After the introduction of the steadicam stabilizing mount in Hollywood in the mid 70s, it has been used in countless productions contributing to make some scenes truly memorable. Sometimes this technology is abused and overused in too many scenes but sometimes, when a director is facing a difficult and complex scene to cover and the action calls for it, the use of steadicam can bring the visual impact of the scene to another level.

Here we are looking at arguably one of the most interesting chase scenes in movie history, the one from Brian De Palma’s masterpiece “Carlito’s Way”, photographed by Stephen Burum with the steadicam scene shot by steadicam operator extraordinaire Larry McConkey. For those of you who have not seen the movie and are wondering what makes this scene great, well, here’s a brief summary of the story leading to the chase.

Carlito Brigante, a Puerto Rican criminal who has just served 5 years of prison out of a 30 years sentence, is freed thanks to his lawyer’s (Dave Kleinfeld) ability to exploit a technicality. Carlito vows to go straight but his past just won’t let him. Even if he manages to start a successful night club that will give him enough money to retire in the Caribbean, because of different circumstances, he is involved in various illegal activities. One of them is helping out his desperate friend and lawyer Kleinfield, who is in trouble with the Italian Mafia, to free an Italian gangster from prison by using his boat. The Italian gangster is freed but the crazy lawyer ends up killing him along with his son. The gangster’s associates are now all over Carlito and Kleinfeld. They go visit Carlito in his night club to figure out how much he was involved in the killing and when Carlito decides not to take any chances and run away, they go after him. This is what leads to the chase scene. We are at 2 hours and 4 minutes into the movie.

The chase scene can be divided into 2 parts, first the chase in the Subway and then the chase in the Grand Central Station. Both parts have an extensive use of steadicam, the first has several shots cut together and the second has one spectacular continuous shot leading to the gun fight.

The first part starts as Carlito, after taking some stashed money in his night club, runs away towards the subway station with the Italians behind him. The steadicam shots intercut from a wide POV (of the Italians) shot of Carlito running away to a steadicam shot of the Italians pursuing him where the camera is in front of them at a close range, with the audience already feeling them closing in. We cut to a wide of the interior of the subway station where we follow Carlito running inside and up the stairs. The camera is still on steadicam and closing in on him. As Carlito reaches the subway platform the steadicam shot gets closer, first in front of him, then all around him when he stops to look back and finally behind him as he first walks faster, then runs. Here we get a first taste of one of the things that makes this scene great, that is the constant change of pace. Carlito tries to pretend nothing is wrong by walking casually, then runs when he feels them closing in. He gets in the subway and sits down. He might have lost them but suddenly they appear, they are looking inside the train to spot him and Carlito is forced to hide. We then get inside where the Italians are getting closer and closer. The steadicam stalks Carlito in a POV shot as if it was the Italians looking at him. We also cut to a steadicam shot from in front of the pursuers who are walking faster and faster. Carlito manages to get away and run out to the Grand Central Station where the second part of the chase takes place.

We have to point out that if the first part, even if shot on steadicam, constantly cut back and forth from Carlito to the pursuers and had different types of shots, the second part is one very well choreographed long steadicam shot which leads to a gun fight when Carlito is spotted by one of the gangsters. As Carlito comes up the stairs we are in front of him, then behind when he starts running. He is about to go down the escalator when he suddenly hears the voices of the pursuers and stops abruptly and hides behind a wall. In the same frame we see Carlito, who is ready to shoot them if they see him, and the Italians. Vinnie, one of them, almost reaches Carlito’s spot but is called back and they go down the escalator. Carlito walks around to a balcony, crouching as he walks, to see where they go. The pace slows down as Carlito walks very slowly to avoid been seen. He looks down the balcony and the camera subtly becomes the protagonist’s POV, then turns back to him. Carlito starts running again to go down the escalator but there he sees Vinnie again at the bottom and again abruptly turns back. And in the final brilliant section of this shot, the camera doesn’t follow Carlito but continues down the escalator and circles around the pursuers. An inspired ending to a brilliant chase scene.

This 8 minute sequence seemed to have been written just to showcase what a steadicam can do and can add to the visual power of a climactic scene. Suspense, in this final part of the movie, has reached its peak. Its great how the coverage of the sequence also builds up to greater suspense in the second part of the chase. First we have several wide shots that gradually get closer and closer, then intercut between Carlito and his pursuers, then we get a brilliant 2 minute continuous shot mainly on Carlito and then on both. The shot subtly morphs into Carlito’s POV and at the very end we are wowed with a very original shot down the escalator.