"Must Have" Motorcycle Movies and Documentaries

[recom273]

Heres a pretty definitive list that came from a private site .. I could add a couple of evil knevil dvd's too.

The World's Fastest Indian [2005]

TT3D: Closer to the Edge [2011]

Brittown [2008]

I Superbiker [2011]

On Any Sunday [1971]

Cycles South [1971]

Hell Ride [2008]

Hellblock 13 [1999]

Biker Zombies from Detroit [2001]

Biker Boyz [2003]

Diarios de motocicleta AKA The Motorcycle Diaries [2004]

Choppertown: The Sinners [2005]

Missionary Man [2007]

One Man's Island [2003]

Choppertown: From the Vault [2006]

Wild Hogs [2007]

One Week [2008]

Freebird [2008]

Redline America [2008]

The Harbortown Bobber [2009]

The Violent Kind [2010]

Born to Ride [2011]

Dear God No! [2011]

The Highest Pass [2011]

Easy Rider [1969]

One Million Motorcycles: Sturgis Rally [2007]

Baribari Densetsu AKA Motorcycle Legend [1987]

I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle [1990]

Motorcycle Gang [1957]

The Wild One [1953]

The Great Escape [1963]

The Wild Angels [1966]

Hells Angels on Wheels [1967]

Hells Angels Forever [1983]

Hell's Angels '69 [1969]

Angels Hard as They Come [1971]

Race to Dakar [2006]

Werewolves on Wheels [1971]

Electra Glide in Blue [1973]

Spetters [1980]

Megaforce [1982]

Streets of Fire [1984]

Mask [1985]

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man [1991]

Beyond the Law [1993]

Roadside Prophets [1992]

Supercross [2005]

The Place Beyond the Pines [2012]

Motorpsycho! AKA Motor Psycho [1965]

Chrome Soldiers [1992]

The Best Bar in America [2009]

On Any Sunday II [1981]

Psychomania AKA The Death Wheelers [1973]

Riding Solo to the Top of the World [2006]

Super Cub [2008]

A Lang de gu shi AKA All About Ah Long [1989]

Lie huo zhan che AKA Full Throttle [1995]

Why We Ride [2013]

Mondo Enduro [2003]

Cyclone [1987]

Knightriders [1981]

Sayonara Speed Tribes [2012]

Go Grandriders [2012]

The Doctor, the Tornado and the Kentucky Kid [2006]

Die Wüsten der Erde aka Exploring the deserts of the earth [2007]

I removed the faster / ghost rider / mad max / torque / tron entries. If anyone 'needs' anything, let me know.

[RubberSideDown]

I've been looking more for documentaries and movies where the focus is on bikes rather than their being incidental to the plot (or they just have one good scene like 'The Great Escape'), but there are some good ones on that list.

There's probably stuff in languages other than English that would be worth watching (i.e. 'The Motorcycle Diaries') that I'll stumble across eventually.

[recom273]

Easy enough to filter the tags for documentaries.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge [2011]

Brittown [2008]

I Superbiker [2011]

On Any Sunday [1971]

Cycles South [1971]

Choppertown: The Sinners [2005]

One Million Motorcycles: Sturgis Rally [2007]

Hells Angels Forever [1983]

On Any Sunday II [1981]

Why We Ride [2013]

Mondo Enduro [2003]

Sayonara Speed Tribes [2012]

Go Grandriders [2012]

The Doctor, the Tornado and the Kentucky Kid [2006]

Die Wüsten der Erde aka Exploring the deserts of the earth [2007]

Faster

Fastest

[kurnell]

How have you all missed Mad Max and Mad Max 2?

[Woodsie888]

John Britten: One man dream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9N1gfLQ--k

What a machine and what a story!

Overtaking Ducati at Daytona and pulling a wheelie!

John Britten, one of the world's lovely guys, passed away far to early.

Andrew Stroud pulling a wheelie on the Britten for most of the straight at Wigram.....Wow

Testing the bike at Ruapuna prior to embarking on the big overseas trip......wow

Fantastic memories for lots of Kiwis.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Woodsie888

[RubberSideDown]

How have you all missed Mad Max and Mad Max 2?

They're not motorcycle movies- they're movies where motorcycles are featured but aren't the focus.

A movie I mentioned in the OP, 'Little Fauss and Big Halsey', which is about two struggling racers trying to make the big time is what I consider a 'motorcycle movie'- I realize there are other definitions.

[kurnell]

How have you all missed Mad Max and Mad Max 2?

They're not motorcycle movies- they're movies where motorcycles are featured but aren't the focus.

A movie I mentioned in the OP, 'Little Fauss and Big Halsey', which is about two struggling racers trying to make the big time is what I consider a 'motorcycle movie'- I realize there are other definitions.

I beg to differ. Bikes are an integral part of both movies, with leading characters riding bikes with some of the most iconic scenes in cinema such as Jim Goose's solo ride. Just ask the Japanese fans.

