Interesting that Steve took issue with John's criticism of the film's plot, (or lack thereof) because in the documentary about the making of Le Mans from 2015 it was pretty clear that McQueen actually didn't really want the love story in the film, and it was forced upon him by the studios to try and help sell it; he originally wanted it to be more of a documentary about Le Mans, and this led to the director, John Sturges, quitting the project altogether because it wasn't what he signed up for. They started shooting the film whilst multiple screenwriters were still sending in script treatments, because McQueen had creative control but was such a perfectionist that nothing was ever good enough for him; especially dialogue, which is why there's so little in the final film. The story that illustrates this best was when Steve was asked by producer Bob Rosen: "Okay Steve: You walk into this caravan, you see this girl you haven't seen in a long time. She says: "Hello." Would you say "Hello" back?" And Steve's answer, after much consideration, was: "Not necessarily..." It's frankly amazing that the film makes any sense at all given that so much of it was shot without a script. Another problem was that McQueen wanted his character, Delaney, to lose Le Mans rather than win it; but he couldn't make up his mind about who should actually end up winning instead. So they ended up shooting at least three different endings in case McQueen changed his mind; one where Delaney wins, one where his teammate Larry Wilson wins, (Which is what ended up being the ending in the final film) and another where Eric Stahler wins for Ferrari. And during filming for one of the unused endings, David Piper had a massive accident which led to his leg being amputated. So McQueen's inability to compromise and agree on a script actually had some very serious consequences. But on the other hand, if McQueen wasn't so stubbornly committed to doing things his way, then we would never have gotten the spectacular racing scenes shot at 200 MPH down the Mulsanne, or in the pouring rain. For all it's flaws, Le Mans is an amazing time capsule of endurance racing in 1970, and you could tell it was a huge passion project of McQueen's. After the box office and film critics trashed it, maybe it hurt much more for Steve when racing drivers he admired like John were disappointed with it.
I still absolutely adore the film LeMans. I'm a little stunned at this criticism of the film. I found it to be nothing short of thrilling. Especially as it reaches the conclusion. We've been treated to a number of wonderful racing movies and documentaries over the last ten years. LeMans is still my favorite.
I don't think John had any issues with the actual racing; like he said, it was shot superbly, but the story and characters behind it fell somewhat flat, and to be honest I think he has a point. Piero Belgetti's death at the previous year's race in an accident with Delaney is the inciting incident of the story; it's what Delaney reflects upon in the flashback near the beginning. But we get absolutely no indication of what Delaney and Piero's relationship was like beforehand. Were they good friends, or was Delaney jealous of Pierro for being the one that ended up marrying Lisa? Pierro burns alive in the flashback, and we never really find out; like a lot of things in the film it's left ambiguous. There is a really beautifully illustrated graphic novel adaptation of the film by Sandro Garbo, which includes a scene of Delaney and Piero in flashback before the race, and we get a much better idea of how close Piero and Delaney were, and why Delaney misses him. The graphic novel doesn't really change anything all that big about the events of the film, but it does a lot to humanise and flesh out the characters; in a weird way it kind of compliments and adds a bit more context to the film. I absolutely love the "Racing is life" scene, but I have to be honest, the love story between Michael Delaney and Lisa Belgetti simply doesn't work and bores me to tears; yeah, it's implied they had a thing together in the past that ends up being rekindled, but they seem very awkward and stilted in their conversations; I never really get a sense of why they like each other, other than because Lisa is very attractive and Delaney is just Steve McQueen in everything but name. I didn't think the romantic chemistry was really there like the film seemed to think it was. The graphic novel suggests that Delaney and Lisa were having an affair whilst Lisa was still married to Pierro, so in that version it makes much more sense why things are so tense between them after Pierro's death racing against Delaney. Then there's the other couple in the film, Delaney's teammate in the other Porsche, Johan Ritter, who is planning to retire from racing after Le Mans at the request of his wife, who is worried about their children growing up without a father. This could have worked really well as a contrast to Delaney; someone who decides that for him, racing isn't actually everything. But then at the end of the race, Delaney replaces Ritter for the final stint on orders from the team manager; Ritter obeys, but he's not happy because his choice to end