The visual seizure and way-ahead-of-its-time Speed Racer is now a visual delight and, while it may be too juiced for some to watch without a heart attack, rewatching the film 15 years on with modern sensibilties makes it feel like a lovely picnic in the park. Jokes aside, it's frenetic and wild, but it definitely was precocious or a bit in front of public sensibility.

Second, I want to say a Japanese anime film called Redline is glorious and a profound love note to racing.

These aren't your mass appeal "Ford v Ferrari" films that I also absolutely loved, and slightly off the radar and maybe for a younger crowd, but if you like racing, these two are a fun start for visual chaos...

... and I would love to hear some more suggestions.

 

Initial D - live action or anime is fun, if your taste is broad enough to cover that sort of thing.
Also if you don’t mind som silliness thrown in, the original French version of Taxi is pretty fun (as long as you understand it’s age 25yrs and the ‘tongue in cheek nature of it). I wouldn’t recommend the US Queen La Tiffa version though!
This is the opening scene where the star is still a Pizza delivery guy before he turns Taxi driver.

 

Fantastic. Reminds me to rewatch DC Cab, tho I sure it hasn't aged well. Was also thinking of Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and Vanishing Point as well. Maybe it's a Mad Mad Mad World and Smokey and the Bandit too.
But first? The movie where the Jaguar doesn't make it outside of the garage?
GUMBALL RALLY!!

And honestly, these are more this group's speed. I might end up responsible for a heart attack if people watched Speed Racer.

 

There is a japanese drama series called "Engine" that is really worth watching, if you can stand subtitles. It is getting dated but J Dramas are good because they only have about 10 45 minute episodes - long enough for character development but not so long that the people give you the irrits.

The Need for Speed movie was a bit of a guilty pleasure, I have to say, but then I was also a huge fan of Tokyo Drift.

 

This

Thank you! I'll be watching this tonight.

 

This is only the trailer but the movie is still my favorite.

 

Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind for "Speed Racer" but I rented it and didn't finish. I watched the first FnF and at least made it all the way through. Never attempted any of the others.

"Le Mans" and "Grand Prix" are both pretty good.

"Gumball Rally" has Raul Julia in almost as perfect a role for him as Gomez Adams. Rule number one of Italian driving indeed.

Sorta racing, i.e. not head to head, but tests of speed: I really like "The World's Fastest Indian." I particularly like the part when the get to Bonneville and introduce everyone, but only give first names: "This is Craig, that's Rollie" etc. They were all real people and added great verisimilitude but it wasn't their story, so they got passing notice. Side note: I know the son of the man who built the engine in Rollie's Vincent.

Not fiction, but "Faster" tells a good story about metorcycle road racing.

Also not fiction, but "1" and "Senna" are also both worth watching. They paint a different picture than the "all glory" stories.

 

My favorite racing movie was about motorcycle racing with Steve McQueen and Malcom Smith - On Any Sunday

 

Always fun to watch, but you've left out the third of the trio, Mert Lawwill. He's also from Uncle Fishbits' neighborhood, although I don't know if he still lives there.

 

Best one of the lot if you ask me.

 

Dust To Glory is a great doc that chronicles the Baja 1000 and is definetely worth a watch.

 

Agreed, especially if you love Japan like we do (and NFSU2 which is really the game that got me obsessed with performance cars to start with). And the main actor did a really good job, I thought.

Might watch it again this week!

 

Classic: Grand Prix.
Modern: Rush - On the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Runner-up: Ford vs Ferrari.

I'll second Steve's interjection of The World's Fastest Indian. It both a true story and a classic acting job by Anthony Hopkins. His portrayal of Burt Munro was so good, it brought Munro's family to tears when they visited the set. Many may have missed the movie. You need to fix that.

 

Not entirely a racing movie but fun to watch: Baby Driver
All the Fast & Furious movies - I still crack up when Vin sez "I live my life a quarter mile at a time". LOL!

 

Yeah, Baby Driver is awesome, one of our favorite movies.

Just on fast and furious, watch this clip - the guy doing the Vin Diesel character is awesome

There was also a spoof on the franchise called "Superfast" which was actually really funny.

 

I think I saw Gumball Rally when I was about 17. That was my first exposure to the Cobra and it was instant lust . I researched and intended to build one but never did. Then I fell in love with it's successor, the Viper. Always wanted one of those but never did. Third time a charm...fell in love with Ftype when it came out in 13 and finally purchased a 2017 R a few months ago. I consider it a Viper that went to college.

 

Got the complete box set of Speed Racer dvd's and credit the show for starting my love of cars at a very young age. That and being taken to some of the early NASCAR events (Norwood Arena Speedway) back in the late 60's. I have to admit that Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run are some of my favorites, maybe more cops and robber type movies, and full of cheap one liners, but they make me laugh. Remember re-watching Gumball Rally a few years ago just after buying my XKR and was chuckling at the Jag never making it out of the garage. I do remember Grand Prix and recently watched Ford v. Ferrari. `For me, it does not need so much of a plot, just love to see the details and assortment of cars. Some good suggestions here.

I find myself surfing youtube for documentary and technical specifics of cars these days for a fix on car related entertainment I guess it is more about the cars to me, than the race. Latest seems to be more centered on cobra and viper. My end of the rainbow would be to own a GT40. Original obviously is out of range, but a well done replica or Ford GT would do the trick.

 

Rendevous C'était un Rendez vous 1976

 

 

Be sure to Buckle up!