lands inside.

Medicopter 117 (aka: Jedes Leben zählt, 1998) - "German TV series (hugely successful) following the adventures of a BK-117 EMS helicopter and its crew. About as realistic as Fireman Sam, not great flying and really, really silly stunts (no, you would not suspend a paramedic from a winch to get a boy out of a lion's enclosure in a zoo). In a strange twist of fate the chopper used in the series (a real BK-117 with medical configuration) was used as a temporary replacement for one of Germany's real EMS helicopters for a while, complete with TV markings. Fiction became reality." - BERND BIEGE

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009) - the opening sequence of this low-budget monster-movie has a Bell 412 drop a sonar device into Antarctic seas.

Meltdown

(2000) - this Hong Kong comedy thriller (basically Die Hard meets Naked Gun) sees the hero (Jet Li) flying a chopper up to the rooftop of a besieged tower block, where terrorists are already waiting for him. Blasted by the villains' gunfire, the helicopter crashes into the building through its windows and then spins around inside the structure where its rotors wreak havoc, before it finally explodes - blowing out an entire floor of the building.

Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992) - John Carpenter's underrated sci-fi romantic-comedy thriller stars Chevy Chase as the titular hero, and features a helicopter hovering close to the rooftop of a building during the climactic chase sequence.

Men Of Honour (2000) - an inspiring true story, this maritime biopic about a US Navy diver (played by Cuba Gooding Jr) who struggles to overcome elements of ingrained racism - especially a veteran Master Chief (Robert De Niro) in America's armed forces. In the main rotary action scene, a Sikorsky 'Seahorse' SH-34 (S-58) crashes while delivering mail to a ship.

Mercenary For Justice (2006) - a Mil Mi-8 Hip (chartered from Air Malta by the filmmakers) with UN markings appears in this Steven Seagal action flick. There's also a rather battered Bell Huey UH-1H (formerly in service with the Ethiopian Air Force, restored as tourist attraction for a Cape Town heli-base), used to pickup the heroes from the war zone on a South African island.
However, the film has no appearances for the MBB / Kawasaki BK-117 , which are pictured on the DVD box and poster artwork.

Mercury Rising (1998) - "in this action thriller, an ex-FBI agent (Bruce Willis) protects an autistic boy from a gang of assassins. At the end, the corrupt government official behind the whole thing tries to escape with the kid in a helicopter (an MD-520 NOTAR, I believe) from a skyscraper rooftop. Although flown by bad guys, the chopper actually kills the main assassin who's fending off the FBI so the official can escape; the high winds combined with the rotor wash of the chopper shatter the building's windows and the unfortunate lackey is promptly shredded by flying glass." - BILL HIERS

Miami Vice (1984-9) - this popular cop drama, starring Don Johnson and Edward James Olmos, favours Bell 47, JetRanger, or LongRanger helicopters for transport, surveillance, and pursuit. Fifth season episode Line Of Fire sees airborne gunmen using an Aérospatiale SA 341 Gazelle to shoot-up a boat where a federal witness is under police protection. When the hero shoots it down with a flare gun, the burning chopper that falls to the ground is obviously a Hughes 500 model (stock footage?). When another detective flies in a Bell 47 to search for his missing partner, the shadow of his helicopter on the greenery below is clearly that of a Bell 206 silhouette.
"The original TV series made extensive use of choppers, most noticably the Bell 412 EMS helicopters of the Metro Dade Fire Department. Which are even once used for an aerial assault on a bridge in the Florida Keys (not prototypical usage)." - BERND BIEGE

Miami Vice (2006) - this big screen version of the cult 1980s' TV series was directed by Michael Mann, and features a couple of police AS-350 A-Star helicopters, one during the highway chase sequence, another in some later action scenes, hovering above the finale's dramatic shootout. Also, there are other Miami-Dade police helicopters (including a Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger IV) visible in the background of an aircraft hanger for the endgame mission prep scene. The credited pilots are Kevin LaRosa, Al Guthery, Rick Shuster, and Dan Rudert.

