Grand
Prix (1966, John Frankenheimer)
Director
John Frankenheimer is one of those people working within Hollywood
one could always trust in producing solid, well made, engaging pieces
of entertainment. This talented director was very much along the
lines of Robert Wise or today's Steven Soderbegh, in that he could
tackle a great many genres and one could practically guarantee the
results were to be positive. Earlier in the marathon was published a
review for the Steve McQueen picture Le Mans, which impressed
for its technical skills, all of which brought the thrill of the race
to life for audiences. The downside was everything else (story,
characters and all), which fell terribly flat. Frankenheimer's Grand
Prix is, interestingly enough, a film McQueen could have starred
in, were it not for creative differences.
The
story sprawls over the course of a Formula 1 season, the first race
depicted being that of Monaco, in southern France. After some
whimsical editing and cinematography techniques which show off,
first, the director's skills when wanting to aim for visual flair
and, depicting the intensity of the races, the viewer is provided
with some info about who the principle racers are. Pete Aron (James
Garner) is an American, teamed up with Brit Scott Stoddard (Brian
Bedford). While the latter is currently one of the true great drivers
on the circuit, the former, once great, is now deemed to be past his
prime. An incident at Monaco born of out Pete's insolence results in
Scott's car crashing, leaving the driver in dire physical condition
in bed for several weeks. Other drivers and characters the picture
follows are Frenchman Ferrari driver Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves
Montand), the American journalist who follows and falls in love with
him over the course of the season, Louise (Eva Marie Saint), Scott's
wife Pat (Jessica Walter) who finds herself attracted to Pete, Izo
Yamura (Toshiro Mifune), the newcomer industrialist on the circuit
whom Pete joins after losing his job on his former team, and
Jean-Pierre's young hotshot Ferrari partner, Nino Barlini (Antiono
Sabato).
It
may come as a surprise to some that Frankenheimer's film clocks in at
a staggering 176 minutes. Not exactly record breaking time for speed.
To put it bluntly (and in pun-like terms), Grand Prix is not a
sprint, but rather a marathon. The irony of the situation is that the
elongated running time helps the story find its groove. The story per
say is light enough, essentially boiling down to 'who will win this
season's championship?' In truth, it is the multiple character
journeys directly attached to said plot about championship
competition which deliver the goods in Grand Prix, a film that
strikes the balance between compelling drama where the personalities
involved are very three dimensional and the action, that being
whatever transpires on the racing tracks, is top notch quality.
The
most obvious comparison is Le Mans, but in reality they are
two very different pictures with far fewer things in common than one
may imagine. Le Mans is very much dedicated to the action,
offering scant little in the way of story, and when it does the
results are underwhelming. Grand Prix aims to strike for a
much more satisfying, well calculated balance between scenes of
thrills and the character arcs. What's more, the character arcs
themselves are not only compelling in their own right, but tie into
the racing season itself. It would have been one thing for the film
to deliver the goods during the races and then offer supplemental
plot lines for fans of good drama. Frankenheimer and company goes the
extra distance and tie it all in together. Pete Aron is looking for a
chance to redeem himself, to prove to everyone that he can still not
only race, but win as well. His new employer, Yamura, is wishing to
prove that he can win, but in a different way since he has never
accomplished anything in this domain, having made his name in
appliances and electronics. Jean-Pierre is a situation similar yet
also vastly different than that of Aron, for the Frenchman is also
getting along in years, but unlike his American counterpart, he
continues to win on a consistent basis. Just how long can he be a
contender for the championship, especially with Nino right behind
him? Finally, there is Scott Stoddard, always a contender, a prideful
young man, whose injury at the hand of Aron's mistake leaves him
severely handicapped. Not only does his wife choose to leave him
(temporarily at least), but he can no longer race, or so say the
pundits. Scott's feverish passion for the sport means the fire inside
is never extinguished, and regardless of what some prefer to believe,
he will somehow, someway find himself in a Formula One vehicle at
some point later in the season and compete for the top prize. Sadly,
albeit maybe unsurprisingly, the three female characters featured in
Grand Prix, Louise, Pat and Lisa (Nino's current girlfriend,
played by Françoise Hardy) are not awarded the same treatment. First
and foremost, Lisa is not given much of a story at all. As for Pat,
as beautiful as Jessica Walter was back in the day (a real peach,
that's for sure), her screen time is predominantly used up as the
emotionally conflicted wife caught between two men, a predicament
which is essentially of her own doing. Finally, Louise, the reporter
whose current subject is Jean-Pierre, has the most interesting arc
given that her sense of freedom and strong independence is challenged
by her growing feelings for the professional driver. It makes for
dramatic conflict, although conflict emanating from the some of the
semi-stereotypical qualities a female lead character.
Nay,
it is for certain the men who receive the meatiest parts in the
script, but be that as it may, the film is nevertheless quite good in
that regard. The story also shies away from delving too much into
cliches. It could have been incredibly easy for any one of these
characters to be more unlikable than the rest, thus filling the role
of the piece's villain. Search as long as they wish, viewers will not
find any true antagonists. In fact, if there is any antagonist at
all, it would have to be each contestant's insatiable hunger for
victory. Each has a second venue waiting for them. Jean-Pierre may
graciously retire. He is wealthy and has proven himself a winner more
than once in his career. Aron has also experienced a strong career
with a fair share of Grand Prix wins to call his own. Broadcasting
becomes a possibility for a short period, although once Mr. Yamura
calls him up, there is no second guessing what Aron will do. Scott
would do best to rest the remainder of the campaign out. It is all
played out rather smoothly, rarely feeling contrived at all. The fact
that the film is a little longer than most
And
what of the action? Not too long ago plenty of praise was showered
onto Le Mans for its spectacular camera set-ups,
cinematography and editing, and while it may seem implausible,
especially since Frankenheimer's picture is 5 years the former's
senior, the case can be made that Grand Prix looks and feels
even better. The only nitpicks occurs whenever the director chooses
to have the image multiply within the picture frame. The decision is
questionable from an aesthetic standpoint and from a thematic one.
What is its purpose? Who knows... Other than that however, the races
look absolutely astonishing, and, if the bonus material on the disc
is to believed, represent a reasonably accurate depiction of what F1
was like back in the mid 1960s, a decade during which the safety
measures of the sport were improved by leaps and bounds. At the time
Grand Prix was made however, the criteria was still
surprisingly lax by today's standards, which makes the competitions
all that more exciting.
John
Frankenheimer's picture is, in all likelihood, the definitive
depiction of motor racing within a fictional story. The acting is
solid, as is the overall plot, and of course the action is top notch.
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