GRAND PRIX (BLU-RAY) - VARIOUS [1966]

This is the best race movie ever made. Period. And I doubt one like it can ever be made again because this was done in the real world and, now, everyone (directors etc) will want to do one using computer graphics and it will not have the same feel of realism.["Driven" with Stallone would be a good example of this] Also, I doubt, due to safety concerns/insurance etc, that one can be made this way again. The "How the Movie was Made" is worth a huge chunk of the selling price. The quality of the DVD is a great improvement, especially on an HD TV, over the VHS copy I've owned for some time. The reason I say "Grand Prix" is the best is that "LeMans" lacks a strong story line or its story line pales next to the action, whereas "Grand Prix"s story hangs in there fairly well. However, one can argue "LeMans" has just as good race photography and, again, I doubt if a movie like it can be made now. "Grand Prix" has an excellent cast of very well known (at the time) actors from the U.S. and Europe. The photography of Europe is great as are the race scenes. There is romance involved to keep the story line going on something other than race after race. There is some tear jerker moments for the sentimental. Speaking of story lines, I remember when "LeMans" came out that one of the NBC "Today Show" film critics, Judith Crist, lambasted the movie and said words to the effect that "McQueen should have shot it on 8mm and shown it as home movies". She's also the critic who said that "Candy" would set back pornography a 100 years. :) As for story lines, another decent effort at a race movie is "Winning" with Paul Newman and his wife. A product of its day, the film tries pretty hard to combine a decent story with racing. Along with racing there are cheating wives, just the thing to spice up a race movie. I would guess this is where PN picked up his love of racing which lasted 30+ years. His co-star is his wife. And, last and least, is "Red Line 7000" which, when it came out, was a pretty cool drive-in movie and still stands up as a bit of kitsch of the time. The race descriptions by the "on track" announcer are guite funny but where else are you going to see a guy driving a Shelby Daytona Coupe around on the street? Besides, its one of James Caan's first roles, if not the first. Oh, and the "on track announcer" in "Winning" might be of the same cloth if memory serves. One reason I probably have a soft spot for these movies is that they came out about the time I was a young Sports Car Club of America racer myself. My new wife and I were really into this stuff. We drove 200 miles round trip one weekday night in order to see "LeMans" several weeks earlier than what would have been the case if we hadn't, due to where we lived. I've recently purchased "Winning", "LeMans" and "Grand Prix" to donate to my small town library, spreading the joy of racing. Thanks to AMAZON, I can afford to do it.

Grand Prix is the greatest racing movie of all time. Having searched and paid a premium for the VHS version, you can imagine my excitement when I learned of the DVD release of the movie. I was not disappointed. The pedigree of the movie is stellar. The director is John Frankenheimer. An international cast includes Eva Marie Sainte, Toshiro Mifune, James Gardner, and Yves Montand. Francoise Hardy ("Tous les garcons et les filles") is so hot, also credibly acts in this film. Actual team names and cars (Ferrari, BRM, and All American Racing, but sadly not Lotus nor Honda) and famous drivers (Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Bruce McClaren), are in the movie and involved in the filming of the movie. Actual race footage is incorporated into the movie. Actual drivers are present in the movie. The film won three technical Academy Awards, best film editing, sound and sound effects. Before IMAX, before video games, before video cams, using sixteen Panavision cameras, some mounted on the racing cars, some in a Ford GT 40 chase car, Frankenheimer provides the exquisite shots we expect today on ESPN or SPEED...the view of the driver and pan to the front view, the vibration, the buffeting, the sweeping blur about a hairpin of actual driving. That is why the movie stands the test of time. As stated in the additional materials, it is unlikely that a racing movie of this scale will ever be made again. But this is not a documentary. A great movie, even if it isn't true, is realistic enough that you believe that is reality. The story lines touch on real issues... is winning everything, why do men like to go fast, are their significant others uneasy, why is death or danger ignored, can relationships be serious or merely transitory... It also provides a vicarious look into Grand Prix racing in the 1960's, the fashion, the life, the glamour. Grand Prix DVD also provides special features that demand purchasing the DVD even if you have the VHS version (sans special features of course). Five documentaries are provided...This movie was viewed on a 27 inch flat screen TV, sound through a subwoofer and two satellite speakers (two five inch mid-range, one two inch tweeter per speaker) and the sound was great (it did win an Academy award for sound)... I can hardly wait to see it on my friend's 52 inch wide-screen with Dolby Digital 5.1. Wow...what a movie.

The characters are not fully developed and the plot is pretty simple, but this movie is about Grand Prix racing itself. In that sense, the movie does a superb job of providing the look and feel of Grand Prix driving. The characters and plot are merely a framework to introduce the public to Grand Prix racing, and "hollywood" dramatics are kept to a minimum. In many scenes, 1966 film technology was used to place you in the cockpit at 130 mph. The quality of this 1966 version of virtual reality surpasses the effect achieved by placing minicams inside modern racing cars. Most minicams record scenes of race cars negotiating a repetitive oval track. In "Grand Prix", you are liable to loose your orientation when a camera car rounds a hairpin at Monaco at about 45 mph. The whole picture becomes an abstract swirl of smeared shapes. Never again will you see yourself racing down a straight away with unprotected spectators blurring passed you at 130 mph as they stand just 15-20 yards from the road. Safety was atrocious in 1966. In other scenes, the movie becomes an art film where racing scenes are montaged into overlaping and blended images that keep time with classical music selections. The characters and the plot never over-power the movie. They do provide breaks from watching too much racing, and the characters portray the motivations of the drivers, the owners, and the significant others who are affected by such a dangerous sport. Several real Grand Prix champions have minor parts in the movie, which lends some additional interest. It is a little eerie to see a movie about race car drivers where real race car drivers sort of drift in and around the actors during the "people" scenes. Character, plot, 1966 virtual reality, and film artistry blend perfectly to provide an exciting, entertaining, and virtually flawless film about racing in the 1966 Grand Prix season

