The best movies with motor racing
by jp_nibu | created - 04 May 2012 | updated - 04 May 2012 | PublicAny Movie showcasing cars, racing or speed. I'm trying to compile a list with every movie about motor racing. I'm welcome to any movies not shown on list or that I may have forgot.
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1. Thunderbolt (1995)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
In order to release his kidnapped sister, sports car mechanic Chan Foh To (Jackie Chan) has to beat a supercriminal street racer.
Director: Gordon Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Anita Yuen, Michael Wong, Thorsten Nickel
Votes: 10,010
A classic racing movie with interesting fight scenes and great driving
2. Le Mans (1971)
G | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Two car racing champions, an American and a German, face off on the world's hardest endurance course: Le Mans in France.
Directors: Lee H. Katzin, John Sturges | Stars: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt
Votes: 11,874 | Gross: $0.71M
A great racing movie with a lot of excitement and build up. Not much of a plotline though.
3. Days of Thunder (1990)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport
A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid
Votes: 96,453 | Gross: $82.67M
Racing and tons of nascar action with shots from the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 400.
4. The Cannonball Run (1981)
PG | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Sport
A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise
Votes: 39,972 | Gross: $72.18M
The movie series in pretty interesting with some wacky and zany 80s comedy. Some interesting cars and mixed with some oddball choices
5. The Gumball Rally (1976)
PG | 105 min | Comedy
An eclectic group of people takes part in a secret, and illegal, cross country road race.
Director: Charles Bail | Stars: Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire, Raul Julia, Norman Burton
Votes: 4,497
Not much in the way of story, but has some awesome set ups with smoky and the bandit esq chase scenes. This movie eventually spawned a real gumball rally that travels the world annually.
6. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
PG | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Bandit is hired on to run a tractor-trailer full of beer over state lines, in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry
Votes: 56,929 | Gross: $126.74M
the movie series started a large comeback in trucking industry and gave rise to the CB radio. It had great scenes with driving as well.
7. Vanishing Point (1971)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
During the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.
Director: Richard C. Sarafian | Stars: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Charlotte Rampling, Dean Jagger
Votes: 30,545
Classic movie about a 1970 Dodge Challenger outracing the police from every state at every turn. Great movie about cars.
8. Bullitt (1968)
M/PG | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon
Votes: 75,871 | Gross: $42.30M
While not focused on cars, it does have an extremely memborable scene between a Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger that is still considered one of the best chase scenes of all time.
9. Speed Racer (2008)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Young driver, Speed Racer, aspires to be champion of the racing world with the help of his family and his high-tech Mach 5 automobile.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, Nicholas Elia
Votes: 78,475 | Gross: $43.95M
Campy, fun movie about racing and family. By no means realistic, but definitely exciting, and interesting.
10. Initial D (2005)
TV-PG | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
After winning his first competition, Takumi focuses his attention on drift racing, a sport he has unknowingly perfected while delivering tofu in his father's Toyota AE86.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak, Ralph Rieckermann | Stars: Jay Chou, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue
Votes: 9,742
A gimicky plot that had many of the original show's fans upset, but car racing and drifting with exciting action that definitely hits the mark.
11. Death Race (2008)
R | 105 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Ex-con Jensen Ames is forced by the warden of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane
Votes: 218,987 | Gross: $36.32M
While the original is a cult classic, it's the new one that really ups the gore and action plus more realistic, functioning, dangerous cars. The politics, moral ambiguity, nudity, and unusual pacing get left behind as the new film takes the spotlight from the original.
12. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Conner must decide where his loyalty really lies when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 419,770 | Gross: $144.53M
The original of the series started the huge tuner craze of early 2000s and led to a huge amount of speeding tickets for everybody that was involved. Overstylized and inaccurate car talk annoyed some of the faithful gearheards who the movie was based on.
13. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Former cop Brian O'Conner is called upon to bust a dangerous criminal and he recruits the help of a former childhood friend and street racer who has a chance to redeem himself.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva Mendes
Votes: 297,761 | Gross: $127.15M
(Series)While fun, and exciting the fast and furious lost it's momentum by the second movie, trading in the original's tuner flavor and street racing for miami vice esq antics and heists with muscle cars.
14. The Love Bug (1969)
G | 108 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Down-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.
Director: Robert Stevenson | Stars: Dean Jones, Michele Lee, David Tomlinson, Buddy Hackett
Votes: 17,549 | Gross: $5.09M
The Herbie series created a huge following after the first movie and spawned a few more movies before the abysmal film staring lindsay lohan in 2007.
