A Particular Guilty Pleasure: Car Chases
Submitted by bertie on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:13
Tags:
- 1. THE BLUES BROTHERS [80]
- 2. BULLITT [68]
- 3. THE FRENCH CONNECTION [71]
- 4. RONIN [98]
- 5. SHORT TIME [90]
- 6. THE ITALIAN JOB [69]
- 7. BLACK DOG [98]
- 8. THE BOURNE IDENTITY [02]
Author Comments:
This is a list-in-progress. Suggestions welcome.
1. Special jury prize (Hubcap d'Or) for Most Cars Written Off in a Movie.
2. The original 'Frisco Frog-hop.
3. A 'el of a ride with Popeye.
4. Aah...nostalgia.
5. Desperate Dabney's Demolition Derby.
6. You'll believe a mini-Cooper can fly.
7. A dog of a movie, but the chases in this one involve big rigs - making for some spectacular wrecks.
8. Mini car, maxi thrills.
the car chase from "To Live and Die in LA" is my fave. OMG! others have been more slapstick, and others have had more "hangtime" and bigger explosions, but that chase is _believable_. The only chase I've ever seen that had me on the edge of my seat!
-- anonymous because I don't have a login yet
katchomko@katchomko.com
http://208.12.21.18
Don't believe I've seen this one. And thanks to Jim's homepage links I now know that it was directed by the director of TFC. Thanks to both.
I'll look for it next time I'm in Schlockbuster.
I liked the car chase from Goldeneye, where Bond controls the BMW via remote control from the backseat. Very slick.
And speaking of remote control car chases, The Dead Pool (I think) with Clint Eastwood had a neat one where he is trying to get away from a small, remote-controlled bomb-car.
VANISHING POINT was the only film that comes to mind to fit this list.
Yes, I've got VP - the original - on my "Guilty Pleasures" list. But VP is one long car chase, and the items I have in mind for the present list are short, intense sequences.
Listen, sk, while I have your attention, there's something I've been meaning to tell you, because apparently Jim's too polite to do it. You've been using the "Reply" button to make your comments. It would be neater and less confusing if you would use the "Comment on this list" button - unless, of course, you are making a reply. No big deal. And I really appreciate your comments, so keep 'em coming. And how about doing a few more lists of your own, so I can return the favour.
Allow me to provide a little more detail here . . . Any time you are replying directly to a particular post, you can click that post's corresponding "reply" link.
If this is not the case (i.e. you're initiating a new conversation), you can click either the "comment on this list" link or one of the "start a new thread" links. All have the same effect.
You've got me thinking now, Jim. Which was the best car chase in a Bond movie? I seem to recall there was a good one in Diamonds Are Forever - up on two wheels and all that. And in which of the recent ones does Bond chase the bad guy in a Russian tank? - I liked that one. Then there's the one in which Bond is driving a dinky little yellow Citroen, mainly off-road, and the baddies are after him in big black Mercs. There must be at least a dozen others.
I have a confession. Of the non-Brosnan Bond movies, the only ones I can recall as separate entities are Dr. No (it was on TV, and was the first Bond movie I ever saw) and Moonraker (because it was the first one my Dad took me to in the theater). The rest have blended together in my mind to form an amalgam of various scenes, most of which I can't match with a particular title. So if you showed me a particular chase scene and then asked me to name the title, I'd fail that test miserably.
Yes, Jim, I think most of us who are not Bondslaves [= utter Bond fanatics] have the same problem. The earlier Bondian car chases carry a special thrill for me, because when I was about 8 I was given a battery-operated model Bond-grey Aston Martin. It had flashing lights, extendable bumpers, a pop-up bullet-proof shield, and, best of all, an ejector seat, complete with ejectable plastic bad guy. Bliss.
This one may not be what you had in mind, exactly, but Cobra with Sylvester Stallone has a great car chase. I think there are a few shorter car chase scenes, too, but it's been a while since I've seen it. Cobra is in San Francisco (THE town for car chases) and driving a chopped-top 1940's Ford. It's a stupid movie but worth watching for the car chases. Rachel-I forgot to login...
Hi Rachel . . . I just thought I'd mention that if you find yourself on the comment page w/o having logged in, and you've typed your comment out before realizing your anonymity, you can just copy what you've typed to the clipboard (Windows-speak), hit the "login first" link, and login. You'll automatically be returned to the comment screen, and you can paste your comments back in for posting.
Thanks, Rachel. I always thought Stallone should drive a muscle-car that made a mumbling sound.
Short Time with Dabney Coleman -- It's surprising how great a chase you can give when your intention is to perish in the process.
The Gods Must Be Crazy -- The chase after the bad guys shoot up the politicians.
The Italian Job -- Not sure if this counts, but there's a great sequence of racing a bunch of mini coopers (iirc) through the sewers.
Killer Force -- Haven't actually watched the whole thing, but what I've seen had some great chases (and, of course, tons of Land Rovers.)
I've seen the first three of these, and FT is going on my list. Thanks. I have to admit I have no adequate memory of the GODS chase. But I well remember the incredible things they did with the mini-Coopers in TIJ, so another one for the list.
Oops! By FT I meant ST. Freudian slip.
Here's a rather sleazy list that has some good suggestions, including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Well, thanks, UncRoger, I guess. I mean I hope The Car Chase Hall of Fame isn't as complete as it seems to be, otherwise it finishes my list for me in one fell swoop. Sorta takes some of the fun out of it. But seriously, many thanks for finding this list. And I must say there are some really surprising titles on it. MR HOLLAND'S OPUS had a car chase? - INTOLERANCE [1916]? ...MAD,MAD WORLD is another one of those 'one long chase' movies, like VANISHING POINT, DUEL, and SMOKEY ATB. I'll be having a more careful look at the list later and seeing what I want to steal from it. I don't feel I should list movies I haven't seen, for example.
One of the things I loved most about the car chase scenes in Ronin was the camera view. It appeared to be mounted on or underneath the front bumper of the car. I don't recall seeing this technique anywhere else, though I admit I wasn't really watching for it most times.
bertie i know Heat doesnt have a car chase scene in per say but the feel of the shootout scene is reminiscent of one. would or would you not agree?
Ummm...no. But it's a very exciting scene. And it was based upon an actual shootout between cops and robbers, only in reality the cops were vastly outgunned and had to requisition high powered weapons from a nearby gun shop. There was a show on TV called (something like) The Worlds Most Amazing Police Videos, and video footage taken at the actual shootout was shown on that. The robbers had guns so powerful that they were hitting cops who were hiding behind cars. And one scene showed how a bullet had passed right through the corner of a brick building - through about ten inches of brick.
Bullitt definitely belongs in the pantheon of car chases. My dad showing me that movie when I was, like, ten was a real mind-blower. I still remember him saying, "Watch this--it's the first San Fransisco car chase!" I'm glad I obeyed...
Johnny Waco
Black Dog? Patric Swayze Black Dog? Silly pointless Patrick Swayze Black Dog? Did it really have a car chase, I was too busy using my barf bag. ;?)
T'ho
:?)
Ah, then you might enjoy Road House . Swayze stars as a bar bouncer who reads philosophy for relaxation, defeats a clan of smalltown badboys, and wins the heart of the town goodgirl - now that's my kind of hero.
I have seen and it inspired a glowing recommendation something like this. Why I listed it as Roadhouse I'm not too sure.
T'ho
:?)