# Great Foot Chase Scenes?



## barsoomcore (Mar 3, 2005)

Okay, so you already know about _Hot Pursuit: The Definitive d20 Guide to Chases_, and you've already bought it, devoured it, loved every inch of it. And of course you want more. Especially and particularly, you want more material on foot chases. When folks are RUNNING for their lives, things are little different than when they're DRIVING for their lives.

Well, more material is coming. Foot chases are going to get a big ol' treatment with plenty of fun stuff. I'm muchly inspired and very excited about this. But I'm looking for more inspiration. You can never have too much inspiration.

Having seen _Ong Bak_, and being a mad Jackie Chan devotee, I've got plenty already, but I'm sure ENWorld readers can provide me with more. So here's my question:

What are the great foot chase scenes from cinema? Scenes where someone's running, somebody else is running, and they're running after some other guy, or something.

Great foot chases. Where are they, and what makes them great?

Lay it on me.


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Mar 3, 2005)

So the T-1000 chasing down the car on foot doesn't count...?


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## Zog (Mar 3, 2005)

Run Lola run -- not a chase scene per se, only a race against time.

Throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip" - people being chased by giant boulders is always cool

For a different take on things: the Marx Brothers The Big Store ends with a frantic chase/game of keep away.

Crouching tiger hidden dragon -- race across rooftops


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## Thornir Alekeg (Mar 3, 2005)

I seem to recall a good foot chase in "Point Break."


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## Klaus (Mar 3, 2005)

Shaft (the Samuel L. Jackson one. "Don't make me run after you!")

Operation France (y'know, Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle... I can't recall if the chase is in 1 or 2)


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## barsoomcore (Mar 3, 2005)

Hey, great stuff right out of the gate! Awesome!

I'll be hitting the video store tonight, that's for sure.

Thanks, folks. Keep 'em coming!


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## Dagger75 (Mar 3, 2005)

Bourne Supremacy, when Jason is escaping out of the hotel.  That rocked.


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## jonesy (Mar 3, 2005)

I'm going to come out of the left field and say Detroit 9000.  

Does the Heat bank heist count?


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## Cthulhu's Librarian (Mar 3, 2005)

The Beastie Boys "Sabatage" video


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## Krieg (Mar 3, 2005)

Lethal Weapon - Riggs (Mel Gibson) runs down a car.

In the Line of Fire - Clint Eastwood chases John Malkovich across the rooftops.

Dirty Harry - Harry chases Scorpio through the quarry.

Seven - Chasing John Doe.

Last of the Mohicans - The final chase.

Heat - The heist goes bad.

Enemy of the State - Real time Satellite imagery of a footchase.

North by Northwest - Cary Grant & the cropduster.

Pretty much anything done by Buster Keaton.



			
				Klaus said:
			
		

> Operation France (y'know, Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle... I can't recall if the chase is in 1 or 2)




That would be _The French Connection_ for all of us Americans. 

Klaus nailed it though, Popeye tailing the Frenchman through New York is flawless.


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## Olive (Mar 4, 2005)

The opening scene from _Trainspotting_. That's a good 'un.


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## Nuclear Platypus (Mar 4, 2005)

Spike chasing the 'funky' guy chasing Ein in one of the early episodes of Cowboy Bebop.

Riggs chasing after the Chinese delivery guy in the last Lethal Weapon movie.

I know there's more than a few Jackie Chan one's I like such as one in Project A where Jackie and someone else are handcuffed together while being chased by the bad guys, Jackie trying to get away from more bad guys in Mr. Nice Guy, etc.


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## Berandor (Mar 4, 2005)

Matrix, the rebels hunted by agents (Trinity in the beginning, rooftop chase!)

Knock-Off, the abysmal VanDamme feature, has a nice chase at the beginning (more like a race, actually, but still) when VD must pull a riksha through the streets of Hongkong. Narrow bends, cars driving across, and a cadre of goons that try to crash the riskha.

more as they come.


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## Cthulhudrew (Mar 4, 2005)

A great chase scene that never was- Zombies chasing Shaun in "Shaun of the Dead." I really wish they'd shot that scene. The storyboards cracked me up.


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## Berandor (Mar 4, 2005)

http://www.filmsite.org/moments_msc.html

Greatest Chase Scenes


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## Frostmarrow (Mar 4, 2005)

The Crimson Rivers II. This contains is the most fantastic foot chase I've ever seen. The young police officer is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of a cult assassin/acrobat. I cannot begin to describe how cool it is.

The screen-play is made by Luc Besson and a few years earlier he made a documentary about a new sport of sorts that has sprung up in Paris. Kids who jump around like skateboardes (on foot) in the inner city and on roofs. The sport even has a cool sounding french name but I can't for the life of me remeber it. Anyone care to help?

Oh and the point is: I think one of the kids from that movie is the cult assassin in the Crimson Rivers II.


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## Frostmarrow (Mar 4, 2005)

Got it! The sport is called Le Parkour and the Prêtre tueur (Priest killer) was played by Cyril Raffaelli (one of the pioneers of Le Parkour).

