Based on the novel by James Sallis, Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn delivered the downtown LA-based film ‘Drive’ to the big screen. Director Refn is also responsible for ‘Bronson’ and ‘Valhalla Rising’. The 2011 movie was filmed entirely on the streets of downtown LA, employing helicopter shots lit with spotlights from other cars. No CGI, in other words. The budget movie performs.
The Driver, the only name given to the main character who is a movie stunt driver by day and a back-door delivery agent by night, is played by Ryan Gosling. He mans a sleek 1973 silver Chevy Chevelle Malibu providing a crime scene get-a-way vehicle. But his nighttime work gets him in trouble when one of the heists goes south. Driver is forced into a situation that threatens his love interest, Irene, and her child. He must man-up or risk everything. Carey Mulligan plays Irene, and Oscar Isaac plays her husband Standard, who is just getting released from prison.
Holy Motors
'Holy Motors' may be an artsy, intellectual French film, but that doesn’t mean it’s not loaded with bawdy humor and surreal car scenes. Limousines parked in the Holy Motors garage chit chat. While you’d expect cars to be talking to one another in an animated Disney movie, you don’t expect it in a full-length sci-fi film. The surrealist 'Holy Motors' pulls it off masterfully. In this film’s magical fictional world about a mystery man named Monsieur Oscar, one of those limousines is Oscar’s mode of transport.
When The Guardian asks director Leos Carax why he chose to feature those particular luxury cars, he said, “I always liked [stretched limos]. I thought they were both sexy and morbid, obviously, they’re meant to be seen, but you can’t see who is in them, like a bubble or a virtual world.” He also pointed out that they are always rented, no one owns a limo. Critics at Cannes goggled over it. At that festival, 'Holy Motors' was nominated for the Palme d’Or. Many considered it the best film of 2012. Denis Lavant plays Monsieur Oscar. Édith Scob, Eva Mendes, and Kylie Minogue also star.
The French Connection
Another classic car movie is 'The French Connection' (1971). Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider are an NYC detective team on the trail of a European international narcotic crime syndicate. It’s based on a true story. The movie is legendary. At the Times UK, a reviewer observed, “It’s hard to imagine it now, but there are only two types of cop movies: pre and post-The French Connection. That’s how big it is.”
It wouldn’t be the same movie if not for the cars. We love the Lincoln Continental Mark III that comes over from Marseilles packed with narcotics. More favorites are Sal’s (Tony Lo Bianco) ’71 Ford LTD and ’61 Comet Sedan. There’s a ’66 Pontiac LeMans used for a chase scene inside the subway.
Ford v. Ferrari
Directed by the legendary James Mangold, 'Ford v. Ferrari' tells the story of British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and American car designer, Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon). They try to defy the odds and build a groundbreaking race car for Ford to beat Ferrari at the famous sports car race, 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1966.
Bale and Damon face petty bureaucracy, corporate meddling, and the laws of physics in this fascinating, brilliant film based on a true story. The film, released in 2019, was critically acclaimed and received four Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards. It won two Oscars, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing.
Smokey and the Bandit
That sleek 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am driven by Burt Reynolds in 'Smokey and the Bandit' made the Trans Am a very popular American car for Pontiac. The Bandit (Reynolds) is a vigilante race-car driver who makes a deal to deliver a shipment of beer all the way from Georgia to Texas in just 28 hours. Thing is, shipping alcohol without a permit is illegal. The adventure is rollicking fun. A love triangle tangentially involves Smokey the cop, who is after the Bandit. The Bandit, our suave male lead, is directly involved, to no one’s surprise.
Besides Burt Reynolds, 'Smokey and the Bandit' stars Sally Field as the love-triangle-interest, Jerry Reed, and Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Smokey. It was the number two highest-grossing box office hit of 1977, second only to 'Star Wars'.