Top 7 Trucking Movies of All Time
Driving a truck isn’t just a day job. It’s a fulltime lifestyle that has its own culture, Whether you find yourself looking for a film to watch in the back of a sleeper cab or just at home, movies are one of the best ways to wind down after a long haul of driving. If you want a movie about trucks, trucking, or being on the road we have just the list for you! Here is our list of the top 7 trucker movies of all time. If we missed your favorite trucker flick, let us know what you think in the comment section.
#7 BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
Not only do truckers love this movie, but just about everyone who has seen it does too. Big Trouble in Little China is a cult classic starring Kurt Russel who plays a trucker named Jack Burton. Jack finds himself caught in a strange and bizarre conflict in San Francisco’s China Town. He just wants to get his truck back and resume life on the road, but now finds himself as the only person who can help. Despite not being a huge hit film upon release, Big Trouble in Little China has garnered a cult following among truckers. With a cool, likable, and relatable protagonist who just wants to do his job, it is not hard to see why!
#6 MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
Directed by famous author Stephen King, Maximum Overdrive is a campy horror-comedy film that audiences either hate or love. A comet comes into the way of Earth’s orbit, and the resulting resonance or something causes machines to come to life and turn against their creators, including semi-trailers. The movie is considered one of the best trucker films in a “so bad it’s good” kind of way and is worth watching for the cheap laughs that ensue. Some question if this movie is even a horror flick at all, while Stephen King admits he makes a much better horror writer than director.
#5 WHITE LINE FEVER
An all-time classic for drivers, White Line Fever is a movie gets to the heart of what it means to be a trucker. The film stars Jan-Michael Vincent as CJ Hummer, a Vietnam-veteran-turned-trucker who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps. Trouble starts on the road and CJ gets more than he bargained for when he finds the company his father worked for has started shipping illegal contraband.
#4 BLACK DOG
Jack Crews (played by Patrick Swayze) drives a big Peterbilt truck in this film released in 1998. Jack is a victim of circumstances when his family’s safety becomes jeopardized unless he transports illegal weapons without his commercial driver’s license. Jack must outsmart both the FBI and his family’s captors to make sure the FBI stops the shipment and save his family, while at the same time not becoming a victim caught in the crossfire.
#3 DUEL
Similar to Maximum Overdrive, Duel is Steven Spielberg’s feature-length film debut. Unlike Maximum Overdrive, Duel is less much less a comedy and much more a horror. Dennis Weaver plays David Mann, a salesman driving in a basic car who obtains the ire of an unknown driver of a tanker truck on its last legs. Whether you root for David or for the tanker driver, one thing is clear: if you are going to anger another driver, it tends to be a good idea to have your vehicle be the larger one.
#2 SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT
This film is a true trucker classic! Smokey and the Bandit is a comedy about two men in their attempt to fulfill a bet of traveling from Atlanta, Georgia to Texarkana, Texas, and back, illegally delivering Coors, all in 28 hours or fewer. Things turn sour when, on the way back to Georgia, a woman named Carrie hitches a ride with the pair to escape her fiancé, which angers the fiancé’s father, Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Dramatic irony ensues, as the Sheriff has no idea about the smuggled alcohol, and the partners do not know the Sheriff is chasing after Carrie. A must-watch for any trucker.
#1 CONVOY
How could there possibly be another option for our number one trucking film? Of course, basing an entire movie around a song seems like an absurd idea. Fortunately, Convoy takes some liberties with C.W. McCall’s hit song while still loosely following the lyrics. A dramatic action movie, Convoy takes our number one spot because of how much respect it shows the trucking industry; the CB radio plays an integral role in the story, with trucker lingo spread throughout the film.
Let us know your favorite trucker movies below.
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