Movies, Documentaries, Books about cars.

[R.Murphy]

What movies, documentaries, and books about cars or racing do you like? What ones did you hate? And why? Share your favorites and your reviews here. Since we have to try to stay safe and avoid in-person social contact during this pandemic, we could all really use some good entertainment to keep ourselves occupied.

I'll keep a list here in this first post.


Documentaries:
A life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story, 2020, Netflix
Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Netflix (multiple episodes)
Senna, 2010 (106 minutes)
The Racers that Stopped the World (Stirling Moss Documentary), 2020, youtube



Movies:
Ford v Ferrari, 2019
Rush, 2013 (director: Ron Howard)
The Driver, 1978 (actor: Ryan O'Neal)
Grand Prix, 1966 (actor: James Garner)
The Transporter, 2002 (actor: Jason Statham; Producer: Luc Besson)
Fast & Furious franchise (in recommended viewing order)

1) "The Fast and the Furious" (2001)
1.5) "Turbo Charged Prelude to 2 Fast 2 Furious" a 6 minute short, 2003, (find it on youtube)
https://youtu.be/fPsOMnYhkmg
2) "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003)
3) "Fast & Furious" (2009)
4) "Fast Five" (2011)
5) "Fast & Furious 6" (2013)
6) "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006)
7) "Furious 7" (2015)
8) "The Fate of the Furious" (2017)
9) "Hobbs and Shaw" (2019)
10) "F9" (May 2021)

Driven, 2001 (actor: Sylvester Stallone)
Used Cars, 1980 (actor: Kurt Russell) comedy
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006 (actor: Will Ferrell) comedy




Shows/Series:
Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip, 2017, Netflix (docu-series wannabe)
Wheeler Dealers, British TV Show, 16 seasons, available on Motor Trend TV in the US (docu-series)
Grand Prix Driver, 2018, multiple episodes, Amazon (docu-series)
Auto Masters (AKA Car SOS), National Geographic TV and streaming




Books:
Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle, by Andrea Hiott
The Book of the Honda S2000, by Brian Long
The Last Open Road series, by B. S. Levy.

1) The Last Open Road, 2) Montezuma's Ferrari, 3) The Fabulous Trashwagon, 4) Toly's Ghost, and 4) The 200 MPH Steamroller: Book One Red Reign, 5) The 200 MPH Steamroller: Book II The Italian Job

The Red Car, by Don Stanford. (fiction)
Honda S2000, book by Daniel F. Carney
CONVERTIBLES - America's Dazzling Drop Tops, by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, ISBN 0-7853-0516-5
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, 2008. (fiction)




.

[R.Murphy]

Last night I watched A life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story (2020, Netflix). I enjoyed it. As a documentary, I liked how it was not just a chronology of old footage. It flashed forward and back to include comparisons to today's technology and drivers as well as interviews from current racing superstars and then back to the black and white footage/pics and 1970s, 1980s, etc footage of interviews with El Maestro.

It was well done.

[R.Murphy]

Sometimes you just want something that is completely devoid of thinking and is just pleasant. In early November, I started watching The Great British Baking Show. That was cool. But has nothing to do with cars at all.

Then I saw on my Netflix suggested shows something that surprised me: Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip. Now, Paul Hollywood (yes, that is his real name) was one of the judges on The Great British Baking Show, so it was a bit of a surprise to me to find out that he's also a bit of a car enthusiast. So last night I watched the first episode which was a tour of Italy. Very enjoyable. It's hardly a particularly high-brow bit of cinema, but it's fun and has some cool cars in it. Ferraris, Fiats, Paganis, Lamborghinis, Alfa Romeos, and a few very unexpected vehicles too. And he talks about the impact of these vehicles on the country as well as the history of the country's impact on the creation of their cars.

I give it a thumbs up so far. It's a series. I've only seen the first episode which, as I mentioned, was in Italy. The next episode is in Germany.

[4U2NV]

I enjoyed Rush, the movie by Ron Howard about the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

[4U2NV]

I recently ordered, The Book of theHonda S2000. I expect the book to arrive by the end of January.

Here is a link: https://www.veloce.co.uk/store/The-B...000-p178818239

[Stuka]

Some of my favorites-
Ford vs. Ferrari- was enjoyable, lots of great racing footage. 2019
Grand Prix- with Jim Garner, a classic.1966
The Transporter- with Jason Statham by Luc Besson, 2002.
Rush- Niki Lauder vs James Hunt...nuf said 2013
The Driver- with Ryan O'Neal 1978

[AZS2KDancer]

I enjoyed Ford v Ferrari very much. I will look forward to watch some of the other films mentioned. I, too, have ordered The Book of the Honda S2000, which has been shipped, yet not received. I’m currently reading Thinking Small the story of the Volkswagen Beetle.

[R.Murphy]

...
The Transporter- with Jason Statham...

A bit of trivia regarding Jason Statham. Statham was part of Britain's national diving team and competed in the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

[R.Murphy]

To add to the list of good books, The Last Open Road series by B.S. Levy. If you are at all a fan of sports car racing in the 1950s and 1960s, you will love this series of books. It's a fantastic journey following the adventures of Buddy Palumbo, a fictitious mechanic from NJ who you feel like you know, through the addictive world of motor racing. You don't even need to be a gear head to enjoy these books, but it does help. It's basically a bit of historical fiction and some of the characters are pretty obviously based on some real life people. And the completely fictional ones... well, you feel like you've met them in real life because they exist in every organization that has ever been created. You'll see what I mean if you decide to read them.

The Last Open Road, Montezuma's Ferrari, The Fabulous Trashwagon, Toly's Ghost, and The 200 MPH Steamroller (Books 1 and 2).

[Stuka]

Burt Levy...haven't heard that name in a long time! I read The Last Open Road and Montezuma's Ferrari way back a couple of decades ago, nice light reading if I remember correctly. Might be time for a reread.

[slapshota10]

TV/Doc Series:
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Netflix)
Wheeler Dealers
Grand Prix Driver (Amazon)

[Stuka]

Hey Slap, If you like Wheeler Dealers you'll love Auto Masters (AKA Car SOS) on the National Geographic Channel (NGCHD, 276 on DIRECTV) or streaming online at
Auto Masters Full Episodes | Watch Online - National ...

www.nationalgeographic.com

[AZS2KDancer]

The movie Senna.

[Stuka]

The movie Senna.

Absolutely, I can't believe I didn't list it. I was/am a devoted fan.
I still tip a glass and toast him every March 21st, and take my hat off and thank him for all that he gave and lost every May 1st.
We all owe him a debt for what he did for Honda racing and their automotive product development.
Long live his memory.

[AZS2KDancer]

The Red Car by Don Stanford. I read it in 4th grade, I think, and that book sealed my love for sports cars.

[AZS2KDancer]

Honda S2000 book by Daniel F. Carney

[AZS2KDancer]

S2000 by American Honda Motor Company, Limited Editions. (Book)

[Stuka]

CONVERTIBLES
America's Dazzling Drop Tops
By the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide

ISBN 0-7853-0516-5

[AZS2KDancer]

Would anyone object to the Fast snd Furious movie franchise?

[gomarlins3]

^I wouldn't. They are fun.