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Grand Prix (2 Disc Special Edition) [1966]
![Grand Prix (2 Disc Special Edition) [1966]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510CmaXILuL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £8.99
Our Price: £5.05 (subject to change)
Still the champion
Review date: 2007-11-27 Rating: 10 out of 10
Forty years on, Grand Prix is still the best motor racing film ever made. The cars may be faster now, filming techniques improved and special effects more advanced, yet the film still has a truly epic scale and a feeling of veracity down to the last gear change that would be impossible to duplicate today. It feels real because much of it is real, the actors (with the exception of Brian Bedford) doing much of the driving themselves, with the production even entering cars in real races to seamlessly match footage. The real danger is only underlined by the fact that so many of the professional drivers in the film died racing themselves (ten in the decade following the filming alone). The crashes are there, along with the knowledge that that's what many in the crowd come for, but more than that, each race has a different character: more than just a different look, they're almost tone poems at times, one race from the driver's seat, another from a spectator's, another almost inside a character's head. Yet throughout, unlike later films, you always have a clear idea of what is going on and what point the race scenes are trying to make. The sequences have clearly been thought through and designed both emotionally as well as visually, with the great use of long lenses to establish scale and speed as cars drift in and out of focus giving the film a feel at once realistic and almost dreamlike (an impression further heightened in Saul Bass' almost balletic split-screen sequence). It's still a remarkably good looking film, too, not least because it was made at a time when the cars still looked like bullets rather than vacuum cleaners.
The plot itself may be simply a globe-trotting star-studded soap opera at heart - the roadshow equivalent of a doorstop bestseller - but it's a more than serviceable framework to hang the racing scenes on: after a spectacular crash in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix that cripples team mate Brian Bedford, James Garner's Formula One tries to work his way back on the circuit by racing for Toshiro Mifune's fledgling team while having an affair with Bedford's wife Jessica Walter. But while top-billed Garner may be the nominal and not particularly sympathetic lead, it's Yves Montand's ageing champion gradually realizing the absurdity of what he does but unable to quit who makes the greatest impression: so much so that when Garner disappears for much of the last third of the movie you barely miss him. Yet the cars remain the real stars, thanks to John Frankenheimer's constantly imaginative direction and his obvious enthusiasm for the material without ever losing himself in the minutiae as Steve McQueen did with Le Mans.
The film used every 65mm SuperPanavision camera then in existence, and thankfully the widescreen DVD transfer is a considerable improvement over the TV prints. Although it hasn't restored Mifune's voice, which was reportedly in the version shown at the film's premiere but subsequently replaced by Paul Frees on all prints (Adolfo Celi is also very obviously dubbed, possibly by Maximilian Schell), it does boast a good array of featurettes covering the making of the film and the Overture and Entr'acte from Maurice Jarre's excellent score have been retained.
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Reviews
Stuck In Fourth
Review date: 2007-10-17 Rating: 8 out of 10
This was always one of my favourite films as a kid, so i set aside an evening to watch the 2-disc Special Edition. Now, maybe my imagination ran away with me a bit when i was younger, but i'm sure that a few of the crashes have been deleted from this particular edition. I distinctly recall an incident (probably at Spa) when one of the competitors crashes into some bails of hay, and a group of spectators rush to help. One guy carlessly chucks his fag away, resulting in car, driver and barn erupting in a fireball. Now, i know this Government doesn't want us to smoke any more (not in public, anyway) but the reason for editing this sort of stuff from films escapes me. I also remember more than one car ending up in the sea at Monaco. If i dreamt all of this, or it's from another film entirely, could someone put me straight.
Being an anal sort i am now scouring the Net for another version, as the one I have is 165? mins and the one advertised is 176 mins.
Other than that, thoroughly enjoyable !!
great bargain
Review date: 2007-07-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
Just bought this dvd for under three pounds from Amazon. This must be the best bargain ever. Not only do you get the complete film as theatrically released in the cinema (usually shown on tv in a much cut version), but a superb second disc with several interesting features about the making of the film, footage of the f1 races during the sixties and interviews with drivers of that era.
The only drawback is that you have to change discs to see the complete film, as this original print could not be accommodated on disc one, but hey so what! This is a minor quibble at this price. If you like motor racing, especially in the days when you could actually see overtaking, get this dvd while it's on offer at this giveaway price.
The best Motor Racing film ever made!
Review date: 2007-04-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
What a superb film. Considering the year it was made ('66) and the technology that was available in the 1960s, John Frankenheimer captured the fantastic world of Formula 1 racing along with a story of morals and love. The more times I watch this film, the more details I notice, everything about the racing is so beautifully done, the attention to detail is amazing, the characters are perfectly played by the terrific actors. A true timeless classic.
Some of the most impressive 60ies Grand Prix Footage on film
Review date: 2007-02-28 Rating: 10 out of 10
Having only been realeased earlier this year this cronicles the Grand Prix season of 1966 using actual footage from several races in that season especially Monaco,Spa and finally Monza.
Originally director John Frankenheimer wanted Steve McQueen to take the role played so well by James Garner but on his arrival at the film set he took exception to certain members of Frankenheimers production crew,people he had worked with in the past and for some reason had no desire to work with again.
James Garner as we are told in the superb bonus disc equipped himself so well under Caroll Shelbys tuition back in the states that had he not chosen acting as a career could easily have become a professional racing driver.
At the begining of this film we see the highlites of the Monaco Grand Prix.In the sequences where Garner appears he is actually driving a formula three car at race speed and it is evident in his skill that he was indeed an accomplished driver.
The film shows us how dangerous Grand Prix racing was over 40years ago.
The drivers of that era Graham Hill,Jack Brabham and even the great Juan Manuel Fangio make cameo appearences in the film.Graham Hill even has a few words to say aswell.
The story of the film sees James Garner driving for Ferrari and other teams vying to become World Champion.Due to wreckless driving Garner is dropped from the team only to be signed up by none other than Toshiro Mifune the owner of a Japanese team.
In 1966 the Japanese had yet to make a presence in Formula one but with Garners brilliance he takes the World title but under misfortunate circumstances at the final race at Monza.
This film before its eventual release onto Dvd had a loyal following by film goers who realised what a brilliant action film it was.
It was so good that it took away three Accademy Awards in 1966 for cinematography.
If the film was not enough then the bonus disc should really cement this box set as a classic.
It includes interviews with Garner and other stars and also some magnificent docummantaries of racing in the 1960s.
The bonus material is so good it could easily stand alone as a top entertainment disc,but we are indeed fortunate to have it as a bonus disc.
This film for its race sequences is quite remarkable,once seen never forgotten.We see todays technological racing marvels controlled by computers but back in the sixties racing was a great deal more dangerous with more than one death a possibility throughout the season
If this revue has not wetted your apetite just look at the bargain price this twin disc is being offered at.This disc has not been on the shelf for years collecting dust but is a new release.If people realised how good the action sequences were then this disc would sell in great numbers.
Frankenheimers skill as a director is so great that it was he who directed the car sequences in the exciting Robert De Niro film "RONIN".
If that is one of your favorite films then Grand Prix is sure to delight you.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Eva Marie Saint
Toshiro Mifune
Yves Montand
James Garner
Brian Bedford
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321905791002
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Special Edition,
Release date: 2006-10-02
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 176 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1966
Language: English (Original Language)