"Lieutenant Castillo rides in a police helicopter (probably a JetRanger type) orbiting the city as an aid to Crockett and Tubbs' current mission." - WINNIE LEUNG

Midnight Run (1988) - in this likeable comedy-thriller road movie, mafia hitmen use a helicopter to chase the car driven by a bounty hunter, and the airborne gunmen play a cat 'n' mouse game on the highway, firing their assault rifles to force the heroes' car off the road, making the driver crash under a bridge. Jack (Robert De Niro) shoots the chopper's tail rotor - so it spins out of control, hits the rock face of a riverbank and explodes in mid-air.

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) - Woody Allen's whimsical romance includes scenes with bicycle-powered helicopter invention that adds to the story's magical charm.

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1998)

Militia (2000) - a cheap TV production about ATF agents fighting US terrorists, Jim Wynorski's movie features standard action scenes involving Bell Hueys (which, in one mismatched aerial sequence, changes its paint-job from plain green to camo!) but also has stock footage, outtakes and scenes taken from Rambo, Delta Force 2, and American Ninja 2, with Apaches, Cobras, an Aerospatiale SA-361 (Dauphin, or early version of the Panther?), a Hughes 500 gunship attacking a car, and shots of the police 206 JetRanger sequence lifted wholesale from Terminator 2. One trigger-happy survivalist hits a Huey with RPG fire, and the helicopter is destroyed in midair, but the explosion is obviously from a different film. For its blatant misuse of borrowed footage, and editing helicopter clips together without any attention to detail whatsoever, this film gets a Rotary Action HALL OF SHAME award.

Millions (1991) - Carlo Vanzina's predictable and soap operatic morality tale about the redemption of a sleazy money-grabbing playboy (Billy Zane), opens with an off-screen helicopter crash. Hard to identify from wreckage in the night scene, but this looks like a standard Boeing (MD) 500.

Mindhunters (2004) - Renny Harlin's thriller about FBI rookies, stalked by a serial killer while they complete intensive training as psych profilers, features a Bell 204B used for transport to and from the island location. It's not very clear, even after listening to the director's commentary track on this film's DVD release, how much of this aerial footage is live action camera work, and how much is purely CGI.

Minority Report (2002) - "hovering thingies used by the cops could be helicopters. Then again they could be anti-grav stuff. But I think they are helicopters. Discuss..." - BERND BIEGE

Miracle Mile (1988) - Steve DeJarnatt's satire on Cold War nuclear fears has a group of L.A. residents in search of a pilot for the helicopter they plan to escape from the holocaust in. After setbacks and delays, the chopper does eventually manage to get airborne, but then the missiles arrive...

Mirror Wars: Reflection One (aka: Zerkalnie voyni: Otrazhenie pervoye, 2005) - drama about hijacking a Russian stealth fighter plane.

"There is an interesting Mil Mi-17 (Russian service designation Mi-8MT) with a bulbous 'radar' nose modification, obviously made for the movie as I am not aware of any such version in regular military service. In the same clip sequence, a Mil Mi-17 is also shown firing a missile." - COSTAS TSAGANAS.

Mission: Impossible (1996) - features one spectacular but unintentionally ridiculous rotary action scene inside the Channel Tunnel, during which a helicopter (an MD-520N NOTAR) is briefly towed by the high-speed train and diminutive hero (Tom Cruise) is almost impaled by rotor blades when the machine crashes. The appalled train driver faints, of course. An earlier scene features a Eurocopter AS355 landing outside Tower Bridge in London.

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) - John Woo's sequel to Brian De Palma's update of the 1960s' TV series plays like a Bond movie with plenty of 007-style gadgetry, and spectacular set-pieces. In the best rotary action scene, airborne sidekick (Ving Rhames) blows up a car-load of bad guys so the bike-riding hero (Tom Cruise) can escape across a narrow bridge. Aerial scenes feature a Eurocopter BK-117C.

Mission: Impossible III (2006) - franchise actioner directed by J.J. Abrams, has a Twin Huey used by the heroes to escape after they rescue a captured female agent, but they are pursued by a Bell AH-1 Cobra, which launches rockets at the Huey as it flies through a wind farm. The Cobra is hit by a windmill blade and knocked to the ground. Later, the villain escapes from custody when a team of gunmen use another Huey for their attack on a prison truck crossing a Chesapeake bridge.

Mission Without Permission (2004) - during the car chase sequence, an LAPD aerial patrol joins the pursuit of young bank robbers. The helicopter hovers just above the road, but the cops fail to stop the thieves' little go-kart getaway vehicles, which the gang use to escape by driving straight under chopper's landing skids.

