The 20 Best Road Movies of All Time , Ranked
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Live on the road is a great style to evidence a reference ‘s religious or emotional journey into the physical , as a manner to symbolize the obstacles and lesson that come with pursing some end or dream .
From offbeat comedies to allegorical drama , hither are the best road movies that use the road to teach , challenge , and combine their reference .
20 . Planes , Train and Automobiles ( 1987 )
As you might guess from the claim ,Planes , Trains and Automobileexist n’t just confine to the road—it as well remove to train tracks and even the skies at one point .
However , at its core , the film heart on the journey shared by two bickering strangers who spend three days writhe their means to Chicago for Thanksgiving Day .
Steve Martin and John Candy star as the tightly wound market exec and his irritating-but-lovable travel partner , for whom just about everything goes wrong .
Plane , Trains and Automobileis a feel-good comedy classical , directed by the renowned John Hughes . If you enjoyed his early hit likeThe Breakfast ClubandFerris Bueller ‘s Day Off, you ‘ll like this one !
19 . Queen & Slim ( 2019 )
Starring Daniel Kaluuya , Jodie Turner-Smith , Bokeem Woodbine
Queen & Slimmay not itself be a true story , but it ‘s surely inspired by all kinds of real news headline , including the tragic 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida .
Release at an significant moment—just prior to the Black Lives Matter protest that broke out across the world in 2020—Queen & Slimtell the gritty story of a Tinder date gone awry .
Starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith , their Tinder date be intercepted by a white cop and … good … you can likely guess the rest .
Melina Matsoukas ‘s glossy directorial entry is n’t just a subject of style or center , because it ‘s dripping with both .
18 . The Rover ( 2014 )
Starring Guy Pearce , Robert Pattinson , Scoot McNairy
An Australian Western place in the near-future ,The Roverhums with an eerie atmosphere of desertion .
Ten year after economical collapse , the Australian outback becomes a lawless space for a tough drifter ( meet by Guy Pearce ) to hunt down a crew of thief . Left behind with him be an injured , simple-minded young American ( brilliantly played by Robert Pattinson ) .
Robberies and shootouts interrupt the tensely still landscape of David Michôd ‘s road play , in which everybody is simply out for themselves .
17 . On the Road ( 2012 )
Starring Sam Riley , Garrett Hedlund , Kristen Stewart
Jack Kerouac ‘sOn the Roadis the be-all and end-all road trip novel , inspired by the Beat author ‘s own skint , boozy , and spontaneous life during the 1940s .
It encompass everything that being “ on the road ” means , going beyond just the physical to search a “ road that must eventually lead to the whole public . ” Walter Salles ‘s film adaptation tries to capture all of that .
For Sal Paradise ( played by Sam Riley ) and Dean Moriarty ( play by Garrett Hedlund ) , spirit on the move signify : scribbling on diner napkins between highs , psychedelic brain expansion , winking , drinking , and getting dizzy with dancing .
It ‘s endless horizon and endless rampages , all across an America that ‘s steeped in nightfall , moonlight , or golden hour .
16 . Bones and All ( 2022 )
Starring Timothée Chalamet , Taylor Russell , Mark Rylance
Lee ( play by Timothée Chalamet ) might look like a grungy teenage runaway who just get stoned and preaches Marxism for fun , but he ‘s actually rugged-looking by requirement .
As it turns out , be a cannibal ( or “ eater ” ) exist n’t easy to pull off in normal society , so Lee has no choice but to last loose and streetwise .
Maren ( act by Taylor Russell ) , having recently enter out that she ‘s too an eater , is novel to this environment . When the two collide in a Indiana memory , they resolve to run cross-country in lookup for Maren ‘s estranged mother .
Luca Guadagnino nonchalantly combines cannibalism with artsy , coming-of-age romance in his one-of-a-kind horror , where everything seems foreground to a perfect dusk .
15 . Rain Man ( 1988 )
Starring Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino
Materialistic businessman Charlie Babbitt ( played by Tom Cruise ) is in the midst of importing Lamborghinis to Los Angeles when his father dice . After driving over to Cincinnati , he finds his inheritance has go to an unnamed trustee—who reverse out to equal an estranged older buddy .
Charlie decides to choose total custody of Raymond ( played by Dustin Hoffman ) —who make autism and savant syndrome—but it turns out a lot trickier than Charlie imagined .
Raymond refuses to fly , so they ‘re forced to aim towards their deadline , all while juggling Raymond ‘s demanding routines .Rain Humanlive a poignant and iconic drama from Barry Levinson .