[RubberSideDown]

How have you all missed Mad Max and Mad Max 2?

They're not motorcycle movies- they're movies where motorcycles are featured but aren't the focus.

A movie I mentioned in the OP, 'Little Fauss and Big Halsey', which is about two struggling racers trying to make the big time is what I consider a 'motorcycle movie'- I realize there are other definitions.

I beg to differ. Bikes are an integral part of both movies, with leading characters riding bikes with some of the most iconic scenes in cinema such as Jim Goose's solo ride. Just ask the Japanese fans.

OK, but I really don't need to ask the Japanese fans how it relates to my own stated definition- there are some good scenes, I agree, but it's not a 'motorcycle movie', it's a 'post-apocalyptic world movie' that has some cool bikes- as I said, I'm looking for movies that are about motorcycles, not ones that simply have them as support for a plot or just have a good scene or two (otherwise there are many more than those already mentioned, i.e. the 'Wall Street' sequel). Even 'Easy Rider' (a movie I put on my list) isn't a 'motorcycle movie', but, rather, is a movie about the death of the 'American Dream'. There are many movies about cars, but real motorcycle movies (according to my definition;)) are few-and-far-between.

No argument that there are other views on the subject (obviously), but you did ask why I left it off my list.

[AllanB]

Educational Video..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3vXUv4HQ_8

[kurnell]

How have you all missed Mad Max and Mad Max 2?

They're not motorcycle movies- they're movies where motorcycles are featured but aren't the focus.

A movie I mentioned in the OP, 'Little Fauss and Big Halsey', which is about two struggling racers trying to make the big time is what I consider a 'motorcycle movie'- I realize there are other definitions.

I beg to differ. Bikes are an integral part of both movies, with leading characters riding bikes with some of the most iconic scenes in cinema such as Jim Goose's solo ride. Just ask the Japanese fans.

OK, but I really don't need to ask the Japanese fans how it relates to my own stated definition- there are some good scenes, I agree, but it's not a 'motorcycle movie', it's a 'post-apocalyptic world movie' that has some cool bikes- as I said, I'm looking for movies that are about motorcycles, not ones that simply have them as support for a plot or just have a good scene or two (otherwise there are many more than those already mentioned, i.e. the 'Wall Street' sequel). Even 'Easy Rider' (a movie I put on my list) isn't a 'motorcycle movie', but, rather, is a movie about the death of the 'American Dream'. There are many movies about cars, but real motorcycle movies (according to my definition;)) are few-and-far-between.

No argument that there are other views on the subject (obviously), but you did ask why I left it off my list.

You could make the above argument about almost any 'motorcycle' movie.

[RubberSideDown]

You could make the above argument about almost any 'motorcycle' movie.

That's definitely true- except for 'Little Fauss and Big Halsey' I can't really think of one that is purely about bikes (though there are probably a couple I'm overlooking)- a lot of it has to do with how little Americans (and by extension Hollywood) care about bikes and motorcycle racing beyond sensationalizing it by depicting gangs and stunters- now cars, on the other hand, are the subject of many, as we Yanks are fascinated by them.

Edited June 16, 2014 by RubberSideDown

[332]

I love that picture of the Britten.

Just look where the rear shock is. And the steering damper. The aerodynamics that make it look like it's travelling at 300kph already and has started to melt.

[RubberSideDown]

I saw a Britten at the big bike show in Long Beach a while back- what a stunning bike. He supposedly made his own carbon fiber prototype bodywork in the oven in his kitchen, and it's been speculated the fumes and chemical contact might have been a contributing cause for his demise from skin cancer.

[Woodsie888]

I saw a Britten at the big bike show in Long Beach a while back- what a stunning bike. He supposedly made his own carbon fiber prototype bodywork in the oven in his kitchen, and it's been speculated the fumes and chemical contact might have been a contributing cause for his demise from skin cancer.

His house and factory were one and the same. He bought the 'Radiant Transfer Factory Ltd" in Matai Street, Christchurch, NZ and converted it to a 'loft style' house long before it was fashionable and that's where the first carbon fibre was done. I hadn't heard about the fumes and chemical contact causing the skin cancer. He did however have melanoma started on a shoulder. Many Kiwis and Australians have had exactly the same, successfully removed.

It's a great story with a tragic ending.

[RubberSideDown]

^

It's just something I read once- I have no sources or factual info regarding the cause for his cancer, and it could be completely incorrect.

No argument he was an amazing guy, though.

[AllanB]

^

It's just something I read once- I have no sources or factual info regarding the cause for his cancer, and it could be completely incorrect.

No argument he was an amazing guy, though.

There is some evidence that carbon-fibre is as hazardous as asbestos and there are some similarities in the construction to support that theory. Asbestosis is a form of cancer and that took a long time to establish a direct association, a lot longer than carbon fibre has been around in the current format.

The fibres used can be as small as 5 microns and that is easily breathable, so not something I would do in the home, crazy IMO. Let's hope he is single with no kids.