Everybody has opinions. So here's mine: I have watched and scrutinized Bullitt, The French Connection and The Seven Ups so many times I've lost count. Bill Hickman, the stunt driver/coordinator for all three films also plays roles in all three films. Obviously, his screen characters drive cars as well and he's easily identifiable: He looks like a badass. He played the assassin in Bullitt, FBI Agent Mulderig in the French Connection and the kidnapper in The Seven Ups. I've concluded that the best chase in all three movies takes place in the Seven Ups. The speeds attained on those New York City streets was the real deal. You can tell, the cameraman did not undercrank. Also, it took Hickman incredible guts to drive a full sized black Oldsmobile 4-door as fast as he did. If you look at the rocker panels of the 4 door Olds and two door Pontiac Apollo (driven by Roy Scheider's character), you can see they somehow beefed up the undercarriage with two cross braces. Truly scrutinize the three chases and you will see that the Seven Ups is truly the best chase. Also, if you dare to compare, the Bullitt and Seven Ups chases are almost identical! I'm interested in quality feedback on my opinion. Thanks!

The way the chase in The Seven-Ups ended jolted me out of my seat.

It would be hard to take issue with that choice. My personal favorite, however, remains The French Connection. It was unique (car chasing an el train) and shot/cut in such a way that it kept me from blinking for many viewings.

We did this thread last month. (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9990) (To the day, in fact.)

Hugh
Your attention to detail is so on! I'll have to watch those movies again and pay attention better.

to live and die in LA. looks at speed to me anyways.

Uh... helloo.... VANISHING POINT....

Has anybody seen that Peter Yates movie, Robbery, shot in England in the 1960s? Allegedly, he was hand picked by McQueen to direct Bullitt because of his finesse with the car chase in The Robbery. I haven't seen The Robbery but would rent it on recommendation from somebody here.

Vanishing Point just had the best car ever used in a chase!
Mopar forever!

Well, really, the only good thing about Mopar is their police packages from the 1960s through 1973. Otherwise, Fords in the movies rule.

<<<-- Originally posted by Hugh DiMauro : Well, really, the only good thing about Mopar is their police packages from the 1960s through 1973. Otherwise, Fords in the movies rule. -->>>

WHAAAT???? WHY I'LL KI.... Oh, you said "in the movies", heh heh, my mistake. A ficticious hollywood world is the only place Ford's rule... :)

Say Hemi....
Come on...
SAY IT!!!

Don't tell me you can't remember how cool the Ford Fairlanes looked in the 1960s TV series The FBI or the original Dragnet. How about the 1972 Galaxie 500 driven by Burt Reynolds in White Lightning? A damned 4-door police package with a four speed on the floor (although they used two or three Galaxies in that movie and you can catch the flubs where in one scene it's a floor shifter and in the very next shot its an automatic). Anyhow, when I mouth the words "Hemi" the only thing that comes out is "Hemi-roid". But, in all fairness, the Plymouth Fury in the early 70s did rock. And yes, the PLymouths and Dodges used in Walking Tall looked great. So, I will say that Mopar is a close second to Ford, especially in the movies. I just think the Fords are more "filmic".

As an off-topic point of nostalgia, I learned how to drive in a two-door '64 Ford Fairlane Custom 500, with all the rare options such as seat belts and back-up lights. 289 V8. Now that was a great car!

Those hemis are great for street racing, eh Dylan? hehehe

By the way... how are things going down here for you? We did warn you :)

the closet i ever got to a Hemi was my 73 charger with a 383! close enuff for a young 17 year old back in 1980. now, to my shame i have one 318 and 2 /6s. one day there will be big block mopar in my garage again!

oh yeah, and i've read that they had the good sence to drive a camaro into that front end loader at the end of Vanishing Point.

Ack! Gary, give a spoiler warning if you are going to ruin the end of the movie for everyone!

BTW, it was a Challenger R/T, not a Camaro.

To be honest, I'm not really a MOPAR guy, I'm a Corvette guy, but my dream non-Corvette muscle car is a plum '71 Cuda convertible. Yeah, that'd be sweeeet...

When I was a kid, there used to be two Superbirds in town-one green, called the Judge, the other was a plum-ish purple called Grape Ape. Just down my street was an ass with a 69-71 Charger in the driveway that just sat. In his garage was the Hemi to it. It also just sat. To the best of my knowledge, they are still sitting there to this day.

sorry about the spolier, its a 30 year old movie.....i guess i thought every one had seen it. btw, ive just read on my Mopar boards that its a .............* SPOILER COMING*........ that gets plowed in to the tractor.

...69 WHITE CAMARO..., I'll double check, seems they had like 5-6 cars, 2 big bolcks ? and the rest 318s... not hard to check... guess i should do that now. and

beating a dead horse......


http://www.vanishingpointmania.com/(1971)_behind_the_scenes.htm

Sonofagun... That's interesting. They used a Camaro as a stunt car to replace the Challenger when they crashed it.

WOW! I loved that link! I never saw Vanishing Point nor paid any mind to the it's cult status. After browing the link, I will rent the DVD. Also, I might just buy the adult collectible R/T I keep seeing at our local department store. Thanks for intruducing me to the movie. I'll respond with my thoughts after I see it.

The car chases in Ronin were awesome. The latest Matrix had a great one. (Although a lot was CGI) In one scene the camera went right through a semi.