Best Car Movie of the '70s
"Car movies" can mean many things: from "fast and furious" racing flicks to road movies, or simply movies where cars play a key role in the main characters' interaction with their world... if the 2010's was quite a decade for "car movies" then how about the seventies? This poll includes all popular '70s "car movies" with the exception of Taxi Driver (1976) which is in a lane of its own.
Which of these "car movies" from the '70s is your favorite?
After voting, you might discuss the list here
Which of these "car movies" from the '70s is your favorite?
After voting, you might discuss the list here
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29 titles
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsRichard PryorFranklyn AjayeSully BoyarA comedic take on the daily life of car-wash employees, chronicling their hopes, fears, joys, dreams, and tribulations, and meeting some eccentric customers along the way.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsSally FieldJerry ReedThe Bandit is hired on to run a tractor-trailer full of beer over state lines, in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsDavid CarradineSylvester StalloneSimone GriffethIn a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRyan O'NealBruce DernIsabelle AdjaniA getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsJames BrolinKathleen LloydJohn MarleyA small desert town is terrorized by a powerful, seemingly possessed car, and the local sheriff may be the only one who can stop it.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsPeter FondaSusan GeorgeAdam RoarkeDown-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsJeff BridgesValerie PerrineGeraldine FitzgeraldA young hellraiser quits his moonshine business to try to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJames TaylorWarren OatesLaurie BirdWhile drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
- DirectorLee H. KatzinJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenSiegfried RauchElga AndersenTwo car racing champions, an American and a German, face off on the world's hardest endurance course: Le Mans in France.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsMark HamillAnnie PottsEugene RocheA high school grad and a hooker-in-training try to track down his stolen Corvette.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsGoldie HawnBen JohnsonMichael SacksA woman attempts to reunite her family by helping her husband escape prison and together kidnapping their son. But things don't go as planned when they are forced to take a police hostage on the road.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsDavid CarradineBill McKinneyVeronica HamelRacing across the country from L.A. to New York, a plethora of exotic cars carry contestants hoping to win a very large sum.
- DirectorCharles BailStarsMichael SarrazinTim McIntireRaul JuliaAn eclectic group of people takes part in a secret, and illegal, cross country road race.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsAl PacinoMarthe KellerAnny DupereyBobby Deerfield, a famous American race car driver on the European circuit, falls in love with the enigmatic Lillian Morelli, who is terminally ill.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsHelen HayesKen BerryStefanie PowersThe living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.
- DirectorH.B. HalickiStarsH.B. HalickiMarion BusiaJerry DaugirdaWhen a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one is in the bag - thereby, the police precipitate in a desperate car chase against Pace and his Eleanor across Southern California.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRon HowardNancy MorganElizabeth RogersA rich girl steals her dad's Rolls Royce and heads off to Las Vegas to get married. However, her angry parents, a jealous suitor, and a bunch of reward seekers are determined to stop her.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenAli MacGrawBen JohnsonA recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
- DirectorCharles B. GriffithStarsRon HowardChristopher NorrisBrad DavidDarlene's into going fast, Hoover's into Darlene, but when they both get into a red-hot race car, the reckless fun accelerates into a trunk-full of hot pursuits.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsJan-Michael VincentSally FieldAging Hollywood stuntman Sonny Hooper wants to prove that he's still got what it takes to be a great professional in this risky, under-recognized line of work.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoOmar SharifDyan CannonIn 1970s Athens a group of professional burglars plans an emerald heist from the home of a gem collector, but corrupt Greek police inspector Abel Zacharia is on their trail.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsBurt ReynoldsJennifer BillingsleyNed BeattyAn ex con teams up with federal agents to help them with breaking up a moonshine ring.
- DirectorRichard T. HeffronStarsMartin SheenVic MorrowMichelle PhillipsA deranged desert town sheriff has a murderous habit of forcing speeders to their deaths, until a young man with a souped-up hotrod arrives to possibly end it.
- DirectorPhilip D'AntoniStarsRoy ScheiderTony Lo BiancoVictor ArnoldA tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.