15. Redline (2007)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action
A gorgeous young automobile fanatic--and front to the hottest unsigned band on the West coast--finds herself caught up in illegal drag-racing competitions organized by exotic car fanatics.
Director: Andy Cheng | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Nadia Bjorlin, Eddie Griffin, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 9,064 | Gross: $6.88M
A movie showing an interesting concept, but was executed poorly.
16. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired master car thief must come back to the industry and steal fifty cars with his crew in one night to save his brother's life.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, T.J. Cross
Votes: 294,798 | Gross: $101.65M
Great car chase scenes and an interesting approach to the car genre. Nicholas Cage in one of his less crazy roles as well.
17. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Sport
Number one NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby stays atop the heap thanks to a pact with his best friend and teammate, Cal Naughton, Jr. But when a French Formula One driver, makes his way up the ladder, Ricky Bobby's talent and devotion are put to the test.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole
Votes: 199,972 | Gross: $148.21M
A comedy that's hilarious and in a mockumentary form of the day in the life of a nascar driver.
18. Driven (2001)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Drama, Sport
A young hot shot driver is in the middle of a championship season and is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion is called in to give him guidance.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger, Burt Reynolds
Votes: 43,116 | Gross: $32.72M
19. The Last American Hero (1973)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Sport
A young hellraiser quits his moonshine business to try to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen.
Director: Lamont Johnson | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perrine, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ned Beatty
Votes: 2,176
20. Grand Prix (1966)
Approved | 176 min | Drama, Sport
American 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.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshirô Mifune
Votes: 10,506 | Gross: $20.85M
21. Winning (1969)
M | 123 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Frank Capua is a rising star on the race circuit who dreams of winning the big one--the Indianapolis 500. But to get there he runs the risk of losing his wife Elora to his rival, Luther ... See full summary »
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robert Wagner, Richard Thomas
Votes: 2,215 | Gross: $14.64M
22. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama
While 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.
Director: Monte Hellman | Stars: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson
Votes: 13,428
23. Kart Racer (2003)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Randy Quaid stars in this uplifting, action-packed coming-of-age story about an aspiring racer with a need for speed, a passion for the racetrack and a hunger for victory!
Director: Stuart Gillard | Stars: Randy Quaid, Will Rothhaar, Jennifer Wigmore, David Gallagher
Votes: 669 | Gross: $0.06M
24. Heart Like a Wheel (1983)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Shirley Muldowney is determined to be a top-fuel drag racer, although no woman has ever raced them before. Despite the high risks of this kind of racing and the burden it places on her family life, she perseveres in her dream.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Diane Delano, Ellen Geer
Votes: 1,583 | Gross: $0.27M
25. Fast Girl (2008)
PG | 95 min | Family, Sport
A young woman dreams of becoming a race-car driver, even though the career claimed the life of her father.
Director: Daniel Zirilli | Stars: Mircea Monroe, Justin Guarini, Dwier Brown, Caroline Rhea
Votes: 419
26. Six Pack (1982)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A race car driver is driving to a race in a motor home with his race car on a trailer. His car gets stripped of parts. He ends up with 6 orphan kids on his way to the race.
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Kenny Rogers, Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Barry Corbin
Votes: 3,383 | Gross: $20.23M
27. Stroker Ace (1983)
PG | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
The title character, a popular NASCAR driver, clashes with the fried-chicken mogul that sponsors his racing team.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jim Nabors, Parker Stevenson
Votes: 4,269 | Gross: $13.00M
28. The Wraith (1986)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Horror, Romance
In a small town in Arizona, a mysterious man/spirit descends from the sky and manifests in a sports car and targets a local violent road-racing gang of motor heads, headed by a ruthless bully who'll do anything to get what he wants.
Director: Mike Marvin | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid
Votes: 19,261 | Gross: $3.50M
29. Dust to Glory (2005)
PG | 97 min | Documentary, Action, Adventure
A documentary on the Baja 1000, an annual off-road race held in Baja, Mexico that attracts hundreds of racers, their souped-up machines, and thousands of fans.
Director: Dana Brown | Stars: Chad McQueen, Mario Andretti, Sal Fish, James Garner
Votes: 1,023 | Gross: $0.64M
30. Michel Vaillant (2003)
103 min | Action, Sport
Fearless racer Michel Vaillant attempts to win "24 Hours of Le Mans", the famous highly challenging and prestigious annual endurance race that lasts one whole day.
Director: Louis-Pascal Couvelaire | Stars: Sagamore Stévenin, Peter Youngblood Hills, Diane Kruger, Jean-Pierre Cassel
Votes: 4,481
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