The Chase is on!!

Face the facts……we all love seeing our favorite movie star give us a thrill ride during a high speed car chase scene.  There are a few must have’s in any great action film that are required.  It must have today’s biggest Hollywood Stars in it; it must have a great car chase scene and of course it needs to have some crazy stunts and a few explosions!

Let’s look at what is needed to make a great car chase; first we need to establish what vehicle we will use in our chase, should it be today’s hottest new ride or shall it be a classic muscle car?  One of my favorites is when the movie producers put the star in a car that is not known for its ability to evade the bad guys or the police. (Like the little mini cooper that Jason Bourne used in the first Bourne Identity movie).  Second, we need to decide where our hero (or bad guy) will drive, will it be in the city where he has to use his lightening quick moves to maneuver through the daily traffic during rush hour or will he be out in a remote location where he can take his car to the limits of speed?  The driver must have mad skills that would make a race car driver take notice and he must be able to drive the car at its limits and beyond. 

Joseph’s Top 5 Movie Chase Scenes:

1. Bullitt (1968) Starring Steve McQueen……..It features two muscle cars of the day (1968 Fastback Mustang and a 1968 Dodge Charger) and they chased each other through the streets of San Francisco for over nine minutes in one of the most epic chases ever filmed.
2. French Connection (1971) Starring Gene Hackman………This Oscar winning film featured a Pontiac LeMans chasing the bad guy on an elevated train track through the crowded streets of Brooklyn, NY.
3. Cannonball I. (1981) Starring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast…….This movie was basically one big car chase from start to finish, but the opening scene with the police chasing the girls driving the black Lamborghini is a must see. (Can you say 200 mph?)
4. Ronin (1998) Starring Robert De Niro……You might not be a familiar with this one, but trust me it may be one of the best!  It is set on the narrow streets of Paris and features a BMW M5 and a Peugeot 306.  This fast paced chase was filmed using Formula 1 drivers of the day and actually had the real actors in the cars pretending to drive.  It’s been said that the actors did not have any trouble with showing “Real” emotions during these scenes!
5. Smokey and the Bandit I. (1977) Starring Burt Reynolds……This one is on my list because seeing it for the first time when I was 10 yrs. old and seeing the Black Trans Am running from the Sheriff and even jumping a washed out bridge will forever be etched in my mind as a classic.

Whatever your favorite is, I’m sure it contains the same action packed qualities that mine did, so break out the DVD player and queue one up. (Don’t forget to turn up the volume!!)