One of the staples of action cinema is a car chase. It is among the most purely cinematic element of action movies, and it requires no dialogue and exposition.
Car chases are purely spectacles and acts that test the director's skill, whether or not they can tell a story just through images and editing.But what makes a great car chase scene? Is it the director's skill to execute the scene? Is it the stunt team's ability to make everything look real? Or is it the editor's ability to have well-paced editing? Maybe it's all of these things put together.
Throughout the years, there have been a number of car chase movies that are hard to forget. Here's a list of movies with iconic car chases that car enthusiasts should watch.
1. 'The Spy Who Loved Me'
There's a particular segment in "The Spy Who Loved Me" where a helicopter is pursuing James Bond. If you have watched the film, you would also believe for a moment that there is no escape until Bond drives his Lotus Esprit into the sea.
The move just demonstrates what exactly the car can do - it can transform into a submarine. The Lotus Esprit is one of Bond's very best cars, according to Slashfilm. It has an incredibly cool design and it is equipped with many gadgets like the Aston Martin.
2. 'The Italian Job'
This gem of British cinema has a cliffhanger ending, but one would never forget the car chase that precedes it. That segment is one of the most fun sequences ever filmed.
In that segment, Michael Caine's gang leads the Italian police through the streets of Turin in three Mini Coopers as they attempt to get the gold that they stole across the border into the Swiss Alps. The sequence is witty as the Minis drive in and out of buildings.
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3. 'Baby Driver'
In Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver," the car chases are choreographed to resemble dance routines. While there are a number of issues with the film in general, Wright's technical prowess is shown in the car chase sequence.
Every movement that Baby (Ansel Elgort) makes behind the Subaru WRX syncs up with the song, and the sequence builds along with the song as the robbers make their escape. Baby is even knocking police stingers around while gliding his car in perfect time with the music.
4. 'Ronin'
According to Screenrant, John Frankenheimer's "Ronin" is heavily influenced by the gritty, minimalist crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville. The director uses a simplistic plot involving a handful of rival intelligence officials who are fighting over a briefcase. To get the car action in this movie just right, Frankenheimer utilized hundreds of stunt drivers.
Perhaps, the greatest car chase sequence in the movie is Robert De Niro chasing after the bad guys' BMW in the crowded streets of Paris using his humble Peugeot 406.
5. 'Goldfinger'
Goldfinger introduced James Bond's now-iconic car, the Aston Martin DB5. According to Screenrant, the producers of the film had to beg Aston Martin executives to let them use the DB5 prototype. Good riddance to the Ashton Martin executives, as "Goldfinger" ended up making the car quite famous.
The most iconic car chase is when Bond uses gadgets in the Ashton Martin to throw off the Mercedes-driving henchmen on his tail.
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