33 films of the open road

time for another list, as per number 33 on my list:


with all this warm weather, my mind wanders toward the open road...

road trips are perhaps my favourite form of travel, for the spontaneity and the infinite possibility that they embody. but if you're not able to drop everything and drive into the sunset (and are not on the run from the fuzz), then the next best thing is to watch somebody else do it :) try one of my favourite road movies (in no particular order):

1) Y Tu Mama Tambien (yum)

2) Thelma & Louise (duh)

3) Shag: The Movie (80s does 50s)

4) Cannonball Run (Burt, Dom, Dean, Farrah, Sammy...)

5) It Happened One Night (1934, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert)

6) National Lampoon’s Vacation (classic)

7) Little Miss Sunshine (charming)

8) Planes Trains & Automobiles ("you're going the wrong way!")

9) Easy Rider (easy choice)

10) Highway 61 / Roadkill (Canadian odysseys)

11) Sideways (wine)

12) The Blues Brothers (tunes)

13) Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (wacky)

14) The Sure Thing (classic Cusak)

15) Into the wild (harrowing)

16) Two Lane Blacktop (James Taylor acts)

17) The Straight Story (not a car, but still a road movie)

18) Lolita (1962 version, not Jeremy Irons version. he creeps me out.)

19) Motorcycle Diaries (viva la revolucion!)

20) Leaving Normal (Thelma & Louise sans cops)

21) The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (fabulous)

22) Vanishing Point (fast)

23) Five Easy Pieces (Nicholson's best)

24) Race With the Devil (70's RV horror)

25) Leningrad Cowboys Go America (oh those crazy Finns)

26) Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch does Elvis)

27) Bonnie and Clyde (they're young. they're in love. they rob banks.)

28) Dream With the Fishes (uplifting) (and nude bowling!)

29) Boys On the Side (corny, I know, but i've a soft spot for it)

30) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Gilliam's a bloody genius)

31) Follow That Bird (laugh all you want, but this movie is friggin' awesome)

32) Two for the Road (Audrey Hepburn & Albert Finney. 'nuff said.)

33) Weekend (Godard) (the anti road trip)

there. and believe me, it was a difficult task narrowing this one down to thirty three.

how 'bout you? do you have any favourite road movies?