Die Blechpiraten

The original "Gone In 60 Seconds" will be remembered by many viewers as the best car-chase film of all time. It will also be remembered as the film that featured lots of destroyed cars in a 40 minute chase. As said in the film's IMDb trivia: "93 cars are crashed in this 97 minute movie."

The best part of this whole movie is the 40-minute chase scene. So many cars are crashed and destroyed during the chase, including original city police cars. What's more, the chase scene had absolutely NO special effects, meaning that all the crashes and smashes were real. Furthermore, H.B. Halicki himself wrote, directed, and starred in the movie. He even drove the "star car" (the Mustang) throughout the chase!

My only negative comment about the film is that the beginning of the movie is very slow; so slow that you may be very eager to get to the 40-minute chase scene. However, if you have the DVD, you can just watch the film starting from the chase scene if you want to.

Overall, this movie had an awesome chase scene. It is the best chase scene ever filmed in a movie. It has to be seen to be believed.

P.S: This movie is much much better than the awful remake.

I've only seen trailers for the Summer 2000 release of GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS. But the trailers show a big budget, MTV style editing, and big stars. What it didn't show was that this thriller about a master car thief is a remake of this 1974 no-budgeter by auto man Halicki. The 1974 GI60S's charm is that it is very low budget. Some scenes, such as the auto auction in the run down lot, or the Radio DJ's cramped little studio add to some crisp atmosphere. However, the first half of GI60S is rather amateurish (One entire scene is terribly out of focus) and we have trouble following Halicki's unprofessionally written plot. The second half of the film is a car chase that has to be seen to be believed! In 40 minutes, close to 90 cars are destroyed in a massive auto chase spanning several cities, freeways, parks, lots, you just name it. For all it's sloppiness, the original 1974 version of GI60S has a neat charm.

Hey guys, if you want to REALLY enjoy this flick, watch the horrific remake first. You had to be young in the mid 70's to remember the hype that went with this flick. A total B-Grader that had audiences (including me and my 19 year old wife) queued up around the block.

Considering its microscopic budget, H B Halicki delivered precisely what audiences wanted to see - truck loads of cars smashed up! No more no less! No-one handed over their (then) $5 expecting to see Sir Laurence Olivier do Hamlet, they just wanted some serious fender-bending and this they got!

Admittedly I suspect most people who own the video or DVD these days fast-forward to the actual 40 minute chase each time they load it up. I am actually watching it as I compose this critique! (Right at the sequence at the end where Harley pulls off the big swapperoo at the car wash!) Absolute stand-outs are the incredible smash on the freeway when Halicki takes out the power pole at 80 mph plus and the unimproved-upon final scene as the Mach-1 leaps several cars at the intersection. That shot, lovingly photographed from multiple slow-motion camera angles was worth the ticket price alone. The climactic scene in the 2000 version is just plain wimpy!

The plotline for the film is remarkably simple. Man steals cars for a living! For trivia fans who may NOT know. H. B. Halicki died during a stunt filming the sequel GONE IN 60 SECONDS : THE JUNKMAN which features arguably the greatest car stunt of all time. (Sorry, not telling!!)

In this day of "so called" independent film making, the majority of

which is backed by big studio money and ruined by the meddling

of "suits", it's so refreshing to see a truly independent film! "Gone

In 60 Seconds" was written, produced, directed and distributed by

the same man, H.B. Halicki, who also stars AND did most of the

stunt driving! This is truly a film the likes of which we will never see

again, thanks to our over-protective, sue-happy, society of wimps

and victims. Several comments are made about the acting in this

film. I would say that for none of the cast being professionals, they

handled themselves very well. And as for this being Halicki's first

film as a director, he must've known a few things and/or had some

great tech people working with him because the film is cut

together so wonderfully. Then too there is the sheer guilty

pleasure of see cars obliterated. I wish I could've seen this on the

big screen. So, if you're looking for a film with a lot of meaning,

skip this one. If you just want to enjoy a well crafted little film, and

see lots of Plymouth police cars get crunched--run out and get

GONE IN 60 SECONDS (but drive safely, please)!

If you've seen the remake of Gone In 60 Seconds (not a bad movie either) then you must see this outstanding original. Unfortunately, a movie nowadays could never be done like this. H.B. "Toby" Halicki had a dream and he certainly accomplished it here. He must have had more connections than the Gotti Family. It's good to have connections. You take care of people and they take care of you. Toby certainly took care of people and was given the freedom to make this high octane movie the way he wanted to. He had a magnificent collection of cars, among many other items, and used them all in this movie. He bought cars simply to destroy in the movie. He did his own amazing stunt driving, produced, directed, and everything in this movie. Though no one was a professional actor everyone performed well. This isn't an oscar-winning movie, but it's certainly amazing to see what had to be done to make this movie happen. I think this movie is slowly starting to become a cult classic. I can find it in any store nowadays, along with his other few great movies. If you're a fan of the car chase, you'll love this movie for the realism of the impressive 40 minute car chase at the end of the movie. It is AWESOME! Best thing since Bullitt with Steve McQueen. It's great considering you didn't have the special effects. Enjoy the movie! It's a must see!