VIDEO: Top Gear Australia picks top three movie chase scenes
Click above to see Top Gear Australia's three best movie car chase scenes after the jump
Top Gear Australia put together a shortlist of what it considers the three best movie car chase scenes ever: Ronin, Gone in 60 Seconds, and The Matrix Reloaded. Out of those three entrants, we'd probably give Ronin the nod as well, even though DeNiro looks scared and/or sick through most of it, which might be explained by the fact that he's meant to chase down a BMW M5 in a Peugeot 406. Gone in 60 Seconds isn't bad, but the Eleanor and Angelina Jolie are cooler than the actual chase. The Matrix Reloaded is, as far as we're concerned, undeniably cool, but more for the special effects than the lane changing. We wouldn't mind knowing what happened to some of the other choices, classics like Bullitt or The Italian Job or The French Connection to start. And speaking of the French, even though it has only one car that you never saw, our money is still on Claude Lelouche's film Rendezvous for the best car "chase" ever. Follow the jump to check out Top Gear's picks and tell us your own in the comments.
[Source: Top Gear]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
JohnGo 8:04PM (12/22/2008)
How about the original Gone in 60 Seconds?
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Owain Ozymandias Buck 9:40PM (12/22/2008)
Amen! That original was like car porno--it had a really thin plot and horrible dialogue just to set up the mother of all car chases.
And unlike crappy over the top modern remakes of good cheesy movies, all the driving was real. That part where he hits the light pole on the freeway was a real screw up. They kept it anyway.
No doubt, this movie was my favorite when I was a kid, and it still is.
Sean Morris 10:17PM (12/22/2008)
OG Gone in 60 Seconds rocks.
Alex Nunez 12:22AM (12/23/2008)
Yeah, for one thing: the chase in the O.G. Gone in 60 Seconds has no CGI BS like the new film. It's not even a contest, it's so much better.
And as for the inclusion of Matrix Reloaded in the top 3 car chase sequences ever, I have to wonder what the Aussie TG guys were smoking.
waiownsyou 2:21AM (12/23/2008)
When you were a kid? But that was only 8 years ago...
JohnGo 11:19AM (12/23/2008)
The original version was done in 1974 and sported the longest
continuously filmed car chase (where they had a planned route and had
cameras set up along it). At one point, the driver missed his exit
and tried to correct, missed it, and took out a light pole on the
exit ramp. The car didn't stall, he just gunned it and kept going.
It was a pretty amazing chase with none of the lame, unrealistic CGI
crap that was in the new version. The Cage version would have been a
halfway decent flick if they hadn't had a 2000 yard jump over a
traffic jam (and hadn't had Jolie in blond dreads -- yuck).
Jack 10:46AM (12/27/2008)
I actually think they meant the original in choosing the winners. The new one was pretty lame, even with the awesome Shelby.
stecki 8:05PM (12/22/2008)
To Live and Die in LA has a great car chase... and a soundtrack by wang chung as a bonus!
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Geekengineer 11:21AM (12/23/2008)
I totally agree: To Live and Die in L.A. had a fantastic chase scene... great movie overall, and that scene really made it P-O-P.
why not the LS2LS7? 3:43AM (12/23/2008)
There are several great songs on that soundtrack. Black Blue White is amazing.
Scot 8:05PM (12/22/2008)
I would have to throw some of the Bourne Conspiracy chases in there.
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mmstowes 8:06PM (12/22/2008)
I second that sentiment...
TyWright 9:05PM (12/22/2008)
Third that motion
I also like the Identity chase in Paris in the Mini
jd 8:05AM (12/23/2008)
Definitely the Bourne Movies. The Russian taxi and the G-wagon...great stuff.
John 8:06PM (12/22/2008)
Bourne series? Transporter series? Vanishing Point? I'm sure there are more but those come off the top of my head.
Personally, I don't recall 60 seconds and Matrix as being better than those...
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aaron 8:48PM (12/22/2008)
Just my two cents:
Bourne series? Identity with the Mini is a good choice. The next movies, eh, probably not, but they are good enough to at least be nominated (or simply brought up).
Transporter series? I love the first one as the beginning chase scene is near perfect, but the dumb stunt at the end ("crashing" through bridge) ruins it for many. The second film is disqualified for the car taking no damage AT ALL. The Audi/VW fanboys can complain all they want, but the 7-Series (with a manual tranny!) was a better fit than the heavy, all-wheel drive (which is the bane of Hollywood car chase scenes) A8 W12. Still a fine car, however. Third one I haven't seen but I'm hearing it's worse than the second so no need to see it until on premium cable.
Vanishing Point is tricky. It is possibly the best car movie, but the chases were more of straight line speed and less about avoiding traffic which helps with the whole drama of the situation. I may be way off base on this one so I'll need to watch it again tonight. I also had something else to say about VP but I forgot.
Gone in 60 Seconds is a bad but entertaining movie, but if they picked it and not include VP, it's just ridiculous. Damage to Eleanor is huge bonus points for realism, though.
The Matrix Reloaded. The combination of old-school Hollywood with digital effects is second only to Transformers. And the musical score during the scene is awesome. However, there may be bias on the part of Top Gear Australia. The chase scene was shot mostly in Australia (the freeway) while the downtown and tunnel shots of the same chase were in LA. So all of those North American GM car and trucks were shipped to Australia. Anyway, guns blazing, cars flying, a Ducati bike makes for one good chase. Better than VP or the all-conquering Bullitt? No, but is does belong up there, regardless of how we (including I) view Reloaded as one of the biggest letdowns of the decade.
Nate 11:55PM (12/22/2008)
@aaron:
the freeway scene was filmed at the alameda naval base outside oakland CA. the entire freeway was built on the runway.
http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Making-of-the-Matrix-Reloaded-Freeway-Chase-scene
Stéphane Dumas 8:21AM (12/23/2008)
@#3 Aaron, you got a point about Vanishing Point. Set in an aera with no traffic but also put the emphasis of a guy who got only one ally: a DJ from a radio station who tips him.
It could be tempted to include in the same category "Duel" set also in a rural area with low traffic, a driver pursued by a trucker.
And what about the Blues Brothers car chases in the mall and the 2nd car chases in the streets of Chicago?
Gardiner Westbound 8:07PM (12/22/2008)
The Seven-ups chase.
http://rde.me/Ep
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Dave 8:14AM (12/23/2008)
The chase in "The Seven Ups" was cool, but pretty much a complete re-do of the one in "Bullitt."
Heck, they even used the same stunt driver as the bad guy (Bill HIckman) and dubbed in the same sound from the '68 Mustang under the Pontiac Ventura driven by Roy Scheider.