Cars on film

[tomaski]

Ok, silly question here but I'm curious to see what folks say...

... which car chase is the greatest movie car chase... ever?

No limits - I say 'car chase' but as long as it's a method of propulsion it counts.

Also, as a wee side note - if it was you behind the wheel with bad guys in persuit, what would your car of choice be and why?

Daft answers very welcome.

:2thumbsup

[TAR]

The final car chase in the Blues Brothers. Classic.:-policema :-policema

[Kieran]

Well, three spring to mind for me:

Original Blues Brothers film - Bonkers!

Vanishing Point (1970's Barry Newman Version)

Ronin

Not sure what car I'd choose.... I'll think about it.

[JMO]

Mad Max.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N5gDI_yt98k

"I've seen his type before, terminal psychotic"
"What's he driving?"
"That's what hurts, it's one of our V8s. Pursuit Special."
"Rip the guts out of it, give it the bejeezus!"

[bradc]

Ronin + Gone in 60 Seconds are my favourite two car chase movies.

[psbarham]

bullit , the finest car chase ever , full stop , in fact close this thread now & ronin .

as for cars theres seeral but if you used them it wouldn't be much of a chase , F40 / enzo / mclaren f1 / bugatti / lambo etc . so i think something like a black Jaguar xjr (new shape of course :afro: ), at least be comfy whilst going flat out , and of course seeing as your the good guy who'll get the girl , theres plenty of of space in the back for later ;)

[bradc]

But with the Mclaren F1, there's room for twins!

[psbarham]

But with the Mclaren F1, there's room for twins!
aah , but one of those could be a double agent , so you'd have to kill her before she kills you , is it worth the risk ? anyway , in the xjr theres room for triplets :D

[bradc]

In the VR-4 theres room for two sets of twins, or Kiera Knightley, Arielle Kebble, Hayden Panettiere, and Natalie Portman, depending on your preference.

[venomboy]

Bullit for sheer class, there are crazier stunts, Bond, etc, But nothing else has the pure style, cool music and steve McQueen when he was Ice cool. Best for films with car chases in by far. For films ABOUT car chases, Gone in sixty seconds, Smokey and the bandit, cannonball run, Fand F one two and three, etc.Then I vote two:
Gumball Rally, The film which inspired the real cannonball run, Real cars, real enthusiasts, the sight of an AC Cobra 427 and Ferarri Daytona at full chat over the desert highway, class.
Vanishing Point: Existentialism and cars in a surreal journey, downbeat but superb. and that beginning/ending how good was that? Haunts me still, thirty years later.

[muppet]

It's already been said but, Ronin has to be my favourite. No "Dukes of Hazzard" style jumps etc. just a big, powerful car in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. Bullit is just legend, coolest car, Steve McQueen doing his own driving and San Franisco as a backdrop, pure eye candy.

[bradc]

ohh yeah the race at the end of Fast and Furious 3 is pretty cool :D

[Spirit]

Might jog a few memories http://www.amazon.com/Best-Car-Chase-Movies-Ever/lm/1STHQ6BJ2C06S

[gdelargy]

I'm a bit of a connoiseur of car chases myself, so...

Bullitt (1968). The grand-daddy of 'em all. Very good driving, excellent camerawork, good cars, good locations, good feeling of speed. Some chases were great in their day but look dated now, but this one hasn't aged a day. Caught it on TCM a few weeks back and loved every second.

The French Connection (1971). I saw this before I saw Bullitt and I reckon it's slightly better, but it's a very close thing. Not nearly as historically significant, but I like the greater feeling of danger -- there's no attempt to pass off Popeye Doyle as a great driver, so there's a constant expectation that he's going to louse it up badly around the next bend. My personal favourite.

The Seven Ups (1973). Highly regarded in its day, although I think it's a bit over-rated and frankly rips off a lot of Bullitt. two things in its favour are the sloppiness of the cars' handling -- you can really see how badly these cars cope with bumps and corners, so kudos to the stuntmen for pedalling so fast. Also, the ending's a larf. YouTube clip here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg4QtYizPKM).

Mad Max (1979) and Mad Max II (1981). Both of these films were made on an absolute pittance by Hollywood standards ($300k and $4m respectively), so hats off to George Miller foir getting so much action onscreen. I know a lot of NZ club members here go on about how their VR-4s are faster and/or handle better than V8s from Ford or Holden, but until they make a Mad Max with Galants and Legnums, our Mitsubishis will never be that cool.

Ronin (1998). Probably the best onscreen chase of the last 20 years? They used a neat trick, getting right hand drive cars from Britain and putting fake steering wheels on the left for the actors, who then looked like they was driving while the stuntman was out of shot in the "passenger seat" (you can see this quite easily in Robert De Niro's rather terrified expression). Excellent direction from John Frankenheimer, who'd previously cut his teeth on...

