Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Movies About Transportation

When I was making the "Master List" of what topics I was going to use, I really wanted to break away from just the traditional topics that you would MAYBE see at the Oscars, and aim more towards topics that you would see at the MTV Movie Awards.  This topic was one of those selections.  I have always loved movies that included the use of vehicles.  Car chases, aerial dog fights, conflicts on a bus (okay...not that topic, but you get the idea).  Two of my favorite car chase scenes ever were both set in San Francisco: Bullitt and The Rock.  Totally different styles, but exciting to the point where I was leaning back and forth during them as if I was actually IN the car.  This led me to the topic of movies that really FOCUS on the mode of transportation, or even where it could be considered an additional character (Herbie The Love Bug anyone?)  In these films, the mode of transportation is really a critical aspect of the film...
Top 3 Movies About Transportation

(always in no particular order)
The Fast and the Furious
The Fast and the Furious I was lucky enough to see this when it first came out.  I was packed into a sold-out movie theater with a bunch of people who all head rice-rocket cars in the parking lot.  And you know what...it was fantastic.  It was like going to the midnight showings of Star Wars.  Everybody who was in there, was a fan, and just wanted to enjoy the film.  The story was decent, the dialogue was student-film caliber, but the driving scenes were absolutely awesome.  It made me want to go buy an Eclipse, lower it, and stick a NOS system on it.  To add in the testosterone of the experience, when we got to our cars outside, everybody was in the parking lot, revving their engines, and squealing tires.  (Isn't there a 4th or 5th sequel coming out soon too?  Yeah.  I'll see that one as well.)

NOTE: The quality of this movie clip is GARBAGE, but it is the only one I could find with the ENTIRE first race. 





Top Gun
Top Gun  How would ANY list be complete without the mention of Top Gun.  Factually, this movie is way off.  There are so many "errors" and "creative liberties" taken by the creators, but unless you are a naval/aviation nerd, you wont even notice.  Once again, cheesiness drips off this film like a big tray of Nachos at the county fair, but I still enjoy watching this film.  Like The Fast and the Furious, I find myself totally engaged in the action sequences.  Fortunately, I wasn't old enough to enlist when I first saw this movie, but that didn't stop the Navy who got their highest application rate for years after the film came out.  Collateral damage on this film goes to the Righteous Brothers for the overuse of their song "You've lost that loving feeling" in Karaoke bars around the world.







Hunt for Red October
Hunt for Red October.  This movie has already been on this blog before (under best sequel based), but it fell into this category too.  Once again, not the most historically accurate of films, but it really sucks you in when it comes to the action.  Tom Clancy....your stories are awesome.




Honarable Mention
Airplane!
Airplane!   What list about transportation would be complete without one of the funniest "transportation" movies of all time.  I dont believe that any spoof type film would have ever been successful if it hadnt been for the advent of this film (which really opened the door for "stupid funny" movies.)  Leslie Nielsen - RIP - has only a bit part in this, but his brief interjections and among the most memorable.





Next weeks Topic: Movies that Made/Make You Cry

9 comments:

Katrina said...

You have a blog!! Yay!

The Fast and the Furious -- never seen it. But it's one of Rich's favorites. We have the DVD somewhere.

Top Gun -- love, love, love this movie. It's the BEST movie to watch on a BIG BIG screen tv. When I was 18 I used to work for a video store that also sold tv's. Top Gun was the movie that we had on our biggest BIG screen...and it played over. and over. and over. and over again. Each and everyday. For the entire 2 years that I worked there. Oh yeah...you'd think I would have gotten sick of it. But nope. It's a classic. Can never watch it too much. That, of course, was back when I actually liked and had respect for TC - now, not so much. But the movie I still love :)

The Hunt for Red October -- I rented this movie once when I was about 19 years old. It was good, I guess...but the only thing that stands out about my experience with this movie was that I left the tape in my car at the Family Fitness center while I did a workout, and when I came back...the car had been broken into. They took the movie along with other things. I had to pay about $40 for that stupid video tape. I have no idea why it cost me so much, but this was back in the 80's and I guess videos cost a lot back then. Either that or I got ripped off by Blockbuster. So that movie brings back bad monetary memories for me.

Airplane -- well now, that's just in a class of it's own, you know? Who doesn't like Airplane? Funny stuff. It never gets old.

Next blog topic: movies that make you cry? Oooooh I have a few that come to mind. But this is your blog....so I'll just keep quiet :)

Name said...

1. Back to the Future. Not an orthodox transportation movie, but it has a car and there's definitely transportation.

2. Apollo 13, this one is all about transportation...back to Earth.

3. Air Force One. The whole movie takes place in two planes and between them. And they are always moving.

amy said...

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles. Then maybe Cars, and how about Lucy and Dezi, in the Long Long Long Trailer? Love em all !!!

nfc9rfan said...

Hi It's me again :)
Movies about transportation. Man you sure can pick em.
There are so many movies that have some sort of transportation in them, but I'm just going to list what I think are my favorite top 3. Ok here goes.
1. One of my all time favorites is (Airport) starring Burt Lancaster which a lot of people won't even know who he is. This movie was exciting from beginning to end and it was also the cause of the parody (Airplane)in which I'm sure everyone knows about this movie.
2. Another all time favorite of mine is the original (Poseidon Adventure) One of Leslie Nielsens only serious roles. My wife and I went to the Drive in theater to watch this movie when it first came out, and it happened to be on New Years Eve.
3. My third favorite transportation movie would have to be (Silver streak) this film was the beginning of the Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder Duo films. They went on to make many more very funny films together.
Well I could go on and on but this is top 3 so that's it. Those are my top 3 transportation movies. thanks, Randy

Craig said...

transportation is a wide variety.. comedy , action, drama, blah blah hmm..1. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 2. Airplane 3.Poseidon Adventure... there are several more , but that goes with every subject

Christopher said...

Points to Benji for choosing Back to the Future. Really thinking outside the box on that one. As for Airport, I recall maybe a jumbo jet crashing into an airport terminal? Same movie?

Steven L said...

As soon as I read the topic I immediately thought Back to the Future. For the sake of lists, I will exclude previously mentioned films:

1) Pirates of the Carribean - Pirates, Ships, Booty, Seiging... need I say more.

2) Taking of Pelham 123 (The original of course with Walter Matthau) - This is your classic, "We will kill a hostage until we get our money" thriller. But this was made in the 70's... so it actually is a classic. Greatly entertaining movie, and the end is awesome. Especially the way Matthau looks as he says Guzhounteit to the villain at the end.

3) Crimson Tide - I go back and forth whether I like this movie more than Hunt for Red October, but both are awesome films that involve submarines. Gene Hackman and Denzel are so awesome in this movie.

Honorable mentions:
Soulplane...

Okay... For Reals, Titanic - Say what you want about the film, but it was really well done, and there must be a reason that so many people saw it in theatres. Mission Impossible (I only didnt include this because not enough of the movie was done on the train at the end.) Under Siege 2:Dark Territory, and Speed.

Christopher said...

Under Siege 2. Best Line: "Chance favors the prepared mind." Still use it.

Casey said...

Sorry for posting late but i got a few.

1 SPEED - I fell in love with Sandra Bullock here and never looked back...

2.AIRPLANE - "Ever seen a grown man naked?" Hilarious and educational.

3. APOLLO 13 - Great movie all around, all star cast and great suspense.