Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pure film for purists, October 12, 1999
By A Customer
The Le Mans 24 Hour Race is one of the most insane sporting events ever. "Le Mans" attempts to portray the excitement, the speed, the sound, and the surreal quality of the race, and yes, some of the boredom and stupidity as well.Steve McQueen is at his most restrained playing Michael Dalaney. Seldom has the professional racing drivers' mentality and single mindedness been shown with such clarity. Dalaney has respect for his colleagues, but no warmth towards them. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of the race itself, and importance of winning the race. There's a tiny, fragmented, rather strange sub-plot which features a beautiful widow from the previous year's race, if you are a generous viewer then this story seems to only enhance the single mindedness of the drivers. There's also a rivalry between Delaney and another driver. But again, the rivalry seems manufacturered as much by the media (shown at their most despicable) rather than any true emotion between the men concerned. The real stars of Le Mans are the brutal, beautiful sports racing cars of the early 1970s. several meet horrific ends in slow motion crashes that are simultanously beautiful and horrific to watch. Above all else, from the beginning to the end Le Mans has a surreal quality where speed and concentration result in all other aspects of 'real life' being forgotten. We're unlikely to get as honest a portrayal of professional motor racing ever again, and certainly not from Hollywood...
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a film for true race fans, March 6, 2001
Of all the classic race movies out there this is probably the most minimalistic and puristic one. Don't watch this movie for the rudimentary love story (if one can call it that way). Don't watch it for dialogue - Steve McQueen does not speak more than a 100 words in this film I would guess. Watch this movie for the breath-taking drama that develops in the pictures, since in racing a picture says definitely more than a 1000 words. The camera work is outstanding, and the story is built in a very detail-minded, documentary-type style that matches the coolness of McQueens persona. We see his charcter develop almost entirely in his actions, in the powerful flashback to an accident a year ago that he reflects upon as he returns to the same scene on the same track. As he drives to the track, stops his Porsche at the scene of the accident and stares back into the past, we begin to understand what kind of a racer he is .We see the quiet, yet passionate rivalry between him and his major competitor for the title in the Le Mans 24 hour race and we see his equally quiet interaction with the widow of the fellow driver who perished in that fateful accident. While personal interactions are very subdued, the true passion erupts on the race-track and this movie is superb in this regard. We see a generous and well-filmed display of the greatest prototypes and road-racers out there at the time. If you are a race-fan, you must see this movie, if you are not, you probably won't get it. As a race fan I give 5 stars.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE GREATEST DOCUMENTARY of SPEED and LIFE AT THIS RACE, January 19, 2000
I've heard nothing but bad comments about this film from film critics for years and nothing but GREAT comments from everyone else. The critics pan it for it's lack of dialog or less than spectacular storyline. What they are not seeing is that this was not a film that was written with a story in mind-it's a film that was built around an audio-visual and emotional event first. The storyline/dialog was added afterwards. Like one reviewer here wrote: "WHO CARES ABOUT THE STORY".This film documents Les Vingt Quatre Heures Du Mans in the best possible way. It captures the pageantry, life, the speed and fury unlike any racing film I've ever seen (the only thing I can think of better, short of being a driver in the race, would be the release of the video game). It is the best documentary of what life at that circuit is like during those 24 hours-I know, I've been there. If you've ever wanted to go to Le Mans, BUY THIS VIDEO. If you've ever heard of Le Mans but don't really know about it BUY THIS VIDEO. If you're a NASCAR fan BUY THIS VIDEO-there really is more to life than just driving in ovals-lots more! Have an AWESOME day! Mark Gilvey THE UNOFFICIAL SPECTATOR
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