Whenever cinematic or television car chases come up, instantly the most boring person in the discussion screams “Ronin!” or “Bullitt!” If this person is you, we’re very sorry.
Look, those are fine car chases (actually, “Bullitt” is probably not as impressive as you remember), but we’re here to talk about all the awesome ones that get overshadowed by those two, even though they’re every bit as good–maybe better.
So sit back, relax and check out our list. Feel free to (wrongly) criticize our choices in the comments or add some of your own hidden gems.
“Death Proof” (2007)
Let’s start with the car chase that’s really a remix of EVERY car chase rolled into one. Quentin Tarantino’s half of “Grindhouse,” much like most of the director’s work, pays homage to films, directors, scenes and eras that formed his moviemaking vocabulary, and the final car chase is certainly a blend of great car chases past.
After all, you have the Charger from “Dirty Mary Crazy Larry” (with a “Convoy”-referencing rubber duck on the hood, no less) chasing the Challenger from “Vanishing Point” (at one point they even hit a boat, a reference to “Gone in 60 Seconds”) in a 20-minute pursuit that took nearly a month and a half to shoot.
Add to that stunt performer Zoë Bell grabbing onto the hood of the Challenger for much of the action–and the fact that the entire thing was shot with practical effects–and you end up with a chase that distills a generation’s worth of exploitation action flicks into a single reel.
“Déjà Vu” (2006)
Tony Scott defined the action genre for a lot of Generation X. His films are easily recognizable–just wait for any scene with light filtering through horizontal blinds into a smoky or hazy room while characters discuss their next move–and much of the look and feel he brought from directing music videos and commercials into movies is now common cinematic language today.
One of his final films, 2006’s “Déjà Vu” with frequent collaborator Denzel Washington, is a time travel thriller with an interesting twist on the genre–and an equally interesting car…
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