Modern Combat Aircraft 2: The West's Combat Helicopters (1987) - the video release of this American aviation documentary looks at a dozen of the world's most powerful and lethal military helicopters, from the Bell UH-1 'Huey', and the MD-500 Defender, through to the Sikorsky H-76 Eagle, and the deadly Boeing (MD) AH-64 Apache.

I have not actually seen this particular film (if you have - please send me your comments) but, reportedly, there's a detailed script by Christopher Chant.

Moon 44 (1990) - Roland Emmerich's SF war film has some futuristic helicopters (realised in flight by models only) that are used to defend the mining operations of another planet from attacks by an invading force of space pirates.

Moonraker (1979) - in this James Bond film (starring Roger Moore), a helicopter pilot (Corinne Clery) takes our suave super-spy to meet the top villain (Michael Lonsdale). The Drax air-taxi is a Bell 206 JetRanger.

Morons From Outer Space (1985) - in this sci-fi comedy, a military chopper brings an American agent (James B. Sikking) to the crash site of the weirdo aliens' spacecraft.

Ecureuil night flight in Mr and Mrs Smith

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005) - this action comedy sees a Bell 206 JetRanger involved in a desert rendezvous on the Mexican border. When the array of bombs go off, the helicopter is engulfed in dust, but then... (I have no idea what's supposed to happen to the helicopter.) The explosions are spectacular, but the airborne chopper just seems to disppear from view. The climax of the film has an Aerospatiale AS350 B2 Ecureuil carrying gunmen in pursuit of the heroes (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie), before the final shootout in a shopping centre. An early sequence, set in Bogotá, begins with aerial shots of a military Twin Huey. There's also insert footage of a Sikorsky S-76 Eagle flying over New York city.

Mr Deeds (2002) - "this bad comedy starring the 'demon-seed' Adam Sandler features a nifty helicopter. The production rented a Sikorsky S-92 prototype VIP transport for the film, ferrying 'Shiva' Sandler to Manhattan in more-than-deserved style." - NATHAN DECKER

Mr X (1995) - in this patchwork gangster thriller, an Aerospatiale Alouette II carries a hitman to attack hordes of yakuza hoods in a Hong Kong tower block, where the lone gunman slaughters dozens of henchmen, but he fails to escape safely in the helicopter when a female gang leader shoots at the chopper with a rifle, so it crashes into a nearby building and explodes. The pyrotechnic and model effects are unconvincing, and most of this rubbishy American video's footage was culled from superior Asian action movies.

Munich (2005) - set in the 1970s, this suspense thriller directed by Steven Spielberg concerns a team of assassins (played by Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, etc) hunting down Palestinian terrorists responsible for plotting the kidnapping and slaughter of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games. The airport scene, where the hostages are forced aboard a Huey, ends with a shootout, during which the helicopter is blown up using a grenade. However, this sequence is edited into fragments and only appears in various flashbacks.

Murder At 1600 (1997) - in this White House conspiracy thriller, an unjust pursuit of the mismatched heroes (Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane) by helicopter ends when its searchlight is shot out by the gun-toting heroine.

Murphy's Law (1986) - in J. Lee Thompson's eventful crime thriller, drunkard cop Murphy (Charles Bronson) is framed for murder but promptly escapes from custody handcuffed to a foul-mouthed car thief Arabella (excellent character-actress Kathleen Wilhoite), and steals a police chopper (a Hughes 500) from a rooftop helipad. However the getaway flight ends badly when the helicopter runs out of fuel and crashes through the roof of an old barn that's being used as an illicit drugs lab by a violent gang... Trivia: the crusty character of Murphy was a helicopter crew chief in the Korean War. Arabella's rude insults to Murphy include a jibe about Airwolf.

My Fellow Americans (1996) - "this lightweight political comedy starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner features a Sikorsky S-62A made up as a Presidential VIP transport. It is the same S-62A that appeared in Disney movie, First Kid." - NATHAN DECKER

The Myth (aka: San wa, 2005) - Stanley Tong's fantasy adventure sees Jackie Chan's buddy escaping in a Bell LongRanger (Deccan Aviation) from an angry mob in India. Later, the hero is lowered by cable from another helicopter to access a cavern behind a waterfall.

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