Hagerty Insurance (known for their coverage of collector cars) recently asked its customers to rank the top 10 movie car chases of all time. Topping the list was "Bullitt", which is a choice that's appropriate if for no other reason than the wicked sound of Steve McQueen's Mustang (the fact that McQueen was Hollywood's biggest gearhead should also be considered). It won a whopping 40% of total votes cast, giving it a significant lead over the number two selection, the remake of "Gone in 60 Seconds". "The French Connection" and "Ronin" placed only sixth and seventh, respectively, leading me to wonder just how many second-generation Trans Am owners are insured by Hagerty ("Smokey and the Bandit" ranked third). I'm a bit disappointed by the absence of "Terminator 2". Mock me if you will, but that scene where the T-1000 takes the big Kenworth tow truck off the bridge and into the canal was damn cool.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MattS @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Oh man there was a movie that used to run on HBO all of the time, I forget the name of it, but it was about a cop who thought he was dying of terminal illness and there was this scene with an '80s chrysler imperial with a 318 in it that I used to love...
AD @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Just watched RONIN last night... had the old man agreeing that it was better than even Bullit. The combination of the old M5 vs. a Peugot of all cars is just unbeatable.
Steve T. @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
My favorite car chase was in the 1973 Roy Scheider film, "The Seven Ups." He's chasing after some cop killers (driving a boat-sized Buick or similar) in what looks to be a souped up Chevelle (maybe Nova?). The chase begins in Manhattan, through Harlem, over the GWB, on to the Palisades Parkway - at which point Scheider's car plows into the back of a parked tractor trailer. It was spectacular film making - and the highlight of the movie.
travis @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
I'm also of the opinion that Ronin stands pretty much alone as far as car chases go. If only the movie was a bit better, more people would've seen it and it'd probably be higher on that list. :)
T.
gg @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
No original Italian Job? That's the best car chase scene ever. Much better than the remake.
jjd @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
It isn't strictly a chase, but "C'?it un Rendezvous" is the most amazing high speed driving through a city I've ever seen.
Director Claude Lelouch made this 9 minute film back in the 70s. It features no special effects -- just a driver driving at high speed through the streets of Paris in a Ferrari. There are no edits -- it is all one take! I've never seen anything like it. There is a clip of it on the website.
http://www.rendezvousdvd.com/
TruDat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
No question, Ronin stands alone. And now to open myself up to potential mockery...what about The Italian Job? Both the original and the re-make had pretty bad ass car chases - my preferences going to the re-made version. Those modified minis they used hauled some serious ass.
p.bubel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
“Bullitt” vs. “Ronin” could, and should be, argued all day for that top spot. I imagine that the median age of a Hagerty Insurance Customer had more then a little to do with “Ronin” placing only seventh on this list.
wem @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
The Gone in 60 Seconds remake doesn't hold a candle to the original. It's all about the 40 minute car chase. And no computer generated stunts. If you can find it, watch it.
Camron @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
What about bourne supremecy, i think that was pretty good too
jp @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Love the car chase scenes in Ronin. The cooriography and the realistic car sounds are great. The Audi S8 ripping out of that gravel/dirt bed is bad-ass! Being a former S4 owner I can appreciate a nice quattro Hole Shot!
Galley @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Blues Brothers features more destroyed vehicles than any other, (well, except for Blues Brothers 2000, whose crashes were just absurd).
Slim @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
I agree with "wem". The original 1974 version of "Gone in 60 Seconds" is awesome with a 40 minute chase scene. I have it digitally remastered on DVD!
Patriotic Dissent @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
I saw the chase in "Ronin" last night for the first time and thought it was pretty dang good, too. One that seems to have been overlooked by a lot of people is "The Transporter" from 2002. It stars Jason Statham (sexy British actor from Italian Job) in an awesome chase scene driving a BMW 7-series. Worth checking out.
Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
"The Bourne Supremacy" just missed the cut it seems... too bad, it was pretty good. But I won't bemoan the list too much. "Bullitt" and "Ronin" should be battling for the top spot for sure and I agree with #13 that "The Transporter" should definitely get a nod.
And while they aren't feature films or anything, I do like the action in the bmwfilms series that starred Clive Owen. Sure they are basically ads, but then how many ads are directed by the likes of John Woo and John Frankenheimer?
Robert Aitchison @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Of course most of these commennts will no doubt be people who are griping about how their favorite chase scenes were not included.
I guess I'm no different, one of the best (perhaps the best) I've ever seen was from the Bourne Identidy, they did mention the Bourne Supremacy as one of the "didn't make the cut" entries but I don't even remember the car shace scenes from it.
It's no surprise the Bullitt stay s at the top of all of these lists, it's comminly "known" that the greatest cas chase sene in all time was in Bullitt I wouldn't be surprised if peeople who haven't even see Bullitt voted for it. The most surprising thing is that The Fast & the Furious was even in the competition.
Whydrive @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Transporter eh? Have you seen the preview to Transporter 2? (Yes I unfortunately sat through the horror movie called Fantastic 4) Audi's always had the perception of playing second fiddle to BMW and this movie only makes it worse.
Edsel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
Steven Spielberg's "DUEL" (1971). If you're a Plymouth Valiant fan, this movie is for you.
Spielberg made "Duel" before "Jaws" so you'll recognize lot's of the same tension symmetry he later used for his shark "chases".
John F @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
This is going to sound dumb, but I loved the car chase in Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the sole reason that it included THREE BMW M5s racing their pants off on the highway. Man... what a gorgeous sounding motor.
AD - Wasn't it a nitrous-injected Audi S8?
CrunchyCookie @ Dec 18th 2005 10:25PM
What about The Matrix Reloaded, where about 100 GM cars got trashed and mangled on the freeway? I thought it strengthened the moral fiber of the movie.