Car Wars
August 25, 2008
Seeing DEATH RACE (Reviewed here on MFG) made me think about the car combat genre.
Those movies, usually but not always set in some post-apocalyptic future, where road rage has been made formal with automobiles equipped with weapons, or used as weapons.
The original DEATH RACE 2000 (Amazon) with David Carradine, of course.
MAD MAX (Amazon), THE ROAD WARRIOR (Amazon), and MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (Amazon), obviously.
TANK GIRL (Amazon).
The recent DOOMSDAY (Reviewed here on MFG), directed by Neil Marshall, with Rhona Mitra as a sort of Mad Maxine.
Stephen Spielberg’s DUEL (Amazon).
Supernatural killer cars:
CHRISTINE (Amazon), THE CAR (Amazon), KILLDOZER (sadly, not on DVD).
The various James Bond cars, and Batman’s batmobiles.
Honorable mention:
The Mega-RV in STRIPES (Amazon), the Landmaster in DAMNATION ALLEY (Not on DVD).
There’s apparently a couple dozen Italian ROAD WARRIOR ripoffs, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any, with the exception of WARRIOR OF THE LOST WORLD (Amazon) that was done on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (It has a garbage truck with a lot of scrap metal welded onto it).
That I think is the clincher, you can have a post-apocalyptic movie, but unless you have some credible car stunts, you can’t really be given the status of “Road Warrior” ripoff. Punks dressed in leather do not a Road Warrior ripoff make, doubly so if they’ve got a VW with some styrofoam sections painted silver glued onto it.
Any movies you’d add to this list?
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How about 2003s “Highwaymen” the movie is about a guy that kills with his car. I has a really good crash scene in the tunnel and Rhona Mitra.