Convoy (1978): This action film is quite possibly the most ’70s thing that has ever existed: a truck driving movie based on a novelty country song directed by Sam Peckinpah starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw (with a perm!). For a peek into the national psyche of the ’70s, look no further. Expanding C.W. McCall and Chip Davis’ trucking anthem into a feature length film, Peckinpah casts Kristofferson as a trucker (C.B. handle: “Rubber Duck”) who, along with his friends (“Pig Pen” and “Spider Mike”) are entrapped by a corrupt sheriff and decided to make a break for New Mexico. As the news spreads over the C.B. airwaves, truckers from all over the state join the convoy as a show of support, leading to an epic stand-off between the trucking industry and pretty much the entire Arizona police force.

Black Dog (1998): The trucking film trend arguably reached its apex (or nadir, depending on your point of view) at the end of its box office prominence with the Patrick Swayze vehicle Black Dog. About 25 years removed from the trucking films initial prominence, Black Dog sees Swayze play a trucker who’s tricked into delivering a load of illegal assault weapons by none other than hard rock crooner Meat Loaf, donning a villainous bolo tie for the full effect. Hijackings, high speed chases and Swayze’s patented form of fisticuffs ensue.

Through the ’80s and even into the ’90s, truck driving remained a box office draw. We’ll periodically be looking back at some of our favorite trucking films of that era, beginning with a classic piece of ’80s schlock-cinema.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986): In the 1980s, John Carpenter was the master of science-fiction, helming such classics as Escape from New York, The Thing and They Live. Right in the middle of the enviable run is Big Trouble in Little China, in which Carpenter’s frequent muse Kurt Russell stars as a truck driver who must save a kidnapped woman from a team of Chinatown bandits led by an honest to goodness ancient sorcerer. Though it was a box office bomb, the enjoyably over the top film has since become a cult classic on VHS and DVD.

Ever since the inception of the Transformers toy line in 1984, the leader of the white hat Autobots has been the giant, authoritative but just Optimus Prime, a sentient robot with the ability to transform into an ordinary-seeming semi truck. Thanks to a popular Saturday morning cartoon show, once the most popular method of marketing toys before it was discovered $300 million theatrical films were much more profitable, the Transformers were a huge hit for Hasbro, the American toy company behind the line. And the best selling toy was unquestionably Optimus Prime, the inconspicuous red and blue long-haul expedited shipping truck that became a fearsome robot fighter.

Over the years, Transformers have become a pop-culture institution, and Optimus Prime has popped up not only in the aforementioned statues and summer tent pole blockbusters, but also in comic books, video games and a 1986 animated film in which he was voiced by no less an authority than Orson Welles, director of the greatest film of all time (and at least a couple very good ones).

Incidentally, this was around the same time Hollywood became infatuated with truck drivers back in the States as well, releasing films like White Line Fever in 1975 and Breaker! Breaker! in 1977, but more on that strange fad another time.

Back in Japan, Dekotora took off on the back of the Truck Rascals films and the ostentatious trucks became a popular fad in and around Tokyo, where trucks became even more garish, not merely modifying the outside of the truck with murals, lights and neons, but even decorating the inside of the truck as well, outfitting it with wall paper, carpeting, home electronics and even chandeliers. Dekotora trucks became homes away from home for many overnight shipping drivers, not just a means of employment but a passion as well.