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A GUIDE TO HELICOPTERS IN CINEMA & TELEVISION |
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Tactical Assault (1998) - this preposterous revenge thriller, concerning a deadly
feud between two USAF pilots (played by B-movie stalwarts Rutger Hauer and Robert Patrick),
features three Russian helicopters on a NATO supply mission over Croatia. Their flight
should have been a 'milk run', but the transports are attacked from the ground by baddies
armed with machine guns and rocket launchers. Luckily, there's an F-15 jet fighter escort
available to save the day. What's very odd is why American pilots are flying Mil Mi-17
Hip choppers, and how do a couple of the Mi-17s suddenly change into Mil Mi-24 Hind gunships
when the shooting starts? Not only is this an obvious and quite unforgivable continuity
error, it's a serious insult to show a weapons-laden Hind as apparently unable to defend
itself from enemy fire from ground forces!
Techno Sapiens 
(aka: Shadow Warriors, 1994) - this fairly low-budget sci-fi
actioner, concerning a runaway cyborg bodyguard, features some Russian helicopters. A PZL
(Mil) Mi-2 Hoplite is used for transport or pursuit during various scenes. The American hero
jumps to the ground from this low-flying helicopter, and it picks him up later from a dirt
road without the chopper actually landing or even stopping to hover. After one lengthy chase,
there's a Kamov Ka-126 Hoodlum used by the hero as a getaway vehicle, and then a Mil Mi-24
Hind arrives to pursue the speedboats. Finally, the Hoplite returns to reunite our hero and
heroine, just before the Hind gunship is ordered to fire rockets that destroy both cyborgs.
Although the British VHS box art features an Apache, that particular military chopper does
not appear in the film.
The Terminal Man (1974) - "in this sci-fi thriller (based on the novel by Michael Crichton), the cybernetically altered protagonist (George Segal) is killed by a sharpshooter leaning out of a police helicopter (a Bell 47G)." - NATHAN DECKER Terminal Velocity (1994) - in this mystery thriller, a skydiving stuntman (Charlie Sheen) jumps out of a plane and falls passed a TV news chopper on his way down to deliver a party-gram. Later, a helicopter searches for the elusive heroes in the desert at night. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- in James Cameron's blockbuster sequel, the shapeshifting killer-android (Robert Patrick)
jumps through an office block window on a motorbike to crash against the police chopper
hovering outside. The T-1000 terminator pours its liquid metal form into the co-pilot's
seat, orders the pilot to leap out, and then takes over the helicopter's controls to
pursue the heroes' stolen SWAT van - in an excellent low-flying stunt.Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003) - Arnie said he'd be back, and here he is again playing his most iconic screen character, travelling in time from the future to guide present-day individuals (Nick Stahl, Claire Danes) towards a destiny that saves mankind from extinction when rogue computers takeover US nuclear weaponry, and start World War III. The finale at a disused military bunker features a couple of variably spectacular air crashes, as first Arnie's cyborg, then a hi-tech female robot (Kristanna Loken), pilot different helicopters straight into the underground base's entrance tunnel. T-Force (1994) - the first part of this wholly derivative sci-fi actioner combines Die Hard (1988) with Universal Soldier, as terrorists use a Bell JetRanger to help them seize an embassy in Los Angeles, spraying bullets into the building and then landing on the rooftop. The bad guys' leader (Vernon Wells) uses the chopper to escape from robot stormtroopers (the so-called Terminal Force) that are sent to deal mercilessly with the ruthless villains, but one of the T-Force destroys the airborne JetRanger with a grenade, killing some hostages in the process. While on the rampage following their homicidal response to a program conflict, the android 'cybernauts' of T-Force steal a red Hughes 500 from a police station (after a shooting spree that blatantly imitates The Terminator, 1984) to flee the scene. Later, the same helicopter is used for air support during T-Force's botched attempt to assassinate the mayor (Erin Gray), who had ordered their destruction. That Man From Rio (1964) - "a Brazilian built Bell 47J helicopter makes several brief appearances midway through this influential action thriller, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo." - NATHAN DECKER Thelma & Louise (1991) - Ridley Scott's feminist thriller (with Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon) has a police helicopter chasing the heroines' car through the desert.
They All Laughed (1981) - "in Peter Bogdanovich's romantic comedy, Audrey Hepburn is ferried around Manhattan in a Sikorsky S-76 VIP transport." - NATHAN DECKER They Live (1989) - before the police raid in John Carpenter's genre satire, a chopper flies over the old church where our heroes are hiding from the alien-controlled authorities.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - John McTiernan's updated remake of Norman Jewison's glossy romantic caper movie, features a Sikorsky S-76 used during the museum theft attempt.
