Gone in Sixty Seconds

Dominic Sena’s 2000 film pulls a retired car thief back in. To save his brother Kip, Randall “Memphis” Raines must deliver fifty luxury cars to crime boss Raymond Calitri inside seventy two hours; the crew takes them all in one night so the haul cannot be traced. The weight sits before that night: assembling the crew and marking the cars eat most of the running time, and most of the fifty passes in one fast stretch. Memphis saves Eleanor, the 1967 Shelby GT500 he once failed to steal, for last, loading the finale onto one car. A loose remake of H. B. Halicki’s 1974 film. Eleanor’s body kit came from Steve Stanford’s drawings, built by Chip Foose. Cinema Vehicle Services made the cars: only three were driveable, the rest shells, and one of those survived the shoot. Cage says he drove himself, after a high performance driving school and work with stunt coordinator Johnny Martin. Shot around Los Angeles and Long Beach, it cost ninety million dollars and took 237 million worldwide. A good fit if you accept the fifty car boost being covered in montage and came for the long Eleanor chase. Not for anyone expecting Angelina Jolie in a part matching her billing; Sway turns up in a few scenes as a mechanic and bartender.