Which iconic car chase movies are worth watching in their entirety?
 

I was actually thinking of watching Bullit. I've watched the San Fran car chase scenes a dozen times. But never the actual movie. Is it crap?

Which movies are actually good movies besides the car chase?
French Connection is an obvious one.

Two other chases that I love:
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) ?
The Seven-Ups (1973) ?

Live and Let Die

Blues Brothers

Bullitt is one of my favorite movies, regardless of the chase scene. My favorite McQueen movie.

Against All Odds.

Ronin

Dirty Marry, Crazy Larry
Vanishing Point
Two Lane Blacktop (Really just a street racing movie, but if you haven't seen it, your education is not complete)
The California Kid

(Caveat, all of these are "B" movies, but all are hugely entertaining.)

Bullit, Ronin, French Connection, Blues Bros, what's the ones with the guy in the 740 BMW? Those are pretty good as well.

The Transporter

The Hot Rock

The Italian Job (Michael Caine)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt7crOA00hE

It's a B movie really but still a fun watch. This is a great scene above. The Merc fans will love it :D
"The Driver"

I think the rest of the movie is okay. Definitely better then what is being pumped out today....

I like the car scenes in Drive with Gosling...

I watched this because so many folks said the car chase was great. It just didn't do it for me.

Not exactly a car chase, but I love Le Mans.

Cannonball Run is a great movie, but not necessarily the best car chase. I actually like Gumball Rally better, probably because the cars are better.

I also tried to love and normally don't have a problem with B-movies, but just could not get to love No Man's Land. I thought The Wraith was a better car movie, which is saying something.

Again, not exactly the same, but I loved this one of the BMW films the best.
Star
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My fav's are Blues Bros and Vanishing Point.........

Pilot episode of "Hardcastle and McCormick", the TV show, haha

C'etait un Rendezvous is a good short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvDXlDxMnb4

Cops.

Could not agree more. Existentialist masterpiece. The car chase is really almost extraneous after watching it a few times, (it's well done but car chases are inherently stupid). And I've watched it more than a few times.

Hold on. Lemme get a couple GoPros and mount them to my car.

Looks like we've lost them, Sir.

U gotta be pulling our wanker son...Bullit is Meh...a wooden dummy could have done a better job of acting than McQueen not to mention a weak plot line..Boring

Jackie Bisset and her yellow 356 Cab are the only thing worth watching in that movie...but the hip movie to watch her in is The Sweet Ride...filmed on location in Malibu.


Now if ya want a GOOD McQueen movie the GET AWAY is it....but then again that is Peckinpah at his best. Other than that The Blob is great McQueen.

The French Connection was just EXCELLENT on all levels including the obligatory car chase scene.

Hey Speeder do ya pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?

Lol...I actually heard someone mention Poughkipsee, (or however it's spelled), in a conversation tonight. Of course, I thought of the FC.

Going to have to disagree on McQueen in Bullitt. It was minimalism acting for sure but I thought the film was sublime. Great stab @ American Cinema Verite. :)

The plot line did not intrigue...FC and GA much better..

Or how bout Dirty Harry..

And The Hot Rock car chase wid da Benz...make me wana own one of those..

Vanishing Point

Speaking of B grade.

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I was channel surfing over the weekend and stumbled on this movie: "Fast and Furious" from 1955. It is a b/w film - didn't care for the story but I enjoyed the car scenes- old Jags and Allards.

https://youtu.be/86qzJ1rFKd4

All your taste is in your mouth, tabs. Bullitt showcases what McQueen was famous for- minimal acting and talking, all in the facial reactions, and cool as ice. Great bits of personality injected into the background- punching the newspaper machine to get a free paper, stacking two piles of random TV dinners at the same time, then stacking the two piles, combing his hair with his hand, waking up in the morning with the front door buzzer and making a cup of coffee on his nightstand with a single cup heating element, ignoring the complaints of the fake Ross in the hotel room, going through the fake Ross' suitcases, the strangulation scene, all of it. Especially the chase scene, losing the hitmen, then pulling up behind them. It hasn't been done better anywhere in terms of feel. Special effects, sure. But story, no. The context and texture is all there. Masterpiece because of McQueen. And nothing wrong with the plot. Bad guy rips off the mob, then sends a lookalike to take the fall. Brilliant.

Two Lane Blacktop then American Graffiti, one right after the other.

It's like going to a movie festival where the guest star is a 55 Gasser. Watch how it's acting style changed during that time, how it embraces the scenes differently. It evolved from a grumpy sullen antihero to a well rounded centerpiece upon which a coming of age story is balanced. THAT is acting!

Well, given the OP was movies with car chases that were worth watching in their own right, one needs to seriously consider, "The Bank Dick" with W.C. Fields. One of his best films and the car chase fits the genre, perfectly.

Very good call.

For my money: The French Connection & Vanishing Point are best & serve as a benchmark of sorts for car chase flicks although I also enjoyed The Italian Job (the original). The Blues Brothers makes the list as it is an all-round "fun" movie. I may be a bit jaded but everything now seems to be variations on a theme & a special effects contest.

Cheers
JB

Smokey and the Bandit

Duel. Dennis Weaver

Which part of Duel is "besides the car chase"?

I guess maybe the credits ;)

He goes into a diner.

There are actually quite a few films w good car chases, it's not the toughest thing to do from a stunt perspective. What made Bullitt special, besides the great stunt driving, was the hyper-reality style of film making where they left in all the boo-boos and random ambient sounds, etc.

That plus McQueen's wonderful style of minimalist acting, (IMO of course), made it Cinema Verite'. The scene in the Police garage, for instance, was just filmed w the motorcycles going by as the real cops went to work. It was their decision to film in this style, they could have staged everything the normal way and controlled every element, this worked much better, (again IMO).

American Grafitti was mentioned. That was also fined in extreme CV but it was mostly due to budget, which was close to zilch by the time they began production. There is an interesting story behind the making of the film, (too long for now), but they just had to go w ambient everything and it's evident all over the film. :)

What's Up Doc, I know its a Barbara Striesand movie but the car chase is zany and quite a fun movie throughout. The car chase lasts nearly a third of the movie.

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) has one of the best car chase scenes ever put on film, and is definitely worth watching. Willem Dafoe as a counterfeiter vs. a secret service agent who'll stop at nothing to bring him down.

The good stuff starts around 0:50 in...

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