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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Forty years on, Grand Prix is still the best motor racing film ever made. The cars may be faster now, filming techniques improved and special effects more advanced, yet the film still has a truly epic scale and a feeling of veracity down to the last gear change that would be impossible to duplicate today. It feels real because much of it is real, the actors (with the exception of Brian Bedford) doing much of the driving themselves, with the production even entering cars in real races to seamlessly match footage. The real danger is only underlined by the fact that so many of the professional drivers in the film died racing themselves (ten in the decade following the filming alone). The crashes are there, along with the knowledge that that's what many in the crowd come for, but more than that, each race has a different character: more than just a different look, they're almost tone poems at times, one race from the driver's seat, another from a spectator's, another almost inside a character's head. Yet throughout, unlike later films, you always have a clear idea of what is going on and what point the race scenes are trying to make. The sequences have clearly been thought through and designed both emotionally as well as visually, with the great use of long lenses to establish scale and speed as cars drift in and out of focus giving the film a feel at once realistic and almost dreamlike (an impression further heightened in Saul Bass' almost balletic split-screen sequence). It's still a remarkably good looking film, too, not least because it was made at a time when the cars still looked like bullets rather than vacuum cleaners.... Read more ›
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I remember watching this film when I was a kid with my motorsport addicted grandfather and didn't fully appreciate the story, cast and locations but loved the action.
I purchased the 2 disc Special Edition recently and Ive watched twice since and loved it even more now that film quality has been hugely improved on visual colour and sound quality.
I can now appreciate the film more with age, the director Zimmermann, who also directed Ronin (note the car chases), James Garner (I loved The Rockford Files), Tishiro Mifune (Im a big Akira Kurosawa fan)and now the fact that I know the circuits and locations in the film, the cars and the histories of the REAL individual F1 drivers. Graham Hill, James Hill, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill (who drove the GT40 camera car whilst filming) and of course the great Jim Clