The other day I watched a film that I hadn't seen in its entirety for quite some time. That film (which I won't reveal yet; it's #2 on the list, though) includes one of my favorite chase scenes of all time. It was then that I decided I wanted to do a post with a top 5 movie chase scenes list. The thing is, once I started trying to figure out my top 5, the list grew to 10, then 20, then 25, and finally I forced myself to stop at 30.

Please keep in mind that I am not saying this is the be-all, end-all best 30 movie chase scenes in this particular order and anything you say that is different is wrong. These are MY favorite, most EPIC-est (yes I know that isn't a word, but I will be overusing the word EPIC, and doing so on purpose) 30 movie chase scenes. I also know there are many I just totally missed or simply just didn't have a lot of interest in -- things like The Matrix: Reloaded, The Italian Job - original and remake, and the Bourne films all come to mind as ones I purposely skipped.

This list is NOT limited to just car chases as many would expect when they see the post title. There ARE many car chases, but there are also chases involving boats, planes, bikes, helicopters, on foot, and even a hang glider.

One of the things that make chase scenes such a staple in films is the fact that often, you don't even have to see the film to know the chase scene. They tend to take on such iconic status that I am betting there are at least a few on this list where you have never seen the movie, but you can tell me about the chase scene. I can say with certainty that there are at least five on the list that I have never seen the entire film, and yet the chase makes this list of MY favorite 30 scenes.

Let's get started with this list.

#30

This list HAD to include Gone in 60 Seconds -- but not the Nicolas Cage remake, which does have a pretty good chase scene. Cage fans needn't worry, though; he shows up later in our countdown. Coming in at #30 on my list is the EPIC 40-minute car chase in the original version from 1974. If hearing that it was 40 minutes long didn't impress you, please realize this entire movie is only about 90 minutes long. The reason that it only comes in at #30 is because there are points that are slow and many spots that are ridiculous. For instance, once the Mustang is so banged up that it shouldn't be drivable, he trades it off with an identical car at a car wash without anyone realizing. My favorite shot comes near the 32:30 mark of this video as row after row of cars in the chase come over the sweeping hills. I think it is a great visual.

#29

This is one of the films I have not seen. Ronin (1998) stars Robert DeNiro as a former U.S. Ingelligence Agent tasked with getting his hands on a mysterious package that the Irish and Russians want. This chase is exciting on its own, but when you find out that DeNiro and Natascha McElhone were actually in the cars doing speeds near 90MPH through the streets of Paris, it takes it up a notch. They weren't really driving though -- just copying the stunt driver's movements. Stunt drivers drove from the passenger seat of these right-driving cars.

#28

Making #28 on my list is a classic horror film, Christine. How can you not expect to have a classic horror flick when director John Carpenter teams with a Stephen King story? For those that don't know the story, it is about a car that comes off the assembly line possessed. It has a knack for taking out anyone that messes with its owner, or even those that might try to get to close to the owner. It also has the power to repair itself after any damage.

I am including two videos for this one because I personally prefer Moochie's death scene in this first video. You will see how the car has no regard for its own safety, knowing that it can fix any damage on its own. In the second video, Christine kills off the other three members of the group of bullies that always tormented her owner, Arnie Cunningham, with a final fiery death for them all, especially the group's leader, Buddy Repperton, after a nice little chase.

I actually work with actor Stu Charno, who plays Don Vandenberg (the one who goes up in flames first inside the garage). He was in Friday the 13th Part II as well. I currently sell 8 X 10 photos signed by Stu from those films, as well as Once Bitten, Just One of the Guys, and The X-Files. He attended a special mini-convention for the film in Los Angeles about two years ago, which marked the release of the film on Blu-Ray for the first time. There was a replica of the 1957 Plymouth Fury at the show. I couldn't make it but I heard it was great. He was joined by about five other cast members.

#27

This video shows the culmination of a much longer chase. I was never a huge Thelma & Louise fan, but it is hard to overlook one of the most legendary movie endings in cinematic history.

#26

At #26 we have our first fully non-vehicular chase scene of the list. Stephen King and horror make another appearance on the list with The Shining. The chase takes place in the iconic snow-covered hedge maze outside the Stanley Hotel as crazed Jack Torrance (portrayed by Jack Nicholson) chases his son Danny with an axe in the bitter cold temperatures. Luckily for Danny, his mother Wendy comes to the rescue in time, which turns out to be not so lucky for Jack -- who meets his end in the Colorado winter night.

