124 replies to this topic

[buddyt]

Just found this website. Have a copy of Grand Prix and will watch it again and will then make comments. Remember seeing it in the theater when it came out.

[Ray Bell]

Hey, guys, he saw it in 1967... is he older than me?
Please post in 'How old are you' ... Please!

[ZippyD]

Buddy,
What site did you find?

------------------
"Pete, Do you sometimes get tired? Lately I have been getting tired. Very tired."

[John Nelson]

Zippy,

I think he means THIS website.

[ZippyD]

Thanks John.

------------------
"Pete, Do you sometimes get tired? Lately I have been getting tired. Very tired."

[MOTORSPORT RESORT]

Can anyone help with the video GRAND-PRIX in PAL system for Europe?
Can't seem to find it anywhere...
speedy@f1power.com

Peter

[Rob29]

Don't think it has ever been released.You'l have to ask MGM why. Actually its on ITV this weekend in 3 parts.

[Kuwashima]

Ahem ... PAL is not just for Europe! Having never seen it, I'd love for it to be issued in PAL, so I could view it here in Australia.

(Actually, my VHS player plays NTSC so theoretically I could buy it from the US - but I've heard it's best to watch on widescreen and with decent picture quality and sound; so maybe I'll wait until it comes out on DVD. Maybe I'll be waiting forever....)

PLEASE issue it on DVD!!!!!

(ahhhh if only the people that matter read BBs like these... )

[Joe Fan]

I can't wait for it to be issued on DVD.

[David McKinney]

Peter:
I don't know if this is any help. I posted the info on another thread but you might not have seen it. I've now had a closer look an realise I may have misled people.
Grand Prix is being shown in three parts on ITV here in the UK. The first was in the early hours of this morning (Saturday), the second at 0325 tomorrow and the third at 0340 Monday.

[Gary C]

and just WHAT is the point of showing a film (any film!) in three parts spread across three days??!? My God, it's not that a long a movie!! Put that one down to the geniuses in the ITV Scheduling Department!!

[Chris Skepis]

The "Grand Prix" film was released on video some years ago here in Brazil, but unfortunaly you can't play the Brazilian system which is PAL-M anywhere else. It's not difficult to find copies of the film here, although it was a short run release. You can find it easely on almost any video rental shop. I bought my copy from one of them.

[Milan Fistonic]

The Grand Prix video was on sale here in New Zealand last year in Pal format. It was cheap too, just $19.95.

[Eric McLoughlin]

The cable/satellite channel TCM (formerly TNT) shows Grand Prix on a fairly frequent basis. They always show it in widescreen format too. Unfortunately, even TV widescreen does not really do the film justice as, on its original release in 1967, it was shown in the ultra-widescreen format, Cinerama. Even modern cinemas could not show it as originally intended. I saw it as a Christmas treat with my local Wolf Cubs pack in 1967 in the Dublin Cinerama cinema and it was really spectacular. It probably was the film that got me hooked on motor-sport.

Other major Cinerama releases were:

How the West was Won
The Sound of Music
2001 - A Space Odyssey
Custer
Khartoum (I think)

It's a pity the technique did not become the norm for cinema film. In the end, 70mm Super Panavision has become the standard.

[MOTORSPORT RESORT]

Eric ..Welcome to the club... it; (the movie) has ruined my life!

I will contact MGM today and see if they can help with some answers. I guess DVD would be the format to have, as I also saw it in Canada as a young (Stirling Moss) wanabe in wide screen Cinimascope..And I haven't seen it since 1967.. so I'm due for another "FIX"....
I'll let everyone know if I get any results.
Peter

[quintin cloud]

If you realy looking for a copy of the movie, TNT classic movie or TCM classic movie channel has the movie on every so offen on there channel.

[MOTORSPORT RESORT]

Too bads we can't see TNT or Peter

[MOTORSPORT RESORT]

Hello Grand-Prix fans I found the movie on video along with alot of other interesting titles. Take a look at www.endlessroad.com
Enjoy ,
Peter

[LoxyLotus]

If anyone knows a timeline on the DVD release please let me know.
Not to mention LeMans and Winning. It's a sad state of affairs when the movie Driven (more like Drivel) will be on DVD before these classics.

[Bayou Bengal]

"Grand Prix" hasn't been released on DVD (per Amazon.com) but I know it was available on Laserdisc. Amazon has NTSC copies available. I just wish I had bought the Laserdisc when I saw it. I did buy "LeMans" which I think is the better racing movie.


Both have been shown on Speedvision in widescreen format with lots of interviews about the making of the films. I did tape those presentations. Great stories from James Garner about the filming and the racing.

