Last week we reviewed Michael Mann’s new movie ‘Ferrari‘. As much as we wanted it to be a great movie, it just didn’t compare to ‘Ford v Ferrari‘ the greatest of all time racing flick.
What makes ‘Ford v Ferrari‘ such a great film are incredible racing sequences, breathtaking CGI and fully-developed characters (precisely what was missing from ‘Ferrari‘) that movie watchers actually cared about!
‘Ford v Ferrari‘ is the real-life story of Ford’s determined effort to beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Henry Ford II was looking to regain respect after the ‘Edsel’ debacle, and attempted to buy Ferrari as a ‘halo’ brand. But old man Enzo was incensed that Ford also wanted control of the Scuderia Ferrari racing team. He refused their offer (some say it was all a ploy) and sent an insult back to Detroit. Enzo said that Ford makes ugly little cars in an ugly factory, called Ford management sons of whores, and declared that the big boss is no Henry Ford. Ouch!
Furious at the Ferrari rejection, Ford Motor Company conscripts retired racer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, a race the Scuderia have dominated for years. Shelby knows this is the chance of a lifetime to win at Le Mans. And if he can get racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale) behind the wheel, they have a shot! Whether the Ford/Shelby team can actually develop a car to beat Ferrari, and keep hothead Miles on the race team over the objections of the Ford bosses, and win Le Mans all hangs in the balance!
Spoiler alert car guys will cry. ‘Ford v Ferrari‘ is all about racing glory, but it is not all sunshine and rainbows.
At www.demaras.com we’ve been on a daily writing streak for over 4 years. But during the racing off-season, it gets kind of difficult to find things to write about. So, in January 2023, we started a weekly series called Fast Film Friday, and this article marks the one-year anniversary. Hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Happy 1 year anniversary.
Thank you CraftyLooper! My son and I juststarted watching old racing movies and it turned into a weekly seties…even while on vacation!
Happy One Year!!! Gosh, time flies.
Hey guys, what about a review of the 1979 Hot Rod movie?
This silly movie made fall in love with drag racing.
https://youtu.be/5RiePElP6AQ?si=HL-ii1M1nEnbTiDr
Good movie
Better still.. the GOAT of racing movies. I hear it got an Oscar nomination.
Rubens, Rubens, Rubens… I cant believe you didn’t argue that ‘Le Mans’ or even ‘Grand Prix’ is the best racing movie of all time.
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I’ll check out Hot Rod (1979) when we do a week of articles on drag racing (soon).
I have to be 100% honest with you… I haven’t seen “Grand Prix” yet… But I promise I will.
“Le Mans” is probably the most beautiful collection of footage (both real and staged) from the most romantic era of motorsports, but that is it, not much else. On the other hand, Ford vs Ferrari has everything.