By William Byrd
If you ever found yourself wondering, what’s the best movie that featured a Mustang, you’re in luck. With the whole Mustang development and promotion team sitting at home like the rest of us, they picked their top ten favorites. Here they are.
Bullitt
Two identical 1968 Mustang GT Fastbacks were used in the filming of the classic Warner Bros. movie “Bullitt” that debuted in theaters on Oct. 17, 1968. Ford revived the iconic nameplate as the 2019 Mustang Bullitt at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
John Wick
When it comes to explosive badass assassin movies, the John Wick series is one of the best of the modern era. Enter the 1969 Mustang Mach 1, a car that matches Wick’s quick-tempered reputation for swift and decisive action.
Goldfinger
This classic 1964 James Bond movie was the first major motion picture to feature the pony car although Tilly Masterson’s 1964 Ford Mustang meets an unfortunate ending.
Gone in 60 Seconds
For the 2000 remake of the original 1974 film, starring Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie, the part of Eleanor was ‘played’ by a 1967 Shelby GT500. Seven Eleanor replicas were created for production, with five being totaled during stunt sequences.
I Am Legend
Will Smith’s character Robert Neville chose a supercharged red 2007 Mustang Shelby GT500 as his companion (plus his dog) in their fight for survival.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
A 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback takes on a rival car in the final climactic mountain race in the third installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.
Diamonds are Forever
Bond, James Bond, puts a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 through its paces as a getaway car in a memorable chase sequence through Las Vegas, escaping through an alleyway on two wheels. The stunt was performed by legendary stuntman Bill Hickman.
Transformers
This 2005 Mustang was built specially by Saleen and prepped by DreamWorks SKG for the movie. Before being turned into the rolling evil Decepticon known as Barricade, the car started life as a Saleen S281 Extreme with a 4.6-liter V8 and five-speed shifter.
Grand Prix
Featuring a 1966 Shelby GT350H, American acting favorite James Garner plays American Formula 1 driver Pete Aron in director John Frankenheimer’s landmark film about F1 racing.
War of the Worlds
The 1966 Shelby GT350H driven by Tom Cruise in director Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film is considered by many auto enthusiasts to be the best part of this particular movie.
So that is the Mustang team’s picks, not sure if they were in any particular order. What are some of your favorites? And I swear to the holy pony gods, if you post idiots leaving cars and coffee, I’ll burn this whole place down.
Jeff Glucker
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/B3JTG9/a-day-at-the-races-1937-mgm-film-with-the-marx-brothers-B3JTG9.jpg
(sorry, but I had to do it. I’ll go now)
Here’s a random one that popped into my brain!
Basic Instinct! (Image of Michael Douglas and his 5.0 Fox Body went away…)
This both Need For Speed and Thomas Crowne Affair (the Pierce Brosnan remake) erasure.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/B3JTG9/a-day-at-the-races-1937-mgm-film-with-the-marx-brothers-B3JTG9.jpg
(sorry, but I had to do it. I’ll go now)
I started at the top of a list of the 100 greatest movies of all time, and cross-checked against IMCDB (skipping obvious misses filmed pre-1964, like Wizard of Oz or Citizen Cane, or set where Mustangs wouldn’t exist, like Star Wars or Schindler’s List) until I found a movie with a Mustang in it. That movie is Goodfellas.
https://www.imcdb.org/i087976.jpg
Science, I applaud the approach.
I mentioned Citizen Cane, and you applauded the approach without using this?
https://media3.giphy.com/media/UTT6QbG4EPOIE/giphy.gif
Haha, I thought words were sufficient, but, yes, on point.
Damn fine work!
I really wanted to be able to use the street-parked ’65 briefly glimpsed in American Beauty, but alas, the film was about a dozen slots lower than Goodfellas.
https://www.imcdb.org/i858277.jpg
I’d be curious to see the same methodology used, but restricted to just Mustangs used prominently (3-Star or greater by IMCDB definitions), but salute your result.