[Toine]

Good afternoon everyone,

I'm looking for a tape or a DVD of "Grand Prix" but it seems to be impossible to find it or to order it. I've been told they aren't making any new copies of it:(
Anyone has an url or something like that where i could order it?
It would help me a lot.

Thank you alot,

Toine

PS i've heard that some real racing drivers where in the movie, which ones? Thx.

[quintin cloud]

Toine

have a look at the following thread:

http://www.atlasf1.c...&threadid=25096

you can also have a look at www.endlessroad.com

[Toine]

Thanx for you help:) For the URL, i guess it's a NTSC version but i think my VCR could play it, i'll check it later at home.
The best would have been in DVD:) Let's wait:)

Good day!

Toine

[Vitesse2]

Beat me to it Quintin!!!

Among the drivers featured are Graham Hill, Jo Bonnier, Mike Spence, Phil Hill (who drove a camera car for the shots at Spa and elsewhere) and Richie Ginther.

If you do a BB Search with "Sarti" as keyword, you'll find lots more about the movie.

[Rainer Nyberg]

It is also available from amazon.com
Also in NTSC VHS format.
http://www.amazon.co...4211057-5091004

Here it is available in LaserDisc format :
http://www.buyindies.../FCTS-3304.html


James Garner talking about the making of the film can be found here :
http://autoracing.ab....htm?once=true

[Toine]

Mmmh... nice drivers:) i can't wait to see the movie for the first time:)
I've heard that André and Teddy Pilette were in the movie too, but what for?

See u

Toine

[rdrcr]

I saw this movie again (for the umpiumpth time) on Speedvision recently...

I thought I was having audible hallucinations when someone remarked in the script, about a team called Jordan?!?!

So I searched and found this thread to see if it was talked about and it wasn't... at least in this thread anyway.

I think it was when the drivers were all sitting around discussing the problems with safety and the rain or some such thing.

So. Was this line actually said? And if so is that not really weird? That a film would cast a name of a fictitious team that would eventually turn out to be non-fiction?

[Punisher6]

I hate to brag, but here goes! One of my companies good clients is the President of Turner and I asked him to make me a copy of the film and he did! It is a VHS, NTSC (sorry) copy from the master! It's on two tapes and it looks great (for NTSC VHS ) I couldn't believe he did that for me! He's a great guy, gives me Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) and Braves tix all the time.

[MPea3]

Originally posted by rdrcr
I saw this movie again (for the umpiumpth time) on Speedvision recently...

I thought I was having audible hallucinations when someone remarked in the script, about a team called Jordan?!?!

So I searched and found this thread to see if it was talked about and it wasn't... at least in this thread anyway.

I think it was when the drivers were all sitting around discussing the problems with safety and the rain or some such thing.

So. Was this line actually said? And if so is that not really weird? That a film would cast a name of a fictitious team that would eventually turn out to be non-fiction?

the BRM team was the "Jordan BRM" team, and the team principal's name was Jordan. my fav parts of the driver's meeting (which is at spa) is chris amon mentioning the bumpy road from masta down to stavelot, and graham hill tripping over him as he walks through.

[Chris Skepis]

It is not Chris Amon. It is Bruce McLaren who does the remarks about the bumpy road at the Spa meeting. Is it Jo Schlesser the guy with the moustache ? ( apart from Hill and Bonnier)

[MPea3]

you're right... it IS bruce mcL. my mistake. (age brings senility, what the hell)

[racer69]

I finally saw this movie for the first time on TCM last night, and one word to describe it, fantastic, i had read alot about it in here, but it was so much better than i thought. I thought it was a pretty accurate portrayl of racing at the time, and remember when Stallone brought out Drivel, he said he wanted to get into the drivers lives, i thought this movie did it perfectly, reflected the dangers and how drivers felt etc...wonderful.

Some questions though;

- The Monza track used for the last race in the movie, has a track of that configuration ever been used

- The driver Scott Stoddard, wasn't very difficult to see which driver they modelled that character on.

Thanks :beer:

[AdrianM]

I watched it today for about the tenth time and it just gets better and better
Great scenes and it is realistic which is more than we can say about other racing movies........
Fantastic movie with great lines which really captures that golden era of racing

[Ray Bell]

Monza was used in that configuration a few times...

1955, 1956, 1960, 1961 were four such occasions if I'm not mistaken, and I think it was used in practice for 1962 but the normal circuit was used for the race.

[Keir]

Racer69,
Welcome back from the Mars colony!!! BTW, Lindy made it!!!

