Airwolf - Tuono d'acciaio

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.

I would most certainly recommend this film to anybody who has yet to see an episode of Airwolf, the best acting in the film is by Jan-Michael Vincent- who plays moody loner Stringfellow Hawke, and David Hemmings- The choppers insane creator Charles Moffat. The ending of the film includes a great battle scene, and i love the film that much that the tape is worn out. My favourite film of all time and made me a solid fan of the series. This was the pilot episode, and its a shame that Jan-Michael Vincent ended up the way he did. It would have been nice to see the Hawke brothers work together in the chopper, instead of how the 4th series turned out (a load of rubbish and a slap in the face to hardcore fans of the show). Thumbs way up for this one!

What will probably surprise viewers who find the video of this pilot in video stores is the amount of foul language in something that was made for TV. Well, that's explained by the fact that what's on video is the edit that was released to theaters overseas, with the language a silly way to try and hide the made-for-TV origins.

I can see why this was released to theaters overseas; some of the production values are pretty high, and would fit pretty comfortably on a movie screen at the time. Still, I am sure that the people who did see this in a theater were pretty disappointed. Now, the opening sequence is great, flashy and action-filled. However, after that point there is hardly any action until the very end, and filled with talk talk talk. Strange thing is that despite all that talk, a number of plot points remain unclear, like why the two pilots decided to defect to Libya with Airwolf's designer. And while some production values are high, there are also some surprisingly shoddy moments. The island assault sequence, for example, is incompetently directed and edited. And some cost-saving measures like stock footage or reused footage come across like contempt for the viewer. Still, I must admit these cost-saving measures are nowhere as blatant and lazy as what was done for the ill-advised fourth season of the show!

The great thing about the Airwolf series is the super-cool hero, Stringfellow Hawk. He's an ace helicopter pilot who is a cello player, art collector, and an environmentalist. He doesn't eat red meat. He's genuinely cool without any fake macho bull-crap.

I also like the way he blows away villains who really need killing, but generally spares the lives of low-end flunkies. The fact that Stringfellow does not own a television is a big bonus.

Stringfellow is proud without being arrogant. He is a thinking man's hero. Airwolf is a must-see.

It is a shame that the actor (Jan Michael Vincent) fell short of the heroic ideal of the character he played. I recall that they re-launched the show without him after he cracked up. I saw one episode, but it wasn't the same.

This is my all time favorite. Borgnine and Vincent gives a really good acting in this tv show. Bellisario has created this master piece. The best tv show ever. Jan-Michael vincent rules.Also check out Nightrider and A-team.