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Helmet Hair’s
TOP
TEN:
Favorite
Female
Motorcycle Movie Scenes
You might have noticed an increase in the number of actresses
who steal the scene in a movie atop a motorcycle. Here
are some of HH’s favorite movie clips, which do just
that:
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 #1
Matrix Reloaded
(2003)
Carrie-Anne Moss
returns as Trinity
in the second
release of the
Matrix trilogy,
where she portrays
the ultimate female
action super hero.
But it was American
Motorcyclist Hall of
Fame Inductee,
Debbie Evans
doubling for Moss,
who actually created
one of the major
scenes in the movie: Trinity
racing on a Ducati
996
(with passenger in
tow no less), making
hairpin twists and
turns through
oncoming traffic as
the evil agents give
chase. Trivia: In
real life,
Carrie-Anne had to
overcome her fear of
riding – practicing
for months before
dominating the
bigger, more
aggressive bike.
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#2
Laura Croft Tomb
Raider (2001)
– Based on the
popular video
game, Tomb Raider,
real-life
motorcycle
enthusiast
Angelina Jolie
also performed a
handful of her own
stunts. Memorable
moment: Atop her Ducati 999, Laura
Croft (still
donning her comfy
pajamas) jumps
over a car-packed
garage, landing
close enough to
pistol whip one of
the villains while
she opens throttle
to pop a
front wheelie,
which gives a back tire
“slap” to the
other guy. Moves
perfectly executed
in five seconds
flat.
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#3 UltraViolet
(2006)
– Another action
thriller that views
much like a video
game,
Milla Jovovich stars
as Violet, the
sub-human
hemographic
non-heroine who
speeds around on a
motorcycle in the
coolest futuristic
garb and gear,
slicing and dicing
the evil doers out
to get her. The
climax for moto fans
unfolds when Violet
is on the roof and
builds speed to
become air borne,
jumping through a
hovering helicopter
– making her landing
of course. Legendary
stuntwoman, Jennifer
Caputo
(read HH’s interview
with Jen),
not only lends her
motorcycle talents,
she has an acting
role, too. |
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#4 Tomorrow Never
Dies (1997)
– Performing
almost all her own
stunts in the
movie, actress and
martial arts diva,
Michelle Yeoh,
plays Chinese
agent Wai Lin in
this 18th
James Bond’s
installment. A
true
motorcycle-riding
mercenary, Wai Lin
races through the
busy, narrow
streets of Hong
Kong while
performing amazing
acrobatic stunts:
jumping from
pillion position
to commanding
007’s BMW R1200 so
he is free to take
out the bad guys.
Added bonus:
watching the male
action star take a
back seat.
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#5 Charlie’s Angels:
Full Throttle (2003)
–
Ok, maybe a bit
campy, but so fun to
watch – the extreme
motocross scene. All
three Angel’s sport
80s retro makeup and
gear that perfectly
match their MX bike.
With the super human
ability of mid-air
front and back flips
while simultaneously
gunning down their
mark, this
computer-generated
scene is a
rock-n-roll
two-wheel carnival.
Cool bonus: Stunt
gal, Gloria Fotenote,
(Helmet
Hair’s very first
interviewee),
was Drew Barrymore’s
double and Jennifer
Caputo doubled for
Lucy Lui. |
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#6 Kill Bill Vol.
I (2003)
– Uma Thurman
shows the world
that she is the
ultimate she
warrior in Quentin
Tarantino’s first
Kill Bill movie.
As with all of
Tarantino’s films,
music transforms
each scene into a
memorable one.
Just like when
“The Bride” (Uma)
takes to the
streets of Tokyo
on a sweet yellow
sport bike, which
perfectly matches
her signature
yellow and black
tracksuit, the
theme song from
The Green Hornet
provides an
unforgettable
motorcycle pursuit
moment.
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#7 Torque (2004)
– Like watching the
Fast and Furious
on two-wheels
you gotta give props
to the cool scene
when Shane (Monet
Mazur) - Debbie
Evans also stunt
doubled for Mazur
- and China
(Jaime Pressly) take
their issue to the
pavement on tricked
out sport bikes,
racing at harrowing
speeds while duking
it out. Both women
learned how to ride
and perform many of their
own stunts for the
scene, which took
two weeks to film. |
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#8
Kamikaze Girls
(2004)
– From the opening
credits where you
see Momoko (Kyoko
Fukada) buzzing
down a dirt road
on a retro Honda
scooter to a scene
towards the end
when she rockets
through a tough
biker chic gang to
save her misfit
friend Ichigo
(Anna Tsuchiya),
this foreign film
is packed with
hilarity and Anime
flair! The
subtitles are
worth the effort
just to get a
glimpse of this
customized scooter
decked out with
fiberglass shields
and a three-tiered
seat. Ichigo’s
bike “ignites!”
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9) Grind House:
Planet Terror (2007)
–
In the Robert
Rodriguez portion of
this raunchy
‘double-feature,’
sexy go-go dancer,
Cherry Darling (Rose
McGowan), makes a
nail-biting get-away
on a cool chopper
with bodacious
blonde, Dakota
(Marley Shelton)
hanging on
(literally) for dear
life as they attempt
to escape the blood
thirsty zombies.
Later, Cherry makes
good use of her
machine gun leg by
mounting herself
backwards on her
boyfriend’s bike in
what results as the
coolest scene in the
movie. Gives new
visual meaning to
the term “guns a
blazing.” |
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#10 Girl on a
Motorcycle (1968)
–
With only her
naughty bits
tucked in a
fur-lined leather
jumpsuit, Marianne
Faithfull plays a
newlywed who takes
off on her Harley
Davidson to cruise
the beautiful back
roads and city
streets of Europe,
where she will
meet her ex-lover
to rekindle the
flame. The entire
movie is set
around her riding,
experiencing
erotic flashbacks,
which earned it’s
R rating (alarming
in those days), of
the events leading
up to the affair.
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