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What Is a Road Movie? Elements and Examples of the Genre

  
Via:  Buzz of the Orient  •  5 years ago  •  57 comments


What Is a Road Movie? Elements and Examples of the Genre
 

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What Is a Road Movie? Elements and Examples of the Genre

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Scene from Thelma & Louise. (Photo by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)

by Christopher McKittrick, Thought.co, Updated December 22, 2018

A road movie is any film that centers on a road trip (often, but not exclusively, via automobile). In road movies, one or more characters travel great distances to fulfill a goal. Along the way, the characters usually face conflict with each other and their unfamiliar surroundings while experiencing growth and development.

Key Takeaways: Road Movies

The term "road movie" refers to any film that centers on long-distance travel (typically, but not always, a road trip).

Road movies have been produced in numerous genres, including comedies, dramas, and horror movies.

Notable examples of road movies include It Happened One Night; Easy Rider; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; and Thelma & Louise.

Origins of the Road Movie

Travel has been a foundational narrative device since the time of ancient storytellers, as evidenced by Homer's The Odyssey. The medium of cinema allows filmmakers to depict transportation visually (even if visual effects like rear projection are utilized to simulate movement). As a result, filmmakers have often used road movies to place characters in unfamiliar settings that challenge their beliefs and values—known as a "fish out of water" plot.

Gags about traveling appeared in many silent films, but one of the earliest examples of a true road movie is Frank Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934). The popularity of the genre grew in the 1950s and 1960s as car travel became more common in American life. Road movies have also involved other forms of transportation, including railroad, bus and airline travel, sometimes taking the "road movie" off-road.

Road movies have been produced around the world, from the 1957 Swedish film Wild Strawberries to the 2005 Australian film Wolf Creek. However, the road movie is strongly identified with American film, likely because of the influence on the automobile on American culture.

Types of Road Movies

Because of the potential for mishaps in traveling in unfamiliar territory, road movies lend themselves to comedic stories. Absurd transportation issues and confrontations between dissimilar characters forced to travel together have been featured in classic comedies like It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963); National Lampoon's Vacation (1983); Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985); Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987); Midnight Run (1988), and Dumb & Dumber (1994).

The narrative arc of the road movie can also be used to develop relationships between characters and create dramatic situations, as in Rain Man (1988) and Green Book (2018).

Other genres that have crossed over with road movies include action (Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015), horror (Joy Ride, 2001), film noir (The Hitch-Hiker, 1953), and superhero (Logan, 2017). Though they don't involve modern transportation, Westerns like Stagecoach (1939) and fantasy movies like The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies also feature elements of road movies as they depict character-changing journeys.

Top Road Movies

The following list contains a selection of top road movies across a variety of genres.

It Happened One Night (1934)

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Clark Gable sits on a bench with Claudette Colbert in a scene from the film 'It Happened One Night', 1934. Columbia Pictures/Getty Images

One of the earliest examples of a road movie, It Happened One Night features a recently-married high-society woman (Claudette Colbert) on the run from her disapproving father. She is tracked down by a recently-fired reporter (Clark Gable) who sees her as the story he needs to get back on his feet. The pair end up traveling together in what is arguably the first screwball comedy. It Happened One Night won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

Easy Rider (1969)

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American actors Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda ride through the Desert on motorcycles in a scene from the film 'Easy Rider', directed by Hopper, 1969. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Director-star Dennis Hopper created the ultimate motorcycle film about two drifters (Peter Fonda and Hopper) who travel across America and experience 1960s counterculture. Easy Rider is one of the most successful independent films of all time. It is also celebrated for its classic soundtrack that features one of the ultimate driving songs, Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild."

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

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Steve Martin and John Candy sit in a destroyed car in a scene from the film 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles', 1987. Paramount/Getty Images

Neil Page (Steve Martin) is a businessman who just wants to get home in time to spend Thanksgiving with his family. When a major snowstorm derails his plans, he finds himself forced to travel the highways with shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith (John Candy). Writer-director John Hughes' hilarious road comedy has since become a holiday classic.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

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Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon sitting in their convertible with squad cars behind them in a scene from the film 'Thelma & Louise', 1991. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images

Two women (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) set out on a weekend getaway but soon wind up on the run from the law after Thelma kills a man who attempted to rape her. The two women travel across the country in an attempt to escape authorities in a film that has been dubbed a feminist revenge fantasy. Thelma & Louise won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

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Mad Max: Fury Road. Jasin Boland - © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

In Max Max: Fury Road, the fourth film in George Miller's post-apocalyptic Mad Max series, Max (Tom Hardy) accompanies several women escaping a vicious dictator who has enslaved them. The group hits the road in a hot pursuit that lasts nearly the entire length of the film. Mad Max: Fury Road won six Oscars.

