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.

This was the seminal movie that raised publics awareness about automobile security. Back then nobody knew actually fast a car can be heisted. Gone in 60 seconds said it all in its title and people became aware how vulnerable their prized possessions were. Now because of this, we have an entire industry dedicated to protecting automobiles.

Looking at this movie is shocking in a way because it shows how "raw" the society was back then. I really love the movie because I can see the nostalgic landscape of Los Angeles shown in all their glories. I can catch some of the landmarks that exists even today. The "cars" are lavish for back then. Pantera, Mangusta, Daytona, Rolls, and of course the '73 Mustang. Very cool.

There's something primal about this movie. Maybe because the production is so basic. There's no special effects, or attempt to make the characters pretty. It feels like drinking water right out of the faucet. This rawness makes this movie moving in a way like no other movies I've seen recently.

This is one heck of a movie, and you owe it to yourself to see it at least once.

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.

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!

It's amazing what could be done with a tiny budget and no digital effects. I watched this after having seen the trashy remake, and expected a similar degree of dumb wisecracks and hackneyed sub-plots.

I was impressed, however, to discover real talent behind the camera. The plot is simple: a car thief has to steal 40 fancy cars in a very short time. Using a combination of skill, insider knowledge of the insurance business and just sheer brass, the protagonist and his pals start their automotive harvest. Everything seems done and taken care of, when everything goes to hell at the last moment, leading to what surely be the longest car chase put to film.

The best thing about this movie is its low-budget feel. Many of the early scenes are almost mimed, with voices overdubbed later; you don't see actual dialogue, just hear it on top of the action. But as things progress, it begins to show more polish, and by the time we get to the big chase, you get what appears to be the entire 7th Cavalry Division in squad cars chasing one li'l yellow Mustang.

A very smart touch during the big chase was to frequently cut to the aftermath of car crashes, with wounded cops and civilians being dragged from burning cars and hustled away in ambulances -- it added an edge to the film, to show there are actually consequences to these actions (and how often is that shown on the big screen?).

Aside from the marvelously-choreographed action sequences, there are many moments of great wit, which I won't describe so's not to spoil them.

All in all, a brilliant piece of film-making, made not with glitz, glamor, star-power or special effects -- just sheer talent (and pretty cars, o'course!).