Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Casto
I just had not gotten around to watching this. A close friend (who is not into motorsports) watched it recently and was asking me questions about it. I had to admit that I had yet to see it. So I watched it this past weekend.
As a movie, I felt it was very good. As mentioned by others it hit the standard cliches (lots of gear shifting, pushing the throttle down just a bit more to pass, giving other drivers the "stink eye" as you slowly pass them, over the top "rubbin is racin", etc.)
The question from the non-motorsports friend was interesting. Such as... Why did the Shelby guy get much credit? It seems that Miles basically built that car?  My teen son watched it and while my son was interested in the entire Enzo vs. Henry II thing (and he knew the history in advance), I am sure the larger importance of the character "Lee Iacocca" to US auto manufacturing was completely lost on him.
I asked both my kids and my friends two questions...
1. They show the car just showing up at Shelby's location. Where do you think it came from? Their answer... Hmm, I don't know.
2. How many GT40 cars do you think where in the 1966 LeMans race? Their answer... Four? I think the correct answer is eight mk2 and a few mk1. So it wasn't clear in the movie how many cars were thrown at the race and how many of those didn't finish.
Anyhow, as already noted, it was a movie and not a documentary and my friend did enjoy it. Enough so that she was curious to consider paying attention to the 2020 race!
Richard |
Why did the Shelby guy get much credit? It seems that Miles basically built that car?
To be fair, because it was he who Ford 'merica chose/headhunted to do the job and distribute the funds to do so...and he had won Le Mans in 1959 with Roy Salvadori in the Aston Martin.
Don't know how you can say Ken did not receive the correct amount of credit (watch it again?) where you will see that Shelby was his main supporter and credited Ken with developing the car to Henry Ford II.
[Not to mention Phil Remington for coming up with quick change brake assembly...a winning move...]
The sudden arrival of the car, the lack of background on its creation in the UK and any other input into its development that other drivers had was lacking.
Carol Shelby and Ken Miles were the co-stars of the movie...plus rather than the usual fairy tale Hollywood ending with Carol riding off into the sunset overdubbed with scenes of his subsequent success...was not shown, instead the movie ended on a sombre note with Kens demise handled sensitively...
That's my nickels worth
