Apocalypse Now 
(1979) - sprawling antiwar movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and inspired by
Joseph Conrad's celebrated novel Heart Of Darkness, this extravagant drama boasts, arguably,
the finest and most spectacular helicopter sequence ever filmed. While on a secret
mission to assassinate a renegade American colonel (Marlon Brando) in Cambodia, a
troubled US captain (Martin Sheen) on a long river journey, gets air strike support
from the crazed officer Lieutenant Colonel (Robert Duvall), who leads his air cavalry
in an attack on a Vietcong village stronghold, blasting out Wagner's grandoise Ride of
the Valkyries
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from a loudspeaker system to frighten the natives, and then indulges his darkly comic
whim for surfing in the middle of a war zone! (For the ultimate in 'extreme' sports?)
The US Army helicopter squadron are attacked by enemy ground troops, and the morning's
fierce battle ends with a napalm bombing which "smells like... victory."
During this surreal odyssey, helicopter taxis bring Playboy playmates into an
Army camp to entertain the troops, but too many horny GIs endanger the showgirls, and
the chopper pilots have to airlift the dancers to safety.
In 2002, Apocalypse Now Redux, a revised director's cut was
released, with previously unseen extra footage adding 49 minutes to the already epic
running time - making the narrative less episodic, while broadening the scope of the
film's nightmarish scale, and ultimately fulfilling its maker's great ambitions for an
unforgettable cinema experience.
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Notes:
"On the morning after the USO show, a Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopter is seen hovering
above and behind the bleachers."
- NATHAN DECKER
Comment:
"As a pilot, my all time favourite helicopter film has to be Apocalypse Now.
My reasons for this are due to its realism. For instance, in the helicopter attack scene
the correct sounds for each type of helicopter are used (very important to me for some
reason). And when the Hughes 500 is shot down you even hear the 'engine out' audio signal!
There's also a moment just prior to this where you get a shot from inside the Hughes 500
and the pilot is talking over the radio, at this moment the distinct sound of the 500 from
inside is heard - this is a sound I know only too well."
- TONY LOWRY,
Biggin Hill Helicopters
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