Thought it would be intersting to hear everyone's views on what is the best and worst car chase they have seen in a film.
Best: Ronin - through the streets in Paris (I think) - both the actual camera work, the stunts and the length of the chase make this my favourite.
Worst: Fled (Laurence Fisbourne & Stephen Baldwin) - two guys on Ducati 916's not being able to outrun a big old cadillac or something similar - not exactly realistic.
So, let's hear yours....
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Possibly controlversial choices, and I'm not going to say "best" and "worst" or I will immediately think of chases better and worse... but:
Good: Duel. Ok, so the entire film is effectively a low-speed chase. Very few stunts and not exactly action-packed, but it's the drama that makes this. Why is the guy being chased? Who is doing the chasing? We don't know. All we know is that he's completely terrified. Great stuff.
Bad: The Italian Job. I've not seen the remake, and I have no intention to. The original though just doesn't wash with me. Those minis flying around are very pretty and stylish, but far too contrived for me to take it seriously.
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Great: The Blues Brothers filmed in Chicago all in real time. The part where the police car ends up on its roof spinning in the shopping mall is a classic moment.
Worst - any where they harm really nice cars!
teabelly
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Agree about seeing nice cars being destroyed...
I enjoyed the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds purely for the number of beautiful cars involved in it ...
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The best absolutely has to be Ronin, for the reasons already given.
So many contenders for the worst award.....
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I always enjoy the opening scene of Beverely Hills Cop. I could think of a few streets round here that could do with a lorry driving down them to clear up the lazy on-street parkers who've forgotten what their drive or garage is for.
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I liked the chase in the Matrix: Reloaded.
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Gene Hackman in The French Connection - quite exciting car chase. Bullitt: Steve McQueen only did a very small section of this, and was replaced by another driver for the rest. Lots of continuity bloopers here too, but lovely cars. The Dodge would definitely have seen the Mustang off in real life.
Gone in 60 Seconds - the original. Very low budget, and (I understand) not even on a closed set.
Vanishing point: Love that Challenger, and the race with the E-Type.
LeMans: Marvellous Porsche 917s and GT40s? a real feel for the speed involved.
The movie (Rendezvous?) with the early morning drive through Paris. Terrifying.
Goodbye Pork Pie: A Mini from one end of NZ to the other, low budget but a real hoot.
Worst: Charlie's Angels 2, the girls on trail bikes - totally improbable/impossible but tongue in cheek.
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I?m going with French Connection as well for good.
And for bad - Any scene from Knight Rider where KITT so obviously broke its back after a jump over or through some semi, but by some miracle of poor editing, drove off as if nothing had happened.
Could say the same about Fall Guy and Dukes of Hazzard but they were cool shows with palatable stars.
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>> Could say the same about Fall Guy and Dukes of Hazzard but they were cool shows with palatable stars.
[Anorak mode]
Actually for the fall guy they used a special jump truck which was very light and had stronger suspension. This could be jumped off a hyraulic ramp which flicked it into the air and although it bounced a lot on landing it would survive without damage
Most programmes (like the Dukes of Hazzard) used editing to show the car landing but cut immediately after, the Fall Guy programmes were able to keep the camera rolling after landing.
[/Anorak mode]
I love both chases is Ronin, that old Mercedes S Class does a great job and the Audi A6 / Citroen XM scenes are excellent too
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"they used a special jump truck which was very light and had stronger suspension"
Maybe but I have definitely seen that truck land with front wheels pointing in opposite directions. I think they did a similar thing in Knight Rider somtimes, when it flew through the air you could tell it was an empty shell, you could see the background scenery through the top of the wheel arches. Either way, the truck was all-man and so was the General Lee, but KITT was so obviously skidded both ways.
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Probably not the best for speed and stunts, but in terms of edge of the seat terror and living the fear of the victim Steven Spielberg's first film 'Duel' ranks up there for a film involving a car being chased. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was about 10 and it scared the living daylights out of me!
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Remember that well too - very tense film.
For some reason that triggered the thought of the Mad Max films... quite enjoyed him pressing the N.O. button to escape the 'baddies'... and the various assortment of vehicles in the films.
Another great set of films was Smokey and the Bandit and the Cannonball Run type films... always delighted to see those back on the TV.
Right must stop, everytime I think of one it triggers off a whole new load of great car sequences!
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Ok as we have moved to TV as well....
The Sweeney. Episode called "Stoppo Driver" from season 1.
Mk1 Granada chasing a Mk11 Jag around the streets of S/W London.
Two obviously unmodified cars that both handled like barges heeling over in a force 10
classic.
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Maybe but I have definitely seen that truck land with front wheels pointing in opposite directions.>>
Trust your instinct grasshopper ;-) The jump truck was made for the 2nd or 3rd series I think, after the production company thought it was justified rather than destroy 2 cars per programme. All the earlier shows would have seen the trucks break on landing. All the General Lee cars were destroyed after jumps though!
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Nobody has seen bullit, then?
The daddy of all car chases. For a real laugh, watch any episode of CHiPs.
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Bullit is an ok car chase, but as mentioned, too many bloopers, and frankly how many cars have 36 forward gears? Its all up change up change up change.
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Fair enough, RF.
But that is based on the assumption that other movie car chases are realistic, which isn't the case. They all use a fair bit of artistic license, otherwise they would be as tedious as Police Camera Action, or Sherrif John's offerings,
I could never take Duel seriously, Dennis Weaver must have bought that car from Arthur Daily if he couldn't outrun a truck.
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The chase in bad boys II down the motorway, sorry freeway, is pretty enjoyable - highly unrealistic, but good action none the less. And the chase in the Hummer at the end is good value - reminds me of an old Jackie Chan film called Police Story. The only difference in that film is that they did it in one shot with no real safety procedures in place... which is pretty impressive (and stupid!)
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I could never take Duel seriously, Dennis Weaver must have bought that car from Arthur Daily if he couldn't outrun a truck.
My favorite film of all time, duel. IIRC, it wasn't the fact that Weavers car was slower than the norm, but the truck was pretty fast. I suppose that opens up the argument of "I could never take duel seriously because no truck can do 100mph". I would imagine that there are very few Yank tanks with less than 3.5 straight 6's that would be able to do more than 100mph, which was all weaver has under his right foot.
Not forgetting that a car with an overheating engine and low oil pressure (final scenes of the film) would struggle to outrun much more than a mobility scooter!!
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That's because the sound editor recorded a Ford GT40 (with 5 gears) and not a Mustang. Double declutching on the way up the box too!
This anorak is getting a punishing today....
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That's because the sound editor recorded a Ford GT40 (with 5 gears) and not a Mustang. Double declutching on the way up the box too!
Reply to RF's comment about 36 forward gears. Where's that edit button when you need it? Or my brain?
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All the General Lee cars were destroyed afterjumps though!
I'm not surprised, Garethj; you could actually see the car bending as it landed!
I agree with Tom Shaw about CHiPS - would you believe that a Z900 could not keep up with two plumbers in a pick-up? Then they would ride side by side at high speed and have a normal conversation (jeez Eric, we'd better stop this guy, he's doin' over 90 on this dangerous mountain road)
So my vote for the worst car chase goes to, well, anything made in the US I suppose.
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Goodbye Pork Pie: A Mini from one end of NZ to the other, low budget but a real hoot.
I thought I was the only person native to the Northern Hemisphere to have seen this film. :-)
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My money is on Ronin, but lets not forget 'The Driver' a 1970's classic with Bruce Dern and Ryan O'Neil...
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Or Silent Running with Bruce Dern where they race the electric buggies around the spaceship
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Beat me to it. "The Driver" where Ryan O'Neil bends every panel of a Merc saloon in an underground car park, but leaves it driveable.
The main chase in Ronin featured an Audi S8, not an A6, in Marseilles, not Paris. [Hangs up anorak].
I'll throw another one in; "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" where the cop in a helicopter stresses out the getaway driver (who is listening to a police radio) by manipulating non-existent police cars, eventually getting the getaway car to drive under a train. If not the best, certainly worth a look.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Nearly went for Matrix Reloaded on the highway, fantastic sequence. But Ronin has so much excellent driving. Just a shame that the rest of the films weak.
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Best for me has to be steve mcqueens bike ride in great escape.
worst, and possibly most cringeworthy for me, was the assorted scenes loosly edited together in convoy.
WTM
BTW, whoever thinks a truck couldnt do 100mph (duel), dont get in front of an irish truck late for his ferry! a lot of the big stuff wouldnt have much probs reaching the 'ton' if it wasnt for limiters. remember, bhp/ton gives you acceleration but sheer bhp gives you mph.
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Agree that Ronin probably has the daddy of all chases - and only one bit of CGI visible in any of them.
As far as San Francisco-based chases are concerned - I've always liked the on at the end of What's Up Doc. Better than the one in Bullitt IMO.
As far as the worst - the Mustang chase in Nic Cage's Gone In 60 Seconds. Oh deary, deary me.
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