User Reviews

As the poster says, "Steve McQueen takes you for a ride in the country. The country is France. The drive is at 200MPH!" "Le Mans" is arguably the best film made about the sport of race car driving. What it lacks in story it more than makes up for in exciting race footage. No process shots, no rear screen projection. What you see is absolutely real. And Steve McQueen is, as always, just great. (McQueen drove race cars as a hobby so he knew what he was doing behind the wheel of that Porsche.) If you've never seen "Le Mans", rent it. But don't expect to see a regular movie, instead, expect to see a fine race documentary.

Steve McQueen stars in this film that recreates the race at Le Mans, France. However, he is less the star and more the object of the camera's focus more than any of the other racers--but it's a very unusual film. As a result, "Le Mans" is one of the more difficult films I have reviewed. That's because its style is nothing like a traditional film. The narrative is nothing like a standard film and it plays like a fictionalized version of a documentary. So, if you are looking for dialog and an interplay of characters, this is NOT a film for you! Instead, it's as if the entire 24 hours of Le Mans were crammed into a nearly two-hour film. To do this, the middle section of the race was condensed heavily, but the beginning and end of the race is live and it's clearly like you are there watching all the action--up close as if you are in the car or next to it. And wow, is it tense--as I found my arms and legs moving and contracting with the action. And, in this sense, it's a brilliant film and is the closest most of us will ever get to driving a race car ourselves. Exceptional but I cannot compare it to anything I've ever seen before--you just need to see this one to understand what I am talking about in my somewhat vague description. Sorry...it just seems to defy mere words.

'Le Mans' is called by many to be greatest racing film of all time, and here I have to agree. There are movies about racing that are much better as a movie in a whole (Rush), but 'Le Mans' is almost documentary like depicting the gritty and pure part of racing. Steve McQueen stars as American auto racer Michael Delaney, a role that didn't need much acting, rather than needed a charismatic actor. And Steve McQueen oozes with coolness and charisma. There are no soundtrack, just pure engine sounds, and first dialogue comes after 30 minutes. Filmed in real location of Le Mans with real race cars, and using some of real footage from real races, the film feel authentic and not out dated by single bit. 'Le Mans' as a movie is like time capsule, as it depicts racing exactly like it was in it's days.

Film buffs who are also racing fans will adore this film.

Fans of motor racing will appreciate this semi-documentary film based on the legendary 24-hour French road race. The film is set during a period in motor sports just prior to its almost total usurpation by corporate culture, in this case 1970, when there was still a tolerable balance between sponsorship and the particular form of nobility that pervaded racing. As a film, LeMans is remarkable for a sense of restraint that is so unwavering that even the incomparable Steve McQueen seems almost normal inside its cool envelope. No movie on the subject has ever equaled its transparency and authenticity. Motor sports have become so sophisticated and big-time that if you cut the average driver with a knife he might bleed only contact cleaner, or Mello Yello. Modern drivers are still courageous and skilled, but something essential has been lost to the hype and the inevitability of high technology. In LeMans, you can almost smell the 100 octane Supershell and the hot Castrol. People look at one another, not at computer displays. They converse directly over the rasp of tightly-wound 12-cylinder engines, not through headsets and mikes. It's a human thing. Overwrought genre siblings like Days of Thunder are ludicrous and crass compared to LeMans' pure, almost ascetic spirit. Tom Cruise's Cole Trickle could not buy a pit pass into its world.

LeMans is, essentially, about racing. But as a film in the American narrative style, it must have at least some back story and, in this case, that story is romantic. As a safeguard against terminal mushiness, the back story is duplexed into a pair of similar boy/girl situations, thereby keeping each from acquiring excessive density while satisfying the needs of the form. In one, a European driver and his tres charmant, preternaturally understanding wife, work through to a conclusion that it is time for him to walk away while he is still able. The other focuses on the hesitating and mutual attraction between McQueen's American racing star and the widow of an Italian driver who died in the previous year's LeMans race. The night-time accident that claimed her husband also involved McQueen's character; a no-fault event. It was just racing. The lady, who still misses her late husband but is ready to move on, desperately needs someone to talk to, someone who fully understands the nature of her loss and who might possibly, to some discernible degree, justify it. Steve McQueen thrived on characters who required no external validation, from women or men, but who were never arrogant about it. He was the real deal. Few of us have the courage or motivation to be as authentic, or to weather the storms that can result from being so, though I think we should still try. McQueen's racing driver carries this same authenticity and he sutures the widow's aching heart with it during a meal break (LeMans cars were driven around the clock by two-driver teams) while sitting across the table from the lady. She is resisting a strong desire to run and protect herself from her own feelings. But McQueen's character is so self-effacing and contained, yet so completely and unthreateningly there, that she cannot pull away from him. Only part of the dialog is audible. The rest of the scene is viewed from outside the dining area as the camera pulls back through its window. It's a brief scene but excellently acted, adding itself into the film's humanity, a quality that is never lost against the backdrop of hurtling cars and screaming engines.

