The 8 most awesome movie car chase scenes of all-time

The car chase scene is a classic staple of a good action movie. It builds excitement and gives the moviegoer a thrill they would probably never get to experience otherwise. Cars are pushed to the limits, careening down pedestrian filled streets, jumping off buildings and often being smashed, blown up and completely destroyed in the process. This is exactly what makes them one of the most dangerous and often time consuming parts of a movie to shoot. There’s a TON of good car chases out there, The Italian Job, Duel, Gone in 60 Seconds, Short Time… you get the idea. So, here’s Guyism’s salute to eight of the greatest car chases ever to burn rubber on the big screen.

8 The Blues Brothers – 1980
By the time The Blues Brothers came out car chases had been done to death and had almost become a cliché of themselves. Danny Aykroyd and John Landis took this idea and turned it on its head, adding a nice touch of humor to the mountain of twisted steel that was created filming this chase. Nazis, falling cars and one of the best car chases through the streets of the windy city — what’s not to love? They’re on a mission from God and if they need to destroy a dozen police cars in the process — so be it.

7 Smokey and the Bandit – 1977
“Westbound and down, eighteen wheels are rollin…” Burt gave hope to bootleggers everywhere with his black Trans Am, leading the way for a truck hauling Coors from Texarkana to Georgia. Damn, what Reynolds will do for that rocky mountain taste! Unlike the other movies on our list, this car chase takes place not on busy city streets, but predominantly on the back roads of the American south. The part with Smokey jumping the Trans Am over the creek is a bit unrealistic, but the dirt road chase scenes with Bandit just one step ahead of the law are plenty of fun to watch. You did what they said couldn’t be done, Bandit… yes, you did.

6 Tomorrow Never Dies – 1997
007 gets the girls, the gadgets and the awesome cars with the gadgets that help him get the girls. The Bond films have always had amazing chase scenes, with beautiful European sports cars and Tomorrow Never Dies is no different. A BMW 750 that’s remote controlled, equipped with rocket launchers and tires that instantly re-inflate when punctured; it’s as if Sharper Image got into the spy business. Ever the gentleman, 007 get’s the car back to the rental agency on time. He only has to jump it off a building to do so.

5 The French Connection – 1971
The gritty crime drama that circled around heroin trafficking, starring Gene Hackman, created one of the best car chases of its time. Not exactly the typical car chase, but a car/ train chase that garnered five Oscars. And what makes it extra scary for the viewer, is that much of the scenes were shot without the proper permits. A lot of those bystanders were truly just trying not to be killed by the madness going on around them. It adds a certain feeling of terror, when you realize that lady with the baby carriage could have been plowed over, had things gone wrong.

4 Vanishing Point – 1971
1971 was a good year for movies with car chases, as Vanishing Point moves up along The French Connection on the list. It has the feel of a B movie that you might find on late night cable, which makes it even more appealing. Long story short, a guy has 15 hours to get a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Colorado to California and is guided by a blind DJ along the way. The hero runs into cops who want to bring him in, but he crosses paths with a naked chick on a motorcycle along the way – so it’s all good.

3 Death Proof – 2007
This movie took a lot of flack when it came out for not being on par with Quentin Tarantino’s usual fare. You can say the story has a weak plot or too many corny lines or an unsatisfactory ending, but this movie is a CAR CHASE. The entire movie is basically a buildup to certainly one of the best car chases ever filmed. Zoe Bell hanging on to the hood of a 1970 Dodge Challenger while a deranged stunt man in a 1970 Chevy Nova tries to run Zoe and her friends off the road. It’s pure psycho adrenaline stunt driving at its best.

2 Ronin – 1998
The thing that makes these chase scenes so much fun to watch are the narrow Paris streets that the stunt drivers had to navigate through. A Charger or other big car would surely have a tough time with the sharp curves, but are perfect for the small Audi S8, Peugeot 406 and BMW M5. There’s no musical score to accompany the chase, as the cars’ engines provide the perfect soundtrack. You could care less why Robert Deniro and Jean Reno want to keep a briefcase away from the Russians. It’s all about the chase, which is reason enough want to drive a car with the name “Peugeot.”

1 Bullitt – 1968
This is the car movie that gear heads beat off too after browsing through the latest issue of Auto Trader Magazine. This took the movie car chase to a new high and created a bit of buzz for the film, McQueen and muscle cars in general. Steve McQueen did most of his own driving behind the wheel of a 1968 V8 Ford Mustang, while being pursued through the streets of San Francisco by a couple of hit men. The chase took three weeks to shoot and the cars reached speeds of up to 110 mph. You can almost smell the rubber burning when McQueen peels out. No CGI or gimmicks… just superb driving behind American muscle.

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