"Ford v. Ferrari" Film staring Matt Damon and Christian Bale - due out Nov 15 2019

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Juan Matus, Jun 3, 2019.

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  1. I am looking forward to this film. The sports car racing cars (LeMans & IMSA in the North America) of the 60s through the 90s were pretty cool to look at and the A-listers of drivers particularly on the Ford, Ferrari, and Porsche teams are just amazing.

    I hope the film does justice to the British involvement of the Ford GT40. While a big American effort, Lola, Ken Miles, John Wyer Racing (later Gulf car), and Ford UK were big factors in the development and success.

    I guess the Ford attempted for Ferrari was, as mentioned, was a ploy to get more money from the Agnelli family and Fiat. Fiat decals appeared on Ferrari's F1 cars in 1977 after their 50% buy of Ferrari.
     
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  2. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    Wow...Ford vs.Chevy. I feel like I'm 16 again.
     
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  3. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    Another pass for me.
     
  4. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    Sounds great, i haven't seen a well done racing movie in years.
     
  5. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    It held my interest the whole time. Glad I saw it tonight.
     
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  6. Steve Carras

    Steve Carras Golden Retriever

    Location:
    Norco, CA, USA
    Saw it and enjoyed it!
     
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  7. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    I saw this today and LOVED it. I love zoomy cars and this movie stoked that zoomy car gene in me.

    Christian Bale is a true chameleon, and IMHO probably the best actor out there right now.
     
  8. Like most racing movies, there is some liberty with the story vs. actual, but this one is a winner. One of the best movies of the year. great acting and very interesting to the end.
     
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  9. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Of the handful of 2019 movies I’ve seen so far, this is my favorite. Just an absolutely smashing entertainment. :righton:
     
  10. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    My two boys are in this somewhere. At the speedway, in full period wardrobe. Haven't seen it yet..
     
  11. Jaap74

    Jaap74 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I saw it last weekend and I liked it, didn't seem like 2.5 hours.

    Some silly bits in it like cars racing neck and neck on a long straight then the driver thinks "Oh, think I might push the accelerator all the way to the floor now so I can overtake!"......... Maybe mash the accelerator the whole time ?? Taking the audience for idiots somewhat.....
     
  12. Despite being very different, this strikes me as something of a companion film to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, being as they are both epic-length films of ‘60s cool focused on dudes getting what they do done.
     
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  13. No, not really fake. Strategy to be honest.
    The Ford race prepped 427 was more durable than the Ferrari V12, and more powerful.
    Because of this the Ford had a slight advantage in durability and some drivers used that to their advantage.

    In the movie Ken Miles is along side Lorenzo Bandini on the Mulsanne straight. This straight was 3.7 miles long at the time so running alongside another equal car was not unheard of.
    Ken knew the GT was faster. Ken knew the GT was more durable. Ken also knew Bandini was a pure race driver.
    Ken pushed a bit more, and more, and more, hoping his Ford would hold together while luring the Ferrari past its breaking point...and it worked.

    The Ford GT became so reliable and unbeatable in 7-LITRE form that the FIA altered the rules at the end of the 1969 season, thus making the GT Mk IV illegal and obsolete...Otherwise it was very dominant. The Porsche 917 was racing at this time but suffered from aerodynamic issues that were not ironed out until the GT was bumped due to rule alterations.
     
  14. timoteus

    timoteus Senior Member

    Also saw it last weekend and enjoyed it tremendously. No dead spots and the 2.5 hours just flew by.

    A couple observations...The film takes place in 1966 and the song Polk Salad Annie used throughout was released in 1968 and the fantastic James Burton cover they used was not released until 1970 or 1971. Didn't make a difference to me. Chick-A-Boom. Another tidbit that I noticed was when Carroll Shelby grabs a lug nut and drops it in the Ferrari pit to dick with their crew. All the cars on the track used knockoffs not lug nuts. Funny scene anyways.
     
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  15. GT40sc

    GT40sc Senior Member

    Location:
    Eugene, Oregon
    ...just got back from seeing it tonight.
    Really enjoyed it. I can forgive most of the historical liberties,
    as they will not be noticed by the average viewer.
    I will see it again...
     
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  16. Phil Thien

    Phil Thien Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    The movie, with the ridiculous fight where they’re hitting each other with a loaf of bread, and the scene where Miles’s wife drives erratically due to her displeasure with him going back to racing, struck me as a bit Hallmark-ish.
     
  17. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Since we’re now in the critiquing phase of the thread, I will admit there’s one part that made me go, “Aw, come on!” And that is the degree to which one Ford executive (played by Josh Lucas) has it in for Ken Miles (Bale). Even if true, it still became laughable toward the end. Besides, the movie already has enough of a villain in the Ferrari boss.

    A minor quibble, though, as I loved everything else.
     
  18. olson

    olson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pilgrim Hills
    Seems that was just a Hollywood version of what happened.

    Philly friends of Leo Beebe say ‘Ford v Ferrari’ gets the Ford exec wrong
     
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  19. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
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  20. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    The distance rule seems like pure lunacy to me but iam happy to be told Iam wrong.
    Q. Was not a best qualifying lap completed by all entrants to get the closest to the Start finish line for the cars (before the drivers ran to them?) an advantage based on merit?
    Also I would think it's not called a "Start"/Finish line for nothing, it is not only a finishing point!
     
  21. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    A great place to be.
     
  22. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    That's how non fictional movie's generally are, anyone perturbed can seek out a doco or book.
     
  23. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Congratulations Steve!
     
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  24. The distance rule was in place to help in the event of a tie...which was, and still is, highly unlikely in long distance racing. Most "close" LeMans finishes have laps (abt 8.5 miles per lap) between 1st and 2nd place.
    Up until 1970 (1969 being the last) the LeMans start was used. This has the driver on the opposite side of the race track. On "go" the drivers run across to the cars, get in and drive off.
    The qualifying and placements were primarily to get better starting positions because if you get stuck in the back of the pack you will spend lots of time working to the front, or you may not even get that chance due to an accident.

    There is a "start/finish" line, but the literal distance covered comes into play if a tie were to occur, hence the rule.

    The 1966 finish error gives rise to the obscurity of the rule and the importance based in reality because the race teams KNOW the rules. They ride them on a razors edge and understand them well. The distance rule had yet to be an issue, or even a close approximation, because nobody had ever been close enough to care until the staged finish.

    Had they known the distance rule would come into play it would have been smart to have Ken Miles one lap up on the other two GT's.
    With all three passing the finish line at the same time you get the photo while the 1st place car is literally one lap ahead and not in any jeopardy of losing...but that is not how things went.
     
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  25. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah, they make the Lucas character a virtual mustache-twirling baddie.

    It's a fun movie but it's more simplistic than I thought it'd be - partly due to the villain issue I just mentioned.

    I liked it but it's more "popcorn" than expected...
     
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