Black Hawk Down 
(2001) - excellent aerial stunts and careful use of digital effects give Ridley Scott's
superb drama (based on a true story about the Battle of Mogadishu) a chaotic sense of
realism that's lacking in most historical war films. During the deployment of US forces
on a special mission to arrest one of the corrupt locals, two Black Hawk helicopters are
shot down by the heavily-armed Somali militia, leaving an injured pilot and soldiers at
the mercy of the angry natives...
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Later, Hughes 500 "little bird" choppers make strafing runs throughout the
night, against the numerous enemy groups, to provide close air support for the
American troops who are surrounded by rooftop snipers. A brilliant film about a
terrifying siege situation in a war zone, this has spectacular rotary action scenes
that rival the all-time classic Apocalypse Now.
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"The Boeing (MD) AH-64 Apaches and
the Cayuses (or MD-500s) were on loan from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment,
and several of the helicopter pilots were involved in the actual battle of 1993."
- NATHAN DECKER
"
There are no AH-64 Apaches in the movie, and they're not operated by 160th SOAR (US Army
special ops command). There were MH-60L Black Hawks flying around... All filming was done in
Morocco, the US Department of Defense lent Hollywood the Nighstalkers' regiment for filming,
and got permission from the Moroccans to base these aircraft and military units in the country."
- IAN VINCENT FRAIN
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Black Hawk Down: The True Story (2003) -
"this 60-minute made-for-TV documentary
is about the Battle of Mogadishu, in October 1993, which saw 15 American servicemen killed
by Somalian rebels. It's only a standard nonfiction cash-in programme that feeds upon the
commercial success of Ridley Scott's brilliant war movie. You can buy this on disc only
because it's included in the 'special edition' DVD package of Black Hawk Down."
- STEVEN HAMPTON
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