Snake45 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Re-watched Days of Thunder yesterday, for the first time since it was on HBO, what, 30 or so years ago? It was just as bad as I'd remembered. There's not a scene in the movie that's not absolutely preposterous. Still, Cruise and Robert Duvall do their best to pull off the ridiculous tale. Randy Quaid and Fred Thompson were fun to see, too. The only way to enjoy this movie is...just as a fantasy movie, akin to science fiction...or maybe a live-action Road Runner cartoon. Bad as it was, and even knowing how it ends, my eyes were a little misty at the happy ending. Not realistic at all, but it's still a good story well told. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Haven't watched it in a long time but your description is as I remember it. The one thing that sticks in my mind was the cars looked like they drove through a mud bog. Never understood the point of making those cars look that dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Despite the questionable acting and story line there were some interesting components in the making of this movie. I'm thinking about the "Race Cars" that the story was about. Many of the scenes with the cars in racing scenes were actual NASCAR events. They did use a lot of real race footage. The cars were prepared by Hendrich Motor Sports and had to qualify each time to get into the race. I think that they had agreed to stay out of the way of anyone really going for the front of the pack and as I recall they would pull out of the race long before it was over so as not to interfere with the race itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitchdup Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 I read or saw somewhere the hire car scene really happened. I just cant remember who the drivers were. It was either on dales race track show or one of the more recent racing documentaries. For some reason I'm thinking it was the black driver from the mid to late 80s that entered the indy 500 with a untested outdated car that kept blowing the buick engine and was hated by rousch for switching teams in imsa. I'm terrible with names but think it was him and his team mate at a previous team. I think the red roof inn hotel guy might have been one of the racers sponsors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Talladega Nights (The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) on the other hand, was almost a documentary........ 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Brian Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 I live just outside Charlotte, NC and the filming of Days of Thunder was a huge deal when I was a kid. The local news was at Charlotte Motor Speedway every day giving updates on what Tom Cruise was doing each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Nicole. Keep the rest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCostello Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 C'mon, don't all the NASCAR teams build their cars in a barn? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 17 minutes ago, RichCostello said: C'mon, don't all the NASCAR teams build their cars in a barn? That idea may date back to when they also hulled spirits as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 5 minutes ago, espo said: That idea may date back to when they also hauled spirits as well. Liquid ghosts of NASCAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Days of Thunder is a completely over the top, unrealistic, and completely ridiculous movie. The acting is terrible, the story is even worse. And I love it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrenchr Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Get in the car Cole!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 It was a big deal at the time. Also made a pile of money for Monogram by popularizing all those stock car kits. Got me back into the hobby after a 30 year absence. I built a ton of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSheep214 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 While I never saw Days of Thunder because of the horrible reviews back then, watch Trading Paint on Netflix. Pretty good if you like super modified dirt track racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) Never saw it, but did win a set of the three kits at an MCCA convention (Dayton, Ohio, if I remember right). There was a board with something like 25 parts from model car kits. I was able to ID more of them than anyone else. I think I got something like 23 right. The parts were all over the place, too: new, old, domestic, foreign, stock, custom, show car, drag car. I figured I'd be in the running, thought maybe I'd get about half of them right. The kits weren't in general release yet. I'm not sure the movie had opened yet. One NASCAR fanatic offered me $20 apiece for them before the day ended, and I took it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get that much for any of them since. Since then, someone gave me a little cardboard thing with the Days of Thunder logo, that would be tucked in between the bottom row of kits on a hobby shop shelf, and hang over the shelf. Haven't got the kits to go with it though! Edited August 18, 2022 by Mark Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 52 minutes ago, Mark said: Never saw it, but did win a set of the three kits at an MCCA convention (Dayton, Ohio, if I remember right). There was a board with something like 25 parts from model car kits. I was able to ID more of them than anyone else. I think I got something like 23 right. The parts were all over the place, too: new, old, domestic, foreign, stock, custom, show car, drag car. I figured I'd be in the running, thought maybe I'd get about half of them right. The kits weren't in general release yet. I'm not sure the movie had opened yet. One NASCAR fanatic offered me $20 apiece for them before the day ended, and I took it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get that much for any of them since. Since then, someone gave me a little cardboard thing with the Days of Thunder logo, that would be tucked in between the bottom row of kits on a hobby shop shelf, and hang over the shelf. Haven't got the kits to go with it though! I had bought all of these kits when first released. In fact, I had a couple of duplicates. I only remember starting one when life went through a few changes and by the time I could get back to them they just weren't as interesting as they once were. Sold them a few years ago and with inflation I did get my money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64Comet404 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 11:49 AM, stitchdup said: I read or saw somewhere the hire car scene really happened. I just cant remember who the drivers were. It was either on dales race track show or one of the more recent racing documentaries. For some reason I'm thinking it was the black driver from the mid to late 80s that entered the indy 500 with a untested outdated car that kept blowing the buick engine and was hated by rousch for switching teams in imsa. I'm terrible with names but think it was him and his team mate at a previous team. I think the red roof inn hotel guy might have been one of the racers sponsors. Most of the events from Days of Thunder were based on actual events, but then warped out of proportion. The original rental car story was between Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly, though I'm sure it has been replayed by others over the decades. The meeting between the team owners and the head of NASCAR was based on an incident between Rick Hendrick and another owner. The scene where Cole threatens to crack the other driver over the head to relieve the pressure is (very loosely) based on a conversation between Dr. Jerry Punch and Buddy Baker. Can anyone here add to the list of scenes based on real events? Let's see how many we can come up with! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Hot girl trackside. Lol. Ubiquitous always a real life story too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webestang Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 That's why I watch this NASCAR movie...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_American_Hero FAR superior to Days of Blunder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 How does it compare to Stroker Ace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 I watched days of thunder when it was still in theaters and I thought it was great then! Nicole was hot. I was working 2 jobs 1 was at Hardee’s other my factory job. I was 25… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Days of Thunder,..........nice bit of fantasy watching! Dropping a gear doing over a hundred and the gearbox not exploding? Sheer movie hokum! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldmopars Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 On 8/19/2022 at 10:51 PM, Oldcarfan27 said: How does it compare to Stroker Ace? Same, pure fantasy, but a fun movie to watch. Assume everything is fake or wrong and just enjoy it for the entertainment value and you will like it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Thought days of thunder was a fun movie. A typical Tom Cruise movie which never are known for great acting. In my opinion Tom Cruise never immerses himself to being the character he is playing, rather it is always Tom Cruise being that character role. The better actors become the part they are playing and not themselves playing the part. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Days of Thunder currently not available on any of the streaming services. And that's why we still have a membership in our town's last remaining movie rental place! Picked it up last night, week long rental for $2. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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