Grand Prix (1966)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Escritores:

Robert Alan Aurthur (screenplay)
Robert Alan Aurthur (story)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

21 diciembre 1966 (USA)

Género:

Drama | Deporte

Plot:

American Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate...

Plot Keywords:

Race | Automobile Racing | Formula 1 | Ford Mustang | Monte Carlo Rally

Premios:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

A Technically Superb Film

Reparto

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 Stoddard
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

Duración:

179 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés | Francés | Italiano | Portugués

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

2.20 : 1

Sonido:

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

Clasificación:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Locaciones de Filmación:

Brands Hatch racing track, Kent, England, UK

Compañía:

Cherokee Productions

Trivialidades:

Steve McQueen was the early choice for the lead role. A first meeting with producer Edward Lewis went very bad and McQueen showed no further interest in the role. He later starred in another racing movie, Le Mans (1971).

Errores:

Errores que Revelan: When Scott Stoddard's car crashes in the first Grand Prix race you can see a white tendril of smoke shooting out towards the car. This is the hydrogen pump used to propel the fake formula 1 car with a dummy in it to make the crash seem more realistic and should not be in the shot.

Citas:

Izo Yamura: Some years ago, when I decided to race cars, I tried to buy the Jordan-BRM company.
Pete Aron: Oh yes, I had heard that.
Izo Yamura: Impatience on my part. I also manufacture radios and sewing machines. In order to save time, I wanted a proven product. That was not to be, however. Racing cars are not merely another product. They require great attention if any success is to be hoped for.
Pete Aron: Then that's why you're here.
Izo Yamura: I have been racing my cars in Formula One for two years, and have yet to win my first Grand Prix. I intend to win, by whatever means are open to me.
Pete Aron: That's the right attitude. All you have to do is go fast enough and long enough.
Izo Yamura: And with the best drivers! Do you want a job with me?
Pete Aron: Driving?
Izo Yamura: Driving, of course.
Pete Aron: Who are you dumping?
[...]

Conexiones de Película:

Editado en Bass on Titles (1977)

A Technically Superb Film

I won't bore you with the plotline; you can get all that elsewhere. The main reason one should see this film is for the camera effects. And remember too -- these were all done the hard way; there was no computer imaging back in 1966!

If you get the chance to see this in a theater, DO NOT BE LATE!! The opening -- with the driver plugging his ears with cotton before putting on his helmet -- is aptly appropriate. The split-screen and multiple-image effects are first seen in the opening and crop up throughout the movie -- and always to good advantage, not just a "gee whiz, look what we can do" use of technique and technology. ESPN and the other networks, in their NASCAR telecasts, have just now started to adopt techniques first used by Frankenheimer 30-plus years ago.

One of the best scenes in the film is in the early minutes. You are actually *in* the cockpit of a F-1 car as it spins out of control, slides off the track, and launches itself into the harbor. I might add that this was *NOT* done with models, but used real, full-sized cars and took long hours to produce -- and these were truly "state-of-the-art" effects in 1966 (I won't give away the secrets here but will say that if you can locate a copy of the appropriate issue of "Popular Mechanics" [March 1966?] you will enjoy the article about the film and the techniques). The end result was about 15 seconds of some of the best racing footage committed to film. Needless to say, this is a very quick-running sequence!

I saw this picture in Cinerama in 1966, and I too echo the sentiment for a re-release of this picture to the large screen. More is the pity that Cinerama is no more. There are few pictures where Cinerama could be used to its fullest advantage; the in-car and on-track sequences of this film, however, were some of those.