Woke up this morning to the first proper drenching of the coming winter. All I wanted to do was stay home, make a big bowl of popcorn for breakfast and watch Grand Prix. An hour later I was at work.
Ten hours later though, I sat down to watch the movie less the popcorn. It was shot during the glory days of F1 in the sixties and follows a race car driver who has an accident and seriously injures his team mate. His team lets him go so the only thing to do is join another one and get involved with his team mates estranged wife. Naturally. All this while his main rivals are also chasing girls, partying before and after races and living up to stereotypes.
A quote from the injured driver, Scott Stoddard, talking to his wife who no longer wishes to be with him: “Y’know one of the most beautiful things about a car? If it isn’t working properly, you can strip the skin off, expose the insides, find out exactly where the trouble is, take out the faulty part and replace it with a new one. If only we could do that with people!”
It’s a bit of a soap opera and the plot leaves a lot to be desired but you should forgive these shortfalls to witness the sport the way it was before commercial interests, aerodynamics and electronics took over. It is also very interesting to see the lack of safety surrounding the sport. There are people running across the track mid race, drivers pulling over to talk to their pit crew who walk out on the track and just general disregard for safety as far as us cotton-wrapped-current-day-racers are concerned.
The cinematography was ground breaking, if not all successful, with on board cameras and real life stunts unlike the CGI we’re used to today. You get to witness some racing on tracks that no longer see F1 cars. Spa, Monza and Zandvoort of old all make an appearance and of course, the opening race is Monaco. Some of the techniques used, like the multi screens, did not appeal to me at all. I found them rather annoying if I’m honest.
Another effect however, the soft dreamy music overlaid on intense racing action, was interesting even if it was considered a failure and never really caught on. I guess it appealed to me because my favourite scene involved one of these soft musical scores. It’s race day and the F1 cars are rolling up and down the track. A man watches the race which you see in the reflection of his glasses. Branches of a tree fill the screen and softly bounce around as you see the cars zooming past in the background. A couple kissing pause for a moment to watch the race. Friends dine by the side of the track and women in white gloves with binoculars cheer on their favourite racer. It’s a beautiful portrayal of a sport long lost to advertising and a safety conscious world.