MAN AT THE WHEEL: A filmography

[Vic Sage]

There is a man is at the wheel� he is driving fast, destination unknown. He may be chased, or in pursuit. He may have loved once, or been loved, and he may be fleeing justice, or seeking it, but now all the meaning in his life is defined by his skill and his velocity. He is merely an object in space, and his only remaining relationship is with his machine. He is likely to meet his fate at gunpoint, or at a point of impact, or find himself at the vanishing point, where open blacktop meets the distant horizon.

He is a burnt out shell of a man, a ronin, the existential anti-hero at the wheel, hurtling toward his fate� and these are the movies that define him:

FAST & THE FURIOUS (1955) � this is the first AIP/Corman B-Movie� guy on the run, girl in danger, hijacked jaguar� time to race!
THE WILD RIDE (1960) � quintessential AIP/Corman juvenile delinquency flick for the Beat generation, with Jack Nicholson making trouble, racing around and dying young.
BONNIE & CLYDE (1967) � notorious lovers on the run in their vintage 30s cars, careening around to banjo music, until they�re shot to death in their car.
VANISHING POINT (1971) � This is the absolute epitome of the genre.
2-LANE BLACKTOP (1971) � Monty Hellman�s philosophical road picture
BADLANDS (1973) � Bonnie & Clyde�s younger version, more interested in killing than stealing.
DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY (1974) � Peter Fonda on the run in a Dodge Charger
GONE IN 60 SECONDS (1974), (2000) (� also DEADLINE AUTO THEFT / THE JUNKMAN follow-ups) � stunt-driver HB Halicki wrote, produced, directed and starred in this no-budget chase film about car thieves. Halicki died in a car stunt making a sequel. The big budget remake with Nick Cage sucks.
SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974) � Spielberg�s first feature, with Goldie Hawn on the run.
RETURN TO MACON COUNTY (1975) � young Don Johnson and Nick Nolte in this sequel to MACON COUNTY LINE, about delinquents looking to drag race.
TAXI DRIVER (1976) � He prowls the night, waiting for a rain to come and wash the scum from the streets� that is, until he realizes that HE is the rainstorm he�s been waiting for.
THE DRIVER (1978) � Walter Hill�s take on the existential wheel man.
BREATHLESS (1983) � while not quite as good as Godard�s version (1960), they both celebrate the aimless criminal and his lover on the run
THELMA & LOUISE (1991) � a distaff version of Bonnie & Clyde, they end up driving off a cliff rather than live lives as southern housewives. Can�t say I blame them.
HEAVEN�S BURNING (1997) � An Ozzie Bonnie & Clyde, with young Russell Crowe.
AMERICAN PERFEKT (1997) � Robert Forster as a psycho-psychiatrist on the run with a body in the trunk.
TRANSPORTER (2002), II (2005), III (2008) � Jason Statham as a merc who transports illicit packages in a cool BMW � no questions asked, of course.
DEATH PROOF (2007) � Tarentino�s psycho automotive serial killer meets his match in pack of deadly female stunt drivers.
DRIVE (2011) � Ryan Gosling picks up the mantel of the wheelman not to be crossed, and knocks it out of the park

Moonshiners: these southern gothic actioners are a subset of the genre; usually low-budget exploitation by AIP, but Robert Mitchum set the standard in THUNDER ROAD and the Dukes buried it.

THUNDER ROAD (1958)
WHITE LIGHTNING (1973)
MOONRUNNERS (1975)
DIXIE DYNAMITE (1976)
BAD GEORGIA ROAD (1977)
THUNDER & LIGHTNING (1977)
DUKES OF HAZZARD (2005)

Driver comedies: the comic approach to the man behind the wheel has basically taken the form of extended chase films, usually involving illegal races, or chases, or crashes on a ridiculous scale.

IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963) � also RAT RACE (2001)
FIREBALL 500 (1966)
EAT MY DUST (1976)
GUMBALL RALLY (1976)
CANNONBALL (1976)
GRAND THEFT AUTO (1977)
SMOKEY & THE BANDIT (1977), II (1980), III (1983)
BLUES BROTHERS (1980)
CANNONBALL RUN (1981)

Cross-genre driver movies: the existential driver pops up in horror and SF, most notably the MAD MAX movies.

DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) � black comedy/SF became a cult classic
MAD MAX (1979), II (1981), III (1985) � the ultimate in �burnt out shell of a man on the road� movies
THE LAST CHASE (1981) � bad sci fi but on the nose, theme-wise.
CARS (2006) � animated cars, but no drivers!
SPEED RACER (2008) � the cartoon comes to life, but no anti-heroes.
DRIVE ANGRY (2011) � another over-the-top Nick Cage on the run film, escaped from Hell and chased by Satanists.

Horror Cars: some horror films feature the car or the driver as a supernatural force chasing the protagonist, which doesn�t really fit the genre but what the hell:

DUEL (1971) � Spielberg�s first was a TV film but got a theatrical release.
CARS THAT ATE PARIS (1974) � Peter Weir�s Ozzie flick
RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975) � Satanists chase Peter Fonda
CHRISTINE (1983) � Stephen King�s killer car

Big Rigs, Bikes and Trains:

The Trucker movie - sometimes the car is a big rig, and the driver is seeking justice, or a paycheck, or just survival.

THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940)
WHITE LINE FEVER (1975)
SORCERER (1977) � Friedkin�s remake of WAGE OF FEAR (1953)
CONVOY (1978)

Bikers - sometimes they drive 2 wheels, not 4.

GIRL ON THE MOTORCYCLE (1968)
EASY RIDER (1969)
ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (1973)
GHOST RIDER (2010), II (2012)

And sometimes, it�s a train.

EMPEROR OF THE NORTH (1973)
RUNAWAY TRAIN (1985)

The Big Race: these aren�t really anti-hero movies, featuring instead race car drivers driving legitimate races, but they do have some overlap.

THE GREAT RACE (1965) - Blake Edwards "race around the world" comedy with Tony Curtis, and Curtis's similar followup, THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPIES (1969)
GRAND PRIX (1966) � James Garner
WINNING (1969) � Paul Newman
LE MANS (1971) � Steve McQueen
LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973) - Jeff Bridges, true story about a moonshiner who becomes a stock car champion.
GREASED LIGHTNING (1977) � ditto, with Richard Pryor
STROKER ACE (1983) - good ole boy Burt Reynolds, in his comic redneck NASCAR driver mode (as opposed to comic redneck outrunning-the-cops mode)
DAYS OF THUNDER (1990) � Tom Cruise
TALLADEGA NIGHTS (2006) � Will Ferrell

Car chasers: some movies just feature a spectacular car chase or 2, but otherwise don�t fit the genre. Worth mentioning are:

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) � McQueen racing on a motorcycle, jumping barbed wire
BULLITT (1968) � McQueen as a cop in hot pursuit on the hilly streets of SF
THE ITALIAN JOB (1969) � Caper film with Michael Caine
FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) � Friedkin�s race under the L
THE GETAWAY (1972) � McQueen and McGraw on the run
SEVEN UPS (1973) � Cops in hot pursuit
MCQ (1974) � The Duke in a cool car
TO LIVE & DIE IN LA (1985) � Slick Michael Mann and his LA cops
RONIN (1998) � caper film with DeNiro and getaway chase through Europe
FAST & THE FURIOUS (2001), II, III, IV, V � this Vin Diesel series fetishizes car culture like none other. The only problem is it�s about an undercover cop, not an existential anti-hero, so not within the genre.

Lifetime achievement award: Steve McQueen � the Tao of Steve required maintaining a detached cool even astride a Harley vaulting barbed wire fences to evade Nazis, flying a car over the hills of San Francisco, racing at Le Mans, on the run with Ali McGraw, bounty hunting atop a train, shot flying a jet as Thomas Crowne, financing a documentary on bikers, and generally living his life at maximum RPM.

Nick Cage has desperately attempted to join his elite rank, but he lacks the chops, and his movies usually suck.

[Guest sharpie]

Doesn't BADLANDS belong in there somewhere?

[Benjamin Grimm]

What about Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock?

[metirish]

AIP/Corman ?

Great list ...

[Vic Sage]

sharpie wrote: Doesn't BADLANDS belong in there somewhere?

it's there. look again.

[Vic Sage]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: What about Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock?

what about it?
the intention wasn't to list every movie where people are driving. in SPEED, Bullock is someone forced to drive by a bomber. THESE movies are about people who CHOOSE to drive, generally as an expression of will, or a search for meaning, or to catch something or escape from something. Its very much about the CHOICE to drive. In SPEED, they either drive or blow up. no choice. they're heroes, not anti-heroes.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Guest

[Vic Sage]

metirish wrote: AIP/Corman ?

are you asking what AIP/CORMAN refers to?