Airplane! had a 3-star stang. It was the only 3 or above Mustang in any of the listed movies.
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_16623-Ford-Mustang-1966.html
http://pics.imcdb.org/0is14/30m000127c42.3387.jpg
While by no means a great movie (funny enough, hugely misanthropic), I liked the opening scene in 30 Minutes or Less. I was an aimless rust belt pizza delivery boy. It hit close to home (although I had about a quarter of the horsepower of a rough Fox Body to work with).
http://imcdb.org/i002200.jpg
Also, points to Starman for being one of the few decent movies to prominently feature a Mustang II.
This pandemic lockdown is obviously getting to me, because that Mustang II looks borderline-appealing (maybe it’s the color?). I’m deliberately avoiding opening a window for a Craigslist search…
The halo effect of Karen Allen?
There was no Mustang cult without Steve McQueen, so the answer is obvious.
Yeah. He’s also the main reason everybody rides dirt bikes, too. I’m pretty sure Graham Jarvis can name every Steve McQueen movie.
No SUV cult without him, either.
https://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/the-blob-1958-starring-steve-mcqueen_100528749_l.jpg
When I think McQueen, I think Mustang, but not the other way around. Bullitt was an awful movie apart from the car chases. The writing is garbage, the plot is weak, and McQueen’s acting was flat. On a personal level, he was misogynistic, abusive, and selfish, with a “FU” attitude that apparently some people appreciate, but I don’t. Mustangs are cool, but McQueen was a dick. Not an idol of mine.
There’s no way Gone in 60 Seconds is a better movie (from a Hoon’s point of view, anyway; the racism in the 1974 movie always ruins it for me) than the original Gone in Sixty Seconds. How could you even mention it? This was the low-budget, DIY, backyard mechanic, working class, pre-CGI, no Hollywood superstar, no safety net, virtually plot-free movie.
Do you know how many Mopars were destroyed by Eleanor in that 45 minute chase scene?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2529b0be1bf4cb1047666f1d358e1b60c212678bf136a58815c35798dedcbda3.jpg
“Do you know how many Mopars were destroyed by Eleanor in that 45 minute chase scene?”
Not that many actually. It only looks like about 14 Mopars get wrecked if you count the civilian cars as well as cop cars. The rest of the wrecks are of other makes. Maybe you were thinking of the Blues Brothers for the most wrecked Mopars?
Here’s a random one that popped into my brain!
Basic Instinct! (Image of Michael Douglas and his 5.0 Fox Body went away…)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e8d880d75190d3d29f5f61e359136c887cd0f446b4a158fa06458fb7c3da3465.jpg
As an impressionable 16 year old in 1992 I’m amazed I remembered anything non vagina-related.
Rosen fur der Statsanwalt (roses for the prosecutor) is the only movie in the IMCDB with a Krupp Mustang
https://www.imcdb.org/i229645.jpg
Plus at least one appearance in the TV series FernFahrer
https://www.imcdb.org/i206759.jpg
1960s French romance/car racing movie by Claude Lelouch (also of “Rendezvous” fame), “Un homme et une Femme” (A Man and a Woman”). Lots of Mustang footage, plus GT40 testing, LeMans, etc. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0920771f757495d81665b428a1c1b1ae7b1a4dd2b0c73540cdb98ff1ba3d36f8.jpg
And while we’re at it, it’s nowhere near a fave, but the early 90s 5.0 LX convertible in the early 90s action-y/romance flick, “I Love Trouble”, with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte looks good and gets some speedy, chasey, hydroplaney time. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7410bd9c8d6cff33af890244eb3ec8bf95a45bb2a62158e404f30595377e6f43.jpg
While not a big hit with the general public, I’m sure that I’m not the only one around here with an appreciation for Hooper. With a ’69 Mach 1. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9ae916ecc5c7e51220b7114f2f971c20264f0e518a21c2ee17bb2acbe51e8c5e.jpg