Review of Le Mans (1971) by Philip B — 13 Aug 2007

As a film I will admit that it is not one of the greatest ever made. It suffers from the very cool hip ?jazz? stylings of the time and it must be said, many McQueen films. There is also little to no plot, almost no character development and long periods where?well?not much happens.

But like some sort of enchanted relic, that only a small cult of believers can see, it will only ever be appreciated by an enlightened few. And this stems from a few simple ingredients namely, McQueen, Motor Racing and Le Mans.

Firstly you must love McQueen, a love that you?ll probably have had since you were a boy. And I say boy, because he really was only ever a boy?s own hero, standing out from the pack in The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. Cool, irreverent and unbreakable.

Secondly if you have ever raced around a race track, or simply love the smell of slick 50, burning disks and the ear splitting roar of the well tuned race engine you can appreciate the way this film brings the sport to life on film. Perhaps only John Frankenheimer?s Grand Prix in 1966 can beat the film for incredible race photography, that evokes a sense of realism that manages to give the viewer the heart pounding, dry mouth, sweaty palm sensation of motor racing.

But the most important ingredient is the race itself, the incomparable, historic road race of Le Mans. This supreme test of man and machine, to this day attracts over 200,000 spectators from all around the world, of which 70,000 are British. Its impossible not to feel that unique mix of emotions and memories that Le Mans gives you when you watch this film.