Incredible Cars – Car Stunts (Part 2)

In the first article we took a closer look at the car stunts and chases from The Blues Brothers, The French Connection, Bullitt and the very famous AMC Hornet “barrel roll” sequence from The Man With The Golden Gun. Those four sequences are certainly standouts when looking at the best film car stunts of all time, some may say that the James Bond barrel roll stunt is perhaps the greatest of all, and it may very well be, but there are many, many more exciting sequences that deserve mention when discussing the top grade famous movie car stunts. 

Ronin was released in 1998 and had a nice amount of pre-release buzz due to the fact that it was being directed by John Frankenheimer and would feature a script written by David Mamet. Combining those two with a cast featuring Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgard and Sean Bean was all but ensuring that Ronin would be a must see.

The chase sequence in question happens at the end of the movie and takes place in Paris. Over 300 stunt drivers were employed to handle this massive sequence that would stretch all over Paris and would make use of countless scenic locations as well as some of the tunnel systems (“Paris has a lot of tunnels,” Frankenheimer commented. “That’s part of the thing about the city I wanted people to see. A crash in a tunnel in Paris is about as likely as someone having a crash on a freeway here [the US]. It happens all the time.”). Director John Frankenheimer is known for his car work and this film is no exception, if anything, it sufficiently upped the ante on any car chases to follow it due to its intensity and realism. Frankenheimer himself actually rode along for much of the filming and insisted that it all be done with real cars and people as opposed to using and cgi effects. 

Adding to the authenticity, most of the actors in the film actually appear behind the wheel in close ups and drive bys, stuntmen were used for all of the numerous crashes. Each vehicle had its sound re-recorded to add to the realism and there was no score used over top of the chase sequence. Over 2000 extras were used for the final chase at the Paris Zenith. While this sequence is best viewed on the big screen, it retains all of its punch when viewed in a home theater setting (*turn up the sound if you’re seeing it at home!).

The Road Warrior is regarded by many fans as some of Mel Gibson’s best work, his character Max Rockatansky is very much an update on the “man with no name” type of loners that were defined by Clint Eastwood in the old Sergio Leone westerns. In many regards, The Road Warrior follows the same narrative as many westerns do, but there is one major difference in that there are no horses since it is a post-apocalyptic setting; instead there are cars. 

The chase sequence at the end of the movie is amazing – the centerpieces of the sequence being a 1970s Mack R-600. As stated on Wikipedia, “The Mack has a massive cowcatcher mounted on the front to protect the vehicle from crash impacts, armored plates welded in front of the radiator (with air slits for cooling ventilation), and armored cages around the wheels. 

The trailer is protected with fortified, spike-encrusted turrets and barbed wire strung up along the sides of the tanker”. Other cars include: 1974 ZG Fairlane, a Holden Monaro, Ford XA Falcon, a Valiant VH coupe; a VW Kombi; a Ford Landau; and many Valiant Chargers