...Grand Prix (1966). Not a car chase movie per se, but watching the footage here puts todays sanitized F1 racing in perspective. My dad used to whistle the theme tune to this while he drove me around when I was a nipper. Ah, memories.

The two Bourne movies, Identity (2002) and Supremacy (2004). The first for the great chase with an old Mini in Paris, the other for the Lada? Moskvitch? Some kind of Russian-built taxi through Moscow. It used and/or advanced on a lot of the technical tricks first developed for Ronin (putting the stuntman and drving controls on the roof, to allow panning shots of the interior showing only the actor while the car's in motion), and both chases are really well integrated into the story.

The original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974). I saw this in a cinema in Bearsden back when it came out, in a double bill with a film I can't remember at all. Thought this was the greatest film ever at the time and couldn't understand why it disappeared without a trace. I'm glad the pallid remake brought it a second lease of life.

Finally, To Live & Die in LA (1985) from director William Friedkin, who was apparently determined to top his earlier effort in The French Connection. There's a YouTube clip here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i52cJRLlgQ), but it doesn't really do it justice and you'd be better watching the whole film on a TV screen. The conventional "bad car chase" staples (pedestrians getting out of the way in loads of time, other cars all driving in procession at slow speeds) are largely absent here. There's a LOT of really close calls in this one.


Regards,
G

PS if you're a car chase fan, I hope you revere the name of Bud Hickman (pic here (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=14990602)). He's probably best recognised as the bespectacled hitman behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger in Bullitt (and as a stuntman/actor he did all his own driving). That by itself would get him into the car chase hall of fame, but... he was also the stunt driver in The French Connection.

Also seen in the Seven Ups as the driver of the car Scheider is pursuing, and apparently he doubled for Scheider as well for many shots. All hail Hickman, the king of flying hubcaps.

[bradc]

I forgot to say, I quite like the tank chase sequence in GoldenEye :)

[Alex]

I know it's cheesy, but you can't beat the Dukes of Hazzard car chases for stupid laughs.

Otherwise, my vote is for Gone in 60 Seconds. Ronin is excellently executed, but not very exciting IMHO. Good though.

[tomaski]

Anybody heard of 'C'etait un Rendezvous' ?

Personally I adore this simply because it is so utterly real. More can be found out about it here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C'%C3%A9tait_un_rendez-vous

I'm surprised at how many people have said Gone in 60 seconds... I've never seen it myself but the vast majority of folks said it was terrible. Mind you, it's basically car porn...

...

... Right, I'm off to download it.

:d

[stuey]

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.... 1974

peter Fonda as race driver escaping in 440 Dodge charger.. bit dark... great chase thru orchard at end..

[psbarham]

Anybody heard of 'C'etait un Rendezvous' ?

Personally I adore this simply because it is so utterly real. More can be found out about it here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C'%C3%A9tait_un_rendez-vous

:d

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12304

unfortunatly , the link don't work no more :bigcry: :bigcry: :bigcry:

[Funkstar]

Ronin (1998). Probably the best onscreen chase of the last 20 years? They used a neat trick, getting right hand drive cars from Britain and putting fake steering wheels on the left for the actors, who then looked like they was driving while the stuntman was out of shot in the "passenger seat" (you can see this quite easily in Robert De Niro's rather terrified expression). Excellent direction from John Frankenheimer, who'd previously cut his teeth on.

Ye, I remember seeing that on the making of the film. I believe they also had to edit the soundtrack of the engine, to give it a more of a V8 rumble that the Americans are more familiar with.

[stuey]

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12304

unfortunatly , the link don't work no more :bigcry: :bigcry: :bigcry:


Loads of versions on youtube... Still massive debate as to it's 'authenticty'

[tomaski]

Authentic or not, it's still bloody wonderful.

I think I even like it more because it's all secretive. Nobody knows who the driver was or even the car he was driving, all very James Bondish.

For some weird reason I kinda hope it wasn't the Ferrari he was driving - ever since I was wee I've always disliked exotics purely on the grounds that they look too 'flash'.

I'm putting my money on it being a Galant. :pimp2:

Does anybody know anything about a bloke trying to recreate the Paris run in a Pulsar? Read it somewhere but I might be talking nonsense.

Oh and just for the record, the Pulsar isn't flash enough. (Ugly, ugly wee car...)

[timiano]

Ronin


Without a shadow of doubt! /rally

[Nick Mann]

It's not one I would rank highly, but for cheese factor, the Italian Job has to come close to stuff like the Dukes of Hazzard? I'm suprised it ain't been mentioned!!

[KEENY]

the Italian Job was good but what does it for me everytime. the blues brothers driving around a shopping mall. simply fantastic

[stuey]

Authentic or not, it's still bloody wonderful.

I think I even like it more because it's all secretive. Nobody knows who the driver was or even the car he was driving, all very James Bondish.

