The Anatomy of a Chase: Behind the Scenes of the Filming of 'The Seven-Ups'

"The Seven-Up" is a moderate 1970's action film that drinks from the same fountain as "The French Connection" as evidenced since both films were produced by Fox, have the same producer and both have Roy Scheider as one of the leads along with some other cast members. It didn't get the Oscar neither had the same box-office results but it surely got it's fair share of fans and admirers since it composes a nice story with great action moments as the genre was growing significantly right after the sucess of "French", Best Picture of 1971. Another thing they have in common is that both present an epic and impressive car chase sequence, all result and inspired from the amazing sequence from "Bullitt" (again Philip D'Antoni as producer, this time in "The Seven-Up" he's the director). And that's what "The Anatomy of a Chase: Behind the Scenes of the Filming of 'The Seven-Ups'" is all about: to follow the high point of the movie which is the amazing and spectacular ten-minute chase sequence where Roy Scheider follows the bad guy through the streets of New York.

Interesting documentary that presents in detail the persecution, the car stunts (Bill Hickman being one of them and also part of "The French Connection"); the details of the cameras attached to the lower parts of the vehicle to make the audiences feel the action and be part of it all. It's an interesting piece that makes you curious about the composition of such dangerous sequence - a near fatal mistake almost ruined everything and almost hit the crew and that's a scary moment that was captured by the cameras; and it makes you want to revisit the film just to imagine how everything was conceived. Had it been longer it'd be a more interesting project than what it is. My favorite sequence is when the second unit director instructs the children extras in one of the most thrilling sequences where the two cars appear on the street they're playing games. You can feel the professionalism of the kids and their interest in making the best of this incredible scene - I remember being very impressed when the moment came in the film even though it's quite quick, blink and miss.

So here's a good behind the scenes documentary that it's actually better than the movie it presents. 8/10.