Grand Prix (1966)

Grand Prix

Great movie. Amazon was very prompt in sending the product to my home. I ordered a used copy and recieved a new one. No extra charge. August 29, 2008

Whats not to like

If your local movie rental place doesnt carry this movie you have to buy it like I did. If you like Formula 1 then this movie is for you. August 28, 2008

A CULT CLASSIC OF SORTS FROM THE 60s

GRAND PRIX was one of director John Frankenheimer's big-budget spectacles, filmed by MGM in Cinerama, its super-wide screen nicely restored for this DVD. Brilliant split screen effects and camera movements and the rare appearance of Antonio Sabato, plus actual racing footage using well known racers including Damien Hill, make this an unforgettable experience. The melodramatic plot is a bit slack, but the overall effect is sensational. May 4, 2008

The Best...race movie

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.

I remember when "LeMans" came out that one of the NBC "Today Show" film critics, Judith Crist (sp?), 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. :)

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. I would guess this is where PN picked up his love of racing which lasted 30+ years.

And, last and least, is "Red Line 7000" which, when it came out, was a pretty cool movie and still stands up as a bit of kitch (sp?) 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.

April 19, 2008

Grand Prix (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Terrific product. Great photography, good strong characters, interesting storyline. This should be in many more collections of people's favorite movies. April 11, 2008

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