#25

Essentially the entire Smokey and the Bandit movie franchise is a series of chase scenes with some filler in between. While there are many great scenes to pick from, I went with one of the most EPIC in size. In Smokey and the Bandit II, Bandit, Cledus, and Carrie are tasked with transporting an elephant cross-country this time around. Of course, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is still in hot pursuit of the Bandit in this first sequel. This time around though, instead of just relying on his bumbling son Junior, he calls in reinforcements. His brother, Gaylord (complete with stereotypical and politically-incorrect name considering he was gay), and his other brother Reggie (who somehow managed to become a show tune-singing Royal Canadian Mountie rather than a sheriff deep in the heart of Texas like his siblings). They brought their entire police squads of dozens and dozens of cars with them.

While all those Smokeys were hot on Bandit's tail in the desert, Cledus was rounding up some buddies and leading the charge to save him. Things quickly turn into the largest game of chicken ever and a total demolition derby.

Please note: this video is from a recording on ABC apparently, and thus quite a bit of the dialogue was changed to make it TV friendly, but you can imagine the bad words in there instead.

#24

We have had car vs. car, car vs. tractor trailer, and even car vs. man, so why not add cars driven by federal agents and police vs. young children and an alien riding bicycles . . . and quite literally managing to ride off into the sunset. Even if you have never seen E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, you probably have still seen the part where E.T. uses his powers to let the group of kids fly, thus avoiding capture and casting their silhouettes on the sun as they do it.

It is weird to think that they thought the child actors would be able to do this bike riding on their own, moving up and down those hills, and doing some hardcore riding even on the flat areas. They found out quickly that they were wrong and headed out to local bike parks and competitions to hire some professional BMX riders to do it instead. You will notice that when they are doing the heavy riding scenes, they are all wearing hoods or have their faces obscured in some way to hide this fact.

#23

There are quite a few chase scenes involved in the Star Wars franchise, which to me is just the original three films. I have not seen a single one of the newer ones; DON'T JUDGE ME! The main ones that came to mind while forming this list were the fight scene leading to the Death Star in the original, and then the Millennium Falcon being chased and escaping into the asteroid belt where no one in their right mind would go. I wound up choosing this chase from Return of the Jedi though, quite possibly because I have memories of spending dozens of hours playing the video game and learning to drive those damn Speeder Bikes through the forest without running into every other tree. Anyway, it is a pretty cool and different chase scene.

#22

When Mad Max: Fury Road came out, everyone went nuts over it. This is another one that I have never seen in its entirety yet. There have been numerous times when I have been flipping through the channels, though, and come across it. When I do and it is at this scene, I usually stop and watch it until the scene is over. While it is a great scene, makes wonderful use of CGI, and is much more colorful, it simply does not live up to the EPICness of The Road Warrior.

#21

Let's face it, James Bond movies could make up a list of top chase scenes all by themselves. Even Timothy Dalton got a pretty kickass chase scene complete with car skis and laser beams capable of cutting the chassis right off a moving cop car. We could even make a Top 6 or 7 list of James Bond boat chase scenes: The World is Not Enough, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre. I am not surprised that Sean Connery wasn't in any of the boat chases. He preferred submarines to speed boats. I may have missed some, but for me the best boat chase scene from a Bond film was in Moonraker. When you can end a boat chase and avoid going over a waterfall by taking off in a hang glider and at the same time send Jaws over the falls, it is pretty EPIC.

#20

I was never a huge Terminator fan either, though I'm not really sure why. However, I can't skip over Terminator 2 with Robert Patrick as T-1000 in a tractor trailer chasing after John Connor on a motorcycle. The scene ends with an EPIC motorcycle jump and crashing of the truck, making for a very exciting scene.

#19

Harrison Ford may have missed out on the Star Wars pick for the countdown, but he gets his due here. This chase scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark reaches many levels of EPIC. It starts out with Indy on horseback, then on a truck, in a truck, and who can forget UNDER a truck!

#18

These next two on our countdown I also have not seen, but when you have films named "The Driver" and "Drive," you can pretty much expect some great chase scenes. While Drive (2011) is not a remake of The Driver (1978), this Ryan Gosling chase scene definitely pays a bit of an homage to the original with Ryan O'Neal.

They are both pretty EPIC. I love how they utilize the lack of dialogue to build the suspense even more, how they both hide by just sitting still and turning off the lights, and then the face-off head-to-head which leads to them flooring the gas suddenly.

#17

#16

As I said before, The Road Warrior's chase was more EPIC than Fury Road's chase, which is why it is higher on our countdown. While Mad Max before it and Thunderdome after all have some amazing chase scenes, I feel this is probably the quintessential chase of the bunch. The ending with Vernon Wells's jump scare right before he meets his end is ingrained in the minds of so many movie fans.

You can find the rest of the countdown here:
The Most EPIC Movie Chase Scene List Ever - My Favorite 30! Part 2 of 2 (15-1)