There are many road movies.  Which ones do you like, and why?  If you want to comment and are not a member of the Everyone Loves Movies group. it's easy to join, just click this link and then click "JOIN GROUP", and you  are automatically a member.


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Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    5 years ago

There are other Road Movies that I have seen and enjoyed, for example:  Vanishing Point, Two Lane Blacktop, Duel, Wages of Fear, RV, and even Around the World in Eighty Days can be considered a Road Movie.

So what about you - which Road Movies have you enjoyed watching? 

If you want to comment and are not a member of the Everyone Loves Movies group. it's easy to join, just click this link and then click "JOIN GROUP", and you are automatically a member.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2  Kavika     5 years ago

My favorites are Duel and Easy Rider...''Born to be Wild''......

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
3  dave-2693993    5 years ago

This is a good one too Buzz, but will have to comment later. Maybe over the weekend.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
4  charger 383    5 years ago

Smokey and the Bandit  &  Cannonball Run

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
5  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    5 years ago

Another biker road movie could be Wild Hogs.

filmy-i-serialy-pro-mototsiklistov-1.jpg

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
6  Dean Moriarty    5 years ago

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Wild One are a couple of my favorite road movies. 

The top spot on my list goes to the original Death Race 2000 movie starring Sylvester Stallone and David.Carridine. 

In the year 2000, America is a totalitarian regime on the brink of collapse. The most popular sport in this dystopia is the Transcontinental Road Race, where teams earn points for logging the fastest time and for mowing over the most innocent pedestrians in the process. This year's competitors include Frankenstein (David Carradine), who is rumored to be more machine than man, and the tough-as-nails "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone). Some have a plan to stop the race.   
 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
7  Snuffy    5 years ago

Oh yeah,  Easy Rider & Thelma and Louise..  definitely favorites.

But there are so many road movies out there, it's hard to pick just a few...

Broken flowers - but then I'm a huge Bill Murray fan.
Little Miss Sunshine

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
9  Trout Giggles    5 years ago

Thelma and Louise is my favorite road trip movie

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
10  Ender    5 years ago

I think I told you before but I usually watch off the wall movies. Ones that may not have been very popular.

So with this category I would have to add,

Transamerica

For comedy, I did see,

We're the Millers

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
11  Jasper2529    5 years ago

Good article, Buzz.  Among my favorite road movies are:

"The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) - The Great Depression, poor family forced off their land traveling to California.

"The Long, Long Trailer" (1954) - Romantic comedy - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Think of the "I Love Lucy" show, and you can figure out Lucy's zany antics in the movie.

"Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) - The Great Depression (again). Based upon the real lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow on their crime spree in the 1930s.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
11.1  Ender  replied to  Jasper2529 @11    5 years ago

The only one I have seen out of those was the Trailer movie with Lucy.

It is funny watching older movies and seeing how things have changed. Like now, it is against the law to ride in a trailer while it is being towed.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
11.1.1  Jasper2529  replied to  Ender @11.1    5 years ago

I'm a big fan of the Turner Classic Movies network, so I watch a lot of old movies. I agree that it's fun to watch older movies to see how things have changed and developed - like clothing, scenery/backdrops, make-up, hair styles, technology, etc.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
11.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Jasper2529 @11    5 years ago

Good choices, Jasper.  They made me realize that O Brother, Where Art Thou can also be so categorized.

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
12  Nowhere Man    5 years ago

Jeese, I could post every single one of these......

and a few more I could add.....

but my allotment is full at the present time....

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
12.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Nowhere Man @12    5 years ago
"and a few more I could add......"

Nowhere Man. You are not Oskar Schindler, you have done enough, and we all know that there will be more when you can.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
13  Ender    5 years ago

Everyone posts Easy Rider. I have never seen that movie.

Would Apocalypse Now be considered a road trip?

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.1  dave-2693993  replied to  Ender @13    5 years ago
Everyone posts Easy Rider. I have never seen that movie.

The movie captures a moment in time. Not really a great movie, yet entertaining and interesting if one experienced the era.

Two things bothers me about the movie and it has to do with the bikes.

I can't get past the handle bars. They were popular to the point even bicycles (Schwinn Mustangs) were made with them. Wasn't a fan then and nothing has changed for me in that area.

Then those tiny fuel tanks, feeding thirsty engines, while riding in that desert country.