If you're a vintage racing fan, Grand Prix needs no review: it's a remarkable document of the golden age of racing, made at a time when the real cars -- and drivers -- were available. Phil Hill's recent passing reminded us of what we've lost. If you're a film enthusiast, and maybe not so knowledgeable about 1960s Formula One, Frankenheimer's work still delivers. The cinematography is superb, and the script provides a fascinating look into the social scene and competitive aspects of racing back then. It's educational, without the burden of being a documentary, and apart from the overture and intermission segments it's easy to forget you're watching a 1966 movie. And it has a bit of substance: 1960s racers risked their lives in every race, much more so than F1 drivers do today in their much more elaborate cars. The spectre of death, and the sense that some onlookers might be there for the carnage, weighed on at least some of the drivers who were there for the sport. Grand Prix acknowledges this. Grand Prix may be the best racing movie ever made. McQueen's LeMans in 1971 (he was originally supposed to be in Grand Prix) is a cult classic for diehard race fans, but almost devoid of plot or dialogue. I'm a big fan but would hesitate to recommend to anyone who isn't a gearhead. Grand Prix, on the other hand, should be very enjoyable to almost anyone with an appreciation of the era. The extras included in the two-DVD set are also very good, and you can watch them prior to the film if you're among those whose knowledge of Formula One is minimal.

This is primarily a melodrama with extraordinary racing sequences. For fans of racing films this film is a must see movie! Even after all these years the racing sequences still hold up surprisingly well. When this movie was still in production they showed the racing footage that had already been completed to Ferrari and they were so impressed by what they saw that they invited the the filmmakers to shoot inside the Ferrari racing factory (up until that time nobody--not even Sports Illustrated--had been allowed to photograph the inside of that building). Quite a compliment! Steve McQueen was offered James Garners role first and turned it down thinking this was going to be just another Hollywood racing picture in which (like all that had preceded it) nothing bore any resemblance to the REAL racing world. Once the film came out and he had a chance to see it, he was heartbroken that he'd passed on it and in his frustration went on to make the practically ALL racing footage and less-plot-than-it-would-take-to-fill-a-thimble "Le Mans". A bevy of top professional drivers were employed to train the actors so that they would look convincingly like real race car drivers while being filmed. James Garner was coached by Dan Gurney and had such an natural affinity for driving that by the time his sequences were filmed he was on a level with some of the drivers making a living at it professionally. Gurney said that if he was willing to do it full time he could have been one of the top drivers in the field. As a movie itself, if you like melodrama you will more than likely be entertained. If you don't, but you love fantastic racing footage, this is one of the finest examples of that which you will ever be likely to find. If neither interests you, this may not be your cup of tea.

A perfect demonstration of how racing was in 1966 in F1. absolutely brilliant cinema for the time and it holds up really well. it has to be watched with an appreciation of how far ahead of its time it was in filmmaking. the acting is suspect in certain scenes, enjoyably so. (my favorite is when Lisa is leaving Sabato's character.) Enjoy the watch. Its a true film, not an action movie.

I saw this movie when it came out in 1966 in the Cenerama Theater in St. Louis. I like and value the movie so highly that I hesitate to use the tired old phrases to rave about it. It is so rich in quality in every judgement area that it appears to me that this was a movie made to be the best it could be without consideration for difficulty or cost - quality in every way was all that would be acceptable. The richness of the color and the crispness of image in the photography at the actual Grand Prix race courses of the world is beyond compare. The casting of characters and their emersion into the roles to play out their individual but blended stories is perfect. Of course I knew James Garner as a favorite actor but I became aware of Yves Montand through his great performance for the first time. The story has depth and is developed fully. Top Grand Prix racers of that time make small acting appearances in the film - Phil Hill (American) and Graham Hill (English) for example. The theme song is sublime. Now approaching 50 years later I fly my RV-6A airplane that my wife Jeanine and I built in our garage before I retired, in Sport Air Racing League cross country air races across the US at over 200 miles per hour. I watch this movie and "The Worlds Fastest Indian" at least once before the start of each season. I have bought many copies of both DVDs and the Mystic Moods CD album "More than Music" containing the Grand Prix theme and given them to my younger racing friends to share this great experience. Yes, I like the movie. Bob Axsom

Outstanding track footage, mostly filmed with giant 65 mm cameras, thus the gorgeous colors and detail. These big cameras were mounted a foot off the track. James Garner and other actors actually drove real race cars for many scenes. Also a lot of actual scenes from real Grand Prix races across Europe, with some of the real drivers in scenes with speaking parts. Eye candy comes way of beautiful Jessica Walter and Eva Marie Saint, and I imagine the ladies will like looking at James Garner in his prime:) I saw Ford vs Ferrari recently and liked it, but then later I saw this blu ray and was more wowed. Extras include excellent commentary on what racing was like in the 60's, the dangerous build of those cars, interviews, history, drivers, etc. NO gimmicky special effects here, everything you see captured in-camera; makes you appreciate celluloid and doing things the hard way.