To celebrate the cool thriller Drive, starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, finally hitting UK cinema screens today, we thought it would be the perfect time to run down the 10 Greatest Cinematic Car Chases!

If there’s one thing that makes an action/thriller movie great, it’s an all out car chase. I’m talking explosions, wrecked vehicles, impossible stunts, policemen who can’t drive, villains who can shoot and drive, heroes that can shoot, drive, escape the clutch of the bad guys and save the day all from one indestructible vehicle…basically, we want carnage! Whilst this week’s theatrical release of Drive may not offer all of this, there are plenty of films that do.

Read on to discover what we think are the 10 best movie car chases…

 

10. 2 FAST, 2 FURIOUS (2003)

Ok, so this is one of my ‘guilty pleasures’ films, which I can’t help but enjoy. I’m not going to stand on my soapbox and demand that you consider it one of cinema’s greatest productions…because it’s not, I know! But it does have a chase scene that is literally one of the coolest ones I’ve seen. Ok, so it’s more of a race really, but essentially Paul Walker finds himself in competition with a host of other supercars in one hell of a showdown of engine power…

The sequence is edge of your seat viewing, as one by one Walker whizzes past the competition in a display of craftsmanship driving and mind-blowing stunts. This sequence is so much more about the cars than the actual race, with each fitted with its own kick ass modifications including nitro and turbo boosters, sick alloy wheels, funky custom paint jobs and LED under-body lighting systems! There’s literally a car for everyone’s taste and I can guarantee that I wasn’t the only one in the cinema lusting after each and every one… Right, I’ll stop sounding like a boy racer now!

 

09. UNKNOWN (2011)

This Hitchcockian style thriller is an absorbing watch that features a dramatic and suspenseful chase sequence in the middle of the narrative. Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger have been thrown together through an earlier car crash and here they escape Kruger’s flat with an assassin in hot pursuit. With Neeson behind the wheel of the car – a man who’s identity is being denied by his own wife – the scene is relatively realistic, as he attempts to dodge the hired killer and his VW SUV in a Mercedes taxi. As the assassin dodges and weaves through traffic, Neeson is forced to drive like he’s never driven before, as his everyman character has to take on heroic and super-skilled driving abilities.

The chase is gritty and powerful, with Neeson using all he’s got to dodge his opponent, including reversing at high speeds down a public pavement, performing hand break turns and dodging through heavy traffic. Director Jaume Collet-Serra uses a series of close up shots at fast speeds and elements of surprise to keep this chase sequence exciting and engaging, combining all the right ingredients to make it one of the most memorable and proficient ones from any film of the new decade.

 

08. GONE IN 60 SECONDS (1974)

No, this isn’t the Nic Cage/Angelina Jolie starring late 90s action thriller (although there are plenty of entertaining car chases in that one!), this is the original that Jerry Bruckheimer’s film used for inspiration.

The original Gone in 60 Seconds is by no means a good film – I won’t even bother trying to entertain an argument that it has any merits for suggesting as such – but what it does have is a 40 minute car chase to end all car chases… Written, directed, produced by and starring stunt driver and scrap-yard owner H. B. Halicki, the film’s only redeemable feature is the incredible car chase. No less than 93 vehicles are destroyed – which remained one of Halicki’s proudest boasts – holding the record for the most chase scene car destruction ever filmed!

For a film that lasts a mere 95minutes, this is some hella good carnage that will have the most passionate of action film lovers literally on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, Halicki lost his life in a stunt accident during the filming of a sequel to this production, so audiences were never given the opportunity to see anything bigger and better from the crazy stunt driver.

 

07. THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002)

Whoever first thought a Mini could make a great chase scene car is quite simply a genius! In The Bourne Identity, the retro red Austin Mini Cooper that amnesiac spy Jason Bourne drives around Paris transforms from a comical old-fashioned car into an effective getaway vehicle. With the chase taking place through winding, narrow Paris streets, the Mini becomes the perfect vehicle to manoeuvre Bourne out of his predicament with the police. Highlights come in the form of driving the wrong way along one-way streets, speeding along busy pavements, gliding down steps and quickly edging through the restrictive, narrow back alleys of the city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8-CUJ1SVHk

Bourne doesn’t need any gadgets like other spies, instead demonstrating an adept skill for driving in a completely reckless but skilled way! The police are conventionally poor drivers, with a suitably inferior propensity to manoeuvre through the city landscape and the scene comes to a humorous climax when one of police motorcyclists in pursuit smashes into a Peugeot 405! Doug Liman’s tight direction helps heighten the frantic sense of the scene, with the majority of the sequence filmed in restrictive close ups, giving it a sense of mystery and excitement.

 

06. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)

There possibly isn’t a single Bond film that doesn’t feature a spectacular car chase at some point during the narrative and certainly a Top 10 dedicated to the franchise alone could be compiled. Many would argue that the Goldfinger DB5 chase or The Spy Who Loved Me Lotus Esprit chases are the best of a solid bunch, but Bond and Scaramanga’s chase through Hong Kong in The Man With The Golden Gun features some of the best elements of a thrilling cinema car chase for me!

WATCH THIS SCENE HERE

Neither of the cars are particularly awesome – indeed Bond steals a rather average looking AMC from a car show room – but this helps to make the scene even more entertaining, as the cars simply don’t look as if they should be able to do what they do. Aside from dodging in and out of heavy traffic laden Hong Kong roads, the shining moment of the scene comes at the thrilling climax, where Bond manages to flip the car in a 360-degree twist via a broken wooden bridge over a river… Yes, the cheesy music does ruin the stunt, and yes, Sherriff Pepper is stupidly annoying and unnecessary as Bond’s unwitting passenger, but nothing can take away from the sheer power of that image of Bond’s car flipping: a piece of sheer movie car chase perfection!