Three Kings (2000) - in this 'Desert Storm' heist adventure, set just after the 1st Gulf War, an Iraqi helicopter gunship (actually a Hughes 500 with prop guns) attacks an old fort held by US troops gone AWOL to steal a horde of gold bullion. One soldier throws a bomb attached to a football at the hovering chopper. The Three Stooges In Orbit (1962) - "in this slapstick sci-fi comedy, a Bell 47G-2 helicopter assists Moe, Joe and Larry in making a studio appointment." - NATHAN DECKER Through A Glass Darkly (1962) - "this Ingmar Bergman classic features a Swedish rescue Bell 47G with pontoons. The helicopter saves a young woman who wanted to search for God through death." - NATHAN DECKER
Ticker (2001) - Albert Pyun's terrorist thriller stars Tom Sizemore as a cop, Steven Seagal as the bomb disposal expert, and Dennis Hopper as leader of the bad guys. During the opening siege sequence, a SWAT team descend on ropes from a hovering Bell 230. Later, a Bell Jet Ranger pursues the main villain's BMW car through streets to the docks. And, before the climactic scenes, some airborne cops (in a Eurocopter AS 350) shoot at Hopper's bunch of henchmen while they set a huge bomb on the roof of City Hall. Tightrope (1984) - this Clint Eastwood thriller features a police helicopter, equipped with searchlight, during the nighttime finale's chase sequence, through a cemetery in New Orleans. Time Lapse (2001) - this dreary spy thriller stars William McNamara, Roy Scheider and Dina Meyer, and re-uses footage of the helicopter crash during an air strike on a hillside cabin from the remake of Narrow Margin. Time Lock (1957) - when a young boy is accidentally trapped inside a bank vault, a radio station helicopter (a Bell 47D-1, with enclosed tail boom) is despatched to pickup security engineer Dawson (Robert Beatty) to help with the rescue effort. Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) - "a Bell 206 JetRanger makes a grand entrance at the very end of this sci-fi western about a motocross champion who travels back in time - but, alas, the DVD was made from the watered-down TV or airline version of the film, so we don't see Peter Coyote's smoking boots left behind in the aftermath of his implicit 'death by tail rotor'! Of course, the haunting rotor sound effect as the chopper is pulling away from the cliff more than makes up for it!" - CHRIS JOHNSTON Time Wars (1983) - a helicopter gunship blasts the legion of samurai warriors in this offbeat sci-fi adventure from Japan.
Today You Die (2005) - this Steven Seagal action movie, features a county sheriff's Eurocopter AS-350, that's hijacked for successful use in a Nevada prison break. Later, our hero prevents the bad guy's escape by using a remote controlled bomb to destroy a Bell 430 getaway helicopter (this machine wobbles on 'takeoff' - and is obviously a full-size mock-up, hoisted up by crane beside the hanger).
Top Of The World (1997) - as the robbers of a casino make their getaway in a helicopter from the building's rooftop, the hero (Peter Weller) grabs onto the outside and climbs into the chopper for an aerial showdown. One of the thieves is thrown out during the flight and, when the shooting starts, the airborne chopper is so badly damaged it is forced to land at a nearby dam.
Traffic (2000) - Steven Soderburgh's drugs-related drama features one quirky view of a helicopter landing, filmed with an upside-down camera.
The Triangle (2005) - this TV mini-series offers routine sci-fi adventure, centred on solving the mysteries behind the Bermuda triangle, with plenty of digital visual effects work. The heroine is transported from an offshore oilrig to Miami airport by a Sikorsky Sea King helicopter, and the assembled team of experts are delivered via Bell 222 to a US Coast Guard ship. In the powerboat chase sequence, three Bell/ Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotors are blown up by a mysterious EMP yet, in the time-warp replay of events, the Ospreys are armed with torpedoes and they attack and sink the heroes' powerboat, hovering at the scene to watch the US Navy's rescue operation. Tron (1982) - Steven Lisberger's visually impressive virtual reality adventure features helicopters used as air-taxis to bring the film's stars (Jeff Bridges and David Warner) to their corporate office building. True Lies
(1994) - Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a faux '007' in this entertaining spy adventure, which
features some digitally-enhanced stunt effects.
Arnie
uses a low-flying chopper to save the heroine (Jamie Lee Curtis) from the runaway limo on a
road bridge. Later, he fires a missile from a Harrier jump-jet through a hole in a damaged
building to destroy the villain's helicopter.