I still like it.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.1.1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.1    5 years ago

I guess storing cocaine in the fuel tanks cut down on available fuel.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.1.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.1    5 years ago

Hey Dave,

You might be interested in this part of the Wikipedia Easy Rider article on the subject of the motorcycles:

The motorcycles for the film, based on   hardtail   frames   and   panhead engines , were designed and built by two   chopper  builders —   Cliff Vaughs   and   Ben Hardy   — following ideas of Peter Fonda, and handled by Tex Hall and   Dan Haggerty during shooting. [21]

In total, four former police bikes were used in the film. The 1949, 1950 and 1952   Harley-Davidson   Hydra-Glide   bikes were purchased at an auction for $500, [21]   equivalent to about $3600 in 2019. Each bike had a backup to make sure that shooting could continue in case one of the old machines failed or got wrecked accidentally. One "Captain America" was demolished in the final scene, while the other three were stolen and probably taken apart before their significance as movie   props   became known. [21]   The demolished bike was rebuilt by   Dan Haggerty   and offered for auction on October 18, 2014 by   Profiles in History , a Calabasas, CA-based auction house with an estimated value of $1 million to $1.2 million. The provenance of existing Captain America motorcycles is unclear, and has been the subject of much litigation. [22]   A motorcycle on display at the   EMP Museum   in Seattle, Washington is identified by that organization as the original rebuilt movie prop. A replica resides at the   National Motorcycle Museum   in   Anamosa, Iowa . [23]   Many other replicas have been built since the film's release. [21]

Hopper and Fonda hosted a   wrap party   for the movie and then realized they had not yet shot the final campfire scene. Thus, it was shot after the bikes had already been stolen, which is why they are not visible in the background as in the other campfire scenes. [9] [21]
 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.1.3  dave-2693993  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @13.1.2    5 years ago

What a story. Those  old pan heads were something. I still like them.

Maybe I have a movie to contribute here.

One Sunday morning when I was young, but still old enough to ride a bicycle, me a the neighbor kid were riding our bicycles around.

Maybe we had just finished delivering papers. The streets were all dead empty. This red motorcycle comes through, coughing and sputtering, then shuts off maybe 100yds or so in front of us.

Naturally, being a 2 wheeled vehicle AND with a motor we had to go investigate. This fella who looked like he could have come right out of that Marlon Brando movie, The Wild One, is there working on his bike. Leather jacket, white T shirt, cigarette and all.

We struck up a conversation with him and he didn't seem irritated that a couple kids were asking questions while he was trying to figure out how to get his bike running again.

Eventually he asked if there was a store nearby where he could get a couple simple things. Really can't remember what exactly.

Sure there was. A couple miles away there was a little corner "shopping center" with stores that had those things. He gave us some money and asked if we could go get them.

Sure we could. He was a fellow biker.

We went and got the stuff and and he was there waiting for us. I wonder what was going through his mind? Did he make the right decision about giving us some money?

We gave him the stuff and probably no more than 5 minutes later he has the motor running. Gives us thanks, puts his jacket back on and rode off, never to be seen by us again.

It was a Hydra Glide.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.1.4  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.1.3    5 years ago

Good story, Dave.  All you 2-wheelers were like brothers.  Did he tell you to "keep the change"?

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.1.5  dave-2693993  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @13.1.4    5 years ago

I was thinking that very question while typing the story. I don't think the issue came up. We gave him the bag of stuff and that is all I recall about the transaction.

There is something about the experience which reminds me of a Ray Bradbury tale, Dandelion Wine.

Also, there is another story of a completely different topic that happened at that exact same location where that bike stopped. Another story...

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Ender @13    5 years ago

@ Ender

I'm not sure if Apocalypse Now would be considered a "road trip" movie, but I have to tell you that Easy Rider, its plot, its actors, its soundtrack was considered to be a sort of "National Anthem" of a generation. 

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
13.2.1  Ender  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @13.2    5 years ago

I will have to break down and watch it one of these days.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2.4  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to    5 years ago
"Is mad max a road trip movie?"

Did you read the article?

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2.5  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to    5 years ago

Overrated?  The movie was considered a lot more significant than The Big Lebowski.

From Wikipedia:

The success of   Easy Rider helped spark the   New Hollywood   era of filmmaking during the early 1970s.

A landmark   counterculture   film, and a "touchstone for a generation" that "captured the national imagination",   Easy Rider   explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise of the   hippie   movement,   drug use , and   communal   lifestyle. [3] [4]   Real drugs were used in scenes showing the use of marijuana and other substances.

Easy Rider   was released by   Columbia Pictures   on July 14, 1969, grossing $60 million worldwide from a filming budget of no more than $400,000.  Critics have praised the performances, directing, writing, soundtrack, visuals, and atmosphere. The film was added to the   Library of Congress National Film Registry   in 1998.

Roger Ebert   added   Easy Rider   to his "Great Movies" list in 2004

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2.8  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to    5 years ago

Okay, I don't know - I have never watched the Mad Max movies. Maybe someone who has can answer you.

As for your comment about seeing Easy Rider several times - I once posted an article, now in the Everyone Loves Movies archives, about watching movies more than once. By doing so there are certain good things and bad things - you can pick up on and notice things you missed previously, but on the other hand you already know where the movie is going so it can become less interesting.

