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Great Car Chase Scenes

sirkickyass

sirkickyass

Moderator Emeritus
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"Drive" comes out tonight and early reviews indicate that it is good and features high-quality car chase scenes.

This has me thinking about the best car chase scenes in film. As an initial matter I'll note that I have a strong preference for practical effects over digital ones so the movies I'm thinking of tend to skew older. I'm also not a Fast and Furious aficionado so I'm completely agnostic as to the quality of those scenes, I'll let others comment on them.

For my money, the best car chase scenes I can think of off the top of my head are 1) The French Connection elevated train car chase (done in a single take and without closing the streets), 2) Bullitt (even if Steve McQueen loses more hubcaps than he has wheels), and 3) Death Proof, in the scene where the stuntwoman is on the hood.

Two of the three are set in San Francisco, and the other is Tarantino. It's possible I'm letting my biases show here.

Anyone else got some iconic car chase scenes in mind?
 
Ronin
Blues Brothers
I liked the chase scene from one of the Matrix "sequels". Probably the only good thing about them.
 
Yeah, you guys have covered the pantheon. Bullitt, TFC, Ronin.

Maybe I'm forgetting one but those are the ones that stand out for me.

Might be seeing Drive tonight or tomorrow so we'll see how it stacks up.

I thought the one after the robbery gone wrong in The Town was very solid but short-lived and not up to par with those above. Surprised Michael Mann doesn't have one.
 
YB85 said:
Ronin
Blues Brothers
I liked the chase scene from one of the Matrix "sequels". Probably the only good thing about them.
Click to expand...

I've never actually seen Ronin. I know, it's a pop culture blind spot. One would think given the dishonored samurai title I would have been all over this by now.

Blues Brothers is a good call. Then again, I might just have a soft spot for Minnie the Moocher.

The Matrix is the perfect example of what I was writing about earlier regarding my preference for practical effects. None of the cars in the Matrix sequel appear to have the heft or density of the French Connection's car. Radically reduces the quality of the scene for me.
 
Granted, I was very young but I seem to recall a Disney show from when I was 5 or 6 that had a good chase scene. Perhaps No Deposit, No Return?
 
I considered Duel, but the chase scenes were more prolonged pursuit than a lot of action.

Road Warrior is a good call. I am also a sucker for Smokey and the Bandit. T2 also had some good chase action.
 
I thought of Heat right away but that's more of a shootout than a car chase.

Dark Knight where they are trying to chase down Harvey Dent in the armored transport.
 
The top car chase for me is in Bourne Supremacy.
It starts when he is shot, so it's not totally a car chase.

Oh, and the beginning of Beverly Hills Cop with the semi has to be 2.
 
Smokey and the bandit and Road Warrior are my two favorite answers so far.

Don't care for the F&F crap.

How about some of the James Bond movies? My favorite was the one where the car flipped sideways jumping over a bridge and landed upright. (can't remember/ sure it was Roger Moore)


Edit: Forgot about the Blues Brothers. Classic
 
freakazoid said:
Smokey and the bandit and Road Warrior are my two favorite answers so far.

Don't care for the F&F crap.

How about some of the James Bond movies? My favorite was the one where the car flipped sideways jumping over a bridge and landed upright. (can't remember/ sure it was Roger Moore)


Edit: Forgot about the Blues Brothers. Classic
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it was Live and Let Die, the one down in the bayou.
 
Scat said:
Wrong. The Man with the Golden Gun, Roger Moore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzCIbhLUUA0&feature=related
Click to expand...


Hmmm...which one was Live and Let Die then? I definitely remember that car stunt being in the bayou because I recall the fat, white, hick Sheriff in awe. Or maybe they're all just blending together. These two are probably two of my least favorites along with all the recent crap. Minus Casino Royale of course. That was stellar. Though the poker parts were cheesy. They tried to be too hip with that.
 
SalmonHobo said:
Hmmm...which one was Live and Let Die then? I definitely remember that car stunt being in the bayou because I recall the fat, white, hick Sheriff in awe. Or maybe they're all just blending together. These two are probably two of my least favorites along with all the recent crap. Minus Casino Royale of course. That was stellar. Though the poker parts were cheesy. They tried to be too hip with that.
Click to expand...

I definitely recall a Bond movie where the car was actually leaning to one side and driving on two wheels through an alley for some distance to get away... but yeah, no idea which movie that would have been from. But the Bond movies did have fun car chases.
 
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