The racing sequences are beautifully staged. The final seconds before the race starts, drivers in the cars, fidgeting with shifters, one by one switching ignitions on as the countdown closes against a stethoscopic heartbeat sound, puts you right in the cockpits. At-speed scenes were driven by actual racing luminaries of the time, including McQueen himself, and they go as fast camera mounts will allow. A couple of spectacular crashes take place, both filmed in an interwoven stop-action style that lets you watch every rivet pop as the cars unpeel like grapes. Near the end, entirely plausible circumstance pits McQueen and his main rival, a great German driver in a gripping last-lap duel. (the German driver, played by Sigfried Rauch, also played the wily Wehrmacht Sergeant in Sam Fuller's The Big Red One.) These two characters meet briefly during mutual down-time early in the race and establish the obvious respect and fraternal affection they hold for one another. The camaraderie established here underpins the entire film from that point and also transforms their last-lap duel into pure contest. And the cars. open-class LeMans machines of this period still sourced much of the sinuous design style of the preceding decade and they are gorgeous to the appreciative eye, especially McQueen's ride, the Gulf Porsche 917, possibly the most charismatic car ever raced. Interestingly, one of the cars used in the film (a Lola as I recall) was recently discovered languishing in a German barn, sans motor and transmission. Both had been loaned by Porsche for the production.

Fire up LeMans on a system with decent audio capabilities, EQ a bit toward the bass to compensate for accurate but slightly raspy 70's recording technology, and crank it up. You may not feel the burn, but you'll definitely hear it. Only the somewhat too Rat-Pack score detracts from this super little film and that only slightly. Otherwise it's as time-proof as one of those molded spoons you get in Chinese restaurants. Any true fan of the sport, certainly as it was in the film's time-set, should collect it. If you appreciate the compact, character-driven, semi-documentary style, try Downhill Racer. Released the year before LeMans, it's about skiing. Robert Redford's Kiss-My-Ass ski god isn't remotely noble but is entirely believable, as are Gene Hackman and Dabney Coleman as his coaches. It was one of the late John Simon's favorite films, and for good reason.

There's not much story here but there isn't much pretense, either. It's a racing movie and a damn good one at that. I'm not particularly devoted to the genre, but I found the footage to be very realistic and exciting. The script is there just barely enough to keep this from being a documentary. It does contain a tiny bit of insight, when a deceased racer's widow asks McQueen why is it worth risking one's life just to drive really fast. (I thought he had a pretty good answer.)

This movie is a well-rendered insider's view of a spectacular event from a bygone era. If this sounds like it might have some appeal to you, by all means, check this title out.

In parts this is classic cool 70s cinema. Widescreen jazz infused. In other parts it's down and dirty trackside racing. Never quite a documentary, but close enough to the action for anyone interested in motor racing. Le Mans is a fascinating race and this is every bit the love letter to it. Dialogue is sparse, McQueen is quiet and brooding. The plot is simple, although could've been a bit more engaging. It's about the racing though, pure and simple and with several sequences that are nothing short of staggering cinematic brilliance, it can be forgiven for any inadequacies elsewhere. With watching racing, it's as much about what's happening off the track, the strategy, the politics and it's exactly the same with this film, the production fraught with issues and squabbles, the trivia section on IMDB is riveting!

The reason why most racing movies fail, is because the Hollywood people try to tie in some cheesy plot to the highly professional sports of auto racing. In real life car racing, there is no dramatic love story, no struggle between good and evil, no rebel against the authority. In real life, racing is all about speed, physical strength, and concentration, anything else is just distraction.