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.9  dave-2693993  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @13.2.8    5 years ago

I would consider the original Mad Max a road movie. The road scenes were significant and IIRC everything centered on what happened on the road.

Just recalled. It was Mad Max: The Road Warrior.

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
13.2.10  Nowhere Man  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.2.9    5 years ago

Was wondering when someone was going to get around to that one.....

And then there are these....

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Brown Bunny

Five Easy Pieces

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry

The World's Fastest Indian

Vanishing Point

Badlands

They Drive by Night 

The Wages of Fear

The African Queen

North by Northwest

The Great Race

Speed

There are literally hundreds of movies that encompass a great journey from one place to another by means of transport....

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2.11  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.10    5 years ago

I had already mentioned above O Brother Where Art Thou?, Vanishing Point, and The Wages of Fear, and as well, Two Lane Blacktop, RV and Duel, and what about the ultimate - Around the World in 80 Days - both the original and the remake both of which I watched when recently shown on TV here. 

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.12  dave-2693993  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.10    5 years ago

LOL.

Yes, those are good ones. You might think this is stupid but Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry made me a little down when that Dodge Charger met it's demise.

I have to admit, I am a Hot Rods to Hell guy, as goofy as it is at times.

There is a story behind that too.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
13.2.13  charger 383  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.2.12    5 years ago

I don't like it when Chargers get tore up

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.14  dave-2693993  replied to  charger 383 @13.2.13    5 years ago

Me too. There are certain cars I don't like see getting torn up and the Charger is one.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
13.2.15  seeder  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  charger 383 @13.2.13    5 years ago

LOL.  I KNEW you'd respond to that.

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
13.2.16  Nowhere Man  replied to  charger 383 @13.2.13    5 years ago
I don't like it when Chargers get tore up

Me either.....

The people who built that charger for this crash had to be insane....

I consider them murderers......

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
13.2.17  Split Personality  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.16    5 years ago

I'll agree, some people in video or film, think that if they can afford it, they can ruin it.

Absolutely no regard to how hard one of these is to come by, restore or maintain.

An absolute crime.

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.18  dave-2693993  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.16    5 years ago

I have to say, I never watched any of those series of movies because of the beginning of that very scene.

Impossible.

Nobody will ever see or experience that wheel stand AND blowing off the tires like that at the same time for real.

Never watched any of them because of that very scene.

A single night at a local dragstrip watching the Outlaw Pro Streets would have educated them.

They couldn't spend one night at the track to see reality?

That was my key that is was all full of baloney.  You might slightly haze the tires, but nothing like that.

Maybe they redeemed themselves, but I don't know.

Was wishing it would be a good movie...

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
13.2.19  Nowhere Man  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.2.18    5 years ago

'68 Judge here, I know, the drag is a fake, too much wheelbase for that much lift while spinning the tires. Lift for a wheelstand comes from torque and traction. What they showed in the movie couldn't be done in real life with twice the horsepower.... (and with that much wheelspin, he would have lost the race, hookup wins races)

I believe they used three cars for that movie, the one in the garage which was a real blown Hemi Charger, a second with the large slicks spinning, A real pro stocker, and the car they crashed which was mostly street custom window dressing....

But the car? (the real one in the garage) now that was ALIVE..... 

.....just sitting there.

As far as the movies? the first one was the best one the rest went downhill from there.... It's why I didn't add them to the list....

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
13.2.20  Nowhere Man  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.19    5 years ago
But the car? (the real one in the garage) now that was ALIVE..... 

original

This is the REAL one, the one that was parked in the garage

Custom '70 Dodge Charger R/T You notice the grille is not the normal charger grille.  The blower is not a fake as you can see the drive belt at the from edge of the hole cut in the hood. The car they destroyed has a standard Charger R/T grille and a fake supercharger.

(Photo care of Barrett auctions....)

The fake....

original

Looks good but it's not a real pro street rod.....

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.21  dave-2693993  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.20    5 years ago

That Charger is a pretty car. Always liked those models the most.

Used to have a '73 though...years ago.

Here is my OPS Foxbody. They are the "ugly ducklings of the Mustangs, which NOBODY wants to see in the opposite lane in an outlaw race.

512

512

512

 

That last picture is sitting a little high. The engine and transmission were out or maintenance.

Well, that's one of my contributions to the Outlaw Pro Streeters.

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
13.2.22  Nowhere Man  replied to  dave-2693993 @13.2.21    5 years ago

I like the launch shot, plenty of hookup there....

Nice car......

 
 
 
dave-2693993
Junior Quiet
13.2.23  dave-2693993  replied to  Nowhere Man @13.2.22    5 years ago

Thank you NWM. I appreciate the comment.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
17  Ender    5 years ago

Just thought of one,

The Sugarland Express

A Goldie Hawn movie from 1974

 
 

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