He's been seen a lot apparantly. Check out IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706220/


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## Berandor (Mar 4, 2005)

Frostmarrow said:
			
		

> The Crimson Rivers II. This contains is the most fantastic foot chase I've ever seen. The young police officer is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of a cult assassin/acrobat. I cannot begin to describe how cool it is.
> 
> The screen-play is made by Luc Besson and a few years earlier he made a documentary about a new sport of sorts that has sprung up in Paris. Kids who jump around like skateboardes (on foot) in the inner city and on roofs. The sport even has a cool sounding french name but I can't for the life of me remeber it. Anyone care to help?
> 
> Oh and the point is: I think one of the kids from that movie is the cult assassin in the Crimson Rivers II.



 Yamakazi?

(Looks at imdb) Yes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267129/

That had cool stunts in it, might be a good inspiration even if not directly chase-related. The way they jumped and vaulted could be applied to chases, surely.

Edit: Yamakazi is a movie about this sport, whereas the other film seems to be a documentary. Yamakazi's not a very good movie, however. And the chase from Crimson Rivers II was great, exciting, and plain cool! You should definitely look at it.


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## Fast Learner (Mar 4, 2005)

There aren't any cool stunts in it, but the single most powerfully emotional and moving foot chase I've ever seen is when Jack Nicholson's character is chasing David Morse's in _The Crossing Guard_. You have to see the movie to fully understand, but it's an amazing chase where the guy being chased _almost_ wants to be caught, or maybe he doesn't, or maybe he does. Even he probably doesn't kow. And it's quite realistic, and most people can't run for ages and ages without becoming exhausted.

But it's probably not the kind of thing you're looking for.


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## Klaus (Mar 4, 2005)

Thanks, Krieg! Yes, that's The French Connection.


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## dravot (Mar 4, 2005)

I was always fond of one scene in Memento:

"Why am I running?  ...  Maybe I'm chasing this guy..."

*Other guy shoots at him.*

"Maybe he's chasing me!"


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## Barendd Nobeard (Mar 4, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> What are the great foot chase scenes from cinema? Scenes where someone's running, somebody else is running, and they're running after some other guy, or something.
> 
> Great foot chases. Where are they, and what makes them great?




*Texas Chainsaw Massacre* - go, Leatherface, go!

I don't know; most of the other ones already mentioned are better.  But it's damn creepy being chased by a chainsaw-wielding maniac after he's just disemboweled your paraplegic brother.


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## FoolishFrost (Mar 6, 2005)

Everyone forgot about the 'final run' of Neo in the first Matrix movie?  Nothing like running from beings that can take over any human near you, at will...

The knife-in-the-post-next-to-his-head part was my favorite...


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## Storminator (Mar 6, 2005)

I was giong to say Memento, but somebody beat me to it.

So I'll toss in Raising Arizona. Fabulous chase scen after the convienence store rbbery.

PS


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## Hopping Vampire (Mar 6, 2005)

ong bak


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## ShinHakkaider (Mar 6, 2005)

There's a pretty awesome footchase with Mark Harmon in a movie called THE PRESIDIO. I don't remember many of the details but I do remember MarkHarmon chasing his suspect down a crowded sidewalk and seeing that he wont catch up to him via the sidewalk LEAPS onto the parked cars and begins to run on top of them in order to gain some ground.


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## RichCsigs (Mar 6, 2005)

I love the chase scene at the end of The Peacemaker myself.


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## Krieg (Mar 6, 2005)

Storminator said:
			
		

> So I'll toss in Raising Arizona. Fabulous chase scen after the convienence store rbbery.




Yep forgot about that one. Nice call indeed. 

...and he still managed to pick up the pampers.


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## mmadsen (Mar 6, 2005)

Frostmarrow said:
			
		

> The sport is called Le Parkour...



You find a variety of mind-blowing _parkour_ videos on-line, including at parkour.com: 
Teaser
Nike (Chased by an Angry Chicken)
etc.

If you've played _Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time_, these guys pull of those acrobatics for real.


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## Tonguez (Mar 7, 2005)

Wow no one mentioned the start of 'Men in Black' when NYPD cop James Edwards (Will Smith) is chasing the bug

oh and lots of Jackie Chan stuff  - there's one (forget which) in which he does a backward sommersault with a bicycle

And Le Pakour is amazing - lets see if it can become an Olympic Sport!


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## Pielorinho (Mar 7, 2005)

Krieg said:
			
		

> Heat - The heist goes bad.
> 
> North by Northwest - Cary Grant & the cropduster.




Heh--I was going to name both these movies, but I was thinking about different scenes in each.

In Heat:


Spoiler



The final chase scene, through the field that looks like a chessboard.  Beautiful, symbolic, and tense, with the perfect ending


 
And in North by Northwest:


Spoiler



Across the faces of presidents


 
Both movies are chock full of fantastic scenes!
Daniel


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Mar 8, 2005)

Princess Bride

The Two Towers


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## Hypersmurf (Mar 10, 2005)

Pulp Fiction - Marcellus limps after Butch.

