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GURSS: The Best Racing Movies
Written by: Jade Gurss   
10/21/2008
Mooresville, North Carolina
 
Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) ยป More Photos

There was a great response last week in my email inbox and the ‘comments’ section about everyone’s favorite racecars of the past, and I thank each of you who not only took time to read the column but who emailed me or left a comment. This week, let’s keep the interactive banter going with yet another list which is begging for argument and additions from SPEEDtv.com readers.

This one is simple: What are the greatest motorsports/racing movies ever made? You can check my Blog for more films as well as in-depth analysis (and video clips) from my selections, but I encourage you to make a compelling case for your favorite(s) if I’ve left them off the list.

The criteria I used to choose my list were basic: if it is a fictional film, how accurate is the race footage and the storyline? It seems simple, but few films seem to pass muster in this category (see: Days of Thunder, though some rightly suggest it should qualify as a comedy). In the documentary category, accuracy was even more important but a compelling storyline was critical also. Film is, after all, an art form designed to inform and entertain.

So, here is my short list (not necessarily in order):

ON ANY SUNDAY: The ultimate ode to the joy of motorcycles in their many, many forms of racing. Brilliant fun and always entertaining, this one was produced by and features Steve McQueen.

GRAND PRIX: Director John Frankenheimer created what most consider the greatest racing film of all-time. Brilliant editing, exciting race scenes and dialogue that gives a glimpse into the psyche of world champion race car drivers.
Starring James Garner, the best dialogue went to French actor Yves Montand. As an aging champion, he waxes philosophical about the mindset of racecar drivers:

"I want to tell you something, not about the others, but about myself. I used to go to pieces. I'd see an accident like that and feel so weak inside, that I wanted to quit--stop the car and walk away. I could hardly make myself go past it. But I'm older now. When I see something really horrible, I put my foot down, HARD, because I know that everyone else is lifting his… There is no terrible way to win. There is only winning."

"Danger? Well, of course. But you're missing a very important point. I think, if any of us imagined, really imagined, what it would be like to go into a tree at 150 miles an hour, we would probably never get into the cars at all, none of us. So it has always seemed to me that to do something very dangerous requires a certain absence of imagination!"

LeMANS: Steve McQueen’s pet project includes very little dialogue, but some of the greatest racing footage ever shot. McQueen – one helluva driver -- was so adamant about accuracy, he convinced the LeMans officials to allow him an official race entry for a camera car, loaded with camera mounts. Despite having to make many pit stops to change film canisters, the film car finished eighth in the 24 Hour race!

HEART LIKE A WHEEL: The Shirley Muldowney story turned into one heckuva well-made film. A convincing performance from Bonnie Bedelia as “Cha Cha” is the key.

“What’s a beautiful girl like you doing racing in a place like this?”
“Winning.”


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