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THE TOP 5 ROAD MOVIES:
view full results see how points are awarded
| Rank |
Film |
Points |
L |
#1 |
| #1 |
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) |
15 |
4 |
1 |
| #2 |
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) |
12 |
4 |
1 |
| |
Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971) |
12 |
4 |
1 |
| #4 |
Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1949) |
9 |
2 |
1 |
| #5 |
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) |
8 |
2 |
1 |
L=How many lists each film appears on
#1=How many number one votes each film recieves
The votes have been cast and the cast has been dyed (I know that is sort of a reverse adage, but what the Hell). This week - our second week back after a nearly nine month sabbatical - we asked the film critic elite to name the Top 5 Road Movies. Unlike last week, when we had a runaway winner (the largest winning margian in Top 5 Project history), this week things were pretty damn tight all the way up to the final hours. In fact, after a few days of toggling between Two-Lane Blacktop and Badlands, the final few hours put Badlands into the top spot for good.
After Badlands, came Two-Lane Blacktop and Easy Rider in a tie for second. Rounding out the top 5 were Gun Crazy and The Searchers, with about a kajillion films tied for sixth place. No real surprises this week. Even though they didn't make the eventual top 5, both Wenders and Jarmusch (the Kings of the Road Movie) fared rather well, each scoring points for three of their films.
As for next week? We are heading to the Big Apple to find out what the Top 5 Films Set in New York City may be. I've already got some ideas, how 'bout you? All the details are at the bottom of the page or on the Top 5 Project home page.
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Individual lists:
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Kent Jones
Editor-at-Large, Film Comment
The 49th Parallel (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
Im Lauf der Zeit/Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders)
Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
It Happened One Night (Frank Capra)
Road movies, I suppose, should accumulate detail as they go along, like
a magnet collecting iron filings, so that you end up with something rich
and varied and apparently unplanned. The Powell-Pressburger movie is
absolutely ingenious, with many variations in landscape and mood and personality. The Wenders is his peak work, with a terrific sense of duration. The Hellman is a remarkably acute film on the subjects of melancholy and escape, and Warren Oates is astonishing. The Hou is the most lyrical of these
films, with the richest sense of the poetry of motion. And the Capra is one of
American cinema's lovliest romances - the romance of the road, and the blossoming romance between Gable and Colbert.
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David Sterritt
Chairman, National Society of Film Critics
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) - Dennis Hopper's directorial debut remains a quintessential document of the '60s and one of the most powerful road movies ever made. No image in modern cinema is more iconic than that of Hopper and Peter Fonda zooming down the highway on their choppers, born to be as wild as the trailblazing movie itself
Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1949) - Originally titled Deadly Is the Female, this Joseph H. Lewis classic stars John Dall and Peggy Cummins in the only memorable performances they ever gave. The single-take robbery sequence is worth the price of admission in itself, and you can't beat dialogue like antihero Bart Tare's line, "Two people dead, just so we can live without working!" Where do they get the snazzy clothes they wear once they hit the road? Logical questions like that are entirely beside the point when cinema this excellent is barreling along.
Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 1985) - Albert Brooks's best movie is the funniest of all road pictures, and a sharp-eyed satire of middle-class values into the bargain. Garry Marshall has a pitch-perfect scene as a bemused casino manager, and Brooks teams flawlessly with Julie Hagerty as the all-too-ordinary couple who decide to "drop out of society" in a comfy RV and spend the rest of their lives "writing novels and touching Indians."
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) - This should actually be a tie with Wim Wenders's underrated Alice in the Cities, made ten years earlier and also a superb road movie. But ultimately Paris, Texas wins by a hair, thanks to Harry Dean Stanton and especially Dean Stockwell, whose acting is as expressive as Robby Muller's cinematography and Ry Cooder's music.
Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984) - John Lurie hits the road with Eszter Balint and Richard Edson in the no-budget dramedy that launched the major phase of Jim Jarmusch's career. Watching the unlikely trio gaze admiringly at a Great Lake they can't see through the snow is priceless, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins gives the sound track its crowning touch.
