Grand Prix (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I was lucky enough to see this terrific movie in a movie theater last week. I was so impressed I purchased the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray has many extras along with optional commentary that made it well worth the price. It was incredible seeing this film in a sold-out wraparound 70mm Cinerama Theater.The racing sequences are amazing. Most of the racing footage in Grand Prix are from actual races taking place in 1966. Some of the accidents are partial actual footage, and partial re-creations. You'll get a good idea what it's like to be in one of these fantastic race cars. Nothing sounds great as a V12 Engine.Grand Prix remains a reference demo for home theater buffs due to its hard-charging surround sound and adrenalized visuals further pumped up by visual consultant Saul Bass, who created the titles and memorable split screen design.Warner did an excellent job with Grand Prix on Blu-ray. Overall, the film looks spectacular, at times giving the impression of a film that was shot 3 years ago rather than 55 years ago. The 65mm source elements spell often breathtaking detail, film grain is light and natural, black level is deep, and color and contrast are beautifully calibrated.It was also a joy to see these great European cities when they were still wonderful places to visit. Imagine 1966 when you could easily arrive at the airport 15 minutes before your flight and have plenty of time.On the Blu-ray the extras include:Pushing the Limit: The Making of Grand PrixFlat Out: Formula 1 in the SixtiesThe Style and Sound of SpeedBrands Hatch: Behind the Checkered FlagGrand Prix: Challenge of the ChampionsTheatrical TrailerI'm very happy to have this Blu-ray in my 3000 disc collection where I know that in the future it cannot be banned or censored.

A perfect demonstration of how racing was in 1966 in F1. absolutely brilliant cinema for the time and it holds up really well. it has to be watched with an appreciation of how far ahead of its time it was in filmmaking. the acting is suspect in certain scenes, enjoyably so. (my favorite is when Lisa is leaving Sabato's character.)Enjoy the watch. Its a true film, not an action 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."Grand Prix" has an excellent cast of very well known (at the time) actors from the U.S. and Europe. The photography of Europe is great as are the race scenes. There is romance involved to keep the story line going on something other than race after race. There is some tear jerker moments for the sentimental.Speaking of story lines, I remember when "LeMans" came out that one of the NBC "Today Show" film critics, Judith Crist, 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. :)As for story lines, 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. Along with racing there are cheating wives, just the thing to spice up a race movie.I would guess this is where PN picked up his love of racing which lasted 30+ years. His co-star is his wife.And, last and least, is "Red Line 7000" which, when it came out, was a pretty cool drive-in movie and still stands up as a bit of kitsch 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.