helicopter

His films obsessively explore human ambition and survival against nature, culminating in works like 'Fitzcarraldo' where he famously moved a real steamship over a mountain, embodying the dangerous pursuit of impossible visions.

His masterpiece 'Apocalypse Now' opens with the iconic helicopter sequence set to Wagner, using helicopters as symbols of American technological power, chaos, and the machinery of war in Vietnam.

His films frequently feature aerial perspectives and helicopter cinematography to depict power, surveillance, and the god's-eye view of criminal empires, particularly in works like 'Goodfellas' and 'Casino.'