The 8 Best Movies Featuring the Dodge Charger

Over the years, the Dodge Charger has built quite a reputation for itself as one of the baddest muscle cars around.

Part of that is thanks to its extensive movie career. From highway cruising to high speed chases, the Charger’s burly looks and rowdy performance allow it to make a statement on screen.

Just see for yourself. Here’s a list of the Charger’s best movie appearances.

1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 in Bullitt (1968)

In this heated cop drama, Steve McQueen plays Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco police officer who has been charged with protecting a witness for 48 hours until it’s time for him to testify.

However, the plot quickly thickens wen a couple of hit men who manage to take out another officer and seriously wound the witness.

Steve McQueen is then bent on tracking down the bad guys in his Mustang, but the chase proves to be an epic one since the suspects are driving a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T.

According to Allpar.com, the cars actually hit speeds of up to 110 miles per hour during the chase scene.

Though the outcome would likely have been different in real life, McQueen did ultimately pin down the Charger because, well come on, it’s Steve McQueen.

But Bullitt set the trend for many films with Charger-driving bad guys to come.

1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 in Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

In this wacky film, Crazy Larry is played by Peter Fonda, and his dream is to become a NASCAR driver. However, he needs to get enough cash together for his racing team to take off.

He decides the best way to handle the situation is to rob a supermarket and hit the road, but little does he know that a girl he had a one-night stand with, Dirty Mary, is hiding in the car.

As the scenario progresses, they end up stealing a 1969 Dodge Charger, and that’s when things get really wild. Thanks to the Charger R/T, they continue to stay one step ahead of the police cars and helicopter.

But unfortunately, the one nemesis they can’t beat is the freight train they run into near the end of the movie.

1968 Dodge Charger in Christine  (1983)

Though this Stephen King thriller is best known for its leading red Plymouth Fury named Christine, a Dodge Charger also plays a significant role in the movie version.

The main character, Arnie, who goes on to become obsessed with Christine, first sees the car while driving around with his friend Dennis in a blue Charger.

There is still some debate about whether it was a ’68 or a ’69, and there have also been recent investigations into what happened to the used Dodge Charger after the movie was finished.

1970 Dodge Charger R/T in The Fast and the Furious (2001)

The Fast and the Furious features one of the most menacing Chargers ever filmed. This Charger is so bad that Vin Diesel, who plays a high level gang member named Dominic Toretto, won’t even drive it.

Dom explains to Paul Walker, who plays an undercover cop named Brian O’Connor, that the car just has too much power.

In a showdown between the two men, Dom overcomes his fear of the Charger and races in it, but the car nearly rips itself apart because of the massive amounts of torque it produces.

Ultimately, the he and Brian both finish the race, but of course, Dom crashes into a truck at the very end, destroying the Charger and severely injuring himself.

Wait for it; there’s one more plot twist. Though the Charger is no more, Brian gives Dom his car and sends him on his merry way. What a guy.

1967 Dodge Charger in Big Fish (2003)

In Big Fish, William Bloom tries to unravel his dying father Edward’s fantastical stories to determine which ones are real and which ones are just myths.

Throughout the film, a number of Edward Bloom’s life experiences are revisited. In several scenes, his adventures involve him driving a red 1967 Dodge Charger.

In one part of the movie, Edward and the car are even submerged under water after flash flooding from a rain storm. And in the morning, when he wakes up, his Charger is hanging from the top of a tree.

The sharp-looking fastback plays is the perfect match for Edward’s rather wild and sensational life story.

1969 Dodge Charger in Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

For many people, the Charger’s most memorable performance was as General Lee on the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.

Throughout the seven years that the series ran for, over 300 Chargers were used. Many were smashed up as part of the stunts, and watching some episodes is enough to make muscle car lovers cringe.

But everyone was happy to see the iconic car return for the Dukes of Hazzard film in 2005. Several ’68 and ’70 models were dressed up to look like the 1969 iteration of the Charger specifically for the movie.

Though the two cousins, Bo and Luke Duke are constantly getting into trouble with the law, their Charger, General Lee, always seems to help them escape when they’re on the run.

1969 Dodge Charger in Death Proof (2007)

In this psychological thriller that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, a crazy stunt man named Mike (Kurt Russell) stalks attractive young women and then kills them by crashing his “death proof” stunt car into theirs.

Tarantino was inspired to make the movie after learning about how stunt men modify their vehicles so they can walk away from horrifying crashes.

And since he was looking for a car that could handle just about anything, it makes total sense that he chose a 1969 Charger.

The muscle car in the movie is painted black and has a skull on the hood to make it look even more intimidating.

If you’re hankering for an extreme car chase, Death Proof can definitely deliver. But be warned that it also serves up a serious amount of gore.

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

By the sixth leg of the Fast and Furious journey, twelve years have passed, Toretto and his gang have become highly skilled heisters, and they’re all filthy rich thanks to a recent job in Rio.

However, money can’t buy you love, and several of the characters are feeling unfulfilled. Just in time, they are recruited to help take on an even more threatening group of bad guys. And Dom knows just the car for the job.

Ready for a street race, he shows up in a 430-horsepower Charger Daytona, one of seven models that were specially created for different scenes in the film.

There’s plenty of racing action, and spoiler alert, only three of the tailored Charger Daytonas made it through filming.

The cars you see in the movie are not exactly true to the original Charger Daytona which was modified specifically for racing back in the day.

The version that Dom drives had to be adjusted so it could work in the film. Though it still looks Daytona-ish, the nose was shortened, the rear wing was lowered, fixed headlights were used, and it was set on 18-inch wheels.