Greatest car movie of all time?

Good Thread!

Gone in 60 second is my fav.

 

That's the best Bond car scene of the series. But I wouldn't call it a car movie -- just a good reason to get a 355 GTS. And a girlfriend named Xenia Onatopp.

 

The Bond series has quite a few interesting car scenes. The bridge-out scene with the AMC Hornet is unforgettable, and I like the one where he's driving an old double-decker bus, shears off the top level on an overpass, for it to fall perfectly on top of the pursuing car, sending it off the road! There was also a scene involving, of all things, a Citroen 2CV.

Of course, there is a lot of "check your brain at the door" stuff. In Goldfinger, there's Oddjob driving a Falcon Ranchero with a crushed Lincoln in the bed. And the springs aren't sagging even a little? And who could ever think a big, heavy AMC Matador could ever fly? Oh well, fun stuff, anyway.

And among car chase scenes, I forgot to include another of my favorites, the climax to The Road Warrior. (BTW, a friend of mine, while in college, bulked up in the gym just to play the villain, Humungus, at a sorority costume party!)

 

Cars.

 

i'd have to second "man and a woman" and "french connection" and "transporter" but i'm surprised no one has mentioned "two lane blacktop" with jackson browne and dennis wilson.

 

"Luigi follow only da Ferraris.." So much for mistaking myself for a grown-up, this movie still makes me grin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOX6cUSf-cs

(I love the two Quattroportes behind Schumacher's F430!)
http://www.youtube.com/v/w7Xzs7krLiE&hl=en

+1 on Grand Prix. Saw it again a few weeks ago, it really helps imagine what it must have been like to be at the races and in the pits then. Even a bad Enzo impersonator could not ruin it for me, and I've been an Yves Montand fan for a long time.

 

Absolutely agree. This movie got it all right, has a great plot. They even got the lines right when the cars went through corners.

I love the others mentioned but Cars is the best.

 

That's my understanding as well... there was a thread somewhere a few months ago with lots of discussion... perhaps on another website. Lalouche admitted in an interview years later that it was his Mercedes with sounds dubbed in. At times the sound seems a little inconsistent with the video, and also speed seems slow at times compared with sounds. Still an exciting video! And we can all dream

As far as car chases, the one in Bullitt is tame by today's standards. But I always loved McQueen in film, and it's great to see him behind the wheel of a great Mustang, so it's still a huge favorite for me

 

NOBODY picks "Banzai Runner" for an honorable mention???

That movie had a Lambo Miura, Ferraris, a Pantera, heck, when that came out, I was in love with every car in that movie, even the Porsches.

 

Let me be the first to mention the Herbie series.

 

Am I having a senior moment or was there a movie called "The Green Helmet"?

As I recall, it was based on the Mille Miglia.

Also, although not a car movie, the few racing scenes in "On The Beach" were unforgettable.

Bob Z.

 

You may not love the Mondial t but the passion for Ferrari in the driving scene from Scent of a Woman is pure Ferrari. The lines are even better between the policeman and Pacino.

 

I agree, that line is a mind-blower....very profound.

 

1) Corvette Summer
2) Hart Like A Wheel
3) Mad Max
4) Vanishing Point
5) Goldfinger
6) American Graffiti
7) Two Lane Blacktop
8) Dirty Marry Crazy Larry
9) Bullit
10) Christine

11) The Wraith (does anyone remember this?)

 

Are you kidding?

I loved that show, I use to dream about that car until I saw the Chrysler emblem..???..

I totally forgot about till you posted it
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I'd say Grand Prix, Le mans, and the new gone in 60 seconds. Although not a movie no one has mentioned the tv show "Viper". Yes its not a Ferrari but its still cool concept, even if the acting was horrid.

 

The guys at work gave me a really odd look when I told them that the racing was more accurate in "Cars" than in any of the "Too Fast" flicks or in the Stallone thing. (Dirt slides, and a pretty accurate rendition of Petty's crash.)
("Not all my tricks, rookie!")

I saw the interviews on TCM, too. There's no way they could make a film like that again: the actors expression as they're being towed around the track at high speed, etc. If they *could* do it the same way, the actors would likely pay *them* for a chance to be in it. (And Françoise Hardy wasn't hard on the eyes, either.)
("When I see something really horrible, I put my foot down. Hard! Because I know that everyone else is lifting his.")

But I love the sound of that Daytona blasting through the NYC echo canyons in "Gumball Rally". There's nothing like the sound of a Ferrari in the dawn air.
("55 is unsafe. It's fast enough to kill you, but slow enough to make you *think* you're safe.")
(Well everyone does the "what's-a behind me" line ... )

 

What the hell are you guys talking about?

Best two car movies of ALL time.......Talladega Nights & Redline

If you had to add a third I'll go with Smokey & the Bandit III - Smokey IS the Bandit......who would have figured out THAT twist?

WAY more surprising than Darth Vader being Luke's dad, the chick in the Crying Game being a dude, and Bruce Willis really WAS dead.

Threads over.....you folks can return to your homes now.

 

Don't know about that, but I shine a helmet every now and then....

He said helmet....

 

HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH Helmet

 

Le Mans and Grand Prix in a close tie, maybe a slight edge to Le Mans since there is less dialogue cluttering up the action!

Gumball Rally is really an excellent movie for car fans: real cars, real sounds, magnificent!

All well worth owning on dvd at $10 a pop!

John

 

If you're talking chase scenes, Bullitt and Ronin win. If you're talking Ferraris, the scene with Patrick Dempsey and the 328GTS in "Can't Buy Me Love" win. Just my opinion, though.

 

Sorry, you were far from the first in this thread!

My votes:

1. Grand Prix
2. Gumball Rally
3. LeMans

Regarding Rendevous - Story I heard was that it was a late 70s Mercedes 450SEL 6.9, not the older 300SEL 6.3, and the driver was Lelouch himself. The soundtrack was absolutely dubbed; I've seen an audio analysis posted where the splices were listed in time sequence, telling you exactly where to listen for the changes. Once told where/when the audio splices are, I watched it again, and sure enough you can hear the changes and inconsistencies as described.

Here's an article with a mention of Lelouch and the Mercedes, with a photo of Lelouch fixing the camera to the front of the 6.9: http://www.panopticist.com/categories/film/
Bigger photo: http://www.geocities.com/oflint/Mercedes_not_Ferrari.jpg

Another article with a speed/time/distance analysis shows the top speed during the Paris run was 136.7 mph at one brief point: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2005/Rendezvous.shtml , although other analysis have put the top speed at more like 85 mph (ie 140 km/h).

There's also a Google Maps link out there which shows the route in realtime to sync with the movie: http://bhendrix.com/wall/Gmaps_GVideo_Mashup_Rendezvous.html

Added - found the post about the audio analysis:

 

The Green Helmet
Starring: Bill Travers, Ed Begley, Sid James, Nancy Walters, Jack Brabham

Director: Michael Forlong
Writer: Jon Cleary (novel)
Release Date: 20 April 1961 (USA)
Tagline: All the Thrills of Le Mans, Silverstone, Sebring, Mille Miglia Races!
Reasonably entertaining British film.
Follows the ups and downs of a fading champion race car driver and his antagonistic relationship with his younger brother who wants to take over the wheel.

Includes some solid racing footage from Sebring, Goodwood and various European tracks. Sid James portrayal of an Australian is a bit shaky (count the number of times he says "sport" .. it seems to be in every second sentence).

Special guest appearance by real life Australian world champ Jack Brabham adds a touch of nostalgic interest.

Not exceptional but enjoyable enough.