DB7

Best chase ever
By Ed Harris, Evening Standard
15 January 2004
Steve McQueen's thrilling 10-minute car chase in Bullitt has been voted the best pursuit scene in cinema history.

The 1968 film's chase through the steep-hilled streets of San Francisco - with McQueen's Detective Frank Bullitt behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang GT 390 - was voted top in a poll of 5,500 film fans. The movie later inspired a TV advert.

In second place was Gone in 60 Seconds, a 1974 film remade in 2000 with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie, in which the director, HB Halicki, also performed all his own stunts in a 40-minute pursuit.

The breath-taking sequence from the 1971 Oscar-winner The French Connection, in which policeman Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle - played by Gene Hackman - chases a suspect on a subway train through New York, came third.

The top British film was The Italian Job from 1969, in which a gang led by Michael Caine pilot red, white and blue Minis around the streets - and sewers - of Turin.

Hazel Laking, of Choices Video, which carried out the survey, said: "Having Bullitt at the top of a list of greatest all time car chases is kind of expected. Every genre benefits from a good, solid car chase."

Bullitt, made long before computer-generated special effects became commponplace, left many recent movies trailing in its wake. But there were still plenty of Hollywood blockbusters in the top 20.

In fourth place was Ronin, from 1998, which starred Robert De Niro and featured high-speed car chases through Nice and Paris.

Aston Martin-driving James Bond managed two places in the Top 10, with 1964's Goldfinger - which introduced Sean Connery's gadget-heavy DB5 - and Die Another Day, from 2002, in which Pierce Brosnan's secret agent takes part in a chase on ice.

Another Bond managed to make it to No 16 - Roger Moore was chased in his Lotus by motorcycles, a car and a helicopter in The Spy Who Loved Me From 1977.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was at No 12 for his truck chases in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

The Fast and the Furious, starring Vin Diesel, was at No 13. The movie was little more than a series of chases in Los Angeles.

deckard

I have to say I agree with the Evening Standard poll,the car chase in "Bullitt" is the best, not only for the amazing driving of Steve Mcqueen,but also the way the sequence was shot and edited.I actually saw the film at the cinema when it first came out(then, but a very impressionable teenager!)and the shots of the cars going down the hilly streets and leaping over the flattened juctions made the my stomach leap and a lot of ladies in the audience feel quite sick!A very vivid(and amusing)film memory for me.

"and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock"

Steve Crook

Have you seen the lists of trivia and goofs for Bullitt?

But it's still a great car chase.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

deckard

Fascinating!And funny too,thanks Steve.I wonder who actually finds all this stuff.....

"and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock"

Villan

The chase at the end of every Benny Hill show .

DB7

One of the best I've seen is a 90s French film called Taxi. (written by Luc Besson and stunts by Rémy Julienne's son)

mysteriesofedgarwallace

One of my favourite chase sequences is at the start of "Robbery".

Bob M.

The funniest chase scenes I think was in the Norman Wisdom film ' On The Beat ' N.W. was chased through the back gardens of a row of terraced houses by a group of policemen. Lokk at it very carsfully to see all the comedy.

"How about dat, a? How about dat?

Comedy Dave

The Blues Brothers chase was quite something I thought.

Comedy Dave

Marky B

I'll nominate Ronin as the best car chase. However,talking of funny chases,I remember seeing an old silent comedy starring Ben Turpin. He is playing polo on horseback and the ball shoots out from the pitch and lands in the rear basket of a cyclist,who is cheerfully whistling away to himself until he sees two teams of polo players chasing after him. The rest of it I can't remember. Anyone know the name of the film?
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

Comedy Dave

I saw that Ben Turpin film years ago. I'm trying to track down some of the silent films on DVD. There's a great shop in Milton Keynes called Silver Screen who really try to help with every old (and new) film. The stock they carry is unbelievable. TV drama, sit com, and all the Ealings etc as well as silent era.

Comedy Dave

Rob Compton

Dave - do they have a web site?

rgds
Rob

delon

I watched Bullit on television a few years ago and was extremely disappointed with the great chase scene. My complaint with it was a beige VW beetle that appeared over and over and over again as McQueen's car makes the same left hand turn. It's blindingly obvious that the filmmakers set up many cameras to film the exact same thing from many angles. Granted, such thing cost a fortune, but it came off sloppy. I wasn't looking for flaws, in fact I was rather sad. I'd remembered a great and entertaining film. I was shocked at how badly it held up.

On the other hand, Steve McQueen's motorcycle chase at the end of The Great Escape does hold up! This movie has always been a favorite!

DB7

C'etait un Rendezvous

Claude Lelouch (or an unknown F1 driver) tear up Paris from the Porte Dauphine to Sacre-Coeur in a Ferrari 275/GTB.

Holland

Confessions of a Driving Instructor. Without a doubt.