[Gary C]

Racer, follow this link to another thread on the film : http://www.atlasf1.c...ix the outtakes

[Buford]

At the time everybody in racing loved the race scenes and hated the plot. But actually, the drivers did screw each other's wives and I never thought it was that far off. The biggest problem was putting all the stuff that happens into a single season. Stuff that happened over many seasons all got stuffed into one year.

The first time I saw it, I went with two friends who were interested in racing but never had seen much. We had eaten a big meal. At Monaco one of my friends started getting motion sickness, and then when they have the crash at the chicane and they run up and hold up the driver's bloody head, my friend blew his cookies!

[ensign14]

Aron cheated.

[Liam]

Who are the drivers in that GPDA meeting at Spa?

There are basically two halves to the room, one with Sarti and the other with Bruce McLaren and Aron.

On Sarti's side there are two guys behind him, and Richie Ginther in a chair, and two guys beside him, the nearest of which might be Phil Hill.

The other half of the room has Graham Hill, with two guys at the table next to him, Aron behind them and two more at the back of the room. Bruce McLaren is slouched in the chair (race driving position ) with Barlini behind him. In front of them is Jo Schlesser and someone else.

I recognise most of those who actually speak, the exceptionms being the guy near Sarti who mentions "taking your life in your hands" and the germanic sounding guy at the table who suggests calling the race off if it rains.

Also, given the extraordinary evenst of the next day with that rain shower, was this scene filmed before or after the actual race?

[Buford]

It was filmed during the race. Much of that was real footage. That was the day it started out dry and rained on the first lap. Jackie Stewart was injured. The car hanging off the edge of the cliff was real, Bonnier if I remember.

[Liam]

I know the race footage is real, it's the drivers meeting scene I was wondering about.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Buford
It was filmed during the race. Much of that was real footage. That was the day it started out dry and rained on the first lap. Jackie Stewart was injured. The car hanging off the edge of the cliff was real, Bonnier if I remember.

You mean like this?



And how did they get some of those real live sequences? Ask Phil Hill...



And then you can see he was tailing the field at the start...



Hard to believe this field is but three miles or so from that devastation, isn't it?

[LittleChris]

Originally posted by Liam
Who are the drivers in that GPDA meeting at Spa?
I recognise most of those who actually speak, the exceptionms being the guy near Sarti who mentions "taking your life in your hands" and the germanic sounding guy at the table who suggests calling the race off if it rains.

The germanic guy was Jochen Rindt & IIRC the one that mentions taking 'your life in your hands was Chris Amon

[Milan Fistonic]

The idea of having a camera car "compete' in a Grand Prix was not new in 1966.

Motor Racing magazine has a photo of Baron de Graffenried doing exactly that in the 1954 Belgian Grand Prix. The caption is:

Baron de Graffenried in a six-cylinder Maserati bearing the crest of a bogus marque Bordoni. Although he was in the programme, he was in fact driving for the Hans Ruesch film "The Racers," and was merely "following" the race. A small cine camera is said to be "buried" behind the grille with built-in "dickie-bird."

[Liam]

There are two cars at LeMans this year that are there as part of a film crew. I don't know if they will have camera's or not though.

[Keir]

I don't believe that Chris Amon has any lines in the film, although he does appear in a few of the race sequences. His job was to drive the GT40 camera car in the race scenes. Sometimes with a mock-up race car on the roof, or being towed.
One practical joke was when Frankenheimer wanted to give Antonio Sabato a scare. Chis was told to go out on the course gently, at first, but then really give it the "BOOT!" Sabato was left cowering in the "mock-up" cockpit.

[Chris Skepis]

Chris Amon also appears on the pit lane at Clermont Ferrand . He is standing by a Lotus when Pete Aron walks down to meet Sarti. Acctually Aron says to him "hello Chris " and Amon smiles back.

[Keir]

That's actually Chris Irwin, but when I get the chance, I'll watch that scene for the 700th time just to be sure.

I know, I know!!! You've only watched "GP" 700 times!!!

[karlcars]

I agree that there was controversy over the film at the time -- I saw it when it came out on the Big Screen -- but there was indeed a lot of truth in it. We laughed uproariously at the various appearances by Bernard Cahier, photojournalist who had a knack for being pictured alongside the drivers of the day. He insinuated himself shamelessly into the film.

Notable too are the problems that the non-performance of Bruce McLaren's first GP car caused. It was to be Pete Aron's mount, but it kept struggling to make the races and the producers had to paint others cars white to get some continuity. Notably, as well, Chris kept the helmet colors of Pete Aron and used them through the rest of his career -- a case of life imitating art!

In our archive we have a couple dozen color photos of the making of the film. I hope to get them published one day.

[Keir]

Karl,
Perhaps you could post some over at the "famous Amon" thread, I happen to know there is still some room left!!!!