Le Mans (1971)

A classic auto-racing movie starring Steve McQueen, Le Mans puts the audience in the driver's seat for what is often called the most grueling race in the world. The French auto race Le Mans is a 24-hour affair through the French countryside, a demanding ordeal for any driver. McQueen (Bullitt, The Great Escape) plays the American driver, locked in an intense grudge match with his German counterpart even as he wrestles with the guilt over causing an accident that cost the life of a close friend. McQueen is his usual stoic magnetic self, and the racing sequences are among the best ever committed to film. A solid character-driven story combines with raw visceral power to make Le Mans a rich tapestry of action and thrills. --Robert Lane Amazon.com essential video

 Takes The Checkered Flag
Nearly 40 years since its release, Le Mans remains the best racing film ever made, because the focus is on the cars and course of the greatest endurance event in motor sports.

The major parts of the film were filmed during the June 1970 race, with cutting-edge technology used to provide the viewer a driver's view of the action.

A Porsche 908/2 - which actor Steve McQueen had co-driven to a second place finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring - was entered in Le Mans by Solar Productions and equipped with movie cameras. The camera car was driven Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams.

With a believable, though minor, sub-plot on the tension between a wife and her husband concerning the risks & rewards from the sport, director Lee H. Katzin delivers a classic by allowing the pace of the race dictate the action. February 16, 2008

 LeMans
Plot? Who needs a plot?

This is about one of the greatest sports car races and one of the greatest battles of prototypes in sports car history, the Porche 917 and the Ferarri 512M.

The racing scenes are spectacular and the movie is more interesting if you know the stories behind the making of the film.

It is a must for true racing fans.

Sit back and turn up the volume. February 8, 2008

 Slow, yet fast
The main reason to buy this movie is to have a credible car-movie collection. There is probably only 40 lines of dialogue in the entire movie, and most of them are inconsequential. The racing shots, however, are beautiful. If you want a few hours of fast 1960s car porn, this is the movie. If that doesn't interest you, you will be bored. If it makes you salivate, make sure to buy Grand Prix as well. February 5, 2008

 Great for it's time - would love to see an update
First a warning. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH WOMAN WHO IS NOT A RACING FAN. To be fair I should probably say don't watch this with ANYONE who isn't a racing fan.

When it was made in the early 70s this was a great effort at making the best racing movie ever. If I were rating it then I would have given it a 4 or a 5. The annoying sound track, the silly and poorly developed side story about the fellow racer's widow and the lack of updated surround sound for the race sequences limits this movies appeal when viewed today.

Where the movie still succeeds is capturing the feel of a great racing venue on race day. If you have never been to a race you might not beleive all the layers that exist around the event. I think the movie also captures the interactions between drivers and teams without the theatrics of some later movies (think Days of Thunder).

January 28, 2008

 Good Film -- subpar DVD
If you are looking at "Le Mans," you already know at least something about the film. The star of this film is really the race course itself, and in fact, this film works almost more as a documentary than a film. The cinematography is fine, though I say that with hesitation because much of the film was actually shot in documentary mode, with cameras (big, old-school film cameras, not the little digital ones used for TV coverage today) mounted on one car during the race in 1971. Other scenes were shot after the race on different stretches of the race course. As for the writing, well that went on before, during, and after the race, and the director changed at least once before Katzin.

Having said all of that, the real kudos go to the film editors, who took these various parts and made a true homage to the race and to the middle of the Golden Years of LeMans. The 917K and the 512 are two of the most beautiful machines designed for racing ever, IMHO, and seeing them in action is wonderful. The overhead shots take in all of the spectacle that is LeMans. And, of course, there is the stunt driving. No CGI in this film, and it shows. Take the most realistic car crashes from a modern film, and compare it with these -- not even close in comparison.

Having said all of that, the DVD only rates three stars. If I did not like the film so much, I would give it one star. Come on, Paramount, we racing fans waited a few years for this DVD, and all we get is cleaned up sound and film? The so-called "special features" on this DVD are (according to the back of the case) "widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TV's," "English subtitles," and "Dolby Digital 5.1 sound." If you want French, you only get mono sound. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! As I hinted at above, there is a whole story behind the making of this film which rates only slightly behind the making of "Blade Runner" in terms of drama. No documentary about that? You could even be lazy and include the fine documentary with McQueen's son! No trailers? Features about the race, the history of the cars, the rivalry between Porsche and Ferrari, NOTHING? The film is great, and this is the only DVD, but Paramount and CBS home video owe us, the fans of this film, much better than this minimalist effort. I would gladly pay three times as much for a well-produced DVD with extras worthy of this film, this race, and this era in racing history. Don't even thing about offering this on Blu-Ray in this same state... January 21, 2008

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