Movie car chases
Discussion
What makes a good one? Obviously Bullitt, Ronin, Taxi 1&2 and The French Connection set the standard - they feature two, maybe three cars, loads of near misses and basically some pretty neat driving.
I've just been watching The Rock, and it just reminded me of just about every car chase film since the '90s. They involve an entire flotilla of Police cars, two completely mismatched vehicles chasing each other, and absolutely everything the cars go near - other cars, buildings, trains, shop windows etc - will be either smashed to smithereens, consumed in an apocalyptic explosion or rocketed into the nearest building/traffic queue, which will explode in a rage of fire, glass and bodies. Also, there's a new convention in movie car chases which is unfortunate - a 4x4 that simply drives in a straight line, decimating everything in its path.
So, what do we reckon makes a good movie car chase.
I reckon - two carefully matched cars, three at best, no mass police interference (if they must, a helicopter), people who can actually drive, and a maximum of one big crash, right at the end, involving one, maybe two cars.
I've just been watching The Rock, and it just reminded me of just about every car chase film since the '90s. They involve an entire flotilla of Police cars, two completely mismatched vehicles chasing each other, and absolutely everything the cars go near - other cars, buildings, trains, shop windows etc - will be either smashed to smithereens, consumed in an apocalyptic explosion or rocketed into the nearest building/traffic queue, which will explode in a rage of fire, glass and bodies. Also, there's a new convention in movie car chases which is unfortunate - a 4x4 that simply drives in a straight line, decimating everything in its path.
So, what do we reckon makes a good movie car chase.
I reckon - two carefully matched cars, three at best, no mass police interference (if they must, a helicopter), people who can actually drive, and a maximum of one big crash, right at the end, involving one, maybe two cars.
I bought some DVDs the other day:
The Fog (which I will watch tonight).
The Girl Next Door (yum! good film too).
1984 (which I will watch one day).
S.W.A.T (which disproved my theory that really cheesy films stopped being made in the early ninties).
Dog Soldiers (which was very entertaining).
And Taxi... The Fench one, which might have some groovy driving in it! We will soon find out.
The Fog (which I will watch tonight).
The Girl Next Door (yum! good film too).
1984 (which I will watch one day).
S.W.A.T (which disproved my theory that really cheesy films stopped being made in the early ninties).
Dog Soldiers (which was very entertaining).
And Taxi... The Fench one, which might have some groovy driving in it! We will soon find out.
I thought the car chases in Ronin were pretty crap to be honest, and unrealistic. The movie was obviously speeded up in places and the sound effects didn’t match the cars at all.
The best movie car chase has to be the original Gone in 60 seconds. Cannonball Run I & II were also good although not a car chase as such. Also, I can’t believe no-one’s mentioned any of the Bond movies. How about the Ford Mustang chase in Live and Let Die (I think – or was it Diamonds Are Forever?) with the barrel roll over the bridge?
Although to be honest I think the best car chases/crashes are in 70’s/80’s TV series, not movies. Chips, The A-Team, Starskey and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard et al all had cracking car chases & crashes in them almost every episode
The best movie car chase has to be the original Gone in 60 seconds. Cannonball Run I & II were also good although not a car chase as such. Also, I can’t believe no-one’s mentioned any of the Bond movies. How about the Ford Mustang chase in Live and Let Die (I think – or was it Diamonds Are Forever?) with the barrel roll over the bridge?
Although to be honest I think the best car chases/crashes are in 70’s/80’s TV series, not movies. Chips, The A-Team, Starskey and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard et al all had cracking car chases & crashes in them almost every episode
v8thunder said:
I've just been watching The Rock, and it just reminded me of just about every car chase film since the '90s. They involve an entire flotilla of Police cars, two completely mismatched vehicles chasing each other, and absolutely everything the cars go near - other cars, buildings, trains, shop windows etc - will be either smashed to smithereens, consumed in an apocalyptic explosion or rocketed into the nearest building/traffic queue, which will explode in a rage of fire, glass and bodies. Also, there's a new convention in movie car chases which is unfortunate - a 4x4 that simply drives in a straight line, decimating everything in its path.
But they made up for it at the end by driving off into the sunset in a Volvo PV544
Bullitt is the obvious one, two stylish muscle cars, well scripted, proper high speed, not under cranked cameras, great setting, and cool music.
My personal favourite is Two lane blacktop, not strictly a chase, but very authentic drag and street racing.
Also, what about Jeff Bridges racing James Woods in Against all Odds.
Mick
My personal favourite is Two lane blacktop, not strictly a chase, but very authentic drag and street racing.
Also, what about Jeff Bridges racing James Woods in Against all Odds.
Mick
t1grm said:
I thought the car chases in Ronin were pretty crap to be honest, and unrealistic. The movie was obviously speeded up in places and the sound effects didn’t match the cars at all.
You need to watch the extras on the specail edition. They used right hand drive cars with the actors holding fake steering wheels. The people actually driving the cars were ex formular one drivers and the film was not speeded up in any way they actually drove at over 100mph/kph through the french streets.
If you dont believe me then look at the fear in Robert De-nero's face when he is chasing the M5
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff