Pete Aron is a Formula One driver who crashes at the Monaco Grand Prix, wrecking his race and nearly killing his teammate. Thrown out of the team, it looks like his motorsport career might be over until he is offered a new contract from an unlikely source ...
Formula One is the sport I follow, and I am attracted to it for the same reasons as most people I guess, primarily the vicarious thrill of seeing someone drive as dizzying speeds. This movie does a good job of exploring why that holds such fascination for both drivers and fans alike, and contrasts it with the bloodthirsty gawkers and the dog-eat-dog tactics of the teams. The racing sequences are simply outstanding, with amazing shots from the cars' points of view and incredible footage of the actors racing at high speed (Garner did a lot of his own driving). Shot in Super Panavision 70 with spherical lenses and a 2.20:1 aspect ratio by Lionel Lindon, and often using multiple images and intricate cut wipes, these scenes burst across the screen and are every bit as thrilling as a real F1 race. Where the movie literally slows down however is in the inter-race intrigue, which, while nicely played by the talented cast, sometimes descends into soap opera - the heel sleeping with another man's wife, the burned-out former champion who doesn't know why he still does it, the injured driver with an axe to grind, the young kid on top of the world. The people are worth caring about but their personal lives are too clichéd and the ending is perhaps telegraphed too clearly. Frankenheimer's attention to detail is excellent, and the cars are wonderful, but the script could use some tuning and the movie some pruning. From an F1 history buff's perspective however, the movie is nirvana - it mixes some actual footage from the 1966 season, substitutes real racing drivers for the actors/stuntmen, (notably the unrelated Phil Hill and Graham Hill) and features such classic circuits as Brands Hatch, Spa (the old ten-mile country circuit), Monaco, Monza, Watkins Glen and Zandvoort. In the end there is a lot to enjoy in this movie - the racing is fabulous, the cast is terrific, the sixties sensibility is fun, the direction is top-notch and the photography is breathtaking. It's also a potent reminder however of how appallingly dangerous motorsport was in this period of almost no safety standards, prior to the work of people like Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Sid Watkins, and even in the modern era the danger in F1 is still terribly real, epitomised by Jules Bianchi's tragic crash at Suzuka in 2014. This is a great old racing flick and one which would make an excellent double bill with the near-plot less 1971 Lee H. Katzin / Steve McQueen film Le Mans.
Formula One is the sport I follow, and I am attracted to it for the same reasons as most people I guess, primarily the vicarious thrill of seeing someone drive as dizzying speeds. This movie does a good job of exploring why that holds such fascination for both drivers and fans alike, and contrasts it with the bloodthirsty gawkers and the dog-eat-dog tactics of the teams. The racing sequences are simply outstanding, with amazing shots from the cars' points of view and incredible footage of the actors racing at high speed (Garner did a lot of his own driving). Shot in Super Panavision 70 with spherical lenses and a 2.20:1 aspect ratio by Lionel Lindon, and often using multiple images and intricate cut wipes, these scenes burst across the screen and are every bit as thrilling as a real F1 race. Where the movie literally slows down however is in the inter-race intrigue, which, while nicely played by the talented cast, sometimes descends into soap opera - the heel sleeping with another man's wife, the burned-out former champion who doesn't know why he still does it, the injured driver with an axe to grind, the young kid on top of the world. The people are worth caring about but their personal lives are too clichéd and the ending is perhaps telegraphed too clearly. Frankenheimer's attention to detail is excellent, and the cars are wonderful, but the script could use some tuning and the movie some pruning. From an F1 history buff's perspective however, the movie is nirvana - it mixes some actual footage from the 1966 season, substitutes real racing drivers for the actors/stuntmen, (notably the unrelated Phil Hill and Graham Hill) and features such classic circuits as Brands Hatch, Spa (the old ten-mile country circuit), Monaco, Monza, Watkins Glen and Zandvoort. In the end there is a lot to enjoy in this movie - the racing is fabulous, the cast is terrific, the sixties sensibility is fun, the direction is top-notch and the photography is breathtaking. It's also a potent reminder however of how appallingly dangerous motorsport was in this period of almost no safety standards, prior to the work of people like Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Sid Watkins, and even in the modern era the danger in F1 is still terribly real, epitomised by Jules Bianchi's tragic crash at Suzuka in 2014. This is a great old racing flick and one which would make an excellent double bill with the near-plot less 1971 Lee H. Katzin / Steve McQueen film Le Mans.