Key word car chases, not car races. And I don't know how you could think they were good. Ronin actually bored me, and while Bullitt had cool cars they fast forwarded corners to make them look like they handle better (muscle cars should powerslide and do it with emphasis on the torque being spun away), and they weren't even pushing the cars very hard judging by engine noises. I want to hear them revving hard, not cruising around. I think Gone in 60sec had a far better car chase.
Which do you want? If its car races you are after then watch Le Mans, you can't get any more real that that.
On the subject of which I actually find it slightly worrying that you prefer races/chases from more modern films, most of which are very heavily CGI'd and/or cars are mounted on dolly systems (as in the first FnF). The car chases in the two films I linked to were are real as they come, in Bullett the cars were lightly modified road cars, Steve McQueen actually buying more Mustangs as they didn't have the budget to keep up with the number they broke.
Personally I would much rather watch something that is real, than a 'smoke and mirrors' mock up of the real thing. Take for example Ronin, to ensure that they could film with the actors behind the wheel they used UK registered cars with steering wheels on the right which the stunt drivers used; and then put dummy steering wheels on the left (the place it shuold be on a French car) for the actor to sit behind. Not a single bit of green screen or studio work on those takes, the look on the actors faces is exactly what they went through when being driven at traffic. That section again was not done via CGI (as a lot of the highway scene was in one of the Matrix films), they actually drove the cars at speed towards oncoming traffic, the headlights flashing at them are the signals to indicate which direction to go, get it wrong and you end up in a head-on collision.
Now that for me is a damn sight more enjoyable than a faked jump over a raising bridge in FnF (the second one I believe), which would tear any car landing to pieces (suspension components woud go straight through the hardpoints).
I will happy acknowledge that the first FnF actually made a good effort in regard to the stunt work on it, particularly the final drag race, but that certainly doesn't make up for the non-plot of the very weak story line. As a whole both Ronin and Bullett beat it hands down, now I've seen all of these films, so before you condem either of them, have you seen them all?
One other area that totally destroys films with driving sections in them for me is when the driver has totally straight rigid arms, Jordana Brewster does it all the time in FnF, and no serious driver on earth would ever drive a car like that. You have no leverage on the wheel and certainly can't use the full rotation of the wheel, all it does is look wrong.
Oh, and which 'Gone in 60 seconds'?
As for The Cuckoo's Nest, I'll stand on my point it's a boring movie. Others might like it, but certainly not my generation. (All my mates agree it's a boring movie).
Please don't turn your circle of friends into an entire generation, I know quite a few 18 - 25 year olds who think that its an excellent film.
Regards
Scaff
You wanna guess how many of these used CGI?