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Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic
1. Until the End of the World (Wim Wenders, 1991)
2. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
3. The Road to Utopia (Hal Walker, 1946)
4. Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971)
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998)
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Jeffrey M. Anderson
Film Critic
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, Monte Hellman) - What most road movies don't capture is the crushing, bleary boredom of it all, and the long stretches in which there's nothing much to say. Monte Hellman's masterpiece, in which Dennis Wilson, Laurie Bird and James Taylor race Warren Oates for pink slips, is existentialism fueled with octane.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Terry Gilliam) - So far one of the best uses of CGI has been for hallucinations, such as the squirming carpets and giant bats floating past the collective vision of Raoul Duke (a brilliant Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) as they drive to Las Vegas (ostensibly to cover an auto race) and beyond.
Broken Flowers (2005, Jim Jarmusch) - Bucked by his Caribbean mix CD, Bill Murray drives a rental car through the nooks and crannies of America in search of ex-girlfriends and the possible mother of his potential offspring. Murray gives everything he has for a smooth blend of awkward, hilarious and touching.
Wild Strawberries (1957, Ingmar Bergman) - In my favorite Bergman, an aged professor (played by film director Victor Sjöström) drives cross-country to pick up an award, along the way meeting various oddballs and facing up to rancid chunks of his past. It's very nearly the template for the modern road movie, apart from the creepy nightmare sequence.
The Straight Story (1999, David Lynch) - An aged farmer drives cross country to see his dying brother and meets the expected band of misfits along the way, but the mode of transportation -- a lawnmower -- is what sets this one apart. Lynch surprised everyone, especially his detractors, with this tender and thoughtful "G"-rated film.
Runners-up:
Thelma and Louise (1991, Ridley Scott), Detour (1945, Edgar G. Ulmer), In July (2001, Fatih Akin), Starman (1984, John Carpenter), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974, Sam Peckinpah), The Sure Thing (1985, Rob Reiner), The Muppet Movie (1979, James Frawley)
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Jeff Cardarelli
Film Enthusiast
1. The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988)
2. The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999)
3. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)
4. Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984)
5. Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)
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Kelley Baker
Filmmaker
You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, 1937) - an amazing movie. It was indeed Lang's second American film and he had already grasped so many things American. I think Lang is an under appreciated Director who successfully made films in two countries, and even a film in France in between his stays in Germany and the US. You Only Live Once is a dark and wonderful movie.
The Grapes Of Wrath (John Ford, 1940) - What is not to like about one of the best movies ever made from a great novel! Henry Fonda's performance is great, but all of the cast is right there with him. A very dark loon at a period in our history that most people would just as soon forget. I don't think this movie could be made today. For some reason Americans just don't like to see the struggles of poor people up on the screen. Especially poor Americans.
The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981) - I love the style and the art direction of this film. It is a story that has been told many times before, but with a new look. The characters that populate this movie actually feel very real to me, for the most part. In the future after we have foolishly fucked up the planet it will be the odd who survive. What I like about this movie is that it is totally believable in the world that it is set in. It stays consistent thru out. The other thing I love as how the nice people totally screw the Mel Gibson character over, not telling him that he is being used as a decoy to help the others escape. And then the Narrator is left to wonder, why he chose not to come with them at the end. Because they FUCKED HIM OVER! That's why!
Something Wild (Jonathan Demme, 1986) - is a movie I saw when it first came out, and I knew right then that Jonathon Demme was going to have quite a career ahead of him. It's a dark, yet funny movie that gets totally out of control as it goes on. I still think the cheap Motel scene in the beginning with Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels is great. You meet a hot woman, go to a motel, she hand cuffs you, calls your boss, hands you the phone, then goes down on you? Brilliant! It is also one of two movies where Melanie Griffith proves she can act!
