The Dodge Charger Deserves a Hollywood Star
Hollywood was a long tradition of putting cars and motorcycles in blockbuster movies. One of the most accomplished of those makes and models is the venerable Dodge Charger. From black and white classics to modern action franchises, Dodge’s most famous car has been there. Frankly, the Charger deserves a Hollywood star on the walk of fame.
The Dodge Charger is in which classic films?
The Dodge Charger has been in so many movies that it should have a Hollywood star to honor its not-so-silent contributions to cinema. Dodge’s unmistakable muscle car has screen time in Cannonball (1976), Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974), and of course, the Dukes of Hazzard franchise.
What is the most famous classic film chase with a Charger?
No one can argue that the car chase in the 1968 film Bullitt is not one of cinema’s most famous car scenes. The chase between San Francisco police officer Frank Bullitt and bad guys in their Dodge Charger is legendary. The only vehicle as beautifully classic as the 1968 Dodge Charger in the film is Steve McQueen’s (Frank Bullitt) own Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback.
In Bullitt, the filmmakers decided to keep the chase scene free of swelling music, so the only thing viewers would here are tires squealing and V8 baritones.
Is the Dodge Charger in all of the Fast and the Furious films?
You might be living under a rock if you haven’t seen a Dodge Charger in any of the nearly innumerable Fast franchise films. Since 2001, Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto has been associated with a 1970 Dodge Charger. Knock the films if you’d like; this might be the longest-running franchise connection between car and hero yet.
In the 2001 film, Toretto takes Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Connor aside and shows him an unsuspecting shed with a tarped car. Once he removes the cover, he monologues about the loss of his father and the Charger underneath. That car, however, is no simple bonding experience; it was a 900-horsepower 1970 Dodge Charger with a monstrous supercharger warning challengers.
Nine movies later, Toretto still builds resurrections of his beloved father-son project car. However, they aren’t all as true-to-form as the original car. Toretto builds several variants, including an off-road Charger that parachutes out of a cargo airplane.
Which car films should you watch?
If you haven’t seen any of the films above, you should start with Bullitt, as it is automotive royalty at this point. However, the famed chase is less than 10 minutes long, so be prepared to watch the entire movie. Hagerty recommends watching Furious 7 from the Fast franchise just to enjoy the bonkers off-road Charger.
In all seriousness, you can’t go wrong with any of the content listed here. The filmmakers chose the Dodge Charger because of its sinister physique and bellowing American V8 soundtrack. It is difficult to top that in movies, except perhaps the Ford Mustang or Volkswagen Beetle. We’re looking at you, Herbie.
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