I'm totally convinced, having seen all the classics, there's no way to make a really good racing movie. The racing scenes never come anywhere close to the real thing, never. I hold "Grand Prix" dear, but that's mainly because I watched it when I was about 12 and hadn't seen any real racing up to that point, i.e. it's mainly nostalgia.
Now there's a thought... maybe a really brilliant script and a really brilliant director and really brilliant actors, and for the racing scenes only use genuine footage... that might work. But as long as they insist on stageing the actual racing scenes, no way.
I don't agree. I understand that the Autosport-article said we should just overlook 'select lower gear, floor the throttle, now I am going to overtake' - approach from the Ford vs Ferrari-movie, but that is nonsense. In the Rush-movie there were several instances in which the mind of a racing driver was portrayed in an suggestive, poetic way. Not neccesarily realistic, but evoking. Take the Suzuka- Fuiji sequence which brings to life beautifully what went to Lauda's mind when he pulled into the pits and retired. It was not what happened, it was not wat Lauda told per se, but it tried to evoke it.
All it would take is a director (or camera-man) who would dare to use his imagination or who would just LISTEN to what F1-drivers have to say. Lewis has talked about the lines he saw on the track, when he was in topform. Stewart talked about bringing the car to 'rest' before he made it change direction. Others have talked or written about not driving corners but whole tracks as an organic whole.
With that in mind, a director could make a film about Jim Clark. The title: 'Pure Champion.' Try to capture how a Scottish sheep-farmer had an talent for motorracing that was inexplicable, sometimes even for himself. But also he tried to explain it, and you could use THAT for something in movies.
“Most people run deep into a corner before turning the wheel. In this way you can complete your braking in a straight line, as everyone recommends you do, before setting the car up for the corner. But I prefer to cut into the corner early and even with my brakes still on to set up the car earlier. In this way I almost make a false apex because I get the power on early and try to drift the car through the true apex and continue with this sliding until I am set up for the next bit of straight.”
Now picture yourself a very close up of an actor playing Jim Clark... his eyes peering through the goggles. You see him squinting. The sound disappears. Next shot the corner he is going to take. But then, in slow motion, you see the camera tilting to the inside of the corner, away from the tarmac. You see the front wheels pointing at the grass, or perhaps even at the photographer sitting there... you, the viewer, think he is going to crash. But at the last moment the grass, the photographer shifts out of focus, there is the tarmac again... and at that moment you hear the engine starting to climb to a climax.
Edited by Nemo1965, 12 December 2019 - 09:42.