List of auto racing films
Appearance
Title | Year | Genre | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Speed Kings | 1913 | Comedy | 8-minute silent film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. | |
Kid Auto Races at Venice | 1914 | Comedy | Silent film starring Charlie Chaplin as a spectator who keeps getting in the way.[1] | |
The Roaring Road | 1919 | Romance | Car salesman "Toodles" Walden becomes a racer. | |
Excuse My Dust | 1920 | Comedy | Wife wants Toodles to give up racing in Roaring Road sequel. | |
Young Oldfield | 1924 | |||
Sporting Youth | 1924 | Comedy | A rich man's chauffeur (Reginald Denny) accidentally ends up in a race. | |
Kid Speed | 1924 | Comedy | A race organizer drops hints that his daughter's time will go to the winner. | |
Speed Madness | 1925 | |||
The Checkered Flag | 1926 | |||
The Speed Classic | 1928 | |||
Speedway | 1929 | Drama | Silent film about a father and son in Indianapolis. | |
Burning Up | 1930 | Drama | First talkie about auto racers. | |
Speed | 1930 | |||
The Racing Strain | 1932 | Drama | A driver who drinks tries to turn around his life. | |
The Crowd Roars | 1932 | Drama | Open wheel | Motor racing saga featuring James Cagney.[1] |
High Speed | 1932 | Drama | An undercover cop races cars while he tries to catch crooks. | |
High Gear | 1933 | Drama | After a friend's death, an auto racer takes a job driving a taxi. | |
Roaring Roads | 1935 | Comedy | A rich boy craving excitement tries racing and encounters gangsters. | |
Death Drives Through | 1935 | Drama | British driver falls in love with woman whose father disapproves. | |
Speed | 1936 | Drama | Open Wheel | A carburetor's designer (James Stewart) tries Indy 500, seeks world speed record. |
Speed to Spare | 1936 | |||
Indianapolis Speedway | 1939 | Drama | Open wheel | Three-time Indy champ (Pat O'Brien) wants a young driver to go to college. |
Ten Laps to Go | 1938 | Drama | Midget | Discovering a race is fixed, a new driver joins it with just 10 laps left. |
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | 1939 | A racing story starring Dennis O'Keefe. | ||
Danger on Wheels | 1940 | |||
Blonde Comet | 1941 | Romance | Open wheel | A woman (Virginia Vale) races versus men, then falls for one of them. |
Born to Speed | 1947 | |||
Buck Privates Come Home | 1947 | Comedy | Midget | Abbott and Costello aid a young midget-car racer. |
The Big Wheel | 1949 | Drama | Open wheel | Mickey Rooney as a brash young driver out to win the Indianapolis 500. |
To Please a Lady | 1950 | Drama | Open Wheel | Newspaper columnist gets reckless racer Mike Brannan (Clark Gable) banned. |
Jalopy | 1953 | Comedy | Going backwards, the Bowery Boys win the big race. | |
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. |
Johnny Dark | 1954 | Drama | Distance race | Engineer Tony Curtis enters car in Canada-to-Mexico race. |
A Race for Life | 1954 | Drama | Midget cars | Car's owner wonders if driver (Richard Conte) has lost his nerve. |
The Widow | 1955 | Drama | A countess in Italy falls in love with a doomed racing driver. | |
Checkpoint | 1956 | Crime | Road racing | A criminal gets into a confrontation with British police at an auto race. |
The Devil's Hairpin | 1957 | Drama | Road racing | Undefeated champion (Cornel Wilde) is coaxed out of retirement. |
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 | British film about racers competing in Italy, one of whom has lost his nerve. |
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.[2] |
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 | Romance | Mechanic, engineer fall for same dame. Marty Robbins stars. | |
A Man and a Woman | 1967 | Drama | Open wheel | French film about a woman who falls in love with an auto racer. |
Track of Thunder | 1967 | Drama | Stock car | Two rival drivers end up involved with the same girl. |
The Love Bug | 1968 | Family | Demolition derby driver gets his hands on a magical Volkswagen; first in the Herbie series[3] | |
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. | |
The Magnificent Tony Carrera | 1968 | Drama | A Spanish-German film about a successful racer who is also a thief. | |
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 |
