Airwolf (1984) (TV)

Director:

Donald P. Bellisario

Writer:

Donald P. Bellisario (written by)

Release Date:

22 January 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

A scientist who has created a super helicopter has defected to Libya and taken the machine with him...

Plot Keywords:

Helicopter | Aviation | TV Series Pilot

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Stringfellow Hawke
Ernest Borgnine	...	Dominic
Alex Cord	...	Michael Coldsmith Briggs III
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Annese	...	Major Mufta Ben-Kamal
Belinda Bauer	...	Gabrielle Ademaur
Philip Bruns	...	Mitch, the Director
John Calvin	...	Blaze
John Davis Chandler	...	Gentry
Tina Chen	...	Faye
Gary Epper	...	Red Star Controller
Nick Faltas	...	Libyan Officer
Steve Greenstein	...	Libyan Controller (as Steven Greenstein)
David Hemmings	...	Dr. Charles Henry Moffet
Herb Jefferson Jr.	...	Carrier Commander
Monty Jordan	...	Army Officer
Paul La Greca	...	Arab Boy
Robert McRay	...	Parking attendent
Kyle Nakamura	...	Brandon Oshiro
Toby Norton	...	USS Enterprise Radar Operator
Helene Phillips	...	Angela
Deborah Pratt	...	Marella
Dee Dee Rescher	...	Mona Kahn, Reporter
Eugene Roche	...	Senator William Dietz
W.K. Stratton	...	Chuck Gordon
Victor Warren	...	Museium official
Dean Wein	...	Mark, Co-Pilot
Dan Woren	...	Red Star Army Lieutenant

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Norway:16

Company:

Belisarius Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When engaging a French Mirage, Airwolf deploys the ADF pod (the unit that fires the missiles) at very high speed. This contradicts a statement of the in flight systems specialist at the start of the movie saying that the ADF pod cannot be deployed above 300 knots.

Quotes:

Major Mufta Ben-Kamal: [Major Ben-Mufta and Dr. Moffet are watching a scantily clad dancer in a nightclub] I don't understand what you Westerners see in women with such skinny bodies, in the desert a body like this would wither and die in a matter of hours.
Dr. Charles Henry Moffet: After a few hours with such a body, what would it matter?
Dr. Charles Henry Moffet: [watches the dancer intently] I want her...
Major Mufta Ben-Kamal: Ah... That will be difficult, we believe she is an American spy.
Dr. Charles Henry Moffet: Perhaps I can question her for you...
Major Mufta Ben-Kamal: I could do that... Of course, Brother Kadafi was most pleased with your exploits this afternoon against the French on behalf of our beleaguered freedom fighters in Chad. Your destruction of two French Mirage fighters will be told about in the camps of our people until the desert sand turns to water...
Dr. Charles Henry Moffet: But that's still not enough to pay for her?
Major Mufta Ben-Kamal: [laughs] There are many women here who are just...
Dr. Charles Henry Moffet: [snaps] What is?
Major Mufta Ben-Kamal: An American Destroyer...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2007-03-04)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Moonshadow

High-flying aerial action with movie-quality production values

Hollywood enjoyed a period of unprecedented interest in technology during the mid-1980s with super vehicle shows such as AIRWOLF, BLUE THUNDER, THE HIGHWAYMAN, KNIGHT RIDER and the underated STREET HAWK.

Borne from the mind of one of US Television's most creative writers of quality entertainment - Donald P. Bellisario who brought us TALES OF THE GOLDEN MONKEY, MAGNUM P.I., QUANTUM LEAP and currently with the military drama series, J.A.G., it had everything with action, adventure, espionage, adult scripts, international intrigue, coupled with real-world politics (which is rare in Hollywood) even pushing some right-wing, hawkish politics into the middle of the action.

With grim-as-granite Jan-Michael Vincent in the main role as loner pilot, Stringfellow Hawke, aided by Oscar-winning movie veteran, Ernest Borgnine and a support cast including movie actor, Alex Cord (and C.I.A. Deputy Director - Michael Archangel) and TV regular Jean Bruce Scott, it was a show on the edge, that, with the exciting aerial climax at the end of most episodes pushed the boundaries of television with its movie quality action sequences, technology and locations (including the beautiful Monument Valley in Utah).

It now has a sizeable following of loyal fans worldwide (the Wolf Pack), including many people who became pilots (military and commercial) through their love of the show - many fans of which have been following the commercially successful shows of Donald Bellisario (Belisarius Productions) from its humble beginnings in the early 1980s, including the current success of J.A.G. on CBS.

A show which deserved a bigger following at the time, it's a rare gem of television history.