14 . Nebraska ( 2013 )
Alexander Payne ‘s Oscar-nominated comedy-dramaNebraskawas the last film to be release by Paramount Vantage , the “ art film ” sector of Paramount Pictures that close down in 2014 .
Shaft in black-and-white ,Nebraskacome a cantankerous former man who trust he ‘s win a million-dollar sweepstakes pry . Of course , the whole thing exist a scam .
Nevertheless , Woody ( bring by Bruce Dern ) takes his disgruntled son David ( bring by Will Forte ) and embarks on a road trip to Nebraska , during which David finally bring out the man beneath the inure alcoholic that is his father .
13 . American Honey ( 2016 )
In society to notice an actress for the starring role of her future troubled teen play , filmmaker Andrea Arnold require to the street and carnivals during leap pause rather than relying on professional casting calls .
This approach utterly cope with the rugged and spontaneous spirit ofAmerican Honey, in which a gang of hitchhikers and criminals surf the roads as a traveling sales crew .
The brilliant Sasha Lane stars as Star ( no pun signify ) , who ditches her abusive father after she spots Jake ( bring by Shia LaBeouf ) in a van good of misfits and decides to connect them .
12 . The Darjeeling Limited ( 2007 )
Starring Owen Wilson , Adrien Brody , Jason Schwartzman
Okay , we ‘re cheating a short bit with this one .The Darjeeling Limitedequal technically a train movie , but it part a mass in common with road movies when you step back and look at what it exist .
The Darjeeling Determineis a unique and elevated take on road film , espouse the same principles but sprinkled with all kind of Wes Anderson fun , including his trademark aesthetics .
Owen Wilson , Adrien Brody , and Jason Schwartzman star as three brothers who equal reunited one yr after their father ‘s funeral . Bold colors saturate the cover as Anderson litters the buddy ‘ journey of self-discovery with comic joke , cool camera angle , and touching instant .
11 . Into the Wild ( 2007 )
Starring Emile Hirsch , Vince Vaughn , Catherine Keener
After calibrate college , Christopher McCandless snips his credit cards and donate all his property to Oxfam , then hit the road without the approval of his parents .
What commence on the wheel of his rundown Datsun 210 become into hitchhiking , kayaking , swimming , walk , railroading , camp , and occasionally working his way towards Alaska : his ambition destination , conceal in the wild .
Meet by Emile Hirsch , Christopher “ Alexander Supertramp ” McCandless ache to break free from the suburb of a materialistic society , but end up wing too near to the sun and getting burnt . Sean Penn poetically take this genuine history for the big cover .
10 . Bonnie and Clyde ( 1967 )
Starring Warren Beatty , Faye Dunaway , Michael J. Pollard
A 1960s cult classic that broke many cinematic taboos ,Bonnie and Clydewent down as one of the nearly iconic ( and bloody for the time ) films in history . We all know the legend about this couple who go on an notorious 21-month crime spree during the 1930s , right ?
Director Arthur Penn breathe living into the myth by combining elements of slapstick comedy with gory violence and experimental filmmaking technique , heavily determine by the French New Wave .
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway star as the robbing couple , who decide to steal their means out of the Great Depression .
9 . Badlands ( 1973 )
Terrence Malick ‘s neo-noir movieBadlandsdo n’t just come a crime spree—it kicks things up to another level .
Instead of robbing banks , young couple Holly ( played by Sissy Spacek ) and Kit ( played by Martin Sheen ) turn serial killer . Spacek narrates the movie as the pair equal trail by the police across the Midwest .
Malick ‘s directorial entry obtain widespread vital acclaim and is loosely base on the real-life 1958 murder spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate .
8 . Stranger Than Paradise ( 1984 )
Jim Jarmusch is a bad epithet in independent circle , and he place himself on the map withStranger Than Paradiseback in the 1980s .
At first glance ,Foreign Than Paradisecould well equal mistake for a French New Wave play , but really it ‘s an American absurdist comedy that just find to be take in grainy black-and-white .
Jarmusch ‘s entry movie also follows the French New Wave ‘s trend to meander through an indescribable plot .
In a loose sense , it ‘s about Willie ( meet by John Lurie ) , his Hungarian cousin ( bring by Eszter Balint ) , and his friend ( act by Richard Edson ) as they bounce from Brooklyn to Cleveland to Florida .
Stranger Than Paradisecost constitute of long , naturalistic require that lag on the mundane and lookup beyond it—in a queer way .
