Movie Cliche´s - The Car Chase

[Quigley Brown]

Another not-exactly-a-chase is the race to the opera house, (really City Hall), across 1970s San Francisco in _Foul Play_.

Haversack.

Kojak, Bang, Bang!

 

[Merlin]

I tend to prefer my car chases with a dose of realism in them, which is why I love the ones from "Bullitt", "The French Connection" and the original "Italian Job". A lot of what you see in modern cinema really pushes the limits of believability. Don't get me wrong, I found movies like "The Transporter" to be fun to watch, but I'd rather see cars doing what cars can actually do. (An exception is of course granted to "The Blues Brothers", which contains the best car chase footage ever captured on film. Besides, everyone knows that a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan can do an Immelman when slammed into reverse while hanging nose-first off of an unfinished freeway ramp. Don't argue.)

Anybody remember the series of short films that BMW put out on the internet a few years ago, starring Clive Owen? Great chase sequences, those. I especially dig the one directed by Tony Scott, starring the late, great James Brown. In light of Brown's recent passing, his film, which dealt with the aging process, seems particularly impactful.

I also enjoy the chase sequence at the beginning of "Goldeneye", immediately after the main titles. Sure, a 1964 Aston Martin wouldn't stand a chance against a Ferrari 355GTS. . . unless it was driven by James Bond, right? But while the Aston is one of the most beautiful automotive shapes of all time, what really does it for me is the sound of that twincam six-popper. Is it possible to lust after a car?

And speaking of the BMW films, one of 'em was directed by John Frankenheimer. Special mention has to go to his 1997 film "Ronin", which contained some of the most realistic chases I've ever seen. And while I liked the Audi S8 in the movie, it was genius of him to use a mid-seventies Mercedes 450SEL 6.9. It's only fitting that the world's fastest production sedan (for the time) should be immortalized on film doing what it does best.

 

[The real Henry]

Though the scene is not very long the car chase at the beginning of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' has always been my favourite.

Regards,
Henrik

 

[jamespowers]

Though the scene is not very long the car chase at the beginning of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' has always been my favourite.

Regards,
Henrik

With the Auburn. Yeah, that works for me too. I kind of cringed every time something hit it though.

Regards,

J

 

[SGB]

"Rendezvous"

Although technically not a car chase, only involves one car, the controversial "Rendezvous" is very interesting.

SGB

 

[Hemingway Jones]

.

"The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood. I love that bus scene.

"Goldeneye" has the tank chasing the car car chase. -Much fun and mayhem there.

 

[jamespowers]

"The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood. I love that bus scene.

Ooh, I forgot about that one. That was a bus he started with?

 

[Dixon's Dame]

A few people have mentioned "Ronin" already, but the car chases in that still amaze me, particularly when you listen to the DVD commentary and hear how they did it. Yikes!

And I love "Duel." I do a lot of long distance driving, and that movie taught me to be very VERY polite to truck drivers, yessiree.

And Steve McQueen and his motorcycle at the end of "The Great Escape." Perfection.

 

[deanglen]

The Seven-Ups starring Roy Scheider. Same producer as Bullitt. They even used sound effects from the McQueen film, and Bill Hickman, the stunt driver of the Charger in Bullitt drove the bad guys car in The Seven Ups. I think The Killing directed by Stanley Kubrick has a car chase in San Francisco and was made in the 1950s.

dean

 

[photobyalan]

One thing that always kills me in car chases, and indeed in many movie and TV scenes of cars in general, is the squealing of tires on surfaces which would never cause tires to squeal, like dirt roads, mud, or grass.