Let me first say that "Le Mans" is, that I can recall, a movie with the least amount of dialogue in it. In fact, the first ten/fifteen minutes of the movie go by without a word said. We see Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, an expert racecar driver who enters the film with a flashback of an earlier racecar accident. Then we see his estranged relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Belgetti (the beautiful Elga Andersen). The Le Mans begins with a great job by the director in making you feel as if you are there actually witnessing the race. Aerial shots, road shots, driver-seat shots, shots of the fans and from the stands, all sorts of shots are assembled. It is an inside view of the Le Mans race back in '71. Even looking at some of the old sponsor names like Gulf was amusing.
The competition is between Porsche and Ferrari for the trophy. Delaney is a Porsche driver who is reticent and seems to appreciate more to the race than just winning. One of the confusing parts of the film (SPOILERS) was in the coach removing another driver from the race and replacing him with Delaney. This is after Delaney totaled a car because a nearby explosion distracted him. I had a bit of trouble buying into this. But I admired the way the driver who was taken out of the race took the news and how he was polite and professional. Then, towards the end, there is the big showdown between Delaney and his arch-nemesis Johann Ritter (Fred Haltiner). Haltiner seems bad enough just in his inconsiderate/cutthroat driving. Unexpectedly, Delaney doesn't win Le Mans, but either does Ritter. Porsche wins the race and the victory goes to a young pup of a driver. I got the impression afterward that Delaney helped him win in keeping Ritter at bay.
I felt that this was one of those films where the hero wasn't heroic for winning but because he came back and could've won and didn't, opting instead to do what was best for the team. Again, a great job is done at making you feel like you're at the Le Mans. It seems almost documentary in this respect, with undoubtedly some real footage of Le Mans being used. Don't look for much conversation in this movie as the racecars make all the noise.
7/10
The competition is between Porsche and Ferrari for the trophy. Delaney is a Porsche driver who is reticent and seems to appreciate more to the race than just winning. One of the confusing parts of the film (SPOILERS) was in the coach removing another driver from the race and replacing him with Delaney. This is after Delaney totaled a car because a nearby explosion distracted him. I had a bit of trouble buying into this. But I admired the way the driver who was taken out of the race took the news and how he was polite and professional. Then, towards the end, there is the big showdown between Delaney and his arch-nemesis Johann Ritter (Fred Haltiner). Haltiner seems bad enough just in his inconsiderate/cutthroat driving. Unexpectedly, Delaney doesn't win Le Mans, but either does Ritter. Porsche wins the race and the victory goes to a young pup of a driver. I got the impression afterward that Delaney helped him win in keeping Ritter at bay.
I felt that this was one of those films where the hero wasn't heroic for winning but because he came back and could've won and didn't, opting instead to do what was best for the team. Again, a great job is done at making you feel like you're at the Le Mans. It seems almost documentary in this respect, with undoubtedly some real footage of Le Mans being used. Don't look for much conversation in this movie as the racecars make all the noise.
7/10