American International Pictures was a B-movie studio from the 50s-70s, with Roger Corman as the major producer (and occasional director) and driving creative force. They made youth culture exploitation films (sex, drugs, horror, motorcycles, etc), some with the young Jack Nicholson (including the original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS). Corman often gave young directors their first feature film experience, including Coppola, scorsese, Demme and many others (including Ron Howard's EAT MY DUST and GRAND THEFT AUTO), because they were cheaper than established directors. Corman also directed a bunch, including the Poe series he did with Vincent Price.

[metirish]

Yes, thanks

[Frayed Knot]

Lifetime achievement award: Steve McQueen � the Tao of Steve required maintaining a detached cool even astride a Harley vaulting barbed wire fences to evade Nazis, flying a car over the hills of San Francisco, racing at Le Mans, on the run with Ali McGraw, bounty hunting atop a train, shot flying a jet as Thomas Crowne, financing a documentary on bikers, and generally living his life at maximum RPM.

I just re-saw (for about the 50th time) The Great Escape the other night.
I also read, more than once when I was younger, the true-account book from which it was derived. And while the movie states up front that many of the characters are composites and/or changed somewhat from the source material, McQueen's character and his role in the plot has no real basis in the book and was completely made-up for the film.

Nothing really wrong with that of course, any studio at that time would obviously want McQueen in its blockbuster action flick and sticking in an American character into a camp which was, by that point, almost entirely British is also good for the old U.S. box office. So then the supposed story goes that one condition of getting McQ to agree to the picture was that they write in a scene where he gets to show off his motorcycle riding. Studio, of course, agrees; they get their man, he gets to add to his macho/cool image and everyone skips off happily to the bank.

[Edgy MD]

McQueen supposedly was supposedly more skilled than any of the stunt bikers on that crew, and did so much riding that, at one point, if you pay attention, your treated to a scene of Nazi Steve in hot pursuit of American Steve.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Eddie Izzard has a great standup routine about Steve McQueen and The Great Escape.

[Vic Sage]

[u:1unoz8aa]Top Dozen of the sub-genre:[/u:1unoz8aa]
EASY RIDER (1969)
VANISHING POINT (1971)
2-LANE BLACKTOP (1971)
LE MANS (1971)
GONE IN 60 SECONDS (1974)
THE DRIVER (1978)
MAD MAX (1979), II (1981), III (1985)
THELMA & LOUISE (1991)
TRANSPORTER (2002)
DRIVE (2011)

what was going on in the culture in 1971?

[Edgy MD]

Seventies was an existential landscape, man. Society crumbling all around, and a post-modern cowboy wandering between outposts looking for meaning or merely survival.

I think you could do well by narrowing this down. You've got lone man at the wheel type of films, but also the ensemble-in-single-vehicle road movies, and ensemble race movies. You've got sociopaths and healers. You've got cars and bikes. You've got farces, comic romance, and dark action. People on the run and people making a run. Off the top of my head I can think of a dozen films that fit right in. Lots of different archetypes.

Though I certainly salute your plowing through.

[Edgy MD]

Vic Sage wrote: THE LAST CHASE (1981) � bad sci fi but on the nose, theme-wise.

Your brief review totally disappoints (but hardly surprised) me. I had been on the lookout for this. Lee Majors? Chris Makepeace? Burgess Meredith? Dream cast!

[Vic Sage]

Your brief review totally disappoints (but hardly surprised) me. I had been on the lookout for this. Lee Majors? Chris Makepeace? Burgess Meredith? Dream cast!

my "review" was just a two-word synopsis of general critical opinion about the flick ("bad SciFi") because i had not seen it. Have you? Please describe.

[Edgy MD]

Oh, no, I haven't seen it. I imagine you're absolutely correct, but when it comes to sci-fi, we many of us live in denial about different potential quality films out there, until we finally see them and, more often than not, concrete reality comes crashing down.

Some films (A Boy and His Dog, Krull, ...) I may never see, because I know they will probably be awful, even as I choose to believe they won't.

[Vic Sage]

A BOY AND HIS DOG is awesome. KRULL, however...