Clip joint: helicopters

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/sep/24/clip-joint-helicopters

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You only realise quite how many spectacular and memorable helicopter scenes the movies have served up over the years when you try to pick the top five. Here is a roundup of my choices.

If you’ve got an idea for a future Clip joint, drop an email to: carmen.fishwick@theguardian.com

Jurassic Park

Set against John Williams’s iconic theme song, Jurassic Park has one of the most memorable helicopter scenes in modern film. En route to Isla Nublar, a remote Costa Rican island – Hawaii, in real-life – Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and the late, great Richard Attenborough set sights on the exotic slopes of John Hammond’s dinosaur-filled theme park. It is a bumpy ride, but the worst is yet to come …

Blue Thunder

Chosen as a police test pilot, Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) is given the reins to Blue Thunder, an Apache-esque, high-tech chopper designed to protect Los Angeles. Intense aerial action and incredible helicopter stunts ensue against a backdrop of military action.

From Russia with Love

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, this helicopter versus James Bond sequence is just one of many that the 007 franchise has to offer. In the 1960s, as now, the tension built by music and clever camera angles add undeniable thrills.

Superman

Key to the success of a film that would win over comic book fans for years to come was the scene in which Christopher Reeve’s Superman swooshes skywards to rescue Lois Lane as she falls from a crashed helicopter. Having done so in awe-strikingly fashion against the masterpiece score, he then catches the falling chopper before it crushes innocent Metropolis citizens.

Apocalypse Now

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” announces Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall. What follows is quintessentially the greatest helicopter sequence of all time. Soundtracked by the Ride of the Valkyries, Kilgore’s elusive plan is to fly a mile out before he and his squadron unleash an aerial assault on local defences during the Vietnam war.

Can you think of any others that deserve a place on this list? Let me know in the comments section below. Follow Charlie Green on Twitter at @CharlieGreenCG