10 Movies That Took Extreme Measures To Shoot Scenes

William Friedkin's electrifying 1971 action-thriller boasts one of the greatest car chases in movie history, as detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) takes vehicular pursuit of an elevated train on which a hitman is attempting to escape.

The scene is so brilliantly crafted in its intensity and technical wizardry that one would understandably assume it was completed with extensive planning and co-operation from New York City authorities.

But as it turned out, Friedkin far exceeded the bounds of what he was permitted to do, in turn allowing the chase to spill onto roads occupied by regular civilians.

Though Friedkin did indeed get the go-ahead to clear traffic for five blocks in every direction and even control the traffic lights, this wasn't enough for Freidkin, who continued to film the chase into sections with real traffic and pedestrians.

Aside from the famous near-miss with the woman walking a baby carriage, most of the crashes were unplanned collisions between stunt cars, and at one point a civilian's car even got hit, forcing the production to pay repair costs.

And due to the camera operators all being married with children while Friedkin wasn't, the director ultimately opted to film the more dangerous moments himself.

Despite the messiness of the shoot, with Friedkin reportedly improvising most of the chase as he went along and even shooting large portions out of sequence, it remains one of the most nerve-jangling car chases ever filmed.