Title poster for "Duel"

The holidays are afoot. And we’re all looking forward to some quality downtime, vegging with the spouse and kids in front of the TV. And don’t worry: when it’s your turn to choose a video, we’ve got your back. Below, todaystrucking.com presents the 10 Top Truck movies of all time, as chosen by us. Rather as chosen by Octavian Lacatusu, our self-acclaimed trucking-movie expert. They’re all in their own way cinematic milestones. Or something. Let us know what you think.

1. Duel (1971)

Perhaps one of the best (and earliest) road “ghost” stories to make it to the movie screen. The film starts with an altercation between a rusty 1960 Peterbilt tanker and the driver of a Plymouth Valiant, at first not really aware of who (or maybe, what) he’s dealing with. It soon leads to a desert-wide game of cat-and-mouse. Based on a true story, Duel was actually kind of believable; telegraphing the message: “you never know who you’re dealing with on the road.” And although you never really see the driver of the ancient Pete, we somehow know he’s there, clutching and braking, steering sheer terror into the heart of his sedan-driving opponent.

Check out one of the scenes here. 

Book cover

2. Maximum Overdrive (1986)

After a rogue comet passes Earth, strange things begin to happen. Inanimate objects (including a vending machine) come to life and attack humans at random. In the ensuing chaos of assaulting machinery, a group of humans get trapped in a truck stop, fighting off a fleet of autonomous trucks, carefully led by the trucks’ mastermind, “The Green Goblin”. One of Stephen King’s directorial efforts of his own book, Maximum Overdrive doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet it is strangely entertaining.

See the Goblin for yourself here. 

Original poster

3. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Truck driver Jack Burton (played by Kurt Russell) finds himself in a strange and mysterious world beneath Chinatown, fighting monsters, ghouls and lots of other bizarre creatures along the way to rescue a damsel in distress. Though we don’t see much of Burton’s truck, there’s plenty of martial-arts action and comedy to make up for it.

Check the trailer out here.