La grande casse

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 saw Gone In Sixty Seconds in 1974 at this broken down theater in West Memphis, Arkansas when I was 10 years old. From that point on I have been a car chase/motorcycle/Evel Knievel stunt fanatic. The fact that H.B. Haliki was a high school dropout who made his millions in the auto junk business is reason enough to admire the man behind this drive-in classic. With his knowledge of the biz, he made the most hair raising car chase flick ever while teaching himself filmaking 101 at the same time! He was the Jackie Chan of the seventies. A one man demolition squad who teamed up with family and friends and made this movie on a shoestring budget that made over 40 million worldwide during its release. His efforts alone should inspire not only filmakers but anyone who has been putting his or her dreams off for one reason or another. Do like Toby Haliki,Do some research, find a way, stick to it and "CHASE" your dreams.

Most movie buffs will be more familar with the remade version starring Nicholas Cage. This movie however is so different and far far away from the remake. The format is the same. Very slow moving for its first segment with lots of jumping around and pointless scenes which have no relation to the plot and a minimum amount of dialogue. The finale of the movie is probably the ultimate in car chase scenes in history. A lenghty car chase with many smash ups on involving police cars. ( these were real members of the public who agreed to appear in the movie, but the cars were specifically bought, 150 in total) is a joy to watch and reminiscent of an episode of TV series "CHIPS".

Worth a look for those who want to make a comparison to the recent movie or those into high automative thrills so to speak. I like it beacuse it was so badly acted, so bad that it becomes enjoyable hokum. The DVD which I rented of this a few months ago while in Canada has behind the scenes footage which is worthy of note. Look out also for Gone in Seconds 2 made in 1982 starring Christopher Stone

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)!

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!).