 

05. DEATH PROOF (2007)

Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse offering is a film that splits opinion – for some it induces disgust, whilst others champion it. I sit somewhere in between: whilst I’ll admit it’s by no means Tarantino’s greatest work, I certainly find it entertaining and visually magnificent. It also features some of the most absorbing chase sequences in film history. The majority of the films narrative is concerned with either Kurt Russell’s psychopathic character Stuntman Mike stalking a group of bolshie and sexy women or vice versa. The second half of the action sees the tables reverse in a twist that many audiences didn’t expect, but it’s also the impressive chase sequences that make Death Proof such an exciting film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsYf0BSczlU

Zoe Bell stars as herself and performs some incredible stunts on the bonnet of the girls’ car, in a sequence that is nothing short of edge of your seat viewing. Full of action, suspense, drama and black comedy, Death Proof meanders its way through a series of high-speed chase escapades along deserted country roads toward a shocking and memorable climax!

 

04. THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)

Essentially, the entire Blues Brothers film is an extended car chase, with brief moments of music and comedy breaking up the action. However, one sequence earns the film the title of having one of the greatest car chase sequences ever committed to film! As Jake and Elwood attempt to ditch the police convoy in hot pursuit of them they take an inspired – and slightly insane! – detour through a shopping mall! Cue complete and utter hilarious carnage… As the brothers plough through the window of a J.C. Penney store, they continue to drive recklessly around the mall deliberately smashing every store window, destroying every window display and demolishing every product stall in sight. Looking like they’re thoroughly enjoying the annihilation, Jake and Elwood reflect the glee that can be found in audiences during this scene.

The sheer pleasure in watching everything get smashed and crushed makes this one of the most entertaining and memorable scenes within the film. The police are stereotypically inept, making the moments where they fail to successfully mimic the stunts the brothers achieve sheer comedy gold. In fact, the movie must hold the record for the most police cars ever to be destroyed on screen, as literally hundreds fly across the screen into oblivion! Quite simply, The Blues Brothers is undeniably one of the greatest car chase movies to ever come out of Hollywood…

 

03. RONIN (1998)

This epic crime thriller features not one, but three immense chase sequences that find BMW M5’s, Audi S8’s and Merc 6.9’s battling it out across Europe. A host of locations give rise to some ridiculously spectacular chases that keep viewers in awe of the images on their screens. Director John Frankenheimer declared that it was his intention to create the chase sequences future directors would look to as the template of perfection, sequences that could teach these new talents exactly how they should create an exciting, entertaining chase. He indisputably succeeded!

By employing Formula One racers to drive the cars, the film has a far more authentic and realistic look to the driving, as the professional talents of these drivers is pushed to the limit. This added sense of realism means that the three chase sequences are far more suspenseful than those found in other films, literally leaving viewers with white knuckles and gritted teeth… More than just a host of entertaining destruction, the scenes in Ronin are quintessential movie car chases at their best!

 

02. BULLITT (1968)

Produced at the height of America’s muscle-car obsession, this Steve McQueen starring thriller is one of the actors most popular and enduring productions. At the time of release the scene, which sees Steve McQueen hurtling around the streets and hills of San Francisco was one of the best that had ever been filmed. Director Peter Yates’ tight direction makes it an exhilarating and suspenseful sequence that sees a 400 horse power Mustang flying around the streets of San Francisco like you wouldn’t believe. The scene took a total of 3 weeks to shoot (resulting in just under 10 minutes of screen time) and the high-speed high jinks are certainly the film’s most entertaining moments. Yates authorised maximum speeds of around 75-80 miles per hour, but in reality the cars (including those that housed the cameras) actually reached top speeds of above 110mph. The intense speed that the drivers achieved is reflected in the shots and literally catapults viewers into the heart of the action: at times it can almost feel like you’re riding a simulator the action is so realistic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsVQjGIlCzo

At the end of the production 3 of the four cars used to film the sequence (two Dodge Chargers and two Mustangs) were scrapped, but the fourth was purchased by a Warner Brothers employee after all of the production and post-production had been completed. Apparently the car was discovered in New Jersey, where McQueen attempted to buy it, but the owner refused. Legend has it that the car resides in a barn there still and hasn’t been driven for many years – imagine it’s value now!

 

01. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)

Regularly considered the best chase scene committed to celluloid, there was simply no way this sequence from The French Connection couldn’t top my own chart. The scene is so much more than just a car chase, as it perfectly represents Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle’s obsessive dedication to his job as he pursues a killer who is escaping via a speeding train above him. The film was honoured with 5 Academy Award nominations and this scene alone has allegedly been credited with being responsible for the Best Editing win (it also won Best Picture, Best Director for William Friedkin, Best Actor for Gene Hackman and Best Screenplay for Ernest Tidyman). Editor Philip D’Antoni flawlessly captures the essence of the chase scene, a gripping moment in a film that is extremely brooding and powerful.

The sequence is entertaining and engaging, but above all there is tension and suspense beyond belief. This is heightened even more so when it’s revealed that many of the stunts in the sequence were real and not set up (such as when the woman with the pram is nearly squished!). It was regarded as the greatest movie car chase upon its release and today it hasn’t lost an ounce of its appeal or power and in my mind it still as to be the best!

In an effort to not repeat myself too much, I’ve refrained from including a few films that have featured once (maybe even twice!) in my recent top 10s…the below, however, are definitely honourable mentions!

VANISHING POINT (1971)

DUEL (1971)

SMOKEY & THE BANDIT (1977)

MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981)

TO LIVE & DIE IN L.A. (1985)

THE ROCK (1996)

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)

THE TOWN (2011)

Any suggestions of your own? Leave a comment below!

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