JohnDoe
Bryn
Brenton
John Doe’s 27 Favourite Road Trip Movies.
On the Road Again with JD's Favourite Journeys.
Two Lane Blacktop - One of the best on the road.
Production on Francis Ford Coppolla’s upcoming adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal beat generation novel The Road is scheduled to begin later this year. The casting is now falling into place with Viggo Mortensen, Sam Riley, Amy Adams, Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst all signed on.
Using it as an excuse, John Doe thought it was a good time to share some of his favourite road trip movies. Coming in all different shades, some offer existential introversion, others thrill and naturally there can be laughs had as participants discover their country and themselves.
Note - Divided into categories but without rank.
Killer Road Trips
Badlands (1973)
Read John Doe's review of Badlands by clicking HERE
Wild At Heart (1990)
Kalifornia (1993)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
natural Born Killers (1994)
The final gripping scenes of The Hitcher - Contains Spoilers
Read John Doe's review of The Hitcher by clicking HERE
High Octane Highway Rides
Wages of Fear (1953)
Sorcerer (1977)
Read John Doe's review of Sorcerer by clicking HERE
Duel (1971)
Read John Doe's review of Duel by clicking HERE
Vanishing Point (1971)
Read John Doe's Review of Vanishing Point by clicking HERE
Easy Rider (1969)
The Getaway (1972)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Don Siegel's The Big Steal (1949)
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
The opening Ten Minutes of Two Lane Blacktop
Read John Doe's review of Two lane Blacktop by clicking HERE
Laughs on the Tarmac
Midnight Run (1988)
Fear and Loathing in Las vegas (1998)
National Lampoon's vacation (1983)
The Muppet Movie with a definitive road trip tune, "Movin' Right Along".
Journeys of Self Discovery
Francis Ford Copolla's The Rain People(1969)
The Living End (1992)
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
The Straight Story (1999)
A taste of the personal voyage in a scene from Lost In America.
Romantic Escapes
The Sure Thing (1985)
Y tu Mamá También (2001)
Trailer for Two for the Road
So Readers, What are some of your favourite Road Movies?
20/20 Filmsight
I had a chuckle when I saw that Viggo had signed up - of course he has.
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
You've got some good stuff there.
Of course I haven't seen everything on your list but I do like:
The Badlands
Bonnie & Clyde
The Hitcher
Easy Rider
The Getaway
Midnight Run
Vacation
There's a few movies that I like which aren't on your list. I have a guilty pleasure for the comedy:
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"
There's an Indy flick under the self-discovery banner directed by Sam Mendes (which is mostly likely not your cup of tea:
"Away We Go"
As far as Horror Movies go, there's:
"Jeepers Creepers"
I have heard that the re-edited version of "The Brown Bunny" is not too bad but I haven't seen it yet.
Very fun list...
Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald
Horrorphile
I can a few more
Goodbye Pork Pie
Roadgames
Cannonball
Mad Max
... Does Runaway Train count?
Screen Adventure
Great to see 'Kalifornia' on there! Living End is also an interesting addition
I've thought of a few other titles that I am surprised you never thought of, some of which are classics:
Paris Texas
Food, Gas, Lodging
Sons
Breathless
Broken Flowers
Sideways
Taste Of Cherry
Scarecrow
Journey In Italy
The Outsiders
Bottle Rocket
The Passenger
Five Easy Pieces
Horrorphile
Paris, Texas?
Bottle Rocket?
The Passenger?
Bonnie and Clyde?
I mean there's a little traveling, but ...
Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory
Keep swinging in the batters box champ - your time in the big smoke isn't far away!
Film & TV on DVD
Film & TV on DVD
This list was done so fast, off the top of my head that i didn't even bother to cut it down to size. More to enjoy
We all love The Sure Thing don't we?
As for the Mendes film, luke warm for me. Brown Bunny I liked more than most critics but it is still deeply flawed.
