Some people call trucking movies (or trucker movies) "cheesy" and... maybe they are! At least some of them.
But perhaps only we truckers can fully appreciate these movies - we know the CB Lingo, recognize familiar roads and terrain, truck stops, and of course, the trucking lifestyle. We live it every day! We know what's "real" about these movies, and what's B.S. But either way, whether truckers are romanticized or just made to look goofy, we love our trucker movies. We just need more of them, Hollywood!
Whether in-between the next trucking load, or after finished driving for the day, watching a movie is a great way for truck drivers to unwind and relax, or just pass the time.
Purchasing DVDs at anywhere from $5.99 to 24.99 in truckstops is great in a pinch, or if you see a movie you've got to watch now. But do it too often, and your money's going down the drain. The following information will help you save money as well as provide additional entertainment options.
Unless you get home every few days, renting a movie from your local video rental store is not really an option. A better option involves renting DVDs online. First, you sign up and get set up on a monthly rental plan. The movies are delivered to wherever you can conveniently pick them up. You're provided with envelopes to return them when you're finished watching them. Whether you're home or on the road, simply place them in a mailbox to return them. Then, as they're received, more are automatically sent to you (from your list of desired movies). Pretty easy, lots of movies to choose from, and more affordable than any other options.
The monthly fee for Netflix.com is less than the cost of one new DVD release. Once again, if you're on the road, you can return your watched movies in any truckstop mailbox, and pick up the new movies when you get home.
The Best Trucking Movies
Convoy Kristofferson and MacGraw...ain't nothin' gonna get in their way! Truckers form a mile long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff...Based on the country song of same title by C.W. McCall.
White Line Fever Carrol Jo Hummer--A working man who's had enough! White Line Fever is one of the earliest and best films of the genre, because it's relatively low-key, and the traveling sequences feel true-to-life.
Breaker, Breaker The story starts with a speed trap that catches a truck driver, who protests this rigged justice. This driver then disappears. His older brother shows up to search for him, and runs into trouble. There are plenty of fights, car chases, and action. Chuck Norris outfights dozens of opponents, a preview of his later TV series.
Duel (Collector's Edition) Stars Dennis Weaver as a mild-mannered traveling salesman who unintentionally angers the driver of a semi truck. Suddenly, the truck is not only riding his tail but trying to run him off the road. No matter what he does (pulling over, stopping at a diner, calling the cops), he can't get rid of it. Spielberg makes the wise decision of never showing the driver, even as he cranks the voltage on the film's suspense elements.
Steel Cowboy Trucker Clay Pfanner is on the verge of financial ruin. His truck is about to be repossesed and he sees no way out. So when his buddy K.W. comes up with a plan to haul some rustled cattle, Clay decides to take a chance.
High-Ballin' 1978 movie about two independent truck drivers (Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda) who fight off thugs who have been hired by the owner of a trucking outfit trying to put independent haulers out of business by hijacking and strong arming drivers.
Citizens Band This movie interlaces the stories of several characters in a small town united by their use of CB (citizen's band) radio. Paul LeMat is the local CB coordinator who has time for little else in his life. His father, Roberts Blossom is a sour old man who is nice on the radio. Charles Napier is a trucker hospitalized after an accident, with hilarious consequences.
Coast to Coast Madie is a neurotic, wealthy woman who escapes from a New York state mental hospital where her unwholesome husband had her committed to avoid the trial of a expensive divorce. Madie hitches a ride back to California with a certain Charles Callahan, a debt-ridden truck driver.
They Drive by Night By turns hard-nosed and ribald, They Drive by Night smashes through a vintage Warner Bros. yarn about truck drivers, the Depression, and one duplicitous dame. The opening reels are a forceful look at the dangerous lives of independent truckers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as brothers--Bogie in the supporting role, though he would soon eclipse Raft in Hollywood), battling the system and the economy.
Over the Top Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his ex-wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son doesn't think too highly of him until he enters the nation-wide arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas.
Black Dog An ex-con daredevil trucker (Patrick Swayze) must reinfect himself with white-line fever in order to save his wife and kid from nasty gunrunners in this enjoyable, twisted-metal-fest from the director of Passenger 57. Also stars Randy Travis, Meat Loaf, and a great soundtrack.