The Sure Thing (Rob Reiner, 1985) - Not just another teenage movie! This was my favorite of the teen comedies. I will watch anything that John Cusack is in. Some of the movies he's in may suck, but he always impresses me. Only John Cusack could get away with traveling cross country to sleep with girl, get there and not do it, and have it all be okay with the audience. Even the guys. Most guys would say that he wimps out at the end, if it was another actor, but Cusack pulls it off. For no particular reason, I really like this one.
go to: Kelley Baker's Angry Filmmaker website
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Kevin Cassidy
Film Enthusiast
1. Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1949)
2. Where is the Friends Home? (Abbas Kiarostami , 1987)
3. Beggars of Life (William A. Wellman, 1928)
4. Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971)
5. Backroads (Phillip Noyce, 1977)
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J.E. Snavely
Home Theatre Cinephile
Badlands (Terrance Malick, 1973)
Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997)
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
Spoorloos (Vanishing) (George Sluizer, 1988)
Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)
Others I can think of at the moment (in no particular order):
Duel (Steven Spielberg, 1971), Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994), The Getaway (Sam Peckinpah, 1972), The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999), The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980), The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones, 2005), Le Temps du Loup (Michael Haneke, 2003), Vozvrashcheniye (Andrei Zvyaginstev, 2003), Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969).
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Billy Wilson
Film Enthusiast
1. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
2. Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
3. American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973)
4. Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)
5. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)
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Michael Parent
Film Student
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) - The story of Travis is deeply touching and the photography is amazing.
One of my favorites movies from Wenders.
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) - Although it's Malick's version of Bonnie and Clyde, it's still a good story. The way He tells a story is always a step ahead. the poetic approach of
Malick brings a great dimension to this journey.
Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003) - A journey into the stories of a man who sees life as a fairytale. Very wonderful and imaginative movie. This films maybe not as "Burtonesque" as Sleepy Hollow for example but it shows that Burton is very polyvalent and he can do a Road Movie in his own way.
About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002) - Jack Nicholson justifies one more time qhy he's one of the best actors out there. A solitary road trip by a newly retired and freshly widower who wants to make peace with his life and past.
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969) - Well, first movie X-rated to win oscars shows the journey of a cowboy who wants to make fortune on the streets of New York. The approach of this reversed american dream is sticking-to-the screen. My fav Schlesinger movie and a great road movie too.
Runners-up: (no particular order):
Grapes of Wrath and The Searchers (John Ford), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam), Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott), Alice doesn't Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese), Motorcycle Diairies (Walter Salles), Bonnie And Clyde (Arthur Penn), Sideways (Alexander Payne), L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman), Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper)
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Adam Trovillion
Film Enthusiast
1. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
2. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
3. Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
4. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
5. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
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Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) - Bergman's masterpiece, a film I grow fonder of with each and every birthday I put behind me, is the ultimate in the intellectual road movie. Probably Bergman's greatest film, the story of an old man looking back on his life while traveling both the literal and figurative roads of his youth, is far beyond any other film from the genre.
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) - When one talks about what a road movie should be, Hopper's quintessential acid-tripped motorcycle flick is what usually comes to mind - and for damn good reason. The open air, the casual sex, the drugs, Jack Nicholson and the best bummer ending ever put on film.
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) - There may not be many "roads" in this, the most existential of westerns, but the travel is still there - as is the obsession and passion of the road.
Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990) - Many have placed The Wizard of Oz on their lists (as I did in my "Special Mentions" below), but it is Lynch's film - a twisted homage to Oz - that puts the fucking crazy back in road movies. I love you Lula. I love you too Sailor.
Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001) - With the sensibility of an early Godard and the sexual surrender of a Greenaway or perhaps even a Buñuel, Cuarón's film - the breakthrough work for Gael Garcia Bernal - is a love on the run sort of tale, full of the sensual heat of the road.
Special Mentions:
The Road to Morocco (David Butler, 1942) for Hope & Crosby's great comic on-the-road timing, L'Avventura (Michangelo Antonioni, 1960) for the melancholy of the road and The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) for...well, c'mon, it even has a song about the damned road!!
Runners-Up (in chronological order):
It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934),
Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941),
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959),
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967),
Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973),
The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980),
Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984)
Honourable Mentions (in chronological order):
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese, 1974),
The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 1979),
Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 1985),
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987),
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Stephen Elliot, 1994),
Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994),
From Dusk Til Dawn (Robert Rodriguez, 1996),
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998),
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen, 2000),
About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002),
Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004),
Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005)
Plus a pair of films that never hit the road past their respective small towns yet both films where the road is yet another character among many:
American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973) and its worshipping doppleganger Dazed & Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993)
whew...
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*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created
The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Films set in New York City
e-mail me at
kevynknox@thecinematheque.com
with your picks for week #14,
no later than 4pm on Sunday, July 16, 2006.
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