Grand Prix (1966)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

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

Release Date:

21 December 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

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

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

179 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian | Portuguese

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Brands Hatch racing track, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Cherokee Productions

Trivia:

Frankenheimer's first film in color.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Nino Barlini: I used to think nothing could be better than motorbike racing. Three times I am a World Champion on my motorbike. I am happy. Then I go into one of these, these cars: you sit in a box, a coffin, gasoline all around you. It is like being inside a bomb! Crazy, but of course the cars are faster, and that is the most important thing.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Bass on Titles (1977)

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.