The Driver
It all started with 1968’sBullitt . Director Peter Yates and Steve McQueen amped up the cinematic railroad car chase and raised the streak to astronomical heights . The shot where McQueen ’s green Mustang tears through the streets of San Francisco became an all - time classic car pursual . But there have been many more that have thrill audiences .
theater director , from William Friedkin to John Landis , and photographic film as varied asSmokey and the BanditandRoninhave given cinema some of the most amazing car chases and stunts in cinema history . Here are 10 great railway car chase from the 70s and 80s that have carried the torch illumine byBullitt .
The 80s: Against All Odds (1984)
Taylor Hackford ’s 1984 remake of the Noir classicOut of the Pastwas a large hit at the box office andturned Jeff Bridges into a full - fumble Hollywood champion . Against All Oddswas the story of a football game thespian ( Bridges ) who is hired to find the missing daughter of the team ’s owner . James Woods plays Bridges ' former booster who also pays him to find her , as they were in a relationship .
Woods ' reference was always taste to assert his dominance over Bridges and it culminate in a high-pitched - speed chase / race between their two car down Sunset Boulevard . It was Porsche versus Ferrari in a unsafe pursual that kept the consultation on the edge of their behind .
The 70s: Vanishing Point (1971)
The whole movie is a car Salmon Portland Chase , as the lead character intersect the American Southwest on an existential car journey while fudge assurance out to finish his reckless drive .
Lead character Kowalski drives his white Dodge Charger at high speed through burning sunlight - scorched blacktops while cop cars and helicopter close in to try and terminate him .
The 80s: License To Kill (1989)
James Bond films have always been full of exciting stunt and 1989’sLicense To Killwas no exception . Bond was on the trail of a homicidal drug kingpin and the finale is a high - focal ratio chase on a highway with an oil tanker .
007 drops in from a plane to take over the tank ship , Indiana Jones style . While steering the mammoth truck , Bond is give chase by a helicopter and other cars , all shooting at his truck fill with gas and oil . Wheelies and hairpin turns make this an ultra - exciting chase sequence .
The 70s: Duel (1971)
" Bruce " the enceinte white shark was n’t Steven Spielberg ’s first monster . 1971’sDuelhad Dennis Weaver being chased by a seemingly demon - driven hand truck on the Highways of California .
Weaver ’s little red Plymouth Valiant is terrorise by the minatory rust - enshroud Peterbilt 281 motortruck in many cheeseparing - death encounters . Spielberg uses the motortruck as an unstoppable violence , creating a palpable fear for his interview , as the terror seems unstoppable . In the unknown " trucker,“the film producer created one of his most frightening on - screen scoundrel .
The 80s: The Blues Brothers (1980)
John Landis is get laid mostly for his comedies . Within one of his most popular is one of the great railway car chases in flick history . The Blues Brotherswas Landis ' clowning smash that broughtJohn Belushi and Dan Aykroyd ’s beloved Saturday Night Live charactersto the big screen .
Landis filled his picture show with hilarious clowning and exciting musical numbers , as well as some of the slap-up car Chase and stunt in picture history . The best was the wildly entertaining cable car chase in which pig automobile following Jake and Elwood ’s " Bluesmobile " through the suburban area of Chicago , then straight into and through a local plaza , smashing and crash into almost every stock and kiosk , completely destroying the place .
The 70s: The Driver (1978)
Walter Hill took a chance with his 2nd film as director . 1978’sThe Driverwas the nonobjective fib of a getaway driver who is fail and goes after the man who tried to bolt down him . Hill take it in a European trend with small duologue and no quality name calling beyond their moving in ( The Driver , The Cop , The Woman , etc . ) , leading the film to beconsidered one of the finest L.A. -set crime films of its decade .
Hill ’s picture show also sport some great car chases , the proficient being when the cop near in on Ryan O’Neal ’s championship character . It is a high-pitched speed , balls - out , chase through the nighttime streets of L.A. that employ no music , just the speech sound of skreak tyre , smashing pilot , and rev up engines .
The 80s: To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)
William Friedkin had already solidified his name with great photographic film car chases in his 1971 victory , The French connectedness . That film ’s cable car Salmon Portland Chase part the blanket withBullittfor being influential to many forward-looking action at law plastic film , let in the John Wick serial publication . In 1985 , the filmmaker upped the ante .
InTo Live and Die in L.A. , two Treasury obligations federal agent are trying to halt a homicidal counterfeiter . They rob a drug principal because their bosses wo n’t give them the required amount of John Cash to entrap the bad guy . All of the sudden , they are chase , as car after railway car comes out of nowhere in a gamey - speed pursuit . Twenty - plus cars chase them through the streets until the number one wood stupefy the idea to go up the L.A. motorway , against traffic , during rush 60 minutes . What follow is one of the most jaw - drop automobile chases ever shoot , as the pursuer and the go after become engulfed in traffic , swerving and crashing their direction through .
THE 70s: The French Connection (1971)
After Steve McQueen ’s trailblazer inBullitt , William Friedkin ’s railroad car following inThe French Connectionmade more account with its stunning depiction of a homo obsessed .
Gene Hackman ’s " Popeye " Doyle is after a shooter and dog him through the New York streets . After the cause of death hops on the tube , Hackman chases underneath the raised platform in his car , deplume through the streets and almost killing a woman and her baby . Crashes and squealing tires are redact together to complete this perfectly breathtaking definitive car chase .
The 80s: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Take any minute of action in this picture and it could pull ahead the " best railcar chase " trophy . The sequel to 1979 ’s cult hit Mad Max , Mad Max 2 : The Road Warrior , was a freehanded and plucky moving-picture show from director George Miller . This chapter found Max on the main road , protecting a band of subsister from a marauding and violent crew .
The net set - piece is a monolithic chase between car , motorcycles , and a tank ship push back by Max . As the bad cat swarm , the audience sees center - pour down stunt as the stunt drivers weave in and out of the other cars . Metal , rubber , and people go flying in what is reckon the finest car following in 80s activity films .
The 70s: The Seven-Ups (1973)
The manufacturer ofThe French Connection , Phillip D’Antoni , wanted to keep up with the gritty action of his Oscar - advance film , so he direct that film ’s atomic number 27 - star Roy Scheider and pay him a star role in the manufacturer ’s one and only direct credit , a sort of " spiritual sequel " to William Friedkin ’s Oscar winner . The Seven - Upsfinds Scheider as a cop who contribute a sturdy NYC constabulary team who goes against the mob .
In the flick ’s readiness - piece , Scheider chase the high-risk guys in and around the streets of New York . The two automobile speed along at dangerous horizontal surface going from the metropolis to the highway , through neighborhoods and back again . It is a long ( almost 1o moment ) chase that is brightly edited and does n’t permit up . It is rightfully considered one of the best , with many take it could be the best cable car chase of them all .
NEXT : The 5 Best ( & 5 Worst ) action mechanism Movies For Car pursual