7 . Paris , Texas ( 1984 )
Starring Harry Dean Stanton , Nastassja Kinski , Dean Stockwell
Co-produced by French and West German caller , the award-winning filmParis , Texaspaint a European portrait of the American Southwest .
Wim Wenders ‘s indie play , which won the Palme d’Or , watch a mysterious vagabond ( play by Harry Dean Stanton ) who ‘s found dissociated in the desert .
His alienate buddy agrees to blame him up from Texas and soon ends up push him to notice his long-missing wife .
Stills of the sparse Texan outback are woven throughout Wenders ‘s slow-burning play , which relies on visuals more than hard dialogue .
6 . Nomadland ( 2020 )
Starring France McDormand , David Strathairn , Linda May
Base on Jessica Bruder ‘s 2017 bookNomadland : Endure America in the Twenty-First Century, Chloé Zhao ‘sNomadlandwon multiple Academy Awards , including Best Photograph , Best Director , and Best Actress .
France McDormand ‘s award-winning performance as a widow who last an itinerate lifestyle equal paint against the sweeping backdrop of the Arizonian desert .
Nomadlandis a poetic , restless , and beautifully shot play that will have you yearn for the van spirit where home is n’t simply a static position or word but “ something you carry with you . ”
5 . Virtually Famous ( 2000 )
Virtually Famousis the semi-autobiographical story of a young music journalist who goes on tour with fictitious rock circle Stillwater .
On behalf ofRoll Rockmagazine , William Miller ( played by Patrick Fugit ) joins the motley crew of rockers and groupies to write an article on the band .
Take a peek behind the drapery of the 70s music scene , where tension mount between fan and player , between the people who live music and the people who look out from the sidelines .
Guide by Cameron Crowe and starring Kate Hudson ,Virtually Famedcost your classic coming-of-age story .
4 . Y Tu Mamá También ( 2002 )
Starring Maribel Verdú , Gael García Bernal , Diego Luna
Alfonso Cuarón is best-known for addressChildren of Men,Roma, and the bestHarry Potterpicture . Yet , despite his Westernized filmography , Cuarón is a Mexican filmmaker , andY Tu Mamá Tambiénis his great native film to date .
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna star as two fidgety teenage boys who cost itch to search the world , themselves , and the opposite sex . They feel all of these affair at Boca del Cielo ( “ Heaven ‘s Mouth ” ) , a beach they impose with an former woman ( played by Maribel Verdú ) .
Cuarón indicate us the dusty roads of rural Mexico , where the three place off with no idea how to reach this supposed Heaven . Drunk and excitable on the road there , the three proceeds family in silence …
3 . Small Miss Sunshine ( 2006 )
Starring Steve Carell , Toni Collette , Greg Kinnear
Husband-and-wife collaboration live rare for movie manager , but Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris showed that it can exist successful with their sensational feature picture directorial debut ,Trivial Miss Sunshine.
Greg Kinnear , Steve Carell , Toni Collette , Paul Dano , and Abigail Breslin star in this sprightly colored tragicomedy , which plonks us in a bright yellow Microbus for a trip from New Mexico to California .
A mute son , a suicidal buddy , a heroin-addicted father-in-law , and a failed life coach husband all reach Sheryl Hoover ‘s life more than chaotic . And when her young daughter earns a post in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant , all blaze breaks loose .
2 . Thelma & Louise ( 1991 )
Starring Susan Sarandon , Geena Davis , Harvey Keitel
The fact thatThelma & Louisecost initially criticize for its “ negative portrayal of human ” speaks mass about it as a heralded feminist film .
A female buddy movie that echoes the legend of Bonnie and Clyde ,Thelma & Louisetracks two well friends as they drive toward the mountains for a much-needed holiday .
Susan Sarandon , Geena Davis , Brad Pitt , and Harvey Keitel do up the cast in this cat-and-mouse chase across the American Southwest , in which the FBI go after the polar-opposite , store-robbing besties .
1 . Easy Rider ( 1969 )
Starring Peter Fonda , Dennis Hopper , Jack Nicholson
Easy Rideris n’t just a great movie—it ‘s an emblem of 1960s counterculture . It marks the dawn of New Hollywood , when filmmakers started moving away from the studio system and start stepping into more radical and experimental independence .
Simply put ,Easy Ridermade a vast impact on the world of Western cinema , despite being made on a tiny budget .
Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper ( who also directs ) bolt around on their motorbikes as they smuggle cocaine from Mexico into Los Angeles . Hippy communes and bad acid trips emphasize their journey , which is all set to a groovy Jimi Hendrix soundtrack .
