Grand Prix (1966)

American Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard. While Stoddard struggles to recover, ... See full summary »

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Robert Alan Aurthur (screen story), Robert Alan Aurthur (screenplay),

Stars:

James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Pete Aron
Eva Marie Saint	...	Louise Frederickson
Yves Montand	...	Jean-Pierre Sarti
Toshirô Mifune	...	Izo Yamura
Brian Bedford	...	Scott Stoddard
Jessica Walter	...	Pat
Antonio Sabato	...	Nino Barlini
Françoise Hardy	...	Lisa
Adolfo Celi	...	Agostini Manetta
Claude Dauphin	...	Hugo Simon
Enzo Fiermonte	...	Guido
Geneviève Page	...	Monique Delvaux-Sarti
Jack Watson	...	Jeff Jordan
Donald O'Brien	...	Wallace Bennett (as Donal O'Brien)
Jean Michaud	...	Children's Father

Storyline

American Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard. While Stoddard struggles to recover, Aron begins to drive for the Japanese Yamura team, and becomes romantically involved with Stoddard's estranged wife.

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Plot Keywords:

race | race car | car accident | formula 1 | vespa | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian Portuguese Japanese

Release Date:

21 December 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

A nagy verseny

Filming Locations:

Brands Hatch racing track, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherokee Productions, Douglas & Lewis Productions, Joel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

176 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming required the use of all existing Panavision 65mm cameras.

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Goofs

After Jean Pierre crashes he is helped out of his car. He pulls his goggles part way down as they are now just under his lip and covering his chin. The view then cuts to a close-up of Jean Pierre's face and the goggles are not over his face any more.

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Quotes

[Addressing Pete Aron in the cockpit]
Jeff Jordan: Let's try to get the season off to a good start. Shall we? Drive the car! Don't try to stand it on its bloody ear!

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Connections

Featured in Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions (1966)

User Reviews

No comparison with other race flicks...

Forget about cinematic technique or even plot: This movie will blow you away. Yeh, the plot is cookie-cutter, but they took the trouble to hire performers who could make it work well enough to not detract from the outrageously realistic action sequences. Part of the whole point is that personal lives become somehow smaller (and thus dearer) next to something like the Grande Prix F1 circuit.

I don't recommend pairing this in a screening with _Days of Thunder_ for two reasons: First, GP is LONG; second, DoT will pale by comparison.

BTW, if you can rent it in DVD, get it that way and watch it on as big a TV as you can find. The soundtrack is incredible and the widescreen work is like nothing you'll ever see anywhere else.