his career on his own terms was effectively taken away from him; his wife is just happy that he's not at risk anymore, and that's that. I can't help but feel that this subplot goes nowhere; you could have just had Delaney taking over Ritter's car and cut the earlier scenes with Ritter and his wife, and you wouldn't have lost anything from the movie other than Louise Eckland. I think it's also a shame that of the three drivers who end up fighting for victory at the end, it's the eventual winner Larry Wilson who we know almost nothing about. All we know about him is that he's British and it's his debut at Le Mans. I do like that it's circumstance and not his pure pace that puts him into a winning position in the final stages, because you do sometimes get these underdog victories at Le Mans where the less fancied car stays out of trouble and wins it. But it would have been a lot more impactful in my opinion if they had played up Larry's inexperience; we see a couple of scenes of Delaney giving Larry advice in-between stints, but if they had shown Larry being exhausted every time he got out of the car, or starting to panic and miss gears when he sees Stahler and Delaney closing on him, then it would have at least made him more of a character than just a slow guy who lucks in at the end. Give him either a personality or a more personal battle to overcome. The one subplot that works quite well in the film is Delaney's friendly rivalry with Eric Stahler, and how they have a level of respect and admiration for each other but the press blows it up into a much bigger blood feud than it actually is. I think it also helps that it's the one thread that properly carries over into the on track battles, especially when Stahler backs out from a potentially race-winning move on Delany and then they give each other the finger at the end. Funnily enough, I felt that McQueen had much better chemistry with Siegfried Rauch (Stahler) than with his actual love interest!
McQueen insisted that the film be shot at speed and not compromised by filming at a low frame speed. Parts of he movie where shot during the actual race. You have to remember this was shot in 1970 with 1970 technology. Today half the movie would be CGI and ruined. Be thankful the movie got made at all because in the end that's what counts. I have a copy and watch it regularly. If you've ever strapped a race car on your back you know what I mean. My dream car 917K left hand drive, street legal ( sort of ) Number plate 26
Interesting that Steve took issue with John's criticism of the film's plot, (or lack thereof) because in the documentary about the making of Le Mans from 2015 it was pretty clear that McQueen actually didn't really want the love story in the film, and it was forced upon him by the studios to try and help sell it; he originally wanted it to be more of a documentary about Le Mans, and this led to the director, John Sturges, quitting the project altogether because it wasn't what he signed up for. They started shooting the film whilst multiple screenwriters were still sending in script treatments, because McQueen had creative control but was such a perfectionist that nothing was ever good enough for him; especially dialogue, which is why there's so little in the final film. The story that illustrates this best was when Steve was asked by producer Bob Rosen: "Okay Steve: You walk into this caravan, you see this girl you haven't seen in a long time. She says: "Hello." Would you say "Hello" back?" And Steve's answer, after much consideration, was: "Not necessarily..." It's frankly amazing that the film makes any sense at all given that so much of it was shot without a script.
Another problem was that McQueen wanted his character, Delaney, to lose Le Mans rather than win it; but he couldn't make up his mind about who should actually end up winning instead. So they ended up shooting at least three different endings in case McQueen changed his mind; one where Delaney wins, one where his teammate Larry Wilson wins, (Which is what ended up being the ending in the final film) and another where Eric Stahler wins for Ferrari. And during filming for one of the unused endings, David Piper had a massive accident which led to his leg being amputated. So McQueen's inability to compromise and agree on a script actually had some very serious consequences. But on the other hand, if McQueen wasn't so stubbornly committed to doing things his way, then we would never have gotten the spectacular racing scenes shot at 200 MPH down the Mulsanne, or in the pouring rain. For all it's flaws, Le Mans is an amazing time capsule of endurance racing in 1970, and you could tell it was a huge passion project of McQueen's. After the box office and film critics trashed it, maybe it hurt much more for Steve when racing drivers he admired like John were disappointed with it.
Who are you? Nevermind. It doesn't matter.
I still absolutely adore the film LeMans. I'm a little stunned at this criticism of the film. I found it to be nothing short of thrilling. Especially as it reaches the conclusion. We've been treated to a number of wonderful racing movies and documentaries over the last ten years. LeMans is still my favorite.
