Grand Prix released in DVD, with extras

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FullerH

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Nov 25, 1998
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The 1966 film classic, "John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix" has finally been released in DVD. Amazon has it for $14.99, $5.99 off of list. It is a 2-disc set that includes an extensive list of extras, including a piece on the making of the film.

I remember first seeing this movie in Cinerama and it knocked my socks off with the detail of the racing that it showed. It captured the Grand Prix scene of the mid-1960s exactly. And every accident in the movie had its basis in real life incidents, including the one where Garner goes into the harbor at Monte Carlo. And the terror of coming over a crest of a hill at Spa and suddenly finding yourself in an unexpected downpour is absolutely accurate according to the memoirs of the drivers to whom it happened.

I intend to buy my copy and I recommend this film to any race fan. Amazon has it coupled with that other great racing film, "LeMans" by Steve McQueen. If you do not have either, this is a good time to get both.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._1_1/104-9795230-4505503?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130
 
Am I the only person here who is interested in this film? I was afraid to post it in Community since it had to do, if only tangentially, with automobiles, but I suspect that Community would be a better place for it.
 
FullerH said:
Am I the only person here who is interested in this film? I was afraid to post it in Community since it had to do, if only tangentially, with automobiles, but I suspect that Community would be a better place for it.
Click to expand...

Don't waste your time Hugh, it will just get moved. Post in W&C instead :)
 
This is certainly the right forum. Maybe we can get a flame war going, Grand Prix versus NASCAR -- but how to get it started? Hmm ...

Grand Prix racers are too cheap to buy fenders! :p
 
Some time ago, the Speed Channel aired the film with the added interview footage from Garner et al. Great stuff. At the time, I was heavy into playing Grand Prix Legends, which coincidentally models the 1968 Grand Prix season and circuits.
I was amazed at the accuracy of the game, as the in-game footage of Spa exactly mirrored the footage of the old course in the film.

The drivers back then were perhaps a different breed. The 400 HP, 1200 pound vehicles carried enough gasoline (not the stuff they burn now) for an entire race, as there were no pitstops. No "bulletproof" gas tanks either, the cars were essentially firebombs. Tires were hard (hard enough for a set to last the entire race weekend) and brakes were....OK.
Many of the courses (as was the case with Spa) were run over public roads in close proximity to houses, trees, and other obstacles. To make the famous "kink" at Spa, one had to line up on a farmhouse....

Grand Prix and Le Mans are two of the great race films.
 
I picked up my copy last weekend and watched it. The film has been remastered for DVD and is MUCH improved over the VHS version and the additional extras are more than worth the price of the album, at least to me.
 
Mwerner, watching the film again reminded me of how all of the races were shot on the actual tracks and, at Spa, the drivers' meeting was a fun scene to pick out the real Grand Prix drivers of that period such as Jummy Clark, soon to be killed, Graham Hill, Dan Gurney, Jackie Stewart, Jo Siffert, Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Bruce McLaren, etc.
 
I have the DVD also, and John Frankenheimer ROCKS.
His movies are so real, that you almost think he filmed it "par express".

Check also "Ronin", a film with Robert DeNiro and some other good actors (all actors fits perfectly in their roll).
Filmed on location in France a few years ago, the stunt-driving is so real that you think it's "live" filmed !

Another tip ; The orignal "Italian Job" and "LE Mans" with Stve McQueen, must see movies !!!

Funny ad : a friend of me bought two years ago a BMW M5 (e39, 6 cyl model) that has actually served in the movie (and survived), with an autograph of Mr De Niro on the sunvisor !
 
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