Action!
July 25, 2006 4:51 PM Subscribe
[filmfilter] What are some of your favorite chase sequences and/or man with a bomb sequences?
doing some reasearch :]
doing some reasearch :]
C’etait un Rendezvous - Claude Lelouche chasin' some tail.
posted by fire&wings at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by fire&wings at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2006
When I'm jonesing for a car chase, I'll watch Ronin or the French Connection.
posted by mullacc at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by mullacc at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2006
Hmm. The car chase in the mall in Blues Brothers. The chase in the supermarket in Raising Arizona and now I'm drawing a blank on my other favorite.
posted by Good Brain at 5:01 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by Good Brain at 5:01 PM on July 25, 2006
The chase scene at the end of the Wallace and Grommit movie, The Wrong Trousers.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:04 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:04 PM on July 25, 2006
i am so, so sorry but i just can't get this out of my head now. i hate the internets.
posted by kaytwo at 5:08 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by kaytwo at 5:08 PM on July 25, 2006
The best man with a bomb sequence has to be from the old Adam West Batman. Batman is holding a bomb that's about to go off, and he keeps running around a dock, but there's always something where he wants to throw it: nuns, children, or baby ducks (really!). Eventually he sighs and says, in frustration, "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
Cracks me up every time.
posted by cerebus19 at 5:14 PM on July 25, 2006 [2 favorites]
Cracks me up every time.
posted by cerebus19 at 5:14 PM on July 25, 2006 [2 favorites]
Not exactly either of those scenarios, but the best explosion-related suspense experience I know of is the oldie but goodie The Wages of Fear. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and provide you with your daily requirement of Existential Despair!
posted by languagehat at 5:18 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by languagehat at 5:18 PM on July 25, 2006
I enjoy the chase scene in MST3K's sendup of Joe Don Baker's Mitchell. Giant 70s cars, and one of them uses a turn signal while trying to lose the other guy.
posted by MegoSteve at 5:22 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by MegoSteve at 5:22 PM on July 25, 2006
Bullit, for christ's sake. Ronin is realistic as all hell but there's no Steve McQueen.
posted by kcm at 5:23 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by kcm at 5:23 PM on July 25, 2006
Let's go back to the Dawn of Time, when such sequences were not yet cliché. For chases, I'd pick Harold Lloyd's fantastic finale in Girl Shy (1924). For a ticking time-bomb sequence, gotta go with the Master of Suspense, in his early Sabotage (1936).
posted by rob511 at 5:25 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by rob511 at 5:25 PM on July 25, 2006
I'd go with Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior for foot chase sequence.
For car chase, I'll nth Ronin, and there' s a fantastic motorcycle chase in Operation Condor (Armor of God 2).
Man with a bomb? Speed. Sorry, but that is a pretty darn nice explodey movie.
posted by Durhey at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2006
For car chase, I'll nth Ronin, and there' s a fantastic motorcycle chase in Operation Condor (Armor of God 2).
Man with a bomb? Speed. Sorry, but that is a pretty darn nice explodey movie.
posted by Durhey at 5:27 PM on July 25, 2006
Return Of The Jedi (speederbike chase)
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:32 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:32 PM on July 25, 2006
I loved the car chase at the beginning of The Transporter. You can turn it off after the chase -- you won't miss much.
posted by liet at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by liet at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
I'll add to Ronin by saying it has the only car chases that made me fear for the stunt drivers.
The original Gone in 60 Seconds
And of course Vanishing Point
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
The original Gone in 60 Seconds
And of course Vanishing Point
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
In Point Break Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey chase Patrick Swayze and his bank-robbing buddies—who are costumed as ex-Presidents—first in a car, and then Keanu chases Swayze on foot through a suburban neighborhood. At one point, Swayze throws a live dog at Keanu. It's smashing!
I also like the opening sequence in the nightclub from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where Dr. Jones has to recover the antidote to the poison he's just swallowed, which is in a shiny glass vial that falls onto a dance floor where a huge crate of ice spills, all while fighting off the bad guys, of course.
