The stunt world stood still earlier this month after learning that Bud Ekins had died. Ekins, 77, was the grandfather of stunts so in the great man’s honour we present the five best movie car chases of all time

The French Connection (1971)
With Gene Hackman at his ice-cool best this brooding New York cop drama always had the makings of an Oscar winner, and it’s never better than when Hackman’s character Popeye Doyle commandeers a Pontiac LeMans and hares off after an elevated E-train driven by a hitman. Reputedly the only chase scene ever where some of the action was filmed “for real”.

Bullitt (1968)
It was Ekins himself at the wheel when Steve McQueen’s Ford Mustang went airborne during the mind-blowing chase in this seminal cop flick set on the streets of San Francisco. Ten minutes of cinematic majesty that took three weeks to film.

The Bourne Identity (2002)
Michael Caine and company had shown us exactly what happens when you take a Mini to Europe in The Italian Job, and this homage in Paris was arguably even better. It’s nice to see a British Leyland Mini outrun France’s finest of course – even a posse of gendarmes on motorcycles can’t pip Matt Damon’s spy.

Vanishing Point (1971)
Barry Newman is hired to deliver a magnificent Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco, but when he decides to do it in record time the mother of all car chases ensues – one lasting pretty much the entire film.

The Blues Brothers (1980)
Touted at the time as the most expensive car chase ever, Jake and Elwood’s flight from the law is a lesson in cinematic excess. Director John Landis had to get special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for the chase’s “car falling out of the sky” bit.