Ask the Best and Brightest: Car Chase Scenes: Is McQueen Number One With a Bullitt?

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

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Robert Farago
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  • 2Goldens 2Goldens on Sep 08, 2009

    Vanishing Point. The entire movie is one big chase scene with a Hemi Challenger.

  • 2Goldens 2Goldens on Sep 08, 2009

    The part where the Bluesmobile goes off the bridge was shot in Milwaukee, prior to the Hoehn Bridge on-ramp's completion. If you look in the background, you see the (now) U.S. Bank building.

  • Niky Niky on Sep 08, 2009

    Of my top three... Rendezvous, though not a chase per se, is an amazing bit of in-car film... shot in real-time, without permission, hitting over 100 mph on the streets of pre-dawn Paris, on bias-ply tires... sublime. - Ronin's three chase sequences were all good... of course, no list of best chase scenes would be complete without a mention of the highway chase... excellent driving, excellent choreography, lots of real tension. Many highway chase scenes, like the one in the Matrix, don't have that level of driving finesse... Flying down a freeway... against traffic... (literally flying, mind you...) Great stuff. - The Bourne Supremacy deserves a nod as a terrific example of automotive ballet. The Bourne Identity had the memorable Mini chase scene, but the Supremacy chase scene was more frenetic, more brutal and one of the most amazing chase scenes on film. Sadly... the hyperkinetic camera work obscures most of the action... but you still get a gleaming of what's happening, nonetheless... and are perhaps persuaded to buy or rent the DVD just so you can slow-mo it to figure out what's going on. ---- Honorable mentions go to Bullitt... the original "Gone in 60 Seconds"... though not for being a great film or especially well-filmed, but for the sheer endurance of both director/driver and hero car... a 1-hour chase scene? Madness. Oh... and for sheer enjoyment, nothing beats the million car pile-ups of the Blues Brothers.

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