Actually, Spielberg can be relied on to give good chase. For examples, see Minority Report in the mall and Jurassic Park throughout, once the dinosaurs get loose. Or the cops chasing Elliot and E.T. (Remember that blockade?) Or Sugarland Express.
There's tons of tricky, suspenseful bomb business in Speed (and more Keanu; maybe he likes this kind of thing?), usually involving Jeff Daniels.
Somebody's bound to mention Run Lola Run.
As far as the Matrix movies go, I'd vote for the opening of the first one, where Trinity runs from the cops (minus Keanu) and ends up in a phone booth, gloved hand to the glass, as a semi-truck bores down on her.
posted by cgc373 at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
I also like the opening sequence in the nightclub from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where Dr. Jones has to recover the antidote to the poison he's just swallowed, which is in a shiny glass vial that falls onto a dance floor where a huge crate of ice spills, all while fighting off the bad guys, of course.
Actually, Spielberg can be relied on to give good chase. For examples, see Minority Report in the mall and Jurassic Park throughout, once the dinosaurs get loose. Or the cops chasing Elliot and E.T. (Remember that blockade?) Or Sugarland Express.
There's tons of tricky, suspenseful bomb business in Speed (and more Keanu; maybe he likes this kind of thing?), usually involving Jeff Daniels.
Somebody's bound to mention Run Lola Run.
As far as the Matrix movies go, I'd vote for the opening of the first one, where Trinity runs from the cops (minus Keanu) and ends up in a phone booth, gloved hand to the glass, as a semi-truck bores down on her.
posted by cgc373 at 5:35 PM on July 25, 2006
Hmm, does Darth Vader & wingmen chasing Rebel pilots down the Death Star trench count as a "chase scene"?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:39 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:39 PM on July 25, 2006
I'm a total dork for the chase scenes in:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Borne Identity
The Road Warrior
posted by dog food sugar at 5:44 PM on July 25, 2006
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Borne Identity
The Road Warrior
posted by dog food sugar at 5:44 PM on July 25, 2006
Probably unpopular here on the internets, but I just get a kick out of the pod race in The Phantom Menace, if for no other reason than the sound of those thrumming pod engines.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:45 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by Rock Steady at 5:45 PM on July 25, 2006
cerebus19 nailed it -- the bit with Batman running around the pier holding a "classic" bomb - complete with lit fuse - is priceless.
posted by davidmsc at 5:47 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by davidmsc at 5:47 PM on July 25, 2006
The movie Metal Skin (1994), while rather boring overall, had at the end one of the best car chase / autoduels I've ever seen... and I swear some of the sequences were directly copied for the movie Ronin when it was made a few years later.
Much of the intensity was created from the camera focusing on characters' faces when the cars crashed into each other, and following their heads and bodies whipping around inside the car when the G-forces built up.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 6:05 PM on July 25, 2006
Much of the intensity was created from the camera focusing on characters' faces when the cars crashed into each other, and following their heads and bodies whipping around inside the car when the G-forces built up.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 6:05 PM on July 25, 2006
Beastie Boys. The video for Sabotage. Awesome!
posted by kookoobirdz at 6:11 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by kookoobirdz at 6:11 PM on July 25, 2006
Buster Keaton's Cops (1922) is an 18 minute short feature with a hilarious man with a bomb and ensuing chase sequence. cerebus19's choice of Batman is a very good choice, also.
posted by buggzzee23 at 6:24 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by buggzzee23 at 6:24 PM on July 25, 2006
Before I finally saw Bubba Ho-Tep I'd had this mistaken idea that there was a chase scene with the mummy after Elvis with his walker. That would have been my favorite chase scene, but it's not in the film so, uh, it's not my favorite. Dammit.
Bullit, as mentioned, is a great one. Same with The French Connection and Ronin.
For a foot chase, I like Memento, just for the black humor, and The Incredibles (Dash's big scene, you know the one), both for its technical achievement and the glimpse of character. It seems like a truly childlike response he has and it cracks me up every time, plus it's tense and exciting.
posted by Tuwa at 6:26 PM on July 25, 2006
Bullit, as mentioned, is a great one. Same with The French Connection and Ronin.