Rather than put in a third rate plot to make a crappy story out of it like Driven or any other racing flick has done(including the Grand Prix), Steve McQueen's Le Mans has chosen to walk the different path, to bring the true spirit of car racing on the big screen. Who cares if there is no plot, no conversation, or no love story. If you are looking for those things, you are watching the wrong movie. The sound of the 917 blast down the Mulsanne at full throttle is well worth the time to watch this movie.

Sadly, this is probably the last of the true racing movies. The world today is impossible to make a movie out of real racing car(every single race car in Le Mans is real. The Porsche 917, the Ferrari 512S, The Lola T70). Driven uses mock CART car based on Indy Light, plus a whole lot of crappy CGI car, Grand Prix uses the F2 car that looks like the F1 at the time. A movie like Le Mans probably will never be made again.

If you are a petrol head and you have never seen this film you must have been born on another planet and I urge you to see it now. This film can be best described as motor racing porn. Incredible race car footage shot at the 1970 le Mans 24 hours race together with all the tensions and incidents of this famous endurance battle. Cameo appearances of famous race car drivers of the period. Full of staged crashes with cars that would now be worth $ millions. Not much of a story line and that was intentional, but who cares. This is motor racing at its best full of incident and as near to the real Le Mans as you can get. A veritable masterpiece of cinematic history.As fresh today as when it first hit the silver screen in 1971.

A docu-drama, I guess, being heavy on the simple task of documenting the 1970 race in question. My recent viewing of the pan-and-scan VHS seems more involving that when I saw the James Garner flick "Grand Prix" in a Cinerama theater in the late 60's. The latter movie played up the personal drama too much and the superwide screen couldn't uncramp the camera angles on the city turns.

Although "Le Mans" isn't exactly "Casablanca" in that plotting is minimal (as usual from McQueen), it benefits from the believability of his stunt work and heavy use of car cameras. If you like going fast, this is the film for you.

Excellent racing sequences. Very realistic to the point of being more of a documentary. What this movie was lacking, however, was a plot. I can see much better racing coverage by watching a NASCAR or a Grand Prix Circuit race on a Sunday afternoon on the TV. They, too, have dashboard mounted cameras and zoom lenses. The problem is that anyone could have played McQueen's role because he didn't act and he hardly spoke. The result was a boring mess. Tried to be both a movie and a documentary but failed at both. Dialogue is important to a movie. Plots rely on the relationships and conflicts between the characters. This minimalist fare where what little dialogue there is is incomprehensible or implied through facial expressions gets tedious after awhile.

One of my Christmas presents last year was a copy of Michael Keyser's book "A French Kiss With Death" about the making of this movie (I had to drop a BIG hint!). Having just finished the book I watched the movie again with a much greater understanding of how it came to be made and the problems which plagued its production.

It is probably extremely rare for a major feature film to have absolutely no script - not even an outline - and no female lead after two months of shooting, but that was indicative of the sort of movie McQueen was determined to make. The race IS the story, and the story of the race is very well told. McQueen's racing experience, his need to have credibility within the racing world and the large number of real racing drivers and real racing cars involved all add up to an authenticity which exceeded that of Frankenheimer's "Grand Prix" and which is still unequalled. A couple of minor errors in the cars' paint jobs fail to dampen the reality of the on-track action.

It is true that the off-track storyline is a little weak, and some of the performances are a bit hammy, but McQueen absolutely nailed the "feel" of the Le Mans race. For this reason it is many race fans' favourite movie. It's certainly mine .

In looking over the previous reviews of Le Mans most of the people are first racing fans, secondly Steve McQueen fans. Their support of Le Mans is natural.

I like Steve McQueen, liked him in The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Cincinnati Kid, Nevada Smith and a whole lot more. And I certainly don't knock the skill and courage it takes to be an auto racing driver.

But I like Steve McQueen the actor first and that's what I want to see him do on the screen, act. For what I saw in Le Mans I'd have preferred it be labeled what it is, a documentary.

In the book The Films of Steve McQueen the story of the making of Le Mans the project started out a few years earlier with McQueen, James Garner, John Frankenheimer, and John Sturges all agreeing to try and make the ultimate racing film. Lots of creative differences ended in all these folks walking away from McQueen. John Frankenheimer and James Garner went and did their own film Grand Prix which if it's not the ultimate racing film, it sure comes closer than Le Mans.

