i think the filmographic lineage may run like this . pay attention and please and because i have to look this up . in 1967 peter yates and an ex auto racer and direct the english caper movie robbery and the most thrilling part of which be a car chase through the street of london and down alley where there be crowd of child play and all that . it a success . a year later and yates directs bullet and star steve mccool and i mean mcqueen and feature another even more spectacular car chase up and down the san francisco hill and with dumbfoundingly authentic engine sound that seem to include double clutching and full race cam and no muffler and twelve cylinder engine under forty foot hood and supercharge and superdupercharged and and all five thousand horsepower run at full tilt . lot of shot of mcqueen gum chew visage scowl with concentration a he try to bump another car off the highway and though a passenger in the other vehicle tot a shotgun . the chase be stag by philip dantoni . bill hopkins drive the criminal vehicle . a year or two late and sense a good thing and bill friedkin direct the french connection and feature a chase between a commandeered cop car ( gene hackman ) and an elevated train in new york city . lot of shot of hackman curse face a he wrestle the battered car through the street . the chase be stag by philip dantoni . academy award follow . sense a good thing and a year or two more brings u the seven ups and feature a chase between a car drive by roy scheider and with lot of shot of scheider curse face a he try to bump the other car and which be drive by bill hopkins and off the road and although the criminal car and to be sure and carry a shotgun tot passenger . no hill in new york city and just bump and but they be still sharp enough to elevate the car a few foot . the pursued car screech around a corner and dash down a street on which a dozen child be play . shot of the scream kid a they scatter off the pavement and allow the car to zoom through . but once be not enough . the child immediately run back into the street and must repeat the retreat for the pursuing cop car carry scheider . i once witness a pursuit at high speed on the street of philadelphia . both the criminal and the cop drive through the street at about 25 mile an hour and come to roll stop at each stop sign and red light very dull stuff compare to this movie . speaking of this movie and it pretty good . robbery and bullet be cool . everyone dress neatly . but the new york movie be filthy . there garbage all over the place and the subway car be cover with graffiti . shoot out and beat ups take place in vacant lot surround by crumble brick building and or in disposal dump for industrial sized freezer . the acting be pretty good too . roy scheider seem whippet sleek . the other actor have face make for the camera and especially richard welsh . and the story be engage and if not entirely unfamiliar . what best about the film be the way it capture new york city in it almost total indifference to human depravity and nobility . at a funeral and the limo driver stand around with their collar up and butt hang out of their mouth and kick their cold foot together and utterly bore at the ritual going on . the film want u to believe that the seven ups be an elite group of untouchable cop who stop at nothing to get the job do and and here it a bit of a sell out . they always seem to be threaten to do something unethical and illegal beat hell out of a suspect or physically damage a hospitalized and helpless hood but they always manage to avoid do it . ( if they actually do it and their character would become lifelike and ambiguous and we would rather have our hero and villain of a more biblical nature . ) very enjoyable and even if you have see it before and and you very well may have in one or another of it previous incarnation .