Wow! Such a good movie.

Dreadfully Boring

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I have loved this movie since I was ten years old. Las night I was watching it again for the nth time, and behold!!!! the engines on the cars are fake!!! I could not believe my eyes!! They mix real life shots with the real cars, but when they do the close ups with the drivers.. the engines are fake!! I can only imagine that there were safety and logistical reasons for this. After all I don't think any of the actors were capable of actually harnessing one of these babies...Am I the only one to notice this??/Check the Ferrari, The scene where it stalls at Monza, its the real car. you can see all the details of the engine from the rear take, then compare with the cockpit shots, amazing!

Not John Frankenheimer's best film, but certainly the most technically ambitious and advanced, still impressing today after 50 years, and yet I was never a fan of motor sports. The most interesting aspect of the film is the discussions going on behind the screen, the drivers talking about the madness they are involved in, why they do it, trying to explain their fascination with associating with death as closely as possible, more than well aware they are risking their lives every second.Their different stories are also interesting, the most interesting one being Scott's, who loses everything including his girl in an all but deadly accident and still manages to retrieve it all merely by simply in crazy obstinacy continuing to risk his life even under unendurable pains. Pete is an honest racer who really is in it for the sport and sacrifices anything for it, including his good standing and relationships, but still emerges as a winner. Sarti is the tragedy, not realizing himself that he is finished, although he admits that he is tired, and just keeps pushing on, even if his car is burning and refuses to start and he is warned by his manager. Nino is a young Pete, fresh and ambitious and absolutely carefree - he still has everything ahead of him.Then we have the girls, Pat and Louise above all, Pat trying to divorce his wrecked husband who still can't abandon his mad race, and Louise falling in love with Sarti against her will, while he is still married. Their love is genuine, but they don't know how to continue after the race, while his wife won't divorce him, anything could happen, and of course the most unexpected happens.In spite of all this, the psychology, the drama, the excitement, the pathos of the accidents, the many personal fates involved, there is something hollow about this film, as if it never really could rise from the triviality level. It's Frankenheimer's last great film, he had only made superb films throughout the 60s earlier, and this was made straight upon the masterpiece "Seconds", which in spite of its incredible SF plot stirred you to the core, but this doesn't, while the strongest moment of the film is Louise in despair demonstrating her bloody hands to the press, showing the real truth of the fake show, which is still glossed over by the superficial triumphs, the vain glory, shallowly ignoring the mad vanity and the hopelessness of any real human relationships.

Want to know the difference between Formula One today (2014) and in 1966? The last death on track was Aryton Senna in 1994. (2016 edit) Well, that didn't last long. At the Japanese GP in 2014, the rain was coming so fast the stewards pushed the race along, one car went off in the rain and before the giant tractor could get that car off the track, Jules Bianchi's car submarined the tractor and he was killed after a long battle in the hospital.Watch the documentary "Senna" and the new movie about Lauda/Hunt called "Rush" and you will have the essence of F-1 racing from the mid 1960's to the mid 1990's.In 1966 when this film was made open wheeled racing was extremely dangerous. There are cameos by about 30 Formula One drivers in the movie. Within 5 years 1/3 of these men had been killed.I drove on the old course at Spa Francorchamp in Belgium (featured in this movie) in the 1960's and used to do Club Racing in the US. There were no run-off areas at Spa to speak of and houses were right on the edge of track. One little slip and your 1400 pound car hit a cement/stone/concrete three story house. The house would win. Driving back then on these courses was insanely dangerous. The cars were unsafe compared to today and the tracks were crazy. Watch this movie and you will see why Jackie Stewart and others decided that driver safety is paramount and changed the sport for the better. You will have no better idea of those days than to watch this movie.I watch this movie every 5 years or so and it just as good every time.

The first time I saw this I was 13 y/o so of course, I thought it thrilling. It had some pretty famous names, and it had romance, and Formula 1. Who could ask for more? Fast forward to the present. It's still great to see the great actors of old, like Gardner and Montand. And the car races are still fun to watch, even if it's vintage racing. But the romance has turned to soap opera. Gardner is rather a boo, a far cry from his ever-charming Maverick. The English racer, whatever his name is, is rather a pathetic figure. And I cannot for the life of me understand how any man - especially one with Montand's looks - can fall for someone like Eve Marie Saint, a pallid, insipid, monochromatic female (both physically and otherwise), who started looking middle-age as soon as she hit 20. To make matters worse, she plays a fashion reporter, who we are supposed to believe is strong and independent, but who comes across more as a priggish, self-righteous, though needy, spinster.So why do I give the film such high rating? Because in spite of all of the above, it's still a great film. The race scenes are terrific and well done. Also, I am eternally devoted to oldies. I'd much rather watch Grand Prix over and over than sit through one of the idiotic, bombastic, special effects dependent bores the make these days.