Cars on Film

Image Credit: http://www.carmagazine.co.uk

Cinema. It can make us laugh, makes us cry and make us think. It’s also great for when you want to watch a good old – fashioned car chase and feel as though you were there, hitting every jump and slding through every corner. For this post I’ve lined up five of my favourite car movies (or movies featuring awesome cars). I’ve tried to cover a broad spectrum of titles, although if you have any other suggestions please feel free to comment and let us know!

5. Death Race (2008)

Image Credit: http://www.askmen.com

 Plot: Wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife, ex race car driver Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is sent to a maximum security prison situated on an isolated island a mile from the coast. Not long after his arrival he realises that this is no ordinary prison; inmates are invited to build heavily armoured cars equipped with machine guns, rockets and napalm and take part in a gruesome Mario-Kart style tournament to the death. The entire spectacle is televised to paying spectators, making the warden of the prison (Joan Allen) a fortune. The top driver is a masked inmate named ‘Frankenstein’, so named due to the number of facial injuries he has sustained in his career. It quickly transpires that he was killed in an accident shortly before Ames’ arrival, his demise kept hush-hush due to the warden’s fears of lower ratings. When he is given the chance to wear the mask and take on Frankenstein’s duties behind the wheel of a Shelby Mustang GT500, Ames readily accepts (it’s got to be better than spending all day staring at the wall, right?) This is about it so far as plot is concerned, but what makes the movie so good isn’t the character development but rather the frenetically paced action scenes that occur throughout.

Cars: The majority of the film centres on the cars, ranging from Porsches and BMWs to Dodges and Buicks. There’s plenty here to keep most petrol heads happy – as long as you don’t expect them to be stock. Ames’ Shelby Mustang GT500 and the Dodge Ram SRT10 belonging to Frankenstein’s nemesis Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) take centre stage, with the remainder of the automotive cast screeching, sliding, crashing and exploding all around them. A feast for the ears as well as the eyes, the sound of the engines and the gunfire leaves you practically deaf for a few hours once you’ve left the cinema – brilliant!

Verdict: As one YouTube commenter put it: “As a remake of Death Race 2000 this sucks; as a sequel it rules!” To be honest I didn’t like the original that much, but this film I really enjoyed. It may not be the most realistic film in the world, nor does it have a fantastic plot. However, the action scenes are spectacular, helped in no small part by the CGI which is noticeable by its absence – always a plus in a film centred on real car stunts and real car crashes.

Look Out For: Gang leader Pachenko’s Buick Riviera with a chop top and NASCAR- styled Weller wheels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJfQd0WL77w&feature=related

4. Mad Max (1979)

Image Credit: http://www.barreljumper.blogspot.com

Plot: At the beginning of the film, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is just Max. He’s a police officer with the MFP (Main Force Patrol) in post apocalyptic Australia, now a desolate wasteland due to a war over oil escalating to epic proportions. Then something happens to Max which makes him mad. Very mad. The result is a quest for vengeance which takes him across the desert and through some of its dusty settlements in pursuit of the motorcycle gang responsible.

Cars: So, in a place where fuel is scarce and there is no way of filling up at a petrol station what kind of car does everyone drive? Australian muscle cars packing huge displacement V8s, obviously. No, I’m not kidding. Holdens and Fords are everywhere, with Max’s Weland Supercharged Ford Falcon XB Coupe Police Interceptor (read that again so you can bask in the true complexity of its official title) the main attraction. A new front fascia, two rear spoilers, Weller wheels and side pipes complete the look, which make the Falcon look incredibly cool while remaining true to the ‘rusty and dusty’ feel of the film. Anyone who likes motorbikes will also appreciate this movie as they too play a central role, mainly as the antagonists’ vehicles of choice.

Verdict: A fantastic film with lots of action, rightly regarded as a cult classic. A little dark and disturbing in some places, the car action and sense of atmosphere is superb. If I could see it in the cinema today I would. Twice. That is, as long as it wasn’t the American dubbed version, allegedly distributed because Americans couldn’t understand the Australian accent. Allegedly Tom Hardy (of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ fame) is currently in talks to play Max in a fourth film, so perhaps I will get the chance to see this type of film back on the big screen. I know of some people who hate the film due to the long and winding plot which has the potential to drag a little in between action sequences, and others who much prefer Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior because it features even more driving action than the first. However, my recommendation is to watch them in chronological order, so the first one has to be given this spot.

Look Out For: The sound you hear when Max engages the supercharger and kicks the floorboards. If you have a home cinema system and sit close enough to a speaker the noise will make you spit out your teeth, it’s that cool.

3. Bullitt (1968)

Image Credit: http://www.blu-ray.com

Plot: San Francisco detective Frank Bullitt (the legendary Steve McQueen) is tasked with protecting a key witness due to give evidence at a trial. When things go a bit awry Bullitt has to discover what’s going on, avoiding hit men and his police captain along the way. That’s about it for plot, but let’s be honest, how many people watch this film for its storyline?

