Grand Prix remains my benchmark for great racing movies. I understand that Steve McQueen wanted to make a big racing movie as well, and finally was able to do it with 1971's "Le Mans".
Like Grand Prix, the film immerses you in the racing environment and really makes you feel like you are there. This is likely what made some viewers claim that this "felt like a documentary". But no, it doesn't feel that way.
Also like Grand Prix, the non-racing parts of the film often don't quite work. But Le Mans takes that to an extreme. There is so little dialog in this film, that the viewer MUST listen to every tidbit to get even an idea of what the characters are about. Sometimes, important dialog is stepped on by the racing sounds. I think if you took every piece of dialog and spliced them together, you would have about 5 minutes of screen time.
These aspects are the worst parts of the film. We never really learn too much what these characters are about.
Steve McQueen plays a driver, Michael Delaney, who feels partially responsible, so it seems, for a crash that killed a fellow driver in a previous race. There is an interesting scene at the start of the film where he revisits the site of the crash, and takes notice of the shiny new replacement steel fencing that replaces what had been destroyed.
The dead driver's wife, Lisa, continues to come to the races. She is never without a nervous, sad expression. In one of the few dialog scenes, Delaney asks her why she keeps coming. "For myself", she says.
The film is full of sequences of terse dialog and long stares, telling the view virtually nothing as to what is going on with the characters. We are aware of a competition between Delaney and the Ferrari driver, but the two characters only have a brief scene or two together. We also don't understand little things like, Delaney's two fingered salute at the end, and his opponent's knowing smile about it. What did I miss? Any viewer would ask.
There are a lot of long stares between Delaney and Lisa, but what do they mean? Is she trying to work out any feelings of blame she has for him, is she falling for him? Or is it simply that she worries about another human being for the enormous chances they are taking, and trying to understand why anyone would race in the first place, as it resulted in the death of her husband....we can only guess at her motivations, which make little sense.
But the movie is all about the racing, and a great racing movie it is. Fantastic cinematography. The sound. You can almost smell the gas and the burnt rubber, and feel the exhausted, rain-soaked weariness of the drivers. A couple of shots are shocking in their effects, I found myself almost pulling back from the screen. The cars shudder like animals straining to pull ahead and win.
You are down in the pits with these guys, right there with them as they frantically repair a suspension issue, or deal with wheels and fuel. The dank, dreary, dimly lit pit rooms add realistic, grungy austerity to the atmosphere. The cars seem claustrophobic, beautiful in their design, and almost violent in their incredible, shrieking sounds.
On balance, watching the spectators go about waking up the day the race starts (people obviously came a day early to get a good place to set up), watching THEM watch the race, or amuse themselves during downtimes at the neighboring park add to the total feel of authenticity, and tone of the film. The camera work, even here, is fantastic.
Small, time capsule moments such as when Delaney is on a break from driving, walking to his trailer, and suddenly he turns a corner and there is a super rare Matra street car parked on the lawn, next to a ultra futuristic Matra field building. The very idea of cars, of wild shapes, sounds and colors, permeates this film.
The only issue I have with the racing scenes is in understanding the strategy and execution in the final moments of the face. Not going to spoil it for you, but difficult to understand what is going on. I have read other accounts of what happened, but I found those unsupportable by just looking at the film.
All said, if you enjoy quality racing movies, don't miss this one.
Like Grand Prix, the film immerses you in the racing environment and really makes you feel like you are there. This is likely what made some viewers claim that this "felt like a documentary". But no, it doesn't feel that way.
Also like Grand Prix, the non-racing parts of the film often don't quite work. But Le Mans takes that to an extreme. There is so little dialog in this film, that the viewer MUST listen to every tidbit to get even an idea of what the characters are about. Sometimes, important dialog is stepped on by the racing sounds. I think if you took every piece of dialog and spliced them together, you would have about 5 minutes of screen time.
These aspects are the worst parts of the film. We never really learn too much what these characters are about.
Steve McQueen plays a driver, Michael Delaney, who feels partially responsible, so it seems, for a crash that killed a fellow driver in a previous race. There is an interesting scene at the start of the film where he revisits the site of the crash, and takes notice of the shiny new replacement steel fencing that replaces what had been destroyed.
The dead driver's wife, Lisa, continues to come to the races. She is never without a nervous, sad expression. In one of the few dialog scenes, Delaney asks her why she keeps coming. "For myself", she says.
The film is full of sequences of terse dialog and long stares, telling the view virtually nothing as to what is going on with the characters. We are aware of a competition between Delaney and the Ferrari driver, but the two characters only have a brief scene or two together. We also don't understand little things like, Delaney's two fingered salute at the end, and his opponent's knowing smile about it. What did I miss? Any viewer would ask.
There are a lot of long stares between Delaney and Lisa, but what do they mean? Is she trying to work out any feelings of blame she has for him, is she falling for him? Or is it simply that she worries about another human being for the enormous chances they are taking, and trying to understand why anyone would race in the first place, as it resulted in the death of her husband....we can only guess at her motivations, which make little sense.
But the movie is all about the racing, and a great racing movie it is. Fantastic cinematography. The sound. You can almost smell the gas and the burnt rubber, and feel the exhausted, rain-soaked weariness of the drivers. A couple of shots are shocking in their effects, I found myself almost pulling back from the screen. The cars shudder like animals straining to pull ahead and win.
You are down in the pits with these guys, right there with them as they frantically repair a suspension issue, or deal with wheels and fuel. The dank, dreary, dimly lit pit rooms add realistic, grungy austerity to the atmosphere. The cars seem claustrophobic, beautiful in their design, and almost violent in their incredible, shrieking sounds.
On balance, watching the spectators go about waking up the day the race starts (people obviously came a day early to get a good place to set up), watching THEM watch the race, or amuse themselves during downtimes at the neighboring park add to the total feel of authenticity, and tone of the film. The camera work, even here, is fantastic.
Small, time capsule moments such as when Delaney is on a break from driving, walking to his trailer, and suddenly he turns a corner and there is a super rare Matra street car parked on the lawn, next to a ultra futuristic Matra field building. The very idea of cars, of wild shapes, sounds and colors, permeates this film.
The only issue I have with the racing scenes is in understanding the strategy and execution in the final moments of the face. Not going to spoil it for you, but difficult to understand what is going on. I have read other accounts of what happened, but I found those unsupportable by just looking at the film.
All said, if you enjoy quality racing movies, don't miss this one.