The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Over thanksgiving my wife and I were accosted in front of the Edina Lunds and asked about the "cute shoes" my wife was wearing. This happened as I was about to contribute to the Salvation Army and caused me to reflect for a moment on the true meaning of the holidays.

Then I lost my train of thought.

But heh, that's no reason for glossing over a meaningful discussion of the greatest car chases in movie history.

As you may know, "the list" is fixed and not open to argument amongst those in the know. Trust me, I constantly tabulate and cross reference this across the 14 or so automobile related magazines and websites I track on a bi-weekly basis (I do, its a sickness.)

Basically that list looks like this:

1) Bullitt*
2) French Connection/Ronin (tie) movies both directed by William Friedkin.
4) Vanishing Point
5) (open) Some say the recent car chase in The Bourne Identity but its too short.

* There is also an arcane French movie called The Chase (I believe) which was illegally shot in the early hours of the morning in the streets of Paris. Its a short 15 minute movie. The director placed a camera under the front bumper of his car and drove like a madman around the city. I will get more information on this. This is apparently even more impressive than Bullitt.

I promise to track down more details on that short French film and get you some video clips in the remaining hours of this all-to-brief holiday. In the meantime why not drive off some of that fat you've all accumulated over Thanksgiving and remember that cars can run on all kinds of fuel.

Yes, even salad dressing and turkey fat.