Sorcerer Outcasts of different backgrounds are forced by fortune to work in a remote oil drilling operation in South America. When fire breaks out of control the outcasts are given the opportunity to earn enough money to get out by transporting two crates of unstable dynamite through miles of jungle in ancient trucks in this taut thriller. One stunt features two trucks attempting to cross a rope bridge over a raging river.
Smokey and the Bandit Bandit and Cledus (Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed) are two truck-driving southerners who accept a dare from big-shots Big and Little Enos to pick up a truckload of beer from Texas and return it to them within a specified amount of time. Also stars Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice, who chases our heroes (in comical fashion) across state lines. Also the sequels: Smokey and the Bandit IISmokey & The Bandit 3 / MovieSmokey and the Bandit Pursuit Pack
Going to the Movies on the Road
Rotten Tomatoes is a great way to learn what all the critics in the country have to say about a movie you're interested in. In addition, you can quickly find showtimes and theater locations wherever you may be. Just enter your zip code into the following search box then click the GO button.
Kristofferson and MacGraw...ain't nothin' gonna get in their way! Truckers form a mile long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff...Based on the country song of same title by C.W. McCall.
Carrol Jo Hummer--A working man who's had enough! White Line Fever is one of the earliest and best films of the genre, because it's relatively low-key, and the traveling sequences feel true-to-life.
The story starts with a speed trap that catches a truck driver, who protests this rigged justice. This driver then disappears. His older brother shows up to search for him, and runs into trouble. There are plenty of fights, car chases, and action. Chuck Norris outfights dozens of opponents, a preview of his later TV series.
Stars Dennis Weaver as a mild-mannered traveling salesman who unintentionally angers the driver of a semi truck. Suddenly, the truck is not only riding his tail but trying to run him off the road. No matter what he does (pulling over, stopping at a diner, calling the cops), he can't get rid of it. Spielberg makes the wise decision of never showing the driver, even as he cranks the voltage on the film's suspense elements.
Trucker Clay Pfanner is on the verge of financial ruin. His truck is about to be repossesed and he sees no way out. So when his buddy K.W. comes up with a plan to haul some rustled cattle, Clay decides to take a chance.
1978 movie about two independent truck drivers (Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda) who fight off thugs who have been hired by the owner of a trucking outfit trying to put independent haulers out of business by hijacking and strong arming drivers.
This movie interlaces the stories of several characters in a small town united by their use of CB (citizen's band) radio. Paul LeMat is the local CB coordinator who has time for little else in his life. His father, Roberts Blossom is a sour old man who is nice on the radio. Charles Napier is a trucker hospitalized after an accident, with hilarious consequences.
Madie is a neurotic, wealthy woman who escapes from a New York state mental hospital where her unwholesome husband had her committed to avoid the trial of a expensive divorce. Madie hitches a ride back to California with a certain Charles Callahan, a debt-ridden truck driver.
By turns hard-nosed and ribald, They Drive by Night smashes through a vintage Warner Bros. yarn about truck drivers, the Depression, and one duplicitous dame. The opening reels are a forceful look at the dangerous lives of independent truckers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as brothers--Bogie in the supporting role, though he would soon eclipse Raft in Hollywood), battling the system and the economy.
Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his ex-wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son doesn't think too highly of him until he enters the nation-wide arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas.
An ex-con daredevil trucker (Patrick Swayze) must reinfect himself with white-line fever in order to save his wife and kid from nasty gunrunners in this enjoyable, twisted-metal-fest from the director of Passenger 57. Also stars Randy Travis, Meat Loaf, and a great 
Outcasts of different backgrounds are forced by fortune to work in a remote oil drilling operation in South America. When fire breaks out of control the outcasts are given the opportunity to earn enough money to get out by transporting two crates of unstable dynamite through miles of jungle in ancient trucks in this taut thriller. One stunt features two trucks attempting to cross a rope bridge over a raging river.
Bandit and Cledus (Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed) are two truck-driving southerners who accept a dare from big-shots Big and Little Enos to pick up a truckload of beer from Texas and return it to them within a specified amount of time. Also stars Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice, who chases our heroes (in comical fashion) across state lines. Also the sequels: 