Cars: The chase between Bullitt and the hit men, during which the hunter quickly becomes the hunted, entered cinema history long before most of the people who will read this article were born. Bullitt’s 1968 Ford Mustang GT390 looks beautiful, its smooth curves and sculpted flanks coated in metallic Highland Green paint and accentuated by Torque Thrust wheels and chunky tyres. The suspension in the Mustang had to be beefed up to tackle the San Francisco hills resulting in its aggressive and purposeful stance. The 1968 Dodge Charger R/T driven by his opposition, on the other hand, required no modifications whatsoever. The standard Dodge parts were enough to get the job, the criminal affiliation of the car enhanced by its black paint and featureless grille. Despite being a larger car than the Mustang the Charger still looks graceful as it drifts around tramcars and through petrol stations, losing a disproportionate number of hubcaps along the way.

Verdict: Overall, this film’s reputation has been built solely on two things: the casting of Steve McQueen, who does a great job of portraying a man up to his ears in trouble, and the car chase. The rest of the film is very slow and can become a little bland at points, although the DVD release thankfully has an option to skip to the chase itself. If this film ever saw a return to the cinema I’d still go and see it, despite the monotony of some of the dialogue and the length of some of the scenes, just so I could watch that car chase, for once, the way that audiences would have witnessed it in 1968.

Look Out For: The sound of McQueen double clutching the Mustang as he hurls it around San Francisco during the chase. It’s actually audio from a race car dubbed over the original sound, but who cares when it’s that good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRvESyo-E5M

2. The Italian Job (1969)

Image Credit: http://www.slantmagazine.com

Plot: Criminal Charlie Croker (the living – legend Michael Caine) is released from prison and learns that a friend of his has attempted to pull off a gold heist in Turin, despite the presence of the police and – perhaps more worryingly – the mafia. Croker decides to take over the job himself, gathering together a team and setting into motion a chain of events which culminates in a mind boggling chase using one of the most iconic British cars ever built.

Cars: Is this section really necessary for this film? Perhaps a little odd for a production which features Lamborghinis and Jaguars, there is only one make and model which not only sums up this films sense of humour but which has remained inseparable from its legacy ever since: the Mini Cooper. Small and innocent looking cars with approximately 79 horsepower each, these Minis – one red, one white and one blue – have since earned a place in popular culture amongst the most famous and expensive cars in the world. Let’s be honest, everybody wants one. The only point up for discussion is the colour you want, isn’t it? Personally, I’d love the white one…. and the blue one…. and the red one….hmm.

Verdict: A fantastic plot as well as fantastic cars, this film is a must see. The Minis are brilliant and the car chase is very well made for a film of this era, with some unexpected twists and turns thrown in for good measure. If it was on in the cinema I’d go and see it several times, something I couldn’t say for Bullitt due to its lack of substance. No doubt in 2019 it’ll see a 50^th anniversary rerelease, but until then the DVD is decent enough quality to enjoy the film in the comfort of your own home.

Look Out For: The surprising places the Minis can reach on their high octane little outing, along with all of Michael Caine’s gags: “You’re only ‘sposed to blow the BLADDY doors off!” etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEltJsIwSvE

1. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

Image Credit: http://www.listal.com

Plot: Experienced car thief Maindrian Pace (H.B. ‘Toby’ Halicki) has a business buying wrecked cars from auctions and transferring their number plates and VIN numbers onto identical cars which he’s stolen. When tasked with stealing 48 cars before a deadline Pace realises that one of the cars on the list is the 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, a car he knows as ‘Eleanor’. The main aspects of the plot were changed very little for the 2001 remake starring Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie, although this version is far superior in terms of car action.

Cars: The automotive focus of this film is firmly on ‘Eleanor’ – she even has her name in the opening credits! A 1973 Mustang, she is one of the last true muscle cars of the era: strict regulations on safety and emissions killed most muscle cars off by 1974. She’s a plain Jane variant with no stripes, no decals, no louvres and not even alloy wheels. In fact, the only striking thing about the whole car is her vibrant yellow paint. However, what she looks like isn’t necessarily of paramount importance, as the film is more concerned with what she does. The chase scene between ‘Eleanor’ and the pursuing police units takes up over 40 minutes of the film, which from beginning to end only runs for just over an hour and a half – that’s almost 50% of the film just spent watching cars screeching round corners and hitting each other!

Verdict: You may be wondering why this film, above all of the others, has taken the number one spot. The reason is because it is such a good film, such an action packed film, it’s hard to believe that it was made by an amateur. Toby Halicki wrote, directed, produced and starred in it, alongside the other members of the cast who were either friends or members of his family. He bought all of the cars for the movie himself, including the police cars (which came in at around $200 a pop at auction). He also drove ‘Eleanor’ in every scene and only used one ‘Eleanor’ for the entire 40 minutes of the chase. Sadly, Halicki was killed on the set of his next production, a sequel to Gone in 60 Seconds, when a stunt involving a water tower went wrong and it landed on the roof of his car, crushing him to death. For the sole reason that such a brilliant film came from the mind of one man, I’ve rated this as my top car chase film of all time. If it was in the cinema, as was true of Mad Max and The Italian Job, I’d go and see it time and time again.

Look Out For: When the chase hits the freeway, Pace wraps the Mustang around a post. This stunt wasn’t scripted, but was left in the film to explain the huge dent in the side of ‘Eleanor’ (as I’ve said, they only used the one car).

So that’s my top five: old to new, Hollywood to amateur, V8s to Minis and Australia to Italy, they’re all fantastic films. If you’ve never seen any of them before they come highly recommended and most can be bought pretty cheap now on DVD. Still, don’t forget to comment with your own opinions, as there are far more films out there to choose from!