Best auto racing movies
In honor of all the big races this weekend - Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 and yes, even the Monaco Grand Prix - I've gotten into the spirit by attempting to identify the best movies about auto racing.
Thanks to my Facebook friends and some help from imdb.com, I've gained a lot of knowledge on the subject this week. Not that I'm an expert, mind you, but it's been a fun conversation
First, let me clarify what constitutes an auto racing movie. (At least in my mind.)
It must be a race with multiple cars competing against each other. That lets Smokey and the Bandit out. (Buford T. Justice's police car doesn't count.) No drag or street racing. Sorry, Fast and Furious fans. (Tokyo Drift was awful.) No chase scenes. Which kills me, because I love Bullitt.Let's break it down by categories:
NASCAR
Talladega Nights seemed to draw the most responses, or at least the most quoted dialogue, according to my friends. A sampling: "If you're not first, you're last." And "Shake and bake!" And "my boys Walker and Texas Ranger." I daresay Talladega Nights is the Caddyshack of auto racing movies.
Days of Thunder has better racing action, and co-star Robert Duvall actually wore Georgia and Florida caps during the movie, Tex pointed out.
Greased Lightning, the true story of black driver Wendell Scott (portrayed by Richard Pryor), isn't bad.
There are also movies that pay homage to real-life drivers Junior Johnson, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
Don't forget: Six Pack with Kenny Rogers and "a very young" Diane Lane, or Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson.
SERIOUS
Grand Prix, starring James Garner, is in a fierce race with Le Mans and Steve McQueen. Both get high marks for being the most authentic racing movies. And I'm probably pretty safe to say that McQueen was the best actor to also race cars, although Paul Newman would be a close second. His homage to the sport was in Winning, set against the backdrop of the Indy 500.
Our resident motorsports experts, Rainier and Glynn, both say Grand Prix is the ticket, so who am I to argue?
The consensus is that Sylvester Stallone should stick to boxing. Driven is his turn behind the wheel.
FAMILY FUN
Cars, the animated hit with Lightning McQueen in the starring role, seems to be the winner of this category. I prefer the old Speed Racer cartoons to the movie. Any of the Herbie the Love Bug movies also would qualify, although I don't count any that don't have Dean Jones in them.
Buford T Justice - News
The error was discovered by amateur weather forecaster, Buford T Justice, in his office cum weather centre in Parkstone, Bournemouth. Mr Justice realised that the Met Office had made a grave error when he studied weather charts and satellite images on
(Buford T. Justice's police car doesn't count.) No drag or street racing. Sorry, Fast and Furious fans. (Tokyo Drift was awful.) No chase scenes. Which kills me, because I love Bullitt. Talladega Nights seemed to draw the most responses,
Then he gave me the look that Jackie Gleason — as an exasperated Sheriff Buford T. Justice of Portague County in “Smokey and the Bandit” — gave his simple-minded son as he declared, “There's no way, no way, that you could come from my loins.
crushes empty Molson cans on his forehead just to break up the monotony, would you acknowledge that everybody living south of the Mason-Dixon Line doesn't sound like Buford T. Justice, strums a banjo and crushes empty Pabst Blue Ribbon cans on his?
“Nobody, and I mean NOBODY makes Sheriff Buford T. Justice look like a possum's pecker.” 8. “Baby! Baby! Why does he say this 'baby?' The Führer has never said 'baby.'” 10. “If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's,
J.W. Pepper vs. Buford T. Justice
&Quot;Buford T. Justice" was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Burt Reynolds' father, who himself was once Chief of Police of Jupiter, Florida. His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the movie, a phrase he reportedly uttered quite often, according to Reynolds. Jackie Gleason was given quite free rein over ad-libbing dialogue and making suggestions. In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke," was not in the original story, it was Gleason's idea.
If I became a sherrif, then changed my name to Buford T. Justice, do you think anyone would mind?
In the immortal words of Sheriff Buford T Justice : "This son, this here is *evidence*"
RT : I wonder if his name is Buford T. Justice. Sheriff Found Guilty of Retaliation Against Whistle-Blower Nurses 
Finish it off today Bruins! Don't make me sick Buford T. Justice on yo' asses. "You sumb***ches couldn't close an umbrella!"
I wonder if his name is Buford T. Justice. Sheriff Found Guilty of Retaliation Against Whistle-Blower Nurses Buford T Justice - Bookshelf
The New York Times Film Reviews: . 1979-1980
Like Tom, the cat in the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, Buford T. Justice is ... Throughout "Smokey and the Bandit II" Buford T. Justice is repeatedly on the ...Action and adventure cinema
For instance, at one point in the chase in Smokey and the Bandit, Carrie is at the wheel of the Trans Am with Sheriff Buford T. Justice and his jilted son ...Oops!, movie mistakes that made the cut
The Bandit drives away from a gas station where Sheriff Buford T. Justice had also stopped. The sheriff sees the Bandit driving away, and his son Junior ...Trucking country, the road to America's Wal-Mart economy
... (Jerry Reed) from Oklahoma to Georgia, evading and taunting Buford T. Justice (played by Jackie Gleason) and a host of other “Smokeys” along the way. ...Contemporary theatre, film, and television
Cinerama, 1969; Stanley Waltz, How Do I Love Thee?, Cinerama, 1970; John Cutler, Mr. Billion, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977; Sheriff Buford T. Justice, ...Detect Information Directory
Buford T. Justice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheriff Buford T. Justice is the fictional character played by Jackie ... "Buford T. Justice" was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to ...
YouTube - SOM BITCH! The Buford T Justice Compilation
The best of BUFORD T JUSTICE from smokey and the bandits 1and2 compiled by me Enjoy.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice on Myspace
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Buford T. Justice | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos
Buford T. Justice's official profile including the latest music, albums, songs, music videos and more updates.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) - Memorable quotes
Buford T. Justice: [shouting at a trucker that has sheered a door off of Justice's patrol ... Buford T. Justice: The god damn Germans got nothin' to do with it. ...
