Steve McQueen was one of the great badasses of cinema. He was part of the Magnificent Seven. He made card players cool in The Cincinnati Kid. He was a sophisticated art thief in The Thomas Crown Affair. He tore up the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt. He made two movies with Sam Peckinpah: Junior Bonner and The Getaway. He set the screen and the skyline on fire in The Towering Inferno. Perhaps if you asked Steve McQueen what his favorite movie was, he might say the Oscar nominated documentary On Any Given Sunday. McQueen was a producer on the movie about motorcycles and part of the racers covered. Steve McQueen: Desert Racer (The Official Authorized Documentary) lets us know the the movie star didn’t pose on motorcycles to look tough.
Steve McQueen had always been a motorcycle rider from his pre-stardom days in New York City. He rode while living in Los Angeles. We learn how Steve McQueen got director John Sturges to put his character on a motorcycle in The Great Escape. He got his pal Bud Ekins hired to the motorcycle stunts on location in West Germany. During the film’s production, Ekins snuck off to the International Six Day Trials and won a gold medal. Then Ekins came back and performed the legendary fence jump. McQueen changed up his career and took the next year off to focus on the rugged competition in Europe. McQueen trained under Ekins and proved a quick and fearless study. Back in America, Steve and Ekins got into desert races. Even while making major movie, the actor would sneak off for the weekend to compete. Somehow he was able to keep his involvement in a dangerous activity from the studios.
Friends from that time go into detail about the special desert racing motorcycle that McQueen and Ekins developed for themselves. They replaced metal parts with lighter fiberglass including the gas tank. The guys who worked at the factory were delighted that McQueen was so knowledgeable about bikes. He was devoted to the sport. The special motorcycle was revived for fans and racers a few years ago. Steve McQueen: Desert Racer reminds us why Steve McQueen was the man in the ’60s and ’70s.
The Video is 1.78 anamorphic. The footage mixes archival shots of McQueen racing with recent interviews of McQueen’s friends. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. You’ll hear the roar of the bikes as they line up for the start. The movie is subtitled in English.
Trailer (1:40) gives us a sense of Steve McQueen’s passion for motorcycles.
Cardinal Releasing RDP Ltd and MVD Visual presents Steve McQueen: Desert Racer (The Official Authorized Documentary). Directed by Jon Brewer. Features Steve McQueen, Charley Boorman, Chad McQueen, Dave Ekins & Bobby Foxworth. Running Time: 49 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 26, 2025.