I don't think John had any issues with the actual racing; like he said, it was shot superbly, but the story and characters behind it fell somewhat flat, and to be honest I think he has a point.
Piero Belgetti's death at the previous year's race in an accident with Delaney is the inciting incident of the story; it's what Delaney reflects upon in the flashback near the beginning. But we get absolutely no indication of what Delaney and Piero's relationship was like beforehand. Were they good friends, or was Delaney jealous of Pierro for being the one that ended up marrying Lisa? Pierro burns alive in the flashback, and we never really find out; like a lot of things in the film it's left ambiguous. There is a really beautifully illustrated graphic novel adaptation of the film by Sandro Garbo, which includes a scene of Delaney and Piero in flashback before the race, and we get a much better idea of how close Piero and Delaney were, and why Delaney misses him. The graphic novel doesn't really change anything all that big about the events of the film, but it does a lot to humanise and flesh out the characters; in a weird way it kind of compliments and adds a bit more context to the film.
I absolutely love the "Racing is life" scene, but I have to be honest, the love story between Michael Delaney and Lisa Belgetti simply doesn't work and bores me to tears; yeah, it's implied they had a thing together in the past that ends up being rekindled, but they seem very awkward and stilted in their conversations; I never really get a sense of why they like each other, other than because Lisa is very attractive and Delaney is just Steve McQueen in everything but name. I didn't think the romantic chemistry was really there like the film seemed to think it was. The graphic novel suggests that Delaney and Lisa were having an affair whilst Lisa was still married to Pierro, so in that version it makes much more sense why things are so tense between them after Pierro's death racing against Delaney.
Then there's the other couple in the film, Delaney's teammate in the other Porsche, Johan Ritter, who is planning to retire from racing after Le Mans at the request of his wife, who is worried about their children growing up without a father. This could have worked really well as a contrast to Delaney; someone who decides that for him, racing isn't actually everything. But then at the end of the race, Delaney replaces Ritter for the final stint on orders from the team manager; Ritter obeys, but he's not happy because his choice to end his career on his own terms was effectively taken away from him; his wife is just happy that he's not at risk anymore, and that's that. I can't help but feel that this subplot goes nowhere; you could have just had Delaney taking over Ritter's car and cut the earlier scenes with Ritter and his wife, and you wouldn't have lost anything from the movie other than Louise Eckland.
I think it's also a shame that of the three drivers who end up fighting for victory at the end, it's the eventual winner Larry Wilson who we know almost nothing about. All we know about him is that he's British and it's his debut at Le Mans. I do like that it's circumstance and not his pure pace that puts him into a winning position in the final stages, because you do sometimes get these underdog victories at Le Mans where the less fancied car stays out of trouble and wins it. But it would have been a lot more impactful in my opinion if they had played up Larry's inexperience; we see a couple of scenes of Delaney giving Larry advice in-between stints, but if they had shown Larry being exhausted every time he got out of the car, or starting to panic and miss gears when he sees Stahler and Delaney closing on him, then it would have at least made him more of a character than just a slow guy who lucks in at the end. Give him either a personality or a more personal battle to overcome.
The one subplot that works quite well in the film is Delaney's friendly rivalry with Eric Stahler, and how they have a level of respect and admiration for each other but the press blows it up into a much bigger blood feud than it actually is. I think it also helps that it's the one thread that properly carries over into the on track battles, especially when Stahler backs out from a potentially race-winning move on Delany and then they give each other the finger at the end. Funnily enough, I felt that McQueen had much better chemistry with Siegfried Rauch (Stahler) than with his actual love interest!
He’s right. It could’ve been an epic racing story.
McQueen insisted that the film be shot at speed and not compromised by filming at a low frame speed. Parts of he movie where shot during the actual race. You have to remember this was shot in 1970 with 1970 technology. Today half the movie would be CGI and ruined. Be thankful the movie got made at all because in the end that's what counts. I have a copy and watch it regularly.
If you've ever strapped a race car on your back you know what I mean. My dream car 917K left hand drive, street legal ( sort of ) Number plate 26
I absolutely love the opening sequence all Waking up no dialogue TIME for images sounding see anymore these days