Auto Racing
NB: This list excludes films that feature illegally run street races unless legitimate races are integral to the storyline.
See also: Category:Auto racing filmsTitle | Year | Genre | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Crowd Roars | 1932 | Drama | Open wheel | Motor racing saga featuring James Cagney. |
The Big Wheel | 1935 | Drama | Open wheel | Mickey Rooney as a young driver out to win the Indianapolis 500. |
Speed | 1936 | Drama | Open Wheel | A carburetor's designer (James Stewart) tries Indy 500, then seeks world speed record. |
Ten Laps to Go | 1936 | Drama | Midget | Rival drivers compete for national championship and a girl. |
Indianapolis Speedway | 1939 | Drama | Open wheel | Three-time Indy champ (Pat O'Brien) wants a young driver to go to college. |
To Please a Lady | 1950 | Drama | Open Wheel | Newspaper columnist gets reckless racer Mike Brannan (Clark Gable) banned. |
The Racers | 1953 | Drama | Open wheel | European circuit racing drama starring Kirk Douglas. |
Genevieve | 1953 | Musical | Vintage cars | A British comedy about an automobile rally. |
Roar of the Crowd | 1953 | Drama | Open wheel | Indy 500 contender vows to quit, becomes a sparkplugs salesman. |
Checkpoint | 1956 | Crime | Road racing | A criminal gets into a confrontation with British police at an auto race. |
Thunder in Carolina | 1960 | Drama | Stock car | Rivals vie in Southern 500, starring Alan Hale, Jr. of Gilligan's Island fame. |
The Green Helmet | 1961 | Drama | Road racing | A British film about racers competing in Italy. |
The Iron Maiden | 1962 | Comedy | Traction engines | Alan Hale, Jr. again, in a story about a steam-engine rally. |
The Lively Set | 1964 | Drama | A mechanic (James Darren) feels he's perfected a revolutionary turbine engine. | |
24 heures d'amant | 1964 | Drama | Sports car | Claude Lelouch-directed film set at Le Mans. |
Viva Las Vegas | 1964 | Musical | Sports car | Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Ann-Margret. |
The Great Race | 1965 | Comedy | Vintage cars | Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis slapstick about long-distance car race. |
Grand Prix | 1966 | Drama | Open wheel | James Garner and Yves Montand in fictional story of drivers' lives and loves. |
Red Line 7000 | 1966 | Drama | Stock car | Howard Hawks-directed fiction, starring James Caan. |
Fireball 500 | 1966 | Comedy | Stock car | Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello vehicle. |
Spinout | 1966 | Musical | Open wheel | Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Shelley Fabares. |
Thunder Alley | 1967 | Romance | Stunt driver (Fabian), boss's daughter (Annette Funicello) team up in 500-mile race. | |
Hell On Wheels | 1967 | |||
A Man and a Woman | 1967 | Drama | Open wheel | French film about a woman who falls in love with an auto racer. |
The Love Bug | 1968 | Family | Demolition derby driver gets his hands on a magical Volkswagen. | |
Speedway | 1968 | Musical | Stock car | Elvis Presley is out to win the big race and Nancy Sinatra. |
The Wild Racers | 1968 | Drama | Fabian now races on the European circuit. | |
Winning | 1969 | Drama | Indy car | Paul Newman and Robert Wagner as rival drivers. |
Monte Carlo or Bust! | 1969 | Comedy | Vintage cars | a.k.a. Those Daring Young Men in their Jaunty Jalopies |
Le Mans | 1971 | Drama | Sports car | Steve McQueen as a competitor in 24 Hours of Le Mans. |
Weekend of a Champion | 1971 | |||
The Last American Hero | 1973 | Biographical | Stock car | Fictional biography of Junior Johnson, starring Jeff Bridges as "Junior Jackson". |
Herbie Rides Again | 1974 | Comedy | Sequel to The Love Bug. | |
Flåklypa Grand Prix | 1975 | |||
Death Race 2000 | 1975 | Action | Science-fiction about dangerous car race, starring David Carradine. | |
Bobby Deerfield | 1977 | Drama | Formula One | Al Pacino as a famed driver who falls in love with a dying woman. |
