Real car chases are a bit dull: they generally feature either OJ Simpson driving at moderate speed in an SUV or two dimmer-than average teenagers in a hot hatch aimlessly circling a supermarket car park for the edification of Alistair Stewart.

Movie car chases are altogether different. Challenging the Highway Code, the laws of physics and good old fashioned common sense they celebrate the strange destructive love/hate relationship we have with the mechanical beast that lives on our doorstep.

We’ve picked twenty of the wildest, most innovative and spectacular car chases in movie history.

Click on the titles for a reminder of their reckless, barmy magnificence or leave a comment below to nominate your own favourites.

20: The Dark Knight

Considering that the Batmobile is Batman’s best-known asset, certainly more famous than his teenage sidekick, it’s a surprise there aren’t more classic car chases in the Caped Crusader’s canon. That's something Christopher Nolan has attempted to redress, with a breathless freeway pursuit in Batman Begins and this relentless rolling battle from the Dark Knight. Having the mortally stricken Tumbler disgorge a combat motorcycle before it self-destructs is a master stroke that had cinema audiences cheering and might even provoke an involuntary whoop when you watch on DVD.

19: Who Am I?

Best known for his fearless physical stunts in a long series of light-hearted chopsocky movies, Jackie Chan here puts his own signature twist on the car chase. The principal innovation is the employment of loose gravel as a weapon.

18: Freebie and The Bean

One of countless 1970s cop dramas characterized by squealing tyres and wild automotive destruction, Freebie and The Bean deserves a mention just for The Bean’s sheer good sense. How many other hard-driving American cops had the foresight to bring a helmet along in case a high speed pursuit came up?

17: Taxi

The only foreign language film on our countdown but the international language of fearless stunt work is understood in any country with more than 100 yards of tarmac. If you've only ever seen the Hollywood remake, you haven't seen Taxi. Be sure to hunt down the French original.

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