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This list was originally published August 15, 2017.
Its been updated to include new movies, includingFerrari.
It seems like a good bet that the car movie will always be with us.
Here are the 39 greatest car movies.
Utterly ridiculous, at times laughably so.
DirectorNicolas Winding Refn knows how to shoot violence, but more important, he knows how toanticipateviolence.
Plus, lets face it, the soundtrack is cool.
This wasnt a fanciful movie creation; it was an actual subculture.
Give him a hot rod, and hes suddenly cooler.
36.The Italian Job(1969)
You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!
Most importantly, the central heist and its ludicrous aftermath are delightfully well-executed.
Though quite different in tone and style, theFast and Furiousmovies owe a lot to this bubbly cult classic.
That, of course, is the EuropaCorp house style.
A very human tale that manages also to be a keen social satire.
His teammates include Robert Duvall and Angelina Jolie.
The car set pieces are ludicrous, and ludicrously enjoyable.
In NASCAR, he found the perfect target.
The movie moves between cock-of-the-walk triumph and utter humiliation with such quicksilver ease that you might get carsick.
And Hardy, giving one of his greatest performances, is the very picture of cool, calm competence.
Its honestly the kind of movie for which the studio system existed.
How amazing would it have been to see this in 70mm on the biggest screen imaginable?
(The filmmakers reportedly shot an ungodly amount of film, much of which was apparently lost.)
Its a revealing, gripping movie.
Is it the car?
(Its totally the car.)
The gun belonged to the man.
The man holds them hostage and makes them drive him to California.
Oh, and he tells the two men hell kill them when the trip is over.
Meanwhile, a blind small-town radio DJ narrates, encourages, and mythologizes the journey.
The two leads are excellent, and they keep the somewhat predictable tale of obsessive competition grounded.
We wince in terror and keep asking for more.
Its a wonderful film that for whatever reason got ignored by audiences.
But in Coppola and Lucass telling, Tucker won a victory of sorts.
Tarantino gives us a stunt driver (Kurt Russell) who gets off on killing carloads of unsuspecting females.
Thats a depressing setup, but the film is a lot gentler.
10.Fast Five(2011)
It wasnt so much that the earlierFast and the Furiousfilmswererealistic.
But in their own crazy way, they had adhered to some semblance of plausibility.
9.Speed Racer
How to even describe Lana and Lilly Wachowskis adaptation of the popular 1960s anime series?
Youve never seen anything like this.
And it was a flop, so you probably never will see anything else like it again.
Its certainly the first time that we got a full view of his awesome talent.
What starts off as a tight little thriller becomes a fascinating study in masculinity.
Weaver is the Eternal Pushover, the guy who is always getting stepped on and pushed aside.
His massive, beastly, seemingly indestructible pursuer is everything that hes not.
Plus, this movie, written byRichard Matheson, is just plain exciting as hell.
What in Gods name is this?
A metaphor about acting and/or filmmaking?
A meditation on the constantly shifting nature of the modern world?
A vision of a soul adrift?
Director Cox tackles consumerism, commodification, capitalism, and conformism, but hes not a scold.
The result is a movie that defined the punk ethos for an entire generation of viewers.
Meanwhile, Manns beloved Los Angeles cityscapes have never been more vivid or beautiful.
Co-written by Rudy Wurlitzer, the film is not exactly a metaphor, not exactly a drama.
The director actually bears some responsibility for making Ferraris a Thing.
Even the lead is grimmer than before, with Tom Hardy easily out-brooding his predecessor Mel Gibson.
Its a waking nightmare, a breathtaking thrill ride, and a bewildering work of art.
1.Taxi Driver(1976)
No complaining.
It totallyisa car movie.
