Curated by the NZ On Screen Team
It seems a fascination with going fast is built into human DNA. Covering distance in the shortest amount of time has long captured our imagination. From muscle-powered freaks of nature (thoroughbred horses, falcons, Peter Snell) to motorhead mayhem, from Formula 1 legends to front-running design innovation, this collection celebrates the particularly Kiwi 'need for speed'.
This documentary uses archive footage and interviews to tell the story of motor-racing legends Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, and Chris Amon. The trio topped podiums in the sport's 'golden age' - one of those eras when unlikely Kiwi talent managed to dominate a truly global sport.
This NFU classic tells Peter Snell's story up to just prior to his famous double-gold triumph at the Tokyo Olympics. Snell's commentary - candid, focused - plays over beautifully shot footage of him training (in the Waiatarua hills, through bush and leaping farm fences) and racing.
The far out meets the Far North in director Florian Habicht's tribute to a community of characters drawn together by a desire to demolition derby. Behind the bangs, prangs, and blow-ups, the heart and soul of a small town - Kaikohe - is laid bare.
"For three days, Wellington, New Zealand will become the Monte Carlo of the South Pacific". Monaco Monza Macao Wellington follows a champion saloon car team (BMW Schnitzer M3) racing in 1989's Nissan Mobil 500 Wellington street race.
During the late 1980s, Kiwi inventor John Britten developed and built a revolutionary racing motorcycle. In 1992, at Daytona International Speedway, the motorcycle maverick proceeded to beat the biggest and richest manufacturers in the world.
Champion speedway driver Ivan Mauger powered and slid his motorbike around oval tracks to a record six individual world speedway titles from 1968-79. This documentary tells his story; his focus on winning comes through, "if you show me a good loser you show me someone who consistently loses".
Director Roger Donaldson's homecoming film is the incredible true story of how a crusty old curmudgeon from Invercargill took his home engineered hot rod motorbike to America, and won a land speed record. Variety described it as "like a geriatric Rocky on wheels", which about sums it up!
A Kaitaia-to-Invercargill dash in a stolen yellow mini, with the cops in pursuit, is the famous plot line of this original Kiwi blockbuster. The lads eluded the police with hair-raising driving, verve and trickery and it wasn't long before the 'Blondini gang' became hailed as folk heroes, on-screen and off.
In this Michael Firth feature, a bunch of extreme thrill-seekers throw themselves off volcanoes, glaciers, mountains and into an Iron Man race with "get more go" abandon. Notable for its Stuart Dryburgh-shot action sequences (set to an 80s pop soundtrack) and Billy T James as a mad pilot.
Made when racing could be described as our "national sport" this documentary looks at racehorse breeding in NZ, an industry appraised as producing "the world's finest racing thoroughbreds" (e.g. 1966 Melbourne Cup winner Galilee).
In this Roger Donaldson-directed classic, Al Shaw (a brilliant, brooding Bruno Lawrence) is a racing car driver who now runs a wrecker's yard under Mount Ruapehu. Shaw finds release from Man Alone melancholy and his estranged wife through some fast and furious driving and dubious train-track parking.
Back of the Y pranksters Chris Stapp and Matt Heath's adept manipulation of miniatures with real-life racing cars, combines with aloof performances from the band in a speed-fuelled music video. Drink driving and police chases add to the tongue-in-cheek anti-establishmentarianism.
This 1949 Weekly Review features a speedboat and hydroplane regatta in Evans Bay, in a stiff northerly as boats capsize in the choppy seas; and also features the inter-provincial rowing eights on a flat-as-a-millpond Petone foreshore on the other side of Wellington Harbour.
Broadcaster Robert Rakete explores his love for speed and the legacy of flying Kiwis who, "lived to race, to go faster, to win." Read More >
... on speed: "for months afterwards, every time I was on a plane it felt as though it was not going fast enough to take off." Read More >
Is there a classic title celebrating Kiwis and speed that we've missed? Suggest a title you'd like to see here.
We would like to thank Matt Herring for allowing use of his speedway banner image, courtesy of Creative Commons.
Best Entertainment Website
Finalist – Website design
Qantas Media Awards 2009
NZ ON SCREEN 2010
This website has been made with funding from NZ ON AIR ›