Jeepers Creepers was a serviceable ride and even though it didn't pop into my head when doing the list, still probably wouldn't have warranted a spotlight.
Thanks for the contributions.
Film & TV on DVD
I've never even heard of "Goodbye Pork Pie"!
I dabbled with Mad Max going on the list but eventually decided it wasn't a favourite in the genre.
Runaway Train is a fave of mine too, but i don't think it qualifies.
For me Bonnie and Clyde made the cut because for most of the film they are in motion, seeing new places and traveling on the road
Film & TV on DVD
It is tough to narrow down a definition for road movies.
On my first draft i had actually included The Wizard of Oz and Lord of The Rings.
Awesome suggestion with Scarecrow, wish i had thought of it. Would have certainly made it a list of 28.
Some interesting additions there, some I thought of but decided didn't fit the road movie style I was going for and others that seem a loose fit.
Still, really appreciate the contribution.
Film & TV on DVD
Ummmm, Wild Hogs, what can i say except that i hated every moment. Sorry to disappoint but there is nothing redeemable I found in that picture except the casting of Marissa Tomei
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Horrorphile
Mad Max not a fave of the genre?! Are you kidding me? How could you put the obnoxious NBK in there and not put Mad Max, that's shameful.
You'd never heard of Goodbye Pork Pie? Wow. Well, there you go, proves once again the awesome divide between NZ and Australia that exists. Goodbye Pork Pie, released in 1981, was the biggest Kiwi motion picture ever. Everyone saw it. It was a phenomenon. Broke box office records. A man determined to fix his marriage drives from one end of the country (Auckland) to the other (Invercargill), on the way picking up a misfit, causing much chaos, and giving the police a major headache, and the two of them become national "heroes" along the way. Directed by Geoff Murphy, who would go on to direct Utu, The Quiet Earth, and Young Guns.
Really Long Link
Film & TV on DVD
Glad there were some in there you liked.
As for Thelma and Louise, I didn't over look it. I just didn't like it. The first half was a good enough set up and I was really happy they followed through with the ending. But somewhere along the line the films agenda got in the way of entertainment and I felt like I was being preached too about something very obvious.
Always awesome to have you stop by.
Film & TV on DVD
For me Mad Max is a film of moments but as a whole it just fails in fluidity for me, hence I am never fully engaged. Love the opening. Always amused by the kid getting killed and the hacksaw finale is fun. However its very uneven and for my money the second film is much stronger.
As for NBK, I absolutely adore the film and its full frontal assault that matches the tone and purpose. Using ever trick the media does to brainwash the masses the thing moves along at a startling pace and the comedy works for me. Everytime I see it I am impressed by the ferocious energy and understanding of visual punctuation. the performances too are astonishing.
Sounds like I have to see Goodbye Pork Pie. Thanks for the info. That's why these lists are fun, to find hidden delights that others can share.
Horrorphile
I loathe NBK, the entire aesthetic of the movie reeks of self-indulgence, which I realise is half the point, but it repels me so therein lies the Rub.
I tried to watch it a second time several years later, but couldn't get more than half an hour into it before abandoning it.
I would love to have seen Tarantino's original screenplay filmed rather than the version Stone made.
I much prefer True Romance.
NBK supposedly tapped into a zeitgeist, but for me it smacks of complete and utter overkill, in all the wrong ways.
Road Warrior is a great movie indeed, far slicker than Mad Max, with more extraordinary stunts than you can throw a stick of dynamite at.
I'd lend you Goodbye Pork Pie if you were still in Sydney. It's very very Kiwi, and very dated, but still a heap of mindless fun.
Film & TV on DVD
Tarantino's original screenplay lacked the social commentary that I love from Stone's film so i am actually happy that it wasn't filmed. QT's ideas seemed irresponsible when i read it and really seemed to just want to have fun with the plot of Badlands. Still would have been a fun black comedy.
Who doesn't enjoy True Romance?