Hot Rod runs down Top 40 car films
Hot Rod magazine has just released its list of the Top 40 Car Movies of all time, and it has opened the list up for you to vote on. Although many of the films on the list are obvious choices (American Graffiti, Bullitt, Le Mans), some of their selections are a bit more obscure. The editors go out of their way to explain that their criteria was biased towards hot rods, but other than that, the only caveat was that the films had to be currently available on DVD and that they were originally released in theaters.
The films are grouped by date of release and cover entries from 1950 through 2001. While we can't speak for films released before 1950, there are surely some deserving flicks from post 2001. The Transporter immediately comes to mind. Not intended to be a comprehensive list so much as the 40 they would say you HAVE to add to your Netflix queue, we were glad to see some of our personal favorites among the Top 40. The group ranges from blockbusters to barely noticed. Most aren't very good movies, but a few are Oscar contenders. Or should have been. Hot Rod has even included helpful icons to identify movies with a preponderance of hot rods, dumb cops, hot babes, etc.
We've already gone through the whole list and found a dozen or so we haven't seen, and we've also thought of a few more that belong in that group. But we want to know what you think. Go to Hot Rod, check out the full list and report back on your favorites and the ones you think should be included but weren't. Different Bond favorites? Wondering why cartoons like CARS were left out? Tell us about it, but remember to check the list first, and keep the rules in mind. And don't forget to check their own list of ones they would have included had they been able to find them on DVD. There are some gems there. Hint to DVD distributors.
[Source: Hot Rod via Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Omaha-tom 8:13PM (11/16/2006)
No The Transporter????!!!! OMG!!!
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nardi 8:15PM (11/16/2006)
Glad to see the best movie as the picture for this. Could it get any cooler, Minis, E-types, DB5, and the crime of the century not the robery but smashing up the Muira in the opening credits.
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Todd 8:48PM (11/16/2006)
I don't care about Transporter as much as I care about these movies that weren't on the list:
Any Love Bug Movie: specially either the original or Monte Carlo with tons of other cars road racing. The latter made me fall in love with the Lancia Scorpion/Monte Carlo/037
The Wraith: Dodge M4S/PPG Interceptor. 'nuff said.
No Mans Land: Another Sheen movie, but hell they jack Porsches left and right. The 930 vs IROC was awesome.
Banzai Runners: Obsure, but available on DVD, IF it was made in the early eighties and was a supercar, it was pretty much in it. 928 vs Pantera, Supercharged C10 v Muria, Built old Ford Fairlane Cop car vs Pantera. C'mon I've only seen it once and I remember it!
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solar 9:16PM (11/16/2006)
What about Duel or The Car? If they can include Christine they can include The Car. Or Maximum Overdrive.
Why were there so many car chase movies in the '70's?
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Peter 9:18PM (11/16/2006)
I think they're missing C'est Une Rendezvous. Not a car movie per se, since you never see the car, but one of the best driving movies. And yes, it was released in theatres: as a short subject.
Also, A Man and a Woman was a very good and evocative movie. Why they drove a Mustang through France, I'm not quite sure, but there's a lot of it.
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Tim 1:18AM (11/18/2006)
The original 'Gone in sixty seconds' (1974) is by far the best actual car chase scene ever. Essentially the entire movie is the chase with over 100 cars wrecked as the police vainly chase the 1973 mach 1 mustang. Cool escape too (won't ruin it but it involves a car wash). The newest one with cage is crap and doesn't do it justice with its computer animated add ons and butchered plot. Just my two cents.
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Steve 10:15PM (11/16/2006)
Peter (#7),
You're right... A Man & A Woman was a great film back in 1967... a Mustang convertible was driven by a child on the beach, and his widowed father raced a hardtop Mustang over the mountains against Mini Coopers, etc. My wife and I saw the movie when we were just 18...
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Barney 12:42AM (11/18/2006)
My favorite was "Dual". Dennis Weaver is a salesman doing a cross country trip in a "Valiant" (Yes a Valiant) He goes to pass this big bad ugly tanker truck. The driver of the truck decides to wipe out Weavers charector by running him off the road. You never see the Semi's driver and the truck is a dirty, fat black (Kenworth I think). The whole movie is about the Valiant trying to avoid the Semi. The semi waits for the salesman even when he stops off at a cafe. The movie could be in any language and still very entertaining.
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 12:00AM (11/17/2006)
I want to say Bullitt, but nowadays there's a stigma associated with the movie and the poor saps building wannabe Mustang clones. Leave to losers to ruin something cool. Even worse, there are more pathetic people making "Eleanor" clones. When will they learn?
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Dave 1:02AM (11/17/2006)
On Any Sunday and The Getaway are a couple I might include.
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Anthony 1:10AM (11/17/2006)
Smokey and the Bandit forever!
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Spekkio 5:37AM (11/17/2006)
Ones they definitely missed:
1. Cars (Disney/Pixar). Love this film. Love the soundtrack, too.
2. Tomorrow Never Dies - 1:1 remote control BMW. And Pierce Brosnan was a damn good James Bond.
3. Ghostbusters - Ecto-1. 'Nuff said.
4. Transformers: The Movie (1986, not the one coming next year). Not all based on real cars, but gotta love cars turning into robots. This was just re-released on DVD, so should be easy to find.
That's all I can think of.
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smokeydog 9:21AM (11/17/2006)
Thunder Road Uber Alles!
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JayP 8:49AM (11/17/2006)
Feb '06? I thought I'd read that article when it came out... when I was much younger.
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rw 3:49PM (11/17/2006)
Having seen the original "Bullet" and not caring about clones and just thinking how awestruck I was when I saw the movie. Bullet had it all.
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risingsun 4:20PM (11/17/2006)
RONIN!
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