Car chase
In movies and television a car chase is a scene involving one or more automobiles being pursued by other vehicles. Car chases are ubiquitous to the action movie genre, and some movies are almost entirely built around car chases. They are so popular because they are fast moving scenes with a great deal of excitement, but are not hugely expensive. Due to cars crashing and banging they can contain violence without any harm to individuals and thus secure lower ratings. Car chases often "star" high powered vehicles.
Although car chases on film were staged as early as the motor vehicle itself, the first modern car chase is generally seen as that in 1968's Bullitt. The chase in this film was far longer and far faster than what had gone before. It placed cameras so that the audience felt as though they were inside the car. Even during the most calamitous scenes the star, Steve McQueen, could be clearly seen at the wheel of the car. The French Connection further increased the realism. Previous chases had been filmed on closed roads and isolated highways. The French Connection placed the chase in the midst of busy traffic and pedestrians.
Perhaps the most typical car chase is one in which a car is being pursued by police cars. In part because car chases are so common many movie makers try to introduce a new twists to them. One of the most famous variations is from The French Connection and involves a car chasing an elevated train. Chases involving buses, trucks, snowmobiles, tanks, and virtually every other type of vehicle (with or without wheels) have appeared in one film or another. Probably the most complex type of car chase involves going the wrong way in moderately congested freeway traffic (e.g. Ronin).
Another method of escalating a car chase scene is to have a characters move from one vehicle to another and to fight in or on top of a moving vehicle.
Several television shows have been built around the popularity of car chases, such as the Dukes of Hazzard.
Reality television has combined with the car chase genre in a number of television shows and specials featuring real footage, mostly taken from police or media helicopters of actual criminals fleeing from police.
Noted car chase films
- Bullitt (1968)
- The French Connection (1971)
- To Live and Die In L.A. (1985)
- Both The Italian Jobs
- Blues Brothers (1980)
- Gone in Sixty Seconds (1974 & 2000)
- Ronin (1998)
- All the James Bond films (1962 onwards)
- The Fast and the Furious (2001)
- Mad Max and sequels (1979-1985)
- The Hire series (2001)
- The Bourne Identity (2002)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- Grand Prix (1966)
- Used Cars (1980)
External links
VaRaces - The Movie Car Chase Database