Racing at the Movies: Posters and artwork
Whether it’s a realitistic retelling of a famous racing story, or a fictional high-octane yarn, Hollywood has provided a wealth of racing-themed entertainment down the years, each with its own feel, theme and area of speciality. And each with its own distinctive artworks, too. Here we celebrate some of the all-time great racing movie posters
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Works of Art – Gallery
A Race for Life (1954) covers a driver’s struggle between his love for racing, and his wife.
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1977 comedy capers in Checkered Flag or Crash as driver Walkaway Madden tackles the Big Manilla 1000 off-road race... with Susan Sarandon
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Grand Prix celebrated three Academy Awards following its release, clinching Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects and Best Film Editing. It was the first motorsport title to win such awards, and the only until Ford v Ferrari, over 50 years later
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Tom Cruise’s NASCAR epic Days of Thunder (1990) introduced audiences to Cole Trickle, and door-to-door stock car action
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Modern tech and archive material has made creating racing films easier, and there’s been a flood of recent titles, like Ferrari: Race to Immortality
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Ford v Ferrari (2019) netted the sport its first Oscars since 1966’s Grand Prix, when it won both Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing during the 2020 Academy Awards. It was nominated for four, including Best Picture
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Matt Damon took on the role of Le Mans winner-turned tuning guru Carroll Shelby, while Batman star Christian Bale tackled the complex role of little-known Brummie test driver Ken Miles, the man who really made the Ford GT40 into a winner
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Ford v Ferrari (2019) netted the sport its first Oscars since 1966’s Grand Prix, when it won both Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing during the 2020 Academy Awards. It was nominated for four, including Best Picture
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Formula 1 Nell’Inferno del Grand Prix was an Italian production from 1970 following fictional driver Ken Stark and rival Frank Donovan, with cameos from Graham Hill, Giancarlo Baghetti and even Giacomo Agostini. It was released as Maniacs on Wheels in the US
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Grand Prix celebrated three Academy Awards following its release, clinching Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects and Best Film Editing. It was the first motorsport title to win such awards, and the only until Ford v Ferrari, over 50 years later
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Grand Prix celebrated three Academy Awards following its release, clinching Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects and Best Film Editing. It was the first motorsport title to win such awards, and the only until Ford v Ferrari, over 50 years later
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The 1966 classic Grand Prix was the first major motion picture to bring the world of Formula 1 to the big screen, and with superstar James Garner playing the role of hero, Pete Aron. The film drew on real race footage, and also featured cameos from the likes of Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jochen Rindt, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham
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Grand Prix celebrated three Academy Awards following its release, clinching Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Effects and Best Film Editing. It was the first motorsport title to win such awards, and the only until Ford v Ferrari, over 50 years later
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The 1966 classic Grand Prix was the first major motion picture to bring the world of Formula 1 to the big screen, and with superstar James Garner playing the role of hero, Pete Aron. The film drew on real race footage, and also featured cameos from the likes of Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jochen Rindt, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham
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John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix was a commercial success upon release, grossing $20.8m in the US and Canada alone, and a further $9.3m in rentals, earning back around triple what the filmmakers spent (estimated $9m)
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John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix was a commercial success upon release, grossing $20.8m in the US and Canada alone, and a further $9.3m in rentals, earning back around triple what the filmmakers spent (estimated $9m)
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Hell on Wheels (1967) about a brotherly love rivalry in NASCAR
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It may now be over 50 years old, but the ‘King of Cool’s Le Mans epic is still inspiring artworks to this day. Gotta love the tag line on this one...
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One of the most famous racing films of all time, Steve McQueen’s Le Mans (1971) captured the gritty feel of 1970s La Sarthe. Using real Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s, it’s no wonder not a word is spoken by the characters for the first 37 minutes
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Following the success of Le Mans, Porsche used many McQueen images in its marketing
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1974’s One by One was a documentary that followed the often tragic events of the 1973 Formula 1 season, starring Peter Revson
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Perhaps the earliest entry of motorsport on film came with 1924’s Racing For Life, starring Eva Novak. It undoubtedly wasn’t helped by the fact it was a silent movie
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A 1959 US drama, Road Racers told the story of a father who disowns his son after blaming him for a fatal accident on track, only to then sponsor his rival. Gripping stuff.
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The casting crew excelled themselves with Rush (2013). Daniel Brühl had the role of Niki Lauda sewn up early doors, but Chris Hemsworth auditioned for James Hunt while also playing Thor in The Avengers. The end result was a box-office hit as the pair played out a dramatised version of Hunt and Lauda’s 1976 rivalry. In terms of numbers, the filmmakers splashed out $38m, but received a world-wide gross of $98.2m. Costs were trimmed by many scenes being shot at UK circuits like Donington Park and Snetterton
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It’s a documentary, but unlike any other. Steeped in never-before-seen footage and with incredible insight, Senna (2010) was entertaining, informative, and also highly emotional
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A 1937 story about the rivalry between Tommy Morton and his less ethical rival Larry ‘Skids’ Brannigan – the pair actually being brothers who were separated at birth... gasp!
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A Japanese reimagining of the Le Mans poster. The film is considered a cult classic around the globe
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A 1961 British film with the likes of Ed Begley and Sid James, The Green Helmet followed driver Greg Rafferty’s rise back to success after a Le Mans crash
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This short 1962 film simply featured Lance Reventlow lapping Riverside International Raceway in his 1960 Formula 1 Scarab
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Modern tech and archive material has made creating racing films easier, and there’s been a flood of recent titles, like Williams
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Paul Newman’s classic Winning (1969) about the Indy 500.
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