The Racing Scene | 1969 | Documentary | A look at actor James Garner's involvement with auto racing. | |
Pit Stop | 1969 | Drama | Figure Eight | A promoter sponsors drivers in a "new" form of race car driving called The Figure Eight[1] |
Le Mans | 1971 | Drama | Sports car | Steve McQueen as a competitor in 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1] |
Once Upon a Wheel | 1971 | Documentary | Sports car | Paul Newman narrates an ABC television insider's look at auto racing. |
Weekend of a Champion | 1972 | Documentary | Formula One | Documentary directed by Roman Polanski chronicling Jackie Stewart's racing season.[1] |
The Last American Hero | 1973 | Biographical | Stock car | Fictional biography of Junior Johnson, starring Jeff Bridges as "Junior Jackson."[1] |
Ho! | 1974 | Drama | Jean-Paul Belmondo plays a racing driver turned bank robber. | |
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.[4] | |
Eat My Dust! | 1976 | Comedy | Racing film starring Ron Howard | |
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.[1] |
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | 1977 | Comedy | The third entry in the Herbie series. | |
The Quick and the Dead | 1977 | Documentary | Open wheel | A behind-the-scenes look at Grand Prix racing, narrated by Stacy Keach. |
Fast Company | 1979 | Drama | Drag Racing | An up-and-coming drag racer and an aging star cope with a corrupt manager. |
Dirt | 1979 | Documentary | Off Road | From motorcycles to Swamp buggies, off-road racing competitions. |
Herbie Goes Bananas | 1980 | Comedy | The fourth entry in the Herbie series. | |
The Cannonball Run | 1981 | Comedy | Cross-country | Based on an actual cross-country race[3] |
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 | Documentary | Historic sports car | Documentary starring Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Nick Mason and manager Steve O'Rourke. |
Checkered Flag | 1990 | Drama | Open wheel | Unsold TV pilot about friendship of a driver and mechanic. |
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.[5] |
Thunderbolt | 1995 | Action | Touring car | Hong Kong film with Jackie Chan as a race-car mechanic.[2] |
Race the Sun | 1996 | Family | Solar car | Halle Berry as a teacher whose school competes in World Solar Challenge. |
La Passione | 1996 | Drama | Formula One | Italian film about Ferrari racing. |
The Love Bug | 1997 | Comedy | Made-for-TV remake of original 1968 film of the same title. | |
Super Speedway | 1997 | Documentary | Open wheel | Paul Newman narrates documentary on the building of a race car. |
Miracle in Lane 2 | 2000 | Drama | Soap Box Derby | Made-for-TV film based on the life of Justin Yoder. |
Driven | 2001 | Action | Open wheel | Sylvester Stallone as a former Champ Car star. |
The Fast and the Furious | 2001 | Action | Street racing | Brian O'Conner, an LAPD officer, goes undercover in the street racing world to investigate a group of unknown truck hijackers. This film is the first in the Fast & Furious series. |
éX-Driver The Movie | 2002 | Anime | ||
The Snake and the Stallion | 2002 | Documentary | Sports car | The racing history of the AC Cobra, and the rivalry between Carroll Shelby and Enzo Ferrari. |
Right on Track | 2003 | Family | Drag racing | Disney Channel story about a pair of drag-racing sisters. |
Kart Racer | 2003 | Family | Kart racing | The story is about a young boy who wants to enter a go-kart race against a competitor. |
Michel Vaillant | 2003 | Drama | Racing film based on a French comic book. | |
2 Fast 2 Furious | 2003 | Action | Street racing | Brian O'Conner and Roman Pearce team up to go undercover for the U.S. Customs Service to bring down drug lord Carter Verone in exchange for the erasure of their criminal records. |
NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience | 2004 | Documentary | Stock car | |
3: The Dale Earnhardt Story | 2004 | Documentary | Stock car | Made for TV. Chronicles life and career of Dale Earnhardt. |
Dust to Glory | 2005 | Documentary | Offroad racing | A documentary about the 2003 Baja 1000. |
Herbie: Fully Loaded | 2005 | Comedy | Stock car | The most recent entry in the Herbie series. |
Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry | 2005 | Animated | Stock car | Direct-to-video feature about Tom and Jerry entering a race to win a luxurious mansion. |
Cars | 2006 | Animated | Stock car | Family comedy with voices of Paul Newman (who himself was a retired racing driver), Owen Wilson, Richard Petty (also a former racing driver) and Larry the Cable Guy; numerous racing drivers guest-star, including seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher.[6] |
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | 2006 | Comedy | Stock car | A cocky NASCAR star (Will Ferrell) must learn humility after setbacks in his career and home life.[2] |
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | 2006 | Action | Street racing | High school car enthusiast Sean Boswell is sent to live in Tokyo with his father and finds solace in the city's drifting community. |
Dale | 2007 | Documentary | Stock car | Another look at racing legend 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.[4] | |
Redline | 2007 | Action | Street racing | A group of multimillionaires wager millions of dollars over their high-powered luxury cars.[7] |
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 | Futuristic | Live-action version of Japanese anime series, with Emile Hirsch as Speed.[8] |
Street Racer | 2008 | Action | Mockbuster of Speed Racer with similarities to The Fast & The Furious[7] | |
Love The Beast | 2009 | Documentary | Tarmac rally | Australian film directed by and featuring Eric Bana and his 1970s Ford car. |
Racing Dreams | 2009 | Documentary | Karting | Kids ages 11–13 aspire to someday become NASCAR drivers.[2] |
Redline | 2009 | Sci-fi | Japanese animated film.[9] | |
Fast & Furious | 2009 | Action | Street racing | Set before the events of Tokyo Drift, Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner are forced to work together, racing to take down a powerful drug lord. |
Death Race 2 | 2010 | Sci-fi | Prequel for the 2008 Death Race film.[4] | |
Senna | 2010 | Documentary | Open wheel | The life and death of Formula One great Ayrton Senna.[3] |
Tim Richmond: To the Limit | 2010 | Documentary | Stock car | Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. A look at Tim Richmond, his lifestyle, and his death from AIDS. |
Born to Race | 2011 | Drag racing | ||
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. Much like the first film, numerous racing drivers guest-star.[10] |
25 Hill | 2011 | Drama | Soap Box Derby | Boy who lost his father teams in Soap Box Derby with man who lost his son. |
Truth in 24 II: Every Second Counts | 2012 | Documentary | Sports car | Sequel to 2008 film, documenting Audi's adventurous and cliffhanging 2011 race. |
Death Race 3: Inferno | 2013 | Sci-fi | Takes place between Death Race 2 and the 2008 Death Race films[4] | |
Rush | 2013 | Drama | Formula One | True story depicting Hunt–Lauda rivalry between drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season. |
1 | 2013 | Documentary | Formula One | Also known as 1: Life on the Limit, a documentary of the history of Formula One.[2] |
Turbo | 2013 | Animated | Indy car | A snail becomes the fastest thing on the race track. |
Snake and Mongoose | 2013 | Drama | Drag racing | True story depicting rivalry between funny-car drivers Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme and Tom 'The Mongoose' McEwen. |
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans | 2015 | Documentary | Sports car | On the actor's quest to make his 1971 auto-racing film Le Mans. |
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman | 2015 | Documentary | A documentary on Paul Newman's racing career[2] | |
The 24 Hour War | 2016 | Documentary | Endurance racing | Documentary on battle between Ford and Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race.[2] |
Cars 3 | 2017 | Animated | Sports car | Sequel to Cars and Cars 2[11] |
Death Race 2050 | 2017 | Sci-fi | Direct sequel to Death Race 2000[4] | |
Logan Lucky | 2017 | Comedy | Stock car | A group of people attempt a heist of the Charlotte Motor Speedway on a racing day.[3] |
Dirt | 2018 | Action | Off-road | A young car thief works for an off-road racing team[12] |
