With the release of "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Cars", Entertainment Weekly.com has given us their picks for the 10 best car chases (with video clips).
the2scoops confesses: I love a good car chase, just love them. I'm a movie junkie and love art and acting and mise-en-scene and all that stuff I learned in Film 101, but pop in a DVD with only these 10 car chases and I am hap-hap-happy. I don't know, maybe it was growing up and watching The A-Team, Knight Rider and the Dukes of Hazzard. I love the type of car chases that make you punch the air or cheer. Better yet, the ones that stick in your brain so well that every time you get in the car afterwards, you get an adrenalin rush when you turn your ignition key and immediately become a hazard to everyone else on the road, causing your wife/girlfriend/friends, upon noticing your white knuckles clenched around the steering column and the manic grin on your face, to immediately bail out of the car.
I've seen most of these and even if you haven't, they've been incorporated in one Oscar montage or another. These are all classic car chases. Most of these are dated before computer effects allowed filmmakers to make mindblowing sequences, and it's these slick moderns that feel fake because they are just that - you know that it's not real. The freeway chase in Matrix Reloaded was great, but you knew that it wasn't real. I admire Entertainment Weekly for picking these sequences with no special effects (not sure about number 9 though), just blood, sweat, tears, and bones of the stuntmen, camera crews, directors, and stars. These ones never grow old, no matter how many "Making Of.." shows you see, even when every element element is dissected, you still get a holy shit moment when you see them. I do disagree with one of them and would place a couple higher. Here's the list with my comments, followed by what I'd change:
1. French Connection (1971) - Gene Hackman driving pedal to the metal through the streets of New York chasing down an elevated subway. You can just smell the burning rubber.
2. Bullitt (1968) - Steve McQueen. A Mustang. The streets of San Francisco. Classic. And probably sold many many Mustangs.
3. Ronin (1998) - the sheer beauty of this chase scene through the crowded French streets justified owning a home theater system in the 90s.
4. Mad Max 2 (1981) - oh hell yes! A long chase scene that never drags, Mad Max (Mel Gibson) driving a fuel tanker pursued by the motorcycle gang of the apocalypse. Lots of bang for the buck.
5. The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) - Roger Moore races through Bangkok, culminating in a corkscrew spiral jump over a river. One of the last times James Bond was cool for many many years.
6. Thelma & Louise (1991) - The End. May not be the fastest or most furious, but it is iconic.
7. Blues Brothers (1980) - Bluesmobile pursued by the Chicago Police Department. The entire Chicago Police Department.
8. Deathrace 2000 (1975) - basically one long chase scene, where racers score points for mowing down pedestrians. As EW points out, inspired the Carmageddon video game series. Wonderful 70s cheese.
9. Charlie's Angels (2000) - Natalie (Cameron Diaz) vs Creepy Thin Man (Crispin Glover) in Formula One racecars.
10. Terminator 2 (1991) - T2 (Arnie) on a bike vs T-1000 (Robert Patrick) in a truck, back when Arnie was still a badass and Robert Patrick had a promising career.
It's hard to argue with that list, although I'd place Blues Brothers at #3 or higher based on the sheer mayhem the chase causes, and because it followed a previous great chase candidate as the Blues Brothers evade a police cruiser by racing through a mall (with terrific running commentary between the brothers about the lovely mall they're tearing through) (video) . I disagree with #9 Charlie's Angels, I can't even remember that one. I mentioned that to my friend Randy the other day and he came back with "that chase so forgettable, it's right up there with the go-kart race between Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher in Guess Who." Pull that and definitely plug in Bourne Identity. That car scene was dynamic, hellbent, and entirely dangerous looking. I pop in the DVD expressly just to watch that car chase. Fantastic.
Honourable mention: Cannonball Run, Gone in 60 Seconds. And say what you will about Michael Bay, the man does do a fine car crash as seen in The Rock and Bad Boys.
What car chases do you think we're missing?
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it.
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