Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Steve McQueen | ... | Michael Delaney | |
Siegfried Rauch | ... | Erich Stahler | |
Elga Andersen | ... | Lisa Belgetti | |
Ronald Leigh-Hunt | ... | David Townsend | |
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Fred Haltiner | ... | Johann Ritter |
Luc Merenda | ... | Claude Aurac | |
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Christopher Waite | ... | Larry Wilson |
Louise Edlind | ... | Mrs. Anna Ritter | |
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Angelo Infanti | ... | Lugo Abratte |
Jean-Claude Bercq | ... | Paul-Jacques Dion | |
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Michele Scalera | ... | Vito Scaliso |
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Gino Cassani | ... | Loretto Fuselli |
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Alfred Bell | ... | Tommy Hopkins |
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Carlo Cecchi | ... | Paolo Scadenza |
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Richard Rüdiger | ... | Bruno Frohm |
Almost in breadth and depth of a documentary, this movie depicts an auto race during the 70s on the world's hardest endurance course: Le Mans in France. The race goes over 24 hours on 13.4 kilometers of cordoned country road. Every few hours the two drivers per car alternate - but it's still a challenge for concentration and material. In the focus is the duel between the German Stahler in Ferrari 512LM and the American Delaney in Gulf Team Porsche 917. Delaney is under extraordinary pressure, because the year before he caused a severe accident, in which his friend Lisa's husband was killed. Written by Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
In parts this is classic cool 70s cinema. Widescreen jazz infused. In other parts it's down and dirty trackside racing. Never quite a documentary, but close enough to the action for anyone interested in motor racing. Le Mans is a fascinating race and this is every bit the love letter to it. Dialogue is sparse, McQueen is quiet and brooding. The plot is simple, although could've been a bit more engaging. It's about the racing though, pure and simple and with several sequences that are nothing short of staggering cinematic brilliance, it can be forgiven for any inadequacies elsewhere. With watching racing, it's as much about what's happening off the track, the strategy, the politics and it's exactly the same with this film, the production fraught with issues and squabbles, the trivia section on IMDB is riveting!