Gallery: Hollywood's Best Car Chases, As Rated by a Top Stunt Driver
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[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/20-05/) [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/20-05/)[Also in this issue](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/20-05/) - [The Man Who Makes the Future](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/epicenter/2012/04/ff_andreessen/) - [How to Spot the Future](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/epicenter/2012/04/ff_spotfuture/) - [The Rise of the Robot Reporter](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/can-an-algorithm-write-a-better-news-story-than-a-human-reporter/) There's a highly scientific explanation for why so many films feature car chases: Car chases are awesome. And there are so many good ones that to safely navigate a timeline of the best, we handed the wheel to an actual stunt driver—Darrin Prescott, who orchestrated the car-fu in *The Bourne Supremacy*, *The Bourne Ultimatum*, and *Drive*. __Above:__ Bullitt (1968) ----------------- Steve McQueen's 1968 Mustang Fastback flies over the hills of San Francisco on the trail of two hit men. Prescott's take: "Those guys really were going really fast. Today we shoot it so it looks fast. But back then it was hammer down and go."
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The French Connection (1971) ---------------------------- Gene Hackman races an elevated train through the packed streets of Brooklyn. Prescott's take: "It was the first car chase where it felt like the character was actually doing it. It plays well because it was shot from inside the car. Locations are everything."
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Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) ------------------------- Forty minutes of epic, 93-car-wrecking mayhem. Prescott's take: "They keep it together—a really cool scene."
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Hooper (1978) ------------- Burt Reynolds' Trans-Am just makes it under a collapsing smokestack. Prescott's take: "I talked to a stuntman who was on the set and he was like, 'We just timed it.'"
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To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) ------------------------------ Turns out, you can drive against traffic on an LA freeway. Prescott's take: "Every director I talk to wants me to do *Bullitt* or *Ronin*, but when I show them this they're blown away. It's the best car chase ever done."
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Ronin (1998) ------------ High-speed pursuit through Paris. Prescott's take: "They hired professional Le Mans drivers and just let those guys clip it through the towns and haul ass."
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Death Proof (2007) ------------------ Quentin Tarantino's homage to '70s car movies. Prescott's take: "It's just raw, gritty, and violent. Really good stuff."
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Death Proof (2007) ------------------ Quentin Tarantino's homage to '70s car movies. Prescott's take: "It's just raw, gritty, and violent. Really good stuff."
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Quantum of Solace (2008) ------------------------ Aston Martin DBS FTW! Prescott's take: "Start piling up $200,000 cars and production gets upset. But in order to make a good chase, you're going to break a few eggs."
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Quantum of Solace (2008) ------------------------ Aston Martin DBS FTW! Prescott's take: "Start piling up $200,000 cars and production gets upset. But in order to make a good chase, you're going to break a few eggs."
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Drive (2011) ------------ Director Nicholas Winding Refn waits until the post-heist-gone-wrong sequence to unleash the best chase in recent memory. Prescott's take: "Refn wanted a crash no one had ever seen before. Usually that requires testing and rehearsal, but we didn't have a ton of money. It was one-and-done."
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Drive (2011) ------------ Director Nicholas Winding Refn waits until the post-heist-gone-wrong sequence to unleash the best chase in recent memory. Prescott's take: "Refn wanted a crash no one had ever seen before. Usually that requires testing and rehearsal, but we didn't have a ton of money. It was one-and-done."