For a foot chase, I like Memento, just for the black humor, and The Incredibles (Dash's big scene, you know the one), both for its technical achievement and the glimpse of character. It seems like a truly childlike response he has and it cracks me up every time, plus it's tense and exciting.
posted by Tuwa at 6:26 PM on July 25, 2006
I'll chip in for Metal Skin and Point Break. I also love Heat's sequence (and the whole movie).
posted by dobbs at 6:26 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by dobbs at 6:26 PM on July 25, 2006
"Diva" contains an original, seat-squirming chase scene that includes our protagonist riding his motorcycle in and through the Paris Metro system.
It also happens to be quite a good movie.
posted by Bitstop at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2006
It also happens to be quite a good movie.
posted by Bitstop at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2006
The Blues Brothers mall chase scene got mentioned... but I'm partial to the end chase scene - you know, the one with most of the city of Chicago chasing them into the assessor's office.
posted by neilbert at 6:56 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by neilbert at 6:56 PM on July 25, 2006
Family Guy. Peter vs. The Chicken.
Ok, it was funnier the first time I saw it.
posted by Brian James at 7:14 PM on July 25, 2006
Ok, it was funnier the first time I saw it.
posted by Brian James at 7:14 PM on July 25, 2006
To Live and Die In LA. Even Roger Ebert agrees:
In the hierarchy of great movie chase sequences, the recent landmarks include the chases under the Brooklyn elevated tracks in "The French Connection," down the hills of San Fran cisco in "Bullitt" and through the Paris Metro in "Diva." Those chases were not only thrilling in their own right, but they also reflected the essence of the cities where they took place. Now comes William Friedkin, director of "The
French Connection," with a new movie that contains another chase that belongs on that short list. The movie is set in Los Angeles, and so, of course, the chase centers on the freeway system.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:45 PM on July 25, 2006
In the hierarchy of great movie chase sequences, the recent landmarks include the chases under the Brooklyn elevated tracks in "The French Connection," down the hills of San Fran cisco in "Bullitt" and through the Paris Metro in "Diva." Those chases were not only thrilling in their own right, but they also reflected the essence of the cities where they took place. Now comes William Friedkin, director of "The
French Connection," with a new movie that contains another chase that belongs on that short list. The movie is set in Los Angeles, and so, of course, the chase centers on the freeway system.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:45 PM on July 25, 2006
I don't believe it. 28 comments and no one has mentioned The French Connection. Some chase scenes are exciting, funny, or just visually spectacular; this one is intended to scare the piss out of you and does.
In the same vein, the wrong-way-on-a-crowded-freeway chase in To Live and Die in L.A. will make you want to cover your eyes.
And there will always be a special place in my heart for the comedic automotive ballet that is the big chase scene in Jackie Chan's Operation Condor. Five black Japanese econoboxes somehow manage to seem just as threatening as any big black sedan ever did. And the stunt choreography. Oh my god, the stunt choreography.
posted by Clay201 at 8:22 PM on July 25, 2006
In the same vein, the wrong-way-on-a-crowded-freeway chase in To Live and Die in L.A. will make you want to cover your eyes.
And there will always be a special place in my heart for the comedic automotive ballet that is the big chase scene in Jackie Chan's Operation Condor. Five black Japanese econoboxes somehow manage to seem just as threatening as any big black sedan ever did. And the stunt choreography. Oh my god, the stunt choreography.
posted by Clay201 at 8:22 PM on July 25, 2006
Damnit, Kevin. Didn't see your comment for some reason.
posted by Clay201 at 8:24 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by Clay201 at 8:24 PM on July 25, 2006
Or the second half of mullacc's. Alas. I blame the new meds.
posted by Clay201 at 8:29 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by Clay201 at 8:29 PM on July 25, 2006
It's been a while since I've seen it, but pretty much all of Duel is nerve-grinding in a good way. People flummox Steven Spielberg sometimes but cars never do.
posted by argybarg at 8:53 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by argybarg at 8:53 PM on July 25, 2006
"Man with a bomb" sequences...
