I like a pause mid chase, tension, confusion, idling V8, then boom back to it.
Wheelman with Frank Grillo is a good b movie car movie. I need to re watch that one.
I like a pause mid chase, tension, confusion, idling V8, then boom back to it.
Wheelman with Frank Grillo is a good b movie car movie. I need to re watch that one.
Reasons why Ronin is tops:
1. Real cars, with their actual engine and tire sounds, operating within their real physical limitations.
2. No attempt to "top" another film or stunt.
3. The cars understeer a lot, just like they would with real people (not pros) doing that driving.
4. Robert DeNiro is clenching. Watch his facial expressions and his hands on the dashboard. He's frightened, if not terrified. With the modern rigs with an out-of-sight pro driving it should be possible to scare your stars a bit while the cameras are rolling.
5. Natascha McElhone >shows< the effects of this high-stress car chase. Toward the end her eye motion becomes frantic, her hair is blowing around and in her face.
6. No one jumps a river or a drawbridge or something obviously fantastical. It's just a regular car chase! It's doesn't have any death-defying stunts, just well-executed camera angles and precision stunt driving.
In reply to DWNSHFT :
That's the exact image i was thinking of. Although I think it was Vincent (Jean Reno) who said "eh, merde..." while buckling up.
1. Big block V8.
2. 8 track of Sam & Dave.
3. Parking lots are good, inside a mall is better. Bonus points for Pier One Imports, Toys R Us, disco pants & haircuts, and an Oldsmobile dealership.
4. Do at least 106 mph along Lower Wacker Drive. Brake hard for the guy on a bicycle.
5. Drive against traffic, at night, in the pouring rain, on a freeway. Get sideswiped by semis, rear ended, bounce off an overturned trailer, then jump a car carrier that happens to be inclined just right. Fly out of a roiling fireball, stick the landing, nail the bad guy hard enough to send his Maserati flipping and bouncing.
All in the same movie.
WonkoTheSane said:David S. Wallens said:In reply to rustomatic :
I was just going to mention that word: tension.
Sure, the footage of Mustang and Charger screeching around San Francisco is legendary, but it’s the setup that always sucks me in–especially the music and then how it instantly goes away the second the tires start spinning.
After re-watching this clip, I think the answer is hubcaps.. And, unfortunately, that era has passed.
Cars can't lose hubcaps in chase scenes, and I think the world is poorer for it.
Pfft
The police car in the tunnel chase in Ronin loses a hubcap.
Camera shots that are only a couple seconds before cutting to a different vantage point really make me angry. Just as I'm taking in the detail and orienting myself it changes and I have to start over. Fight scenes are really bad at this!
Lets see some proper methods for steering, shifting, heel-toe, etc in relation to the cars movements (and gauge readings). There is a very quick shot in Mr. and Mrs. Smith of a (I think) 180 done with the minivan from the drivers prospective showing all the hand movements and shifting.
A fake thing that had me shaking my head was in the 7th F&F movie. Shaw is driving a green Aston Martin and shifting a manual trans that the car never came with! Look close and you'll see the fake shifter is from a Porsche and the P R D buttons are visable in car.... oh, and the big diesel truck that keeps up with all the fast cars.
One stunt I've always wanted to see done:
Hero is stuck construction traffic, drives one side of the car up the angled end of the K-rail (temp concrete barrier) to squeeze by at a 45 degree angle. Sort of like skiing the car with an assist. Bonus points if "glad I put in that limited slip diff." gets uttered.
This is slightly not what you asked for, but I have witnessed some complicated real life car chasing before that was very memorable:
There were threats made by occupants of car A, who then drove away
B hunted for A
A was found and surprised - ahHA!
Violence was performed by B against A, who ran and was chased by B
A had backup (C) who unexpectedly appeared and counter-violenced B. Car C took over chasing B, car A hung around waiting to help
B ran, repeatedly dodging being cornered by C's faster car. B called in authorities and somehow disposed of weapon from first violent incident before authorities intervened in a swarm
I think that would be a pretty good chase scene right there. The element of surprise from a 3rd party kinda reminds me of a police dash cam video from back in the 90s when some guy was about to be trapped by the police in a single lane construction zone when a square body Caprice jumped in front of the lead police car. Everyone assumed it was an unmarked cop car until the Caprice slowed down and blocked the police cars, letting his friend get away
Also, +1 on relatable cars
Depending on the characters, this may not fly, but there's real desperation when you're running for your life, right? Trying to keep your cool. If you *could* fight, you would, but clearly there's a chase because fighting is somehow not an option?
