Gone in 60 Seconds

This is a very interesting film - but you must understand that this is a low low low budget film. The acting is just plain horrendous and the camera work is amateurish at best. But if you can hang in there for the final "steal", you are treated to one of the better car chase scenes ever made. The final chase scene lasts 40 minutes and crashes over 90 cars. That is truly epic - to devote that much screen time to a car chase is insane. For the most part, the chase itself stays pretty cohesive.

But that chase scene and some of the old cars to see make it worth your while.

Hey guys, if you want to REALLY enjoy this flick, watch the horrific remake first. You had to be young in the mid 70's to remember the hype that went with this flick. A total B-Grader that had audiences (including me and my 19 year old wife) queued up around the block.

Considering its microscopic budget, H B Halicki delivered precisely what audiences wanted to see - truck loads of cars smashed up! No more no less! No-one handed over their (then) $5 expecting to see Sir Laurence Olivier do Hamlet, they just wanted some serious fender-bending and this they got!

Admittedly I suspect most people who own the video or DVD these days fast-forward to the actual 40 minute chase each time they load it up. I am actually watching it as I compose this critique! (Right at the sequence at the end where Harley pulls off the big swapperoo at the car wash!) Absolute stand-outs are the incredible smash on the freeway when Halicki takes out the power pole at 80 mph plus and the unimproved-upon final scene as the Mach-1 leaps several cars at the intersection. That shot, lovingly photographed from multiple slow-motion camera angles was worth the ticket price alone. The climactic scene in the 2000 version is just plain wimpy!

The plotline for the film is remarkably simple. Man steals cars for a living! For trivia fans who may NOT know. H. B. Halicki died during a stunt filming the sequel GONE IN 60 SECONDS : THE JUNKMAN which features arguably the greatest car stunt of all time. (Sorry, not telling!!)

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.

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!).