Death Race: Beyond Anarchy | 2018 | Sci-fi | Sequel to 2008 Death Race film[4] | |
Pegasus | 2019 | Comedy | Rallying | Chinese comedy about a former rally driver on his comeback trail |
Trading Paint | 2019 | Drama | Dirt track | A stock car racing legend is drawn back to the dirt track when his son, an aspiring driver, joins a rival racing team.[13] |
Blink of an Eye | 2019 | Documentary | NASCAR | An examination of the career of Michael Waltrip, climaxing in his victory in the 2001 Daytona 500—an event overshadowed by the final-lap accident that claimed the life of his car owner and friend, Dale Earnhardt. |
Ford v Ferrari | 2019 | Drama | Sports car | True story depicting Ford's road to take down Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race.[2] |
Qualified | 2019 | Documentary | IndyCar | Made for TV as a part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Chronicles the struggle of Janet Guthrie to become the first female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. |
Lady Driver | 2020 | Drama | Dirt track | A rebellious teen (Grace Van Dien) becomes a dirt-track racer while trying to uncover her family history.[14] |
Gran Turismo | 2023 | Biographical | Sports car | Based on the video game series by Polyphony Digital, the movie follows Jann Mardenborough and his real journey from a working-class racing gamer to being a pro racer in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Nissan after competing in the GT Academy.[15] |
Ferrari | 2023 | Drama | Sports car | Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) grapples with personal and professional crises, including the death of his son Dino the year before, as his racing team prepares to enter the 1957 Mille Miglia.[1] |
Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia | 2024 | Biographical | Rallying | A biopic revolving around the Audi-Lancia rivalry during the 1983 World Rally Championship. |
F1 | 2025 | Drama | Formula One | Filmed on location during the 2023 Formula One World Championship, revolving around a fictional Formula One driver who returns to the sport to mentor an up-and-coming rookie. |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "10 great motor racing films". BFI. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rawat, Kshitij (2024-03-26). "The Best Auto Racing Movies For A Thrilling Watch". AugustMan Malaysia. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ a b c d Morgan, Chris (2024-10-24). "Vroom service: The 20 best films about racing". Yardbarker. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ a b c d e f Norman, Dalton; Russell, Tom (2023-08-25). "Death Race Movies In Order: By Release Date & Chronologically". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Crislip, Anthony (2022-03-16). "The Real Life Inspiration For Tom Cruise's Days Of Thunder Character". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (June 7, 2006). "Cars". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ a b Gibbons, Ben (2023-12-24). "10 Movies That Tried & Failed To Copy Fast & Furious". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Bove, Kate (2024-07-14). "16 Years Later, I'm Still Amazed By This Underrated Anime Adaptation". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Kuhnke, Oisin (2024-01-17). "Got the January blues? The best anime racing film around might just help you". VG247. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Ness, Mari (2018-01-04). "Pixar's First Minor Roadblock: Cars 2". Reactor. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Goldberg, Matt (2017-06-14). "Cars 3 Review: Pixar's Latest Finds a Comfortable Speed". Collider. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ "Dirt the movie – Short Course Racer | Home of Short Course Racing". Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ "Trading Paint: A (Dirt Racing Fan's Modest) Review". TEHBEN.COM. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ "Lady Driver | A Dirt Racing Fan's Film Review". TEHBEN.COM. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
- ^ Piccotti, Tyler (2023-12-18). "The 'Gran Turismo' Movie Tells a Remarkable True Story—With One Big Exception". Biography. Retrieved 2024-11-04.