For some weird reason I kinda hope it wasn't the Ferrari he was driving - ever since I was wee I've always disliked exotics purely on the grounds that they look too 'flash'.

I'm putting my money on it being a Galant. :pimp2:

Does anybody know anything about a bloke trying to recreate the Paris run in a Pulsar? Read it somewhere but I might be talking nonsense.

Oh and just for the record, the Pulsar isn't flash enough. (Ugly, ugly wee car...)

It's very cleverly done. The high revving, gear changing ferrari soundtrack and low dim lit camera angle implies much higher speed. Apparently if you measure the time he is on the Champs Elysees which is dead straight and a known length, his average speed is only 65mph, and it sounds like he's flat out...

[pitslayer]

the Italian Job was good but what does it for me everytime. the blues brothers driving around a shopping mall. simply fantastic
secondededid.....new oldsmobile are in early this year....class pure genius and class......i dont think i know of any other film that could beat the blues brothers original, for car chases
"spray glue.....strong stuff"
"its 600 miles to chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a carton of ciggerates, its dark, and were wearing sunglasses.....hit it"
"this is car uh 57....were in a truck"

actually i just thought, why didnt anyone else think of it
smokey and the bandit....its just pure car chases and cb radios

[Kieran]

actually i just thought, why didnt anyone else think of it
smokey and the bandit....its just pure car chases and cb radios

Oh good call that man! Jackie Gleason was brilliant!

"What we're dealing with here.... Is a complete lack of respect for the law." /lol /lol

[Pete M]

Ah, the old story about Steve McQueen doing the driving on 'Bullitt'. At the very beginning of the chase he is clearly driving and muffs a turn. Cue, smoky take-off. At that point the stunt driver took over and did the rest of the tricky stuff, with Steve doing the reaction shots. The following is from Wikipedia:

"Though it is widely believed that Steve McQueen, an accomplished driver, did the bulk of the driving stunt work, the stunt coordinator, Carey Loftin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carey_Loftin), had famed stuntman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunt_double) and motorcycle racer Bud Ekins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Ekins) do most of the risky stunts in the Mustang (Ekins also doubled for McQueen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McQueen) in one sequence of The Great Escape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Escape), in which McQueen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McQueen)'s character jumps over a barbed wire fence on a motorcycle)."

Having cleared that up, it's still a great chase scene, though the time frame of filming it clearly affected the continuity, as the same VW Beetle appears several times, along with other prop cars.

Another driving film starring Steve McQueen was 'Le Mans'. This had some very realistic driving, using real Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 cars. It was based around the 1970 race. It's not a 'crime' car chase film, but there's some amazing chasing going on at the circuit, and the speeds reached are phenomenal. Again, McQueen did some of the driving, although his entry for the actual race was not accepted.

Another plus is that the Porsche and Ferrari cars are (imho) some of the most beautiful ever made.

[pitslayer]

"i am sherrif beauford TEE justice, a distuingished law enforcer of 30 years senority"

"you did that on purpose i saw that you somebitch, ive got evidence, put that evidence in the car......poooht da evidance in the cah"


just found this
superb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpspGcszGqs

[KiwiTT]

Speaking of chases. The opening chase "on-foot" in the new "Casino Royale" is absolutely brilliant.

[tomaski]

Speaking of chases. The opening chase "on-foot" in the new "Casino Royale" is absolutely brilliant.

Very true. I honestly thought all that 'free running' was a load of mince till I saw that scene with the crane.

Oh and Mr McQueen is an utter legend - like the cars he drove, they just don't make em' like that anymore.

/notworthy

[Paul Beazer]

The original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974). I saw this in a cinema in Bearsden back when it came out, in a double bill with a film I can't remember at all. Thought this was the greatest film ever at the time and couldn't understand why it disappeared without a trace. I'm glad the pallid remake brought it a second lease of life.


OMG I remember that cinema! The Rio wasnt it?! sorry hijack, carry on!

PS Ronin and Bullit are the best "proper" chases bar none. No silly jumps / stunts, just pure QUALITY driving. Plus the sound of the cars in bullit is just to die for!

[gdelargy]

OMG I remember that cinema! The Rio wasnt it?!

Yeah, that's the one. I saw "Gregory's Girl" and "Chariots of Fire" there as well -- another double bill. It became a Vogue Bingo for a while, and now it's posh flats. Sign of the times. The Scala in Sauchiehall Street went, then the ABC, and now even the Odeon in Renfield Street is gone. No more chance in Glasgow to see a film in a massive big screen with 2,000 people. Sigh...

Am I allowed to count the model train chase in "The Wrong Trousers", by the way? I thought that was a corker.

G

[WildCards]

Ghost Rider on the Paris ring road has to be one of the best.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BofCzc80U
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K85XuOJiqvQ

And the Black Prince

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AgzZd8Lr64