Review of Grand Prix (1966) by Stcenterprise . — 09 Jul 2015

WOW......WOW......WOW.....WOW.....STUNNING......FANTASTIC......GENIUS.......AMAZING......I HAVE JUST SEEN THIS MOVIE 4 THE 1ST TIME N THINK THAT THIS IS SUCH A BRILLIANT MOVIE 2 WATCH......its got a good cast of actors/actresses throughout this movie.....I think that james garner (.R.I.P.), brian Bedford, yves montand (.R.I.P.), Antonio sabato, play good roles/parts throughout this movie......I think that the director of this drama/classics movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie.......I think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch.........I think that this is such cult classics movie 2 watch......I think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch.......

The film includes real-life racing footage and cameo appearances by drivers including Formula One World Champions Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and Jack Brabham. Other drivers who appeared in the film include Dan Gurney, Richie Ginther, Joakim Bonnier, Bruce McLaren and Jo Siffert.

The making was a race itself, as John Sturges and Steve McQueen planned to make a similar movie titled Day of the Champion. Due to their contract with the German Nürburgring, Frankenheimer had to turn over 27 reels shot there to Sturges. Frankenheimer was ahead in schedule anyway, and the McQueen/Sturges project was called off, while the German race track was only mentioned briefly in Grand Prix.

The F1 cars in the film are mostly mocked-up Formula 3 cars made to look like contemporary F1 models, although the film also used footage from actual F1 races.[citation needed] Some of this was captured by Phil Hill, the 1961 World Champion, who drove modified camera cars in some sessions during the 1966 Monaco and Belgian Grands Prix. This was some of the earliest experimentation with in-car cameras for Formula One.

The actual level of driving ability of the actors varied wildly - Bedford couldn't drive at all and was only ever in the car for close-up shots. Sabàto was very slow and nervous, Montand himself scared very easily early in filming and was often towed rather than driving the car, but Garner was very competent and even took up racing and entering cars as a direct result of his involvement in the film. So impressive were Garner's driving skills that some of the real Formula One drivers, including Graham Hill and Jack Brabham, reportedly told Garner that he could have been a successful Grand Prix driver if he had not gone into acting.

The helmet design that James Garner's character uses is that of then-Grand Prix race driver Chris Amon from New Zealand. The only difference was a silhouette of a Kiwi bird that was normally on the side of Amon's helmet that was left off Garner's, as his character was an American. Brian Bedford's character used a helmet design that was the same as that of real life 1966 BRM driver Jackie Stewart. As Bedford couldn't drive, this was done so that they could shoot footage of Stewart driving the BRM (with a balaclava over his face to hide that it wasn't actually Bedford driving) and pass it off as Bedford.

Circuits featured in the film include; Circuit de Monaco (Monaco), Clermont-Ferrand (France), Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Circuit Park Zandvoort (Netherlands), Brands Hatch (United Kingdom), and Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italy). The Nürburgring (Germany), Watkins Glen International (USA), and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Mexico) were all mentioned in the film but there was no footage shown.

The camera car used on the tracks was a Ford GT40 driven by Phil Hill. Cameras were mounted at the front and/or rear of the GT40 with front and rear body panels being removed as necessary. Aerial shots were filmed from an Alouette III helicopter.

During the making of the film both Frankenheimer and Garner were interviewed by Alan Whicker for the BBC television series Whicker's World.

Non-actors appearing include broadcaster Raymond Baxter, who interviews Nino Barlini after he wins the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch.

I think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch, it is such a really sad movie 2 watch but it is such a powerful drama movie 2 watch......it is such a fantastic drama movie 2 watch, its got such a brilliant cast throughout this movie......I think that james garner (.R.I.P.), was absolutely brilliant throughout this movie.......I think that this is such a brilliant movie 2 watch with such a brilliant cast throughout this movie.......