Post by donsking on May 23, 2007 21:51:08 GMT
After reading Rob's reference to 'Grand Prix' on the Rindt thread, I felt I could fill a whole thread with my admiration for that (and many other) racing related films, so I thought I'd better start one. ;D
So, let's start with the Daddy of all racing films, the aforementioned 'Grand Prix'...............
Directed and co-written by John Frankenheimer, haunting soundtrack by Maurice Jarre, the whole concept of a film involving real racing footage intercut with staged stuff that Frankenheimer refused to film at low speed and speed up, what could be better?
For the geeks (like me!)..........
Casting someone other than Brian Bedford in a lead role might've been a good idea; he couldn't drive, so that's why his face is hidden by a nomex scarf and/or dark goggles in the real time driving sequences, but the fact that he looked so much like Jim Clark probably won him the part (although Jim couldn't take much part in the film, as he was contracted to the other film company that wanted to make a racing film, that movie eventually became Steve McQueen's dialogue free epic, 'Le Mans').
James Garner enjoyed and excelled at his training so much that he did all of his driving sequences himself (as he did throughout the rest of his career) and was no mean racer (I believe he teamed up successfully with another celeb racer, Paul Newman, on a number of occasions; check out Newman's racing movie 'Winning' for another classic); watch out for the final moments, when Garner sports a scar on his neck from the scene he filmed in a burning car that he didn't get out of quite quickly enough!
Yves Montand started well, but apparently shat himself when he had a high speed spin, so they rigged up a car towed behind a GT40 at 130mph for the rest of the film.................and that wouldn't be at all scary!!!!
Also, look out for his helmet colours inexplicably changing from John Surtees' (character name Jean-Pierre Sarti, see what they did there?!) to Mike Parkes', which coincided with Big John walking away from Ferrari mid-season.
Other highlights for the anoraks include the F3 cars mocked up to look like their F1 counterparts (they didn't have the power to light up the F1 tyres in the required fashion, so the tyres were covered in water or Coke for the start sequences), the lack of engine when they drag Pete Aron's car out of Monaco harbour, and the stream of white smoke from the explosive gas canister they used to fire Scott Stoddard's car up the wall.
For the non geeks.............
Motor racing films don't get any better than this.
If you want a film that captures the atmosphere of racing before corporate sponsors, before telephone number budgets and before traction control, aero packages, clutchless gearboxes and all seeing telemetry, watch this.
It's racing, pure and simple, and it has the added bonus of having a background cast that was a veritable who's who of drivers from the Golden Age of F1.
Sod the fact that the plot's pretty thin and the script could've been knocked up on a napkin down the cafe.
If you're into F1 and haven't seen this film at least 3 or 4 times, you haven't lived!
Anyway, that's my favourite, what's yours?
So, let's start with the Daddy of all racing films, the aforementioned 'Grand Prix'...............
Directed and co-written by John Frankenheimer, haunting soundtrack by Maurice Jarre, the whole concept of a film involving real racing footage intercut with staged stuff that Frankenheimer refused to film at low speed and speed up, what could be better?
For the geeks (like me!)..........
Casting someone other than Brian Bedford in a lead role might've been a good idea; he couldn't drive, so that's why his face is hidden by a nomex scarf and/or dark goggles in the real time driving sequences, but the fact that he looked so much like Jim Clark probably won him the part (although Jim couldn't take much part in the film, as he was contracted to the other film company that wanted to make a racing film, that movie eventually became Steve McQueen's dialogue free epic, 'Le Mans').
James Garner enjoyed and excelled at his training so much that he did all of his driving sequences himself (as he did throughout the rest of his career) and was no mean racer (I believe he teamed up successfully with another celeb racer, Paul Newman, on a number of occasions; check out Newman's racing movie 'Winning' for another classic); watch out for the final moments, when Garner sports a scar on his neck from the scene he filmed in a burning car that he didn't get out of quite quickly enough!
Yves Montand started well, but apparently shat himself when he had a high speed spin, so they rigged up a car towed behind a GT40 at 130mph for the rest of the film.................and that wouldn't be at all scary!!!!
Also, look out for his helmet colours inexplicably changing from John Surtees' (character name Jean-Pierre Sarti, see what they did there?!) to Mike Parkes', which coincided with Big John walking away from Ferrari mid-season.
Other highlights for the anoraks include the F3 cars mocked up to look like their F1 counterparts (they didn't have the power to light up the F1 tyres in the required fashion, so the tyres were covered in water or Coke for the start sequences), the lack of engine when they drag Pete Aron's car out of Monaco harbour, and the stream of white smoke from the explosive gas canister they used to fire Scott Stoddard's car up the wall.
For the non geeks.............
Motor racing films don't get any better than this.
If you want a film that captures the atmosphere of racing before corporate sponsors, before telephone number budgets and before traction control, aero packages, clutchless gearboxes and all seeing telemetry, watch this.
It's racing, pure and simple, and it has the added bonus of having a background cast that was a veritable who's who of drivers from the Golden Age of F1.
Sod the fact that the plot's pretty thin and the script could've been knocked up on a napkin down the cafe.
If you're into F1 and haven't seen this film at least 3 or 4 times, you haven't lived!
Anyway, that's my favourite, what's yours?
