Chase Cue
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The propulsive underscore of a pursuit — a fast, relentless cue built to score car chases, foot pursuits and getaways with maximum forward momentum. The sound relies on driving ostinatos, rapid string figuration, syncopated brass stabs and hard-hitting percussion, typically running at brisk tempos with a ticking, motoric pulse that surges toward the catch. Techniques include accelerating rhythmic cells, sudden dynamic shifts to mark near-misses, and jazzy or hybrid grooves that keep the adrenaline high. The mood is breathless and kinetic, sync-locked to the cutting of the sequence.
History
Lalo Schifrin's jazz-rock cue for the "Bullitt" car chase (1968) and Don Ellis' brass-heavy "French Connection" score modernized the pursuit cue, trading orchestral bombast for propulsive groove. John Williams wrote definitive orchestral chases for the Indiana Jones films, and the Bourne trilogy's John Powell reinvented the form for the 2000s with jittery, percussion-and-loop-driven cues that became the template for modern action editing. Mark Mancina's "Speed" and Junkie XL's relentless "Mad Max: Fury Road" cues pushed the style toward hybrid intensity, keeping the chase one of scoring's most viscerally exciting assignments.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Bullitt(1968) — Lalo SchifrinSpotifyYouTube
- The French Connection(1971) — Don EllisSpotifyYouTube
- Desert Chase (Raiders of the Lost Ark)(1981) — John WilliamsSpotifyYouTube
- Taxi Ride (The Bourne Identity)(2002) — John PowellSpotifyYouTube
- Escape (Mad Max: Fury Road)(2015) — Junkie XLSpotifyYouTube
- Speed (Main Title)(1994) — Mark MancinaSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
- Roger Hickman, Reel Music (Norton, 2006)
- Film Score Monthly interviews on action scoring