Also, it would be cool to see one of the drivers do like a calming breath work "okay calm down, deep breath in, slowly out, deep breath in..." I remember hearing a police officer interviewed about a crazy chase talk about how he had to slow himself down and stay calm. I feel like that could be a cool thing to see
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:One stunt I've always wanted to see done:
Hero is stuck construction traffic, drives one side of the car up the angled end of the K-rail (temp concrete barrier) to squeeze by at a 45 degree angle. Sort of like skiing the car with an assist. Bonus points if "glad I put in that limited slip diff." gets uttered.
I think they tried to do that in one of the Lethal Weapon movies, and they didn't quite make it, grinding the heck out of the side of the car.
"Could've been worse... could've been Trish's car"
I'll self-proclaim as one of the biggest car chase nerds/critics there is. I demand authentic driving. No F&F movie even rates on my view list as a result.
Though the bulk of the movie is b-quality, the opening car chase in Mad Max is surprisingly well done. The camera angles are good, the build-up to Max joining the chase is wonderfully edited and the sounds are (mostly) excellent, though the USA dubbed version is a bit better in some ways. Where it falls apart is the awful undercranked film edits.
Bullit, of course, gets it right aside from the endless hubcaps.
My all-time favorite movie (not chase scene by itself) is Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. For me, the entire film is a study in how car chases should be filmed. While the Charger scenes are the most popular, this sequence with the Impala really captures the sense of speed with the camera angles. Aside from the silly hood flying open at the end, it's a really great scene.
Though the "robbing a grocery store to go NASCAR racing" thing is woefully outdated, the rest of the movie is highly plausible. Even the gimmicky drawbridge jump (possibly the first time that trope was used?) is wholly realistic...and in this movie, even pucker-inducing if you study the landing.
Camera angles are, for me, one of the biggest factors. The low mounted shots in this, Mad Max and The Driver really provide the sense of speed. Note also that the examples above don't use the frantic quick cuts that seem to be the favorite of modern directors. That completely ruins the chase in the second Bourne film for me. As someone else noted, my eyes/brain can't focus quickly enough to savor what is actually happening. Ruined the film for me the first time I saw it.
And for all that is sacred, DO NOT have the car explode into a fireball at the end. Nobody believes that anymore. (And yes, I realize it's a major factor in my favorite car chase movie)
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Anybody who has been to a dirt circle track knows tires can squeal on dirt.
Ronin is the best example I can think of for the previously mentioned reasons. Stick to real physics.
I watched Gran Turismo on a plane recently. In any of the cockpit scenes, the harnesses were not on over the HANS properly and obviously not tight. Details like that get me.
No staring at a passing car while driving down a racetrack at 200 mph. Eye glances but minimal head movement and no staring.
No flinging bodies to the side while grabbing and steering the wheel to show high g-force.
1988RedT2 said:None of the above matters.
Gotta have cool cars.
I can't get into that. He'll always be The Dude to me.
I love continuity. I know it is difficult to film, but I hate when I recognize the area of a chase sequence and it's not in order.
I want it to look like the driver is trying to drive as fast as possible. No tail-out drifting, that's slow most of the time. Understeer happens, oversteer happens, but it's gotta be something the driver is trying to deal with. Bullitt is the prime example. Let the body movement of the car tell the story - the old 70's chases were great for this as the cars flopped around. Same with the big Merc in Ronin. No "upshift to go faster" foolishness either, of course. The driver should be stressed because this is stressful. Using the car as a weapon - Bourne style - is a great addition.
Don't ever pull the handbrake if you want to stop quickly. Seriously. Gone in 60s Seconds remake, I'm looking at you. I actually know someone who was in a street race and did that - he'd learned it from films. The car ended up going into a crowd and he hit his best friend. Went to jail for it. Don't pull the handbrake if you want to stop quickly.
Of course, all this goes out the window if it's stylized on purpose. The RWD Subaru in Baby Driver is fine, because that was introducing the main character who is just ridiculously skilled and who was toying with the cops. It must have been converted to RWD by a previous owner, because the car is obviously a stolen tool and not his pride and joy. The filthy headliner tells the story.
The most memorably bad chase scene I can think of is in F&F2: Tokyo Drift. There's an Evo in there that's been converted to RWD and it's just the saddest thing watching a rally special just completely unable to put down any power. Never mind the countless upshifts and the gratuitous slow drifts.
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