21st Century War Machines (2005) - chapter two of this TV series - available from Alba Home Vision, as a three-disc DVD package - is titled Hellfire & Brimstone: The Helicopter Gunship, and it traces the history of military choppers, from the modified Hueys used during the Vietnam War, to 1965's innovative Bell Huey Cobra AH-1, and today's dedicated attack helicopter, the AH-64 Apache, "an icon of modern warfare." Narrated by Simon Pearson, the programme interviews pilots, strategists, academics, and flying instructors. The show takes a look at Russian machines, including the Kamov Ka-50 Hokum, and the formidable Mil Mi-24 Hind (featured here in dramatic footage from the Afghan battlefields, where Hinds were shot down by Stinger missiles). Closing with a section about the RAH-66, this excellent documentary examines the changing role of rotorcraft in warfare and provides a convincing explanation of why development of the Comanche was abruptly cancelled. 24: Season 3
(2003) - episodes of this TV action-drama, starring Kiefer Sutherland
as an undercover federal agent, feature a high-security prison breakout enabled by a hijacked
SWAT helicopter - which is pursued by USAF gunships across downtown Los Angeles, narrowly
avoids being shot down over the city, then lands to block traffic at a busy intersection...
and a shootout in Mexico between a drug baron's henchmen and airborne Delta Force teams who
blow up the bad guys' off-road vehicle with rockets fired by their US Army chopper. Later on,
a spectacular helicopter attack on a hi-rise M.I.6 office block destroys most of the floor
where our hero (Sutherland) and his partner are keeping a female witness... while in the show's
climactic chase sequence, the villain's getaway via helicopter is stopped when the hero calls
up an air strike and, just as the chopper lands on the concrete of LA's dry riverbed, it's
hit by a missile from an F-16 jet fighter and promptly explodes before the bad guy escapes.
Although spread over 1,000+ minutes (24 x 42-minute episodes) of TV or DVD viewing, this is,
all told, a superb batch of 'rotary action' moments to savour.24: Season 4 (2004-5) - during our action man's rescue of the Secretary of Defence from kidnappers in episode six, a squad of airborne US Marines drop on ropes from Twin Huey transports as the main force of an assault led by a couple of Bell AH-1W Super Cobra gunships (courtesy, U.S.M.C. Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775). In the climax of episode eight, super-hero Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) prevents a fleeing bad guy from hijacking a Eurocopter AS 350. A low-flying Bell JetRanger in the Mojave Desert, is used to stop, and over turn, a terrorist's jeep during a chase sequence in the 'after-midnight' episode. For the penultimate episode of this season, the heroes use a Bell 212 to carry a team of federal agents across Los Angeles, hot on the trail of a suspected terrorist. 24: Season 5 (2006) - hero Jack hijacks and pilots a Eurocopter AS-350 for his trip into Los Angeles. The Russian leader arrives courtesy of a presidential transport (Sikorsky VH-3D) helicopter. CTU security agents have a blue and a black 206 JetRanger chopper for use by their rapid response teams. In the afternoon sequence, Jack's shootout with airborne gunmen (in an Aerospatiale AS350 B2 Ecureuil) sees the bad guys' helicopter damaged and leaving the scene while trailing smoke, but this Ecureuil lands safely (off screen) and is reported disabled. After the terrorists attack a Secret Service limousine motorcade, a US Navy SH-60B (Sikorsky S-70A) Seahawk flies the First Lady and the Russian visitors to safety. Later, the heroes use an AS-350 to drop a tactical squad, via ropes, at the gas-pumping station. One of the villains (Peter Weller) has an Aerospatiale AS355 F2 for transport to Van Nuys airport. Finally, there's a Seahawk used to fly the president from his retreat to the airport, but rogue hero Jack manages to sneak onboard as a substitute pilot and then hijack this military helicopter, before he tricks the corrupt president into a confession.
20 Million Miles To Earth (1957) - US Marine Corps helicopters fight a loosing battle against a slimy alien (not named in the film, but called 'Ymir' by genre fans) from Venus in this B-movie classic, based on a story by Ray Bradbury. The film has stop-motion effects work by Ray Harryhausen. Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) - this Cold War drama sees a disillusioned patriot (Burt Lancaster) threatening to start World War III, as USAF helicopters buzz around the missile silo from where he's holding the world to ransom. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) - director John Landis was embroiled in a legal battle over the tragic deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two children - during the filming of this tribute to Rod Serling's classic TV show. A flying stunt went fatally wrong when a low-flying helicopter was caught in a special effects' explosion... This is probably the most widely publicised helicopter incident cinema history, although filmmakers Boris Sagal and William Girdler also died in airborne accidents. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) - there are three helicopters involved in the climactic chase sequence of this illegal street car racing movie: one is from US Customs outfitted for aerial surveillance, another is a Miami Police airborne unit, and there's a low-flying SWAT chopper with two cops who fire Tazer harpoons at the undercover hero's speeding car to short-circuit its electronics. 240-Robert (1979-81) - this American TV action series about an LA emergency services team featured Joanna Cassidy as the helicopter pilot. Two-Minute Warning (1976) - SWAT teams call in a chopper to monitor the sniper at a Los Angeles stadium during a football game, and an airborne police marksman shoots at the killer while the crowds panic. 2009: Lost Memories (2002) - in this Korean sci-fi actioner, a night-flight of CGI Black Hawks bring SWAT to attend the shootout finale on a cargo ship, where energy from the ancient 'Temple Stone' time portal zaps one airborne troop carrier, making the helicopter fall out of the sky, crash into the ship's hull, and explode spectacularly.
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