The 10 greatest racing movies of all time
Just like boxing and basketball, racing, no matter the vehicle, is perfectly tailored to the spectacle of cinema. Indeed, the concept goes back to the very dawn of cinema, with the idea of ‘racing against the clock’ being present in almost every movie ever made, from Georges Méliès’ 1902 classic A Trip to the Moon to the Sergei Eisenstein war movie Battleship Potemkin made over 20 years later.
Considering that movies are time-bound forms of entertainment, unlike art and, in some ways, music, the concept of a race occurring over the course of 90+ minutes works perfectly for the cinematic medium. Countless films have utilised the potential of this, too, with such classics as Jan de Bont’s Speed and Sebastian Schipper Victoria incorporating their time limits into the narrative.
For our list of the ten greatest racing movies of all time, we’ve focused on just those films that feature racing as a key part of the narrative, looking at competitive racing on two feet or behind the wheels of a car. It hasn’t exactly been an easy list to put together, with some classics such as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and Gordon Chan’s Thunderbolt narrowly missing out due to our strict criteria.
Take a look at our list below, which includes films from the likes of George Miller, James Mangold, Adam McKay and Ron Howard.
The 10 best racing movies:
10. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Adam McKay, 2006)
Truthfully, we didn’t think Adam McKay’s Hollywood comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby would make it onto our list, but after much deliberation, we decided it should make the cut. A highly underrated movie in the comedy filmography of Will Ferrell, the film follows the number one NASCAR driver who tries to retain the top spot after his best friend and new French rival vie for the top prize.
Far funnier than many give it credit for, Talladega Nights is also a genuinely thrilling racing movie, even if it does cling close to cliche. Alongside Ferrell, the film also features the likes of John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jane Lynch and Amy Adams.
9. It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Stanley Kramer, 1963)
Remade in 2001 in the form of the genuinely underrated comedy, Rat Race, Stanley Kramer’s original caper It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a fantastic, if admittedly overlong, affair. The 1963 film tells the story of a group of motorists who overhear the dying words of a driver who reveals the secret location of a stash of loot. The cast includes the likes of Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle and Mickey Rooney.
From the same nine-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind such films as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Judgment at Nuremberg, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a largely unseen classic.
8. Ford v Ferrari (James Mangold, 2019)
Winning two Oscars in 2020 for ‘Best Sound Editing’ and ‘Best Film Editing’, James Mangold’s racing flick Ford v Ferrari was also nominated for ‘Best Picture’. Starring Christian Bale, Matt Damon and Caitríona Balfe, the film tells the true story of American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the driver Ken Miles (Bale), who attempt to create a revolutionary new race car to challenge Ferrari in 1966.
The final film is a thrilling recreation of the real event that does well to stay historically accurate whilst also delivering Hollywood glitz and thrills, providing a number of stellar driving sequences.
7. Grand Prix (John Frankenheimer, 1966)
Recognised as one of the greatest racing movies of the 20th century, John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix tells the story of driver Pete Aron (James Garner), who is fired from his team after crashing into his teammate Scott Stoddard (Brian Bedford). In addition to Garner and Bedford, the film also features Yojimbo’s Toshirô Mifune and the late Jessica Walter, best known for her role in Arrested Development.
Delivering some truly brilliant racing scenes, Grand Prix is one of the most iconic movies of its kind in Hollywood, with Frankenheimer going on to make Black Sunday in 1977 and Ronin with Robert De Niro in 1998.
6. Rush (Ron Howard, 2013)
Starting off as an actor, Ron Howard went on to create some of the most beloved movies of modern cinema, including 1995’s Apollo 13, 2001’s A Beautiful Mind and 2008’s Frost/Nixon. In 2013, he created one of the greatest movies of his entire filmography, releasing Rush with Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, a film that tells the true story of the rivalry between Formula One driver James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Well recreating the lives of both real-life drivers, Rush is a thrilling and genuinely fascinating watch, bringing to light a rivalry that many young viewers had never come across before.
5. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981)
The first and final film on this list not to be about racing cars, Hugh Hudson’s Chariots of Fire is a movie that tells the story of two track athletes determined to be the very best during the 1924 Olympics. Thanks to an iconic soundtrack by Vangelis, who used modern electronic sounds for the movie, Chariots of Fire has become utterly timeless, being referenced throughout pop culture history, even the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.
As a film in and of itself, Hudson’s 1981 film is a compelling piece of work, with the final race being a thrilling climax to a solid character-led film starring the likes of Ian Charleson, Ben Cross and Nigel Havers.
4. Two Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971)
Oozing a style unique to the 1970s, Monte Hellman’s classic racing flick Two Lane Blacktop follows the story of a driver and his mechanic who drag race across Southern America in a classic car. Treating the car as if it were their child, much of the film follows the pair’s journey across the country, listening to tunes and enjoying the highway, whilst the plot about their drag race across the country wafts away into irrelevance.
What results is an utter joy of ‘70s cinema, speaking to the pleasurable nature of life on the open road, featuring stellar performances from the likes of James Taylor, Warren Oates and Laurie Bird.
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
Many naysayers may think that George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road isn’t a racing flick, but considering that the movie is, in theory, a race to one point and then back, we think it certainly qualifies. As a result, putting the 2015 modern classic in at number three is a no-brainer, with Miller reviving his own franchise with an intense action flick that makes cinematic insanity entirely watchable.
Thanks to the dedication of the lead cast, which includes the likes of Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Zoë Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult and the late Hugh Keays-Byrne, Fury Road is a complete and utter thrill.
2. Redline (Takeshi Koike, 2009)
Many people are unlikely to have seen the 2009 anime movie Redline, but, particularly if you’re a racing lover, we’d highly recommend it. A little like the Wachowski sisters’ Speed Racer, but without the nauseating cinematography, the film tells the story of the most popular race in the entire galaxy and the eccentric characters who chose to dare compete. Thanks to a gorgeous hand-drawn animation style, Takeshi Koike’s anime is utterly timeless.
Vibrant, colourful and totally bombastic, Redline is a complete thrill ride from start to finish that makes the most of its crazy concept, sharing similarities with the previous movie on our list in its efforts to totally stun the viewer.
1. Senna (Asif Kapadia, 2010)
The British filmmaker Asif Kapadia is known for making some of the most engrossing documentaries of modern cinema, helming 2019’s Diego Maradona and 2015’s exploration about the late singer Amy Winehouse, titled Amy. His proficiency for such biographical documentaries first came in 2010, however, with the release of Senna, the true story of the Brazilian F1 racer Ayrton Senna.
Known as one of the best, and most stylish racers in the history of the sport, Senna tragically died during a car crash at the mere age of 34, but Kapadia’s film beautifully memorialises the man who changed the sport, making F1 seem elegant and even artistic in the process.
