Hey, whatever happened to exploding helicopters in movies? (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Prince]

Hey, what ever happened to helicopter chases and/or explosions in movies? (e.g. Last Action Hero)

I loved them! (Are they TOO expensive?)

Anything you miss?

 

[Todd_B]

Off the top of my head..

"The Matrix" had a nice expoloding chopper..

Todd B

 

[Tony Whalen]

Maybe they ran outta choppers?

 

[Holadem]

A bit OT, but as far as cool movie sounds go, few sound FX can match the dramatic tension a chopper sound creates when used right.

--
H

 

[Greg_C_T]

John Woo blew them all up in Broken Arrow.

How many did he blow up in that movie? Six? Seven?

 

[ThomasC]

There was one scene in Hulk where two helicopters almost collided, and the sound was incredible in the THX-certified theater that I saw it in. The helicopter was swerving towards the camera, and I literally ducked.

 

[Don Solosan]

This reminds me of the old days when they'd fly the helicopter behind a hill or building, then trigger an explosion in the midground so it looked like the chopper blew up. See The Omega Man for a classic example of this.

Charlie's Angels had a good helicopter explosion.

True Lies had one, but that's a slightly older title.

 

[Chucky P]

Team America had a chopper explode but it was not a real one.

 

[Jason Adams]

For a classic example...From Russia With Love has a good one. I believe that it was a miniature though. Terence Young, the director almost died while filming that scene.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Day After Tomorrow has a chopper crash, though it doesn't explode.

Aside from the moments listed above, I also like the chopper scenes in Clear and Present Danger (love that movie) and A Perfecr Storm.

 

[Haggai]

I had heard that Connery almost bought the farm during that scene in From Russia With Love. Same with Terence Young? Did they really not know what the hell they were doing?

 

[Eric Howell]

I think someone's having Airwolfe withdraw.

Back in 80’s TV the worst place a plane or helicopter could be is on the other side of a mountain from the camera.

 

[JustinCleveland]

Um... Black Hawk Down? Anyone?

 

[Matthew Prince]

I like this thread!

But what about exploding and/or flipping cars? I remember plenty of movies weren't complete without cars flying through the air!

Only last year's Bad Boys 2 brought back some of the excitement, but then it was edited at a breakneck speed by Michael Bay.

Tell me about some of the best cop/criminal car chases you've seen! (and I don't mean World's Wildest Police Chases ) Especially the underappreciated ones!

I nominate two: The brilliant chase in Peter Hyams 1986 hit Running Scared. From the airport runways, to the road, to TRAIN tracks?!? Genius! And the chase in Short Time (1990) starring Dabney Coleman is suicidal

 

[Don Solosan]

What were they thinking? Everyone knows when a chopper/car/plane/motorcycle/Sedgway crashes, they explode!

 

[Ruz-El]

Blue Thunder! MAN! Is there anything cooler than Roy Schieder (sp? who cares! the dude from Jaws!) in a helicopter doing a loop-de-loop?


Team America had a chopper explode but it was not a real one

most movies use fake choppers, so I think Team America counts!

 

[Mark Oates]

Ooh, new urban myth! I'd heard it as follows - July 6th 1963, Crinan, Scotland. Terence Young was reshooting the motorboat scenes after the Turkish boat crew had been unable to complete the sequence on the original location. Art director Syd Cain suggested to Young that he should scout out a cove up the coast for part of the sequence. Young and assistant art director Michael White climbed into a Hiller piloted by Cyril Sweetman of Film Aviation Services. As the helicopter took off, it hit an air pocket that flipped the machine over and into the sea. Syd Cain and the crew, watching from the dock, saw the helicopter go down and raced to help. Michael White had managed to scramble free as the helicopter hit the water and had a bruised elbow. Sweetman was uninjured but had to be cut free of his seat restraint underwater and Terence Young had cuts to his arms and legs and bruising but was fine to return to work after seeing the doctor.

Source: Rubin, Steven J: The James Bond Films; Talisman 1981

Couple of good helisplosions: Die Hard and Towering Inferno.

 

[KyleK]

I know I'm going to get reamed for admitting this, but...I really enjoyed the helicopter sequence in the 1998 Godzilla. And if memory serves, all three choppers get blown up/chomped!

Kyle

 

[Seth Paxton]

My friend's favorite Arnold reference...."Ghat bak to da choppa".


Don's onto something, where are the great Segway chases now. Think of the speed, the thrills, the crazy man-standing-on-two-wheels action. For the French Connection remake (only a matter of time) they should have Popeye chase the subway on a segway.

 

[Dave Simpson]

How 'bout the dogfight between two choppers and one bi-plane (piloted by that pervert, Telly Savalas) in Capricorn One? The picture's still a great, guilty pleasure after more than 25 years...now where's the anamorphic disc?? Cheers.

DS.