All we got in the end is some of Steve McQueen's home movies brilliantly photographed for the big screen. But that's all it really is people.

jrfranklin01 mentions that it doesn't make sense to put McQueens character in the car when he's just had a crash caused by a lack of attention. I can't remember the precise dialogue, but he definitely mentions the problems of following a slower car.

This is a typical Le Mans accident and I think the point is that the team manager knows that Delaney is his fastest driver and that even the best can get caught out by slower cars. Indead Jo Bonnier who did some of the driving for the film was killed at Le Mans (1971, I think) in an incident with a slower car.

Also of note, my DVD copy of the movie came free with my programme when I attended the race this year. They know that many people's love of the 24 hours has a lot to do with the atmosphere created in this movie. You will appreciate this movie more if you've been woken by the sunrise and the sound of racing engines at the circuit :-) Ben

A film with almost no dialogue. Interesting and entertaining, but just didn't turn my crank. Had to see it as a matter of ticking-the-box, but wouldn't watch it again. I much preferred its modern version.

Grand Prix remains my benchmark for great racing movies. I understand that Steve McQueen wanted to make a big racing movie as well, and finally was able to do it with 1971's "Le Mans".

Like Grand Prix, the film immerses you in the racing environment and really makes you feel like you are there. This is likely what made some viewers claim that this "felt like a documentary". But no, it doesn't feel that way.

Also like Grand Prix, the non-racing parts of the film often don't quite work. But Le Mans takes that to an extreme. There is so little dialog in this film, that the viewer MUST listen to every tidbit to get even an idea of what the characters are about. Sometimes, important dialog is stepped on by the racing sounds. I think if you took every piece of dialog and spliced them together, you would have about 5 minutes of screen time.

These aspects are the worst parts of the film. We never really learn too much what these characters are about.

Steve McQueen plays a driver, Michael Delaney, who feels partially responsible, so it seems, for a crash that killed a fellow driver in a previous race. There is an interesting scene at the start of the film where he revisits the site of the crash, and takes notice of the shiny new replacement steel fencing that replaces what had been destroyed.

The dead driver's wife, Lisa, continues to come to the races. She is never without a nervous, sad expression. In one of the few dialog scenes, Delaney asks her why she keeps coming. "For myself", she says.

The film is full of sequences of terse dialog and long stares, telling the view virtually nothing as to what is going on with the characters. We are aware of a competition between Delaney and the Ferrari driver, but the two characters only have a brief scene or two together. We also don't understand little things like, Delaney's two fingered salute at the end, and his opponent's knowing smile about it. What did I miss? Any viewer would ask.

There are a lot of long stares between Delaney and Lisa, but what do they mean? Is she trying to work out any feelings of blame she has for him, is she falling for him? Or is it simply that she worries about another human being for the enormous chances they are taking, and trying to understand why anyone would race in the first place, as it resulted in the death of her husband....we can only guess at her motivations, which make little sense.

But the movie is all about the racing, and a great racing movie it is. Fantastic cinematography. The sound. You can almost smell the gas and the burnt rubber, and feel the exhausted, rain-soaked weariness of the drivers. A couple of shots are shocking in their effects, I found myself almost pulling back from the screen. The cars shudder like animals straining to pull ahead and win.

You are down in the pits with these guys, right there with them as they frantically repair a suspension issue, or deal with wheels and fuel. The dank, dreary, dimly lit pit rooms add realistic, grungy austerity to the atmosphere. The cars seem claustrophobic, beautiful in their design, and almost violent in their incredible, shrieking sounds.

On balance, watching the spectators go about waking up the day the race starts (people obviously came a day early to get a good place to set up), watching THEM watch the race, or amuse themselves during downtimes at the neighboring park add to the total feel of authenticity, and tone of the film. The camera work, even here, is fantastic.

Small, time capsule moments such as when Delaney is on a break from driving, walking to his trailer, and suddenly he turns a corner and there is a super rare Matra street car parked on the lawn, next to a ultra futuristic Matra field building. The very idea of cars, of wild shapes, sounds and colors, permeates this film.

The only issue I have with the racing scenes is in understanding the strategy and execution in the final moments of the face. Not going to spoil it for you, but difficult to understand what is going on. I have read other accounts of what happened, but I found those unsupportable by just looking at the film.

All said, if you enjoy quality racing movies, don't miss this one.