* Saving Private Ryan -- The guys with the sticky bombs. One doesn't make it.
* The Dirty Dozen -- As Eddie Murphy once said, "I'm the black guy that does something real heroic and real athletic, just like Jim Brown did in the Dirty Dozen."
* The Manhattan Project -- John Lithgow, a teenage genius and a couple of hapless cops attempt to defuse a nuclear device the kid kinda-sorta-accidentally created as a science project. "Wait! When you say we're gonna cut the wires on 3, do you mean 1-2-cut or 1-2-3-cut?"
posted by frogan at 9:18 PM on July 25, 2006
* Saving Private Ryan -- The guys with the sticky bombs. One doesn't make it.
* The Dirty Dozen -- As Eddie Murphy once said, "I'm the black guy that does something real heroic and real athletic, just like Jim Brown did in the Dirty Dozen."
* The Manhattan Project -- John Lithgow, a teenage genius and a couple of hapless cops attempt to defuse a nuclear device the kid kinda-sorta-accidentally created as a science project. "Wait! When you say we're gonna cut the wires on 3, do you mean 1-2-cut or 1-2-3-cut?"
posted by frogan at 9:18 PM on July 25, 2006
Dude, the opening chase scene from Mad Max with the Nightrider is the god of car chases. I love the way it casts Max as such a predator.
That said, the Road Warrior has got some great stuff, too.
For me the best "man with a bomb" sequence I've seen in a long time was in the end of Mission Impossible 3.
posted by tcobretti at 10:21 PM on July 25, 2006
That said, the Road Warrior has got some great stuff, too.
For me the best "man with a bomb" sequence I've seen in a long time was in the end of Mission Impossible 3.
posted by tcobretti at 10:21 PM on July 25, 2006
I attended a short class on chase sequences once. We watched all sorts, but it was a long time ago and I don't really remember what they were all too well. However, I do recall that the one I liked best, which stuck with me for being so incredibly original, was the chase scene in Raising Arizona (where the guy has to get Pampers from the grocery store). Great music, too.
posted by painquale at 10:27 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by painquale at 10:27 PM on July 25, 2006
The Chase with Charlie Sheen. He steals a car and while trying to escape to Mexico, is followed by news crews (broadcasting live!), Henry Rollins as a policeman being filmed for a "COPS" type show and Flea and Anthony Keidis (sp?) as two yahoos in a monster truck trying to take Sheen down vigilante style.
The chase sequence lasts pretty much the whole show with cutaways to various people watching it on TV.
posted by sciatica at 10:50 PM on July 25, 2006
The chase sequence lasts pretty much the whole show with cutaways to various people watching it on TV.
posted by sciatica at 10:50 PM on July 25, 2006
Dammit. You guys said all the good ones.
Ronin for Car chase, followed by Blues Brothers and Raiders.
Foot Chase? Defintely Point Break. Great use of the camera to make you "feel" like you're in the action.
Bomb - well, Goldfinger. Posssibly Fight Club or Face Off (Cage is perfectly over the top at the beginning of this film.)
Speed has a bomb + a chase. (bonus for combining the two?)
Dr. Strangelove.
posted by filmgeek at 10:54 PM on July 25, 2006
Ronin for Car chase, followed by Blues Brothers and Raiders.
Foot Chase? Defintely Point Break. Great use of the camera to make you "feel" like you're in the action.
Bomb - well, Goldfinger. Posssibly Fight Club or Face Off (Cage is perfectly over the top at the beginning of this film.)
Speed has a bomb + a chase. (bonus for combining the two?)
Dr. Strangelove.
posted by filmgeek at 10:54 PM on July 25, 2006
I have to put in a second endorsement for Duel. The movie is basically one long chase scene, and a pretty solid one at that.
posted by mrbula at 11:12 PM on July 25, 2006
posted by mrbula at 11:12 PM on July 25, 2006
Really great suggestions in here, but here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet:
The Way of the Gun. A realistic and oddly slow-paced car chase at the start of the film. Unfortunately, no bombs involved. Also one of my favorite movies of all time. Thoroughly underrated.