Greased Lightning | 1977 | Biographical | Stock car | True story of stock-car trailblazer Wendell Scott, starring Richard Pryor. |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | 1977 | Comedy | The third entry in The Love Bug series. | |
The Quick and the Dead | 1977 | Documentary | Open wheel | A behind-the-scenes look at Grand Prix racing, narrated by Stacy Keach. |
Herbie Goes Bananas | 1980 | Comedy | The fourth entry in The Love Bug series. | |
Six Pack | 1982 | Comedy | Stock car | Kenny Rogers stars and sings hit theme song. |
Safari 3000 | 1982 | Adventure | Endurance | A 3,000-mile race across Africa attracts a young American (David Carradine). |
Heart Like a Wheel | 1983 | Biographical | Drag racing | Based on the life of Shirley Muldowney, played by Bonnie Bedelia. |
Stroker Ace | 1983 | Comedy | Stock car | Burt Reynolds as a fictional NASCAR star. |
Born to Race | 1988 | Drama | Stock car | Fiction featuring Joseph Bottoms in lead role. |
La Carrera Panamericana | 1990 | Historic sports car | ||
Checkered Flag | 1990 | Open wheel | Unsold TV pilot | |
Dorf Goes Auto Racing | 1990 | Comedy | Stock car | Direct-to-video short film. Part of Tim Conway's Dorf series. |
Days of Thunder | 1990 | Drama | Stock car | Tom Cruise as a NASCAR newcomer, based loosely on Tim Richmond. |
Thunderbolt | 1995 | Action | Touring car | Hong Kong film with Jackie Chan as a race-car mechanic. |
Race the Sun | 1996 | Solar car | ||
The Love Bug | 1997 | Comedy | Made-for-TV sequel to the original 1968 film of the same title. | |
Super Speedway | 1997 | Documentary | Open wheel | Paul Newman narrates documentary on the building of a race car. |
Driven | 2000 | Action | Open wheel | Sylvester Stallone as a former Formula One star. |
éX-Driver The Movie | 2002 | |||
Michel Vaillant | 2003 | Based on a French comic book. | ||
Right on Track | 2003 | Family | Drag racing | Disney Channel story about a pair of drag-racing sisters. |
NASCAR: The IMAX Experience | 2004 | Documentary | Stock car | |
3: The Dale Earnhardt Story | 2004 | Documentary | Stock car | Made for TV. Chronicles the life and career of Dale Earnhardt. |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | 2005 | Comedy | Stock car | The most recent entry in The Love Bug series. |
Cars | 2006 | Animated | Stock car | Family comedy featuring voices of Paul Newman, Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy. |
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | 2006 | Comedy | Stock car | Will Ferrell as a cocky, crazy NASCAR driver. |
Dale | 2007 | Documentary | Stock car | Chronicles the life and legendary career of Dale Earnhardt. |
Ta Ra Rum Pum | 2007 | Drama | Stock car | Indian film. |
Death Race | 2008 | Sci-fi | Jason Statham in a revised version of 1975 film. | |
Death Racers | 2008 | Sci-fi | Futuristic story of prisoners competing in race to the death. | |
Truth in 24 | 2008 | Documentary | Sports car | A team's preparation for 2008's 24 Hours of LeMans. |
Speed Racer | 2008 | Action | Live-action version of Japanese anime series, with Emile Hirsch as Speed. | |
Love The Beast | 2009 | Documentary | Tarmac rally | |
Racing Dreams | 2009 | Documentary | Karting | |
Senna | 2010 | Documentary | Open wheel | The life and death of Formula One great Ayrton Senna. |
Tim Richmond: To the Limit | 2010 | Documentary | Stock car | Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Chronicles the career of Tim Richmond, his lifestyle, and his death from AIDS. |
Red Dirt Rising | 2011 | Stock car | Based on the life of early driver Jimmie Lewallen | |
Cars 2 | 2011 | Animated | Sports car | Sequel to 2006 family comedy hit. |
Truth in 24 II: Every Second Counts | 2012 | Documentary | Sports car | Sequel to 2008 film, documenting Audi's adventurous and cliffhanging 2011 race |
Read more about this topic: Sports Films
Famous quotes containing the word racing:
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they dont get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goats cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)