Beyond McQueen, an attractive widow of whom McQueen was involved in a fatal accident with and the previous year's 14 Hour of Le Mans race. Aside from that THIN storyline, this is an outstanding recreation of one of the most arduous races in the world. This being 1971, it focuses on Porsche and Ferrari with the mighty Porsche 917. Great sounds, great camera angles and genuine feel of racing with some heavy crashes. I wonder how they safely did those crashes in a recreation movie. "Ford v Ferrari" is a better overall film, you learn something and the characters have depth and emotion. This is good in its own way. Quiet and serious; sort of like how I assume McQueen was in real life. Or this is just an excuse for him to get paid to drive some super-fast race cars? Ha.

This movie is all racing. If you're looking for a big love story, you won't find it here. You'll find tons of racing. It's a breath of fresh air to see a racing movie that isn't tainted with Hollywood. There is very little dialog but lots of car noises. You can tell Steve McQueen loves racing.

This could have been a sweet racing movie with great camera angles on racing actions, perfect for old school hard core Le Mans racing fans.

Unfortunately, something went wrong with the script. Steve McQueen is pathetic and has a 100 words script, Elga Andersen is as useful as a tree planted in the middle of the racing track. While she has attractive looks, this movie should be about burnt tires and hot brakes, not about some chicks emotions and hair dress.

Ditch these two, and you get a great racing movie, almost feel the gasoline smell. Listen to the Porsche flat 12cyl Sonata @9000 rpm and enjoy the ride.

I'm a motor racing fan and have been to many F1 events but I'd have to say as a film I'm not surprised why did poorly at the box office. There is basically no storyline and even some of the filming looks very stilted and does not flow. Nice scenery and great to see the 1970s Porsche 24-hour cars but other than that pretty boring stuff

When Le Mans first came out, my buddy and I would drive anywhere in San Luis Obispo county to see it; often it would be at a drive-in. When the movie was over, it was quite an adventure to drive out of the theater as most everyone was jazzed by the spirit of the movie and its amazing cinematography.

As other reviewers may mention, the characters in the movie and even the plot are secondary to the pure action portrayed. From my memory, I recall that some scenes were shot with a moving camera platform alongside the race cars at 150 mph.

In this day of computer-generated crowds, it is to be noted that the crowds in the movie were authentic; that is, it was filmed very shortly after an actual running of the 24 Hours of LeMans and the movie people invited the crowds to return to be in this movie. I am quite sure that no one in the crowd was paid; showing the fans' devotion and love for the sport and the show.

For the time and with the "technology", it is an amazing work.

It's no secret that Steve McQueen was a massive petrol head. In fact one of the common factors of the majority of his movies is that there is a scene where he's using one mode of transport or another. Le Mans was years in the making and was a nightmare shoot and turned out to be the the last time the McQueen would ever drive a racing car.

This is a strange film . It's made to look like a documentary, yet it has stunted dialogue in places but the first words spoken aren't spoke until the the 38th minute . Personally I wouldn't have bothered with the dialogue because it just distracts from the racing and feels forced . McQueen certainly didn't want it but the studios won out .

The film itself isn't great unless you are big motor sport fan . What I liked about it wasn't the racing ( the noise gave me a head ache ) but the historical look at 1970 . What everyone wore , the lack of health and safety and the crowd scenes . It's does look stunning but the racing alone doesn't carry it enough to be a good feature film .

Basically this is Steve McQueen's self indulgence that he dreamed of making for years but i don't think it turned to be the movie he , or the audience really wanted .

This movie would have destroyed the career of a lesser star.

While the above critic condemns the story of Grand Prix as "soap opera drivel," at least it isn't pretentious, unintelligible garbage.

Watching this movie is about as much fun as watching toy cars speed around a race track. The first 37 minutes with NO dialogue? Long stares between McQueen and others, shot "European fashinon," that are supposed to be filled with meaning but that are actually bewilderingly boring.

It's not shown on TV for a reason. Other than the auto-race nuts checking in here, there is not, never has been, and never will be a significant audience for a movie that McQueen made when he was well into cocaine.

See "Grand Prix" if you want to see true, documentary-style racing. The scenes are superlative, dramatic, and are not just random scenes of cars racing, and racing, and racing.

If they wanted "Le Mans" to be a documentary, they should have made it as such instead of pretending to be a movie. Anyone who thinks this movie is anywhere near-great has fumes on the brain.