Have you run out of episodes of “Ozark” and “Tiger King”? During this stay-at-home, binge-watching boom, why not tune in to all things wheels, wings and rudders? You know, planes, trains and automobiles — and boats.
Let’s roll these out in alphabetical order:
“Air Force One” — Harrison Ford is the president (hooray!) and radicals try to mess with him.
“Airplane!” — Surely you’ve seen this, but it’s worth another go. We all need a good laugh.
“Airport” — There’s a bomb on a plane in this 1970 movie that set off a slew of disaster movies that all may or may not have starred George Kennedy.
“Alien” — Sigourney Weaver is a badass in this scary story set on a commercial spaceship.
“Always” — A dead pilot mentors a newbie. It’s kind of like “Ghost” with a plane.
“American Graffiti” — Suzanne Somers plays Blonde in T-Bird, and either she or the car steals the show.
“Breaker! Breaker!” — Chuck Norris is a truck driver searching for his missing brother.
“Bus Stop” — This movie has nothing to do with buses, but it stars Marilyn Monroe so who cares?
“Car Wash” — Can you believe this is a Golden Globe-nominated film? (It was nominated for best original song. Now it’s stuck in your head, isn’t it?)
“Chain Lightning” — Humphrey Bogart is offered a job as a test pilot.
“Chariots of Fire” — We know, there aren’t actually any chariots in this movie. But feet get us from place to place, right?
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — With another theme song that will get stuck in your head, this movie stars a car that could fly.
“Christine” — This car can’t fly, so it kills instead.
“Convoy” — Kris Kristofferson and his tractor-trailer star in this 1978 drama based on C.W. McCall’s song of the same name.
“Corvette Summer” — Bless his heart, Mark Hamill tried to expand his world beyond “Star Wars.”
“Crimson Tide” — Denzel Washington stages a mutiny on a nuclear missile sub led by a trigger-happy Gene Hackman.
“Das Boot” — Prepare to feel claustrophobic on this World War II German U-boat. And be sure to watch with surround sound so you hear the dripping all around you.
“Easy Rider” — We had to include a motorcycle movie, and this one, with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, is great.
“Every Which Way but Loose” — Clint Eastwood is a trucker who fights people and drives around with his pet orangutan, Clyde.
“Executive Decision” — Terrorists take control of an airliner and Kurt Russell is the hero.
“Fantastic Voyage” — Raquel Welch wears a very form-fitting uniform to travel through a person’s bloodstream in a tiny submarine.
“Flight of the Phoenix” — Plane crash survivors work together in the desert to build a new plane to get them out of there.
“Gone in 60 Seconds” — Nicolas Cage has to steal 50 cars in one night to save his brother’s life.
“High-Ballin’” — Jerry Reed is a truck driver fighting off thugs.
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” — For some reason, Spencer Tracy agreed to appear in this comedy about a cross-country race for a stash of loot. Joining Tracy are everyone from Milton Berle to Buddy Hackett to Ethel Merman.
“Jaws” — We’re all gonna need a bigger boat.
“Lifeboat” — Alfred Hitchcock directed this adaptation of a John Steinbeck story about survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship.
“Life of Pi” — A castaway forms a connection with a Bengal tiger.
“Mission: Impossible” — A speeding train and helicopter feature prominently in the 1996 Tom Cruise movie that spawned a whole bunch of missions.
“Moby Dick” — Patrick Stewart portrays Captain Ahab in the 1998 adaptation of the long Herman Melville whaling book English majors are forced to read.
“Murder on the Orient Express” — Choose the 1974 version directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman.
“Mutiny on the Bounty” — Watch Clark Gable’s take on the story of a tyrannical ship captain who exacts revenge on his crew.
“National Lampoon’s Vacation” — While the Griswolds’ car only plays a supporting role, the film centers on the (nightmare) family road trip.
“Night Train to Munich” — This is a WWII spy flick with a Czech inventor as the prey.
“Night Train to Venice” — How come nobody ever takes a day train to Peoria?
“Out of Africa” — There’s a plane crash. More importantly, it stars a hunky Robert Redford so it makes the list.
“Overboard” — Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and a case of amnesia in the Garry Marshall-directed film.
“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” — Instead of that awesome red bike, the wheels to look for belong to Large Marge’s big rig.
“Pirates of the Caribbean” — Johnny Depp is a pirate in this film and a bounty of others.
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” — Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy star in this 1987 comedy about trying to get home for Thanksgiving.
“PT 109” — Lt. John F. Kennedy (Cliff Robertson) takes command to fight the Japanese during World War II.
“Runaway Train” — A couple of convicts are trapped on a train with no brakes and no engineer.
“Ship of Fools” — Passengers, including Vivien Leigh, Jose Ferrer and Lee Marvin, board a ship bound for pre-WWII Germany.
“Smokey and the Bandit” — Starring a Trans-Am, CB radios and Burt Reynolds’ mustache, this movie will get you fired up for “Smokey and the Bandit II,” “Smokey and the Bandit Part 3,” “Stroker Ace” and “White Lightning.”
“Soul Plane” — Snoop Dogg is an airline captain sipping gin and juice.
“Speed” — Sandra Bullock is on a city bus with a bomb and Keanu Reeves has to save the day. Watch “Speed 2” if you must.
“Strange Cargo” — Clark Gable and Joan Crawford encounter a mysterious character who turns everything around.
“Strangers on a Train” — You’ve got to see this Hitchcock classic.
“The African Queen” — Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn star as a riverboat captain and a missionary during WWI.
“The Aviator” — Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Howard Hughes in his pre-creepy recluse days.
“The Caine Mutiny” — A Navy captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes his ship and its crew.
“The Cannonball Run” — Nearly every star of the 1970s, from Burt Reynolds to Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise and Sammy Davis Jr., is in this romp about a cross-country road race. Skip the sequel and move on to something far deeper (i.e., “Das Boot”).
“The Deep” — Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte discover the secret cargo of a WWII shipwreck. This story may not even be as deep as the plot in “The Cannonball Run.”
“The Fast and the Furious” — Perhaps one could ride out the pandemic with the entire Vin Diesel series. Me? I’d speed through them.
“The Great Train Robbery” — Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland want to rob a moving train in Victorian England.
“The Gumball Rally” — It’s another wild and illegal cross-country road race, but Burt Reynolds isn’t in this one.
“Thelma and Louise” — Two women escape good-for-nothing men and hit the road.
“The Long, Long Trailer” — A classic with Lucy and Desi on their honeymoon pulling a trailer filled with rocks.
“The Love Bug” — Who doesn’t love a VW with a playful personality? Watch “Herbie Rides Again,” “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” and even “Herbie Goes Bananas” and put the brakes on starting Lindsay Lohan’s “Herbie Fully Loaded.”
“The Perfect Storm” — George Clooney. Enough said.
“The Poseidon Adventure” — We should all be singing the theme song “The Morning After.”
“The Runaway Bus” — There’s a fogged-in Heathrow, a bad guy and a bus.
“The Spirit of St. Louis” — Jimmy Stewart as Charles Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic.
“The Train” — Stolen French art treasures are loaded on a train to be sent to Germany during WWII.
“The Train Robbers” — John Wayne wears a big hat and carries a big rifle to find some stolen gold that belongs to Ann-Margret.
“Throw Momma from the Train” — Everybody wants this mean momma tossed off the train.
“Titanic” — You didn’t think we’d forget this one, did you?
“Top gun” — Ditto.
Copy editor Steve Barrett contributed to this compilation.
