Top 10 Car Movies
A true car movie should put a significant focus on cars, whether they be past, present, or future models. Not all of the following movies are about cars, but they all depict the thrill of driving, whether it be a race, chase, or just cruising.
10. The Gumball Rally
An illegal cross-country road race featuring some of the fastest production cars of the day (the film was released in 1976). It spawned sequels and rip-offs, most of which featured hammy acting and cheesy storylines, but the original is still a road-racing masterpiece.
9. Death Race 2000
Set in a dystopian future world with some oddball car designs, Death Race 2000 depicts cars being used as weapons. Points are awarded for running down people, and these cars are customized for just that task.
8. Gone in 60 Seconds
While the modern Gone in Sixty Seconds remake with Nicolas Cage was a showcase for, well, Nicolas Cage, the original Gone in 60 Seconds was a true car movie, made by a true car nut. H.B. Halicki (aka "The Car Crash King") made this masterpiece with almost no money and a lot of help from his friends. No one in this movie is a professional actor, and it shows. That's not really the point, because the star of this film is the cars. When they ran out story, they just filled the final 40 minutes with one of the most elaborate car chases ever.
7. Grand Prix
A stylistic masterpiece, Grand Prix often feels like a documentary as it shows the golden age of Grand Prix racing. James Garner stars in this Formula 1 epic.
6. Vanishing Point
A drug addict named Speed tries to evade police across hundreds of miles as locals cheer him on. This cult classic could have easily been a 90 minute commercial for the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.
5. Bullitt
More of a cop film than a car movie, Steve McQueen pushes a 1968 Ford Mustang to the limit against a 1968 Dodge Charger in what many people consider the top car chase scene of all-time.
4. Smokey and the Bandit
Like some other car movies, Smokey and the Bandit would spawn sequels that were pure trash, but the original remains a fantastic showcase of a heroic car. The 1977 Pontiac Trans Am became an instant hit after this movie reached theaters, although I doubt many could handle as well as the one Burt Reynolds drove... or fly over broken bridges.
3. Dazed and Confused
Perhaps the only movie on the list that doesn't seem to care about cars, but still manages to feature them in a beautiful light. All the hit cars of the early-to-mid 1970's were here, from the Chevelle SS to the Trans AM SD455. 70's boozin' & cruisin is epitomized in this nostalgia trip.
2. American Graffiti
Where were you in '62? That's what the press for American Graffiti was asking in 1973. Although it was filmed just a decade after the year in which the movie was set, it seemed like a different century. The early 60's was the official cruising era, when gas prices were low and the main strips seemed to go on forever. People drove without a need to go anywhere, and "hanging out" was done at 15 miles per hour. The race between John Milner's Deuce Coupe and Bob Falfa's 1955 Chevy is the peak of automotive cinema.
1. Two-Lane Blacktop
Although Dennis Wilson (from The Beach Boys, also Brian's brother) and James Taylor's names were on the poster, the star of this movie was the 1955 Chevy Bel-Air. The car was such a hit that it would be used again a few year's later as Bob Falfa's car in American Graffiti (although it received a fresh paint job). Two-Lane Blacktop is an existential car movie featuring both the art and philosophy of automobilia. The plot involves a race to Washington D.C., and there are several drag race scenes, but it's not a race movie. It's more like a filmed version of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, except with cars.
10. The Gumball Rally
An illegal cross-country road race featuring some of the fastest production cars of the day (the film was released in 1976). It spawned sequels and rip-offs, most of which featured hammy acting and cheesy storylines, but the original is still a road-racing masterpiece.
9. Death Race 2000
Set in a dystopian future world with some oddball car designs, Death Race 2000 depicts cars being used as weapons. Points are awarded for running down people, and these cars are customized for just that task.
8. Gone in 60 Seconds
While the modern Gone in Sixty Seconds remake with Nicolas Cage was a showcase for, well, Nicolas Cage, the original Gone in 60 Seconds was a true car movie, made by a true car nut. H.B. Halicki (aka "The Car Crash King") made this masterpiece with almost no money and a lot of help from his friends. No one in this movie is a professional actor, and it shows. That's not really the point, because the star of this film is the cars. When they ran out story, they just filled the final 40 minutes with one of the most elaborate car chases ever.
7. Grand Prix
A stylistic masterpiece, Grand Prix often feels like a documentary as it shows the golden age of Grand Prix racing. James Garner stars in this Formula 1 epic.
6. Vanishing Point
A drug addict named Speed tries to evade police across hundreds of miles as locals cheer him on. This cult classic could have easily been a 90 minute commercial for the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.
5. Bullitt
More of a cop film than a car movie, Steve McQueen pushes a 1968 Ford Mustang to the limit against a 1968 Dodge Charger in what many people consider the top car chase scene of all-time.
4. Smokey and the Bandit
Like some other car movies, Smokey and the Bandit would spawn sequels that were pure trash, but the original remains a fantastic showcase of a heroic car. The 1977 Pontiac Trans Am became an instant hit after this movie reached theaters, although I doubt many could handle as well as the one Burt Reynolds drove... or fly over broken bridges.
3. Dazed and Confused
Perhaps the only movie on the list that doesn't seem to care about cars, but still manages to feature them in a beautiful light. All the hit cars of the early-to-mid 1970's were here, from the Chevelle SS to the Trans AM SD455. 70's boozin' & cruisin is epitomized in this nostalgia trip.
2. American Graffiti
Where were you in '62? That's what the press for American Graffiti was asking in 1973. Although it was filmed just a decade after the year in which the movie was set, it seemed like a different century. The early 60's was the official cruising era, when gas prices were low and the main strips seemed to go on forever. People drove without a need to go anywhere, and "hanging out" was done at 15 miles per hour. The race between John Milner's Deuce Coupe and Bob Falfa's 1955 Chevy is the peak of automotive cinema.
1. Two-Lane Blacktop
Although Dennis Wilson (from The Beach Boys, also Brian's brother) and James Taylor's names were on the poster, the star of this movie was the 1955 Chevy Bel-Air. The car was such a hit that it would be used again a few year's later as Bob Falfa's car in American Graffiti (although it received a fresh paint job). Two-Lane Blacktop is an existential car movie featuring both the art and philosophy of automobilia. The plot involves a race to Washington D.C., and there are several drag race scenes, but it's not a race movie. It's more like a filmed version of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, except with cars.
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