Also, Taxi. No, not the fucking awful American one. The sense of speed in the film is truly sublime.
posted by slimepuppy at 6:36 AM on July 26, 2006
The Way of the Gun. A realistic and oddly slow-paced car chase at the start of the film. Unfortunately, no bombs involved. Also one of my favorite movies of all time. Thoroughly underrated.
Also, Taxi. No, not the fucking awful American one. The sense of speed in the film is truly sublime.
posted by slimepuppy at 6:36 AM on July 26, 2006
Since someone mentioned the Phantom Menace above, it's worth noting that that scene is a homage to the chariot race in Ben-Hur. Both versions (the silent version and the '50s remake) are worth seeing for their action sequences.
posted by Prospero at 6:52 AM on July 26, 2006
posted by Prospero at 6:52 AM on July 26, 2006
Ditto Taxi - the opening sccoter race nearly makes me wet my pants - especially when he actually gets the side down on it!
I thought the 5th Element taxi scene was good, and of course, the all time A-Grader, the original Italian Job of course. (Can't believe no one said that already) Nuclear in the film of the same name with Keanu Reeves.
Amsterdamned - Boats
Force Ten From Navarone when the Dam finally goes
Going back a bit, 'The Man With The Golden Gun' is a cracker; boat wise 'Live and Let Die' and the ole' mustang in Diamonds of course.
Bomb wise - 5th Element (Change the tune!) Lethal Weapon 2 - toliet et all - 3(4?) (almost anything Joel Silvers' done) 28 Days Petrol station going up, Nuclear in T2 when the skeletons appear, Casino - stonking travel shot of the explosion. Speaking of travel shots, the rotation shot regarding the ball bearings in Swordfish.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 7:15 AM on July 26, 2006
I thought the 5th Element taxi scene was good, and of course, the all time A-Grader, the original Italian Job of course. (Can't believe no one said that already) Nuclear in the film of the same name with Keanu Reeves.
Amsterdamned - Boats
Force Ten From Navarone when the Dam finally goes
Going back a bit, 'The Man With The Golden Gun' is a cracker; boat wise 'Live and Let Die' and the ole' mustang in Diamonds of course.
Bomb wise - 5th Element (Change the tune!) Lethal Weapon 2 - toliet et all - 3(4?) (almost anything Joel Silvers' done) 28 Days Petrol station going up, Nuclear in T2 when the skeletons appear, Casino - stonking travel shot of the explosion. Speaking of travel shots, the rotation shot regarding the ball bearings in Swordfish.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 7:15 AM on July 26, 2006
The original In-laws has the best chase scene of all time... man clinging to car hood, market day chaos, a truck full of bananas... I can't say enough.
posted by ewkpates at 7:35 AM on July 26, 2006
posted by ewkpates at 7:35 AM on July 26, 2006
fear is the key 1972.vanishing point .1971
posted by baker dave at 8:43 AM on July 26, 2006
posted by baker dave at 8:43 AM on July 26, 2006
The two most hilarious chase scenes ever filmed: The In-Laws (original w/Arkin and Falk) and What's Up Doc.
posted by Crotalus at 11:48 AM on July 26, 2006
posted by Crotalus at 11:48 AM on July 26, 2006
Seconding What's Up Doc. Very, very funny chase scene through the streets of San Francisco involving plates of glass, men on ladders, a Chinese dragon parade, enormous black Cadillacs, silly period costumes, and, eventually, the San Francisco Bay. Wonderful dialogue throughout.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:07 PM on July 26, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:07 PM on July 26, 2006
And not quite a chase sequence, but I believe the greatest car crash sequence ever filmed is the opening of Final Destination 2. It is truly spectacular.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:10 PM on July 26, 2006
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:10 PM on July 26, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by karmaville at 4:54 PM on July 25, 2006