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Grand Prix (1966)
Runtime: 2 hrs 58 mins
Synopsis: GRAND PRIX is John Frankenheimer's film about the nine-leg world championship of Formula 1 auto racing, and stars James Garner as driver Pete Aron. During the opening race in Monaco, a collision sends Pete's car flying into the Monte Carlo harbor, and British driver Scott Stoddard (Brian... GRAND PRIX is John Frankenheimer's film about the nine-leg world championship of Formula 1 auto racing, and stars James Garner as driver Pete Aron. During the opening race in Monaco, a collision sends Pete's car flying into the Monte Carlo harbor, and British driver Scott Stoddard (Brian Bedford) into a wall. While Pete survives unhurt, Scott may lose the use of his legs, and many hold Pete responsible. Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves Montand), whose marital boredom has led to an affair with fashion editor Louse Frederickson (Eva-Marie Saint), wins the next race at Clermont-Ferrand. Afterwards Pete accepts the sponsorship of Japanese business magnate Izo Yamura (Toshiro Mifune), and begins to romance Stoddard's jaded young wife Pat (Jessica Walter). Pete wins the Belgian leg of the contest, but Sarti goes into a depression after skidding on a wet track and killing two children in a crash. After Pete also takes the German Grand Prix, Stoddard amazingly returns for the Dutch event, and, driving on sheer grit, pulls out a victory. He proves it's no fluke by also winning in Watkins Glen, N.Y. and in Mexico, making the championship competitive once again. Essentially a soap opera interspersed with racing footage, the film's existence was ascribed by Frankenheimer to his fascination with the sport and a desire to spend time in Europe. That said, the racing sequences are still among the most realistic ever put on film, jammed with wide-angle helicopter shots, you-are-there car-mounted cameras, and then-fashionable split-screen sequences. GRAND PRIX is a definitely a film or racing fans. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshirô Mifune, Brian Bedford
Screenwriter: Robert Alan Aurthur, William Hanley
Producer: Edward Lewis
Composer: Maurice Jarre
DVD Info
Release:
Feb 9, 2008
HD-DVD Features:
- Elite Red HD Case
- Widescreen - 2.20
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound Plus 5.1 - English
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound Plus 1.0 - French, Latin Spanish
- Subtitles - English SDH, English, French, Latin Spanish - Optional
- Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Documentay - 1. "Flat Out: Formula One in the 60's"
- 2. Pushing the Limit: The Making of GRAND PRIX"
- 3. "The Style and Sound of Speed"
- 4. Brands Hatch: Chasing the Checkered Flag"
- Featurette - 1. 'Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions"
- Theatrical Trailer
News
Somehow, because of Frankenheimer's kinetically visceral filmmaking, the banality of Robert Alan Aurthur's screenplay and story never really matters.
The story alone is enough to almost make you become interested in auto racing.
Four decades later, John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix remains the best film ever made about professional auto racing.
For anyone who enjoys motor racing, Grand Prix is still probably the best movie about the subject ever made.
...you can skip the scenes you don't like the next time you watch it. Grand Prix is about Formula-One racing, and that's where the action lies. (HD-DVD Edition)
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by: b.male 6/20/01

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