Best Car Movies of All Time
A list of the best movies and tv series from a petrolhead point of view, in chronological order. The "suspense" is killing me!
For a movie to be on this list, a simple car chase is not enough, the car has to be the protagonist and some sort of racing must happen on the scene. "Good" is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, many of these movies have a thin, if not outright ludicrous plot. However, they should be judged on the one thing in common. The rest is just side dish to the senses.
If it wouldn't be in chronological order, the list would start like this:
1. The Driver
2. Vanishing Point
3. The Italian Job (Original)
Anyone who grew up watching the editing-obsessed movies of the recent era, should at least give them a try.
For a movie to be on this list, a simple car chase is not enough, the car has to be the protagonist and some sort of racing must happen on the scene. "Good" is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, many of these movies have a thin, if not outright ludicrous plot. However, they should be judged on the one thing in common. The rest is just side dish to the senses.
If it wouldn't be in chronological order, the list would start like this:
1. The Driver
2. Vanishing Point
3. The Italian Job (Original)
Anyone who grew up watching the editing-obsessed movies of the recent era, should at least give them a try.
List activity
233K views
• 36 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
50 titles
- DirectorArthur RipleyStarsRobert MitchumGene BarryJacques AubuchonA veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business. He has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the business and the police who are trying to put him in prison.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryGert FröbeHonor BlackmanWhile investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsTony CurtisNatalie WoodJack LemmonIn the early 20th century, heroic Leslie Gallant and his despicable rival Professor Fate engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris while enthusiastic suffragette Maggie Dubois enters the race to report on every step of it.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsJames GarnerEva Marie SaintYves MontandAmerican Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsSteve McQueenJacqueline BissetRobert VaughnA nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsDick Van DykeSally Ann HowesLionel JeffriesA down-on-his-luck inventor turns a broken-down Grand Prix car into a fancy vehicle for his children, and then they go off on a magical fantasy adventure to save their grandfather in a far-off land.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsDean JonesMichele LeeDavid TomlinsonDown-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of it's own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsMichael CaineNoël CowardBenny HillA comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJames TaylorWarren OatesLaurie BirdWhile drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
- DirectorLee H. KatzinJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenSiegfried RauchElga AndersenTwo car racing champions, an American and a German, face off on the world's hardest endurance course: Le Mans in France.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsHelen HayesKen BerryStefanie PowersThe living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsPeter FondaSusan GeorgeAdam RoarkeDown-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsDavid CarradineSylvester StalloneSimone GriffethIn a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.
- DirectorCharles BailStarsMichael SarrazinTim McIntireRaul JuliaAn eclectic group of people takes part in a secret, and illegal, cross country road race.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsSally FieldJerry ReedThe Bandit is hired on to run a tractor-trailer full of beer over state lines, in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRyan O'NealBruce DernIsabelle AdjaniA getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsMark HamillAnnie PottsEugene RocheHigh school graduate Kenneth W. Dantley Junior and Vanessa, a hooker-in-training, try to track down his custom-made newly-stolen Corvette.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
- DirectorFloyd MutruxStarsTony DanzaMichelle PfeifferJulius AverittLed by their comedic leader, Turk, the Hollywood Knights car club raise hell throughout Beverly Hills on Halloween Night, 1965.