-Hyp.


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## Raloc (Mar 10, 2005)

I liked the opening scene to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels".  While not incredibly long, it was nicely done.


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## RobJN (Mar 10, 2005)

Some that spring to mind:

The arrival in Turkey, from _Spriggan_...

The footchase in _Bad Boys_... "You ladies look great!"


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## FCWesel (Mar 10, 2005)

What about Indy's chase through the streets of Cairo to save Marion from the Nazis?

It has only the MOST FAMOUS "sensically taking out the bad guy" scene EVER filmed.


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## Pants (Mar 11, 2005)

Damn so many out there:

Heat - The Post-Heist

Raising Arizona - The robbery gone wrong (and funny)

Matrix - The agents chasing Neo through the streets

Seven - Chasing John Doe

Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indy chasing Marion through Cairo

More as I think of them...


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## barsoomcore (Apr 15, 2005)

Hey folks, sorry I've left this so long.

Lots of great ideas in here and I've some pretty fine evenings following up on your suggestions. Haven't watched _Crimson Rivers II_ yet mainly because the first one was pretty awful, I thought. Big fan of both Reno and Cassel but that movie was just plain bad. Pretty, but bad. But I'll give II a look-see, maybe even tonight.

_Hot Pursuit: On Foot_ is nearly complete, nearly ready for release, actually. Just awaiting a bit of editorial feedback and some images and we're good to go. I think folks are really going to like it -- foot chases are lot more free-form and kooky than vehicle chases, and these rules let your players get super-creative. Keep your eyes peeled!


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## Desdichado (Apr 15, 2005)

Yikes!  Sorry; I read a good 50-60% of it and forgot to come back and finish!  Sorry, man -- I'll have something out to you tomorrow.


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## Warrior Poet (Apr 15, 2005)

Krieg said:
			
		

> Yep forgot about that one. Nice call indeed.
> 
> ...and he still managed to pick up the pampers.




God, that's one of the funniest chase scenes ever:

"I'll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash you got in the register."

"Hurry up, son; I'm in dutch with the wife."

Running through the houses and backyards . . . acquiring the dogs as he goes.

"Halt!  Re-VEAL yourself to officer Hank Figgus of the police department!"

"Son, you've got a panty on your head."
"Just drive real fast, old timer."

The yodeling music in the background.  That entire movie is comedy genius.

Other good chases:
_Midnight Run_ at various points in the film (it's essentially one long chase movie, and also very funny).  "You guys are the dumbest bounty hunters I've ever seen!"

_The Empire Strikes Back_ Chasing after Solo's frozen body; Luke pursuing (and being pursued by) his father (more cat-and-mouse, really).

_Big Trouble in Little China_ Jack and Wang being chased by the Wing Kong in the early part of the film.  Also very funny. "Any of 'em _sabe_ English?"  "Hey, man!"

_Aliens_ Queen chasing Ripley after the rescue of Newt.  Awesome.  In the elevator, seeing the Queen coming down the hall.  The queen contemplating the other elevator as its doors open.

Warrior Poet


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## barsoomcore (Apr 18, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I'll have something out to you tomorrow.



Promises, promises.


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## Storm Raven (Apr 18, 2005)

_The Untouchables_, after the raid on the Canada-U.S. alcohol exchange.

"Enough of this running sh*t!"


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## Altalazar (Apr 19, 2005)

Bourne Supremacy - the car chase at the end - that rocked - one of the best of all time, I think.  Though all of the chases in that movie (and its prequel) were really well done - smart.  

And I'm someone who HATES stupid, pointless chase scenes.  I like it when they are part of the core plot - I hate it when they are just an excuse to show some running and some inept chasing.  

Oh, and the French Connection chase is a CLASSIC - Gene Hackman trails the L-train in his car - talk about sweet...  heck, I had to study that one in film school.


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## Desdichado (Apr 19, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Promises, promises.



Yeah, my wife got sick and I didn't get to it.  <sigh>.  I'll see what I can do about getting it today.


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## barsoomcore (Apr 19, 2005)

No worries. Look after your wife. She puts up with you, she must be an angel.


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## Desdichado (Apr 19, 2005)

Quite right.  And I don't want to do anything to point that out to her that "putting up with me" is right on target.  I'm already working on making sure I can still run a session tonight with her being sick.


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## TheAuldGrump (Apr 19, 2005)

Hmmm, I am surprised no one has mentioned _Men in Black_ - the first, good, one.

Among the worst has got to be _The Faculty_...

The Auld Grump


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## John Q. Mayhem (Apr 19, 2005)

_Hunted_, with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro. A great movie, but I'm a sucker for TLJ. IIRC, _The Fugitive_ and _U.S. Marshals_ had some good foot chases.


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## mojo1701 (Apr 20, 2005)

John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> _Hunted_, with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro. A great movie, but I'm a sucker for TLJ. IIRC, _The Fugitive_ and _U.S. Marshals_ had some good foot chases.




Not to mention a Jerry Goldsmith score that seems reminiscent of _Star Trek: Insurrection_ during the chase scenes.


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