Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
This was the first real car movie I remember seeing. I didn't really get the story as a kid, or maybe I didn't care. The film revolved around an insurance salesmen and his crew. This man steals cars, remodels them, and turns quite a profit. In the movie some big-shot offers him huge money to steal 48 specific cars. He accepts the offer and begins collecting the list of cars. Honestly, the first hour of the movie is extremely uneventful. After seeing it a few times, I began starting the movie at the final car chase, which is where the action really begins. 93 cars are destroyed in the final, forty-minute long, car chase. The film was written, directed, and produced by HB Halicki. He is also the main character in the film. Halicki began the make a sequel, and died while doing his own stunt for the film. It was never finished.
I actually can't seem to find this film streaming anywhere, but I know for a fact it is extremely cheap on DVD.
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
A remake on the 1974 film, Gone in 60 Seconds stars the one and only Nicolas Cage. It also has Angelina Jolie and Timothy Oliphant, but who cares compared to the Cage. The film's plot is similar, Cage portrays an ex-car thief. His brother is somehow in debt to some crazy British guy and owes him big. This British guy tells Cage that he must steal 50 specific cars in a few days to keep his brother alive. Production-wise, this film is much better. I'm not entirely sure the story is, but it holds my attention more. Obviously the acting is literally the best ever because Cage.
Vanishing Point (1971)
This film is heavily, heavily referenced in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, which I'll get to eventually. In this film, a car delivery man has to deliver a brand new, stock, 1970 Dodge Challenger. He makes a bet with somebody he can go from Denver to San Francisco in something like 15 hours. He runs into all sorts of shenanigans in the process, and it becomes a very scenic drive across the mid-west. There is even a wonderful blind black man who DJs while listening to police radio, helping the main character keep the police off his tail. It has one hell of an ending too. Another film I can't seem to find streaming, my apologies.
Death Race 2000 (1975)
This film is also on my list of best post-apocalyptic movies. The plot is very simple. There is a giant race across the United States, and drivers get points for each person they hit. The plot gets a little more complicated, but I don't want to give it away. The film stars David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone pre-Rocky. It's strange seeing Stallone as a bad guy, especially in a role like this. I think the newer Death Race movie is similar to this, but it never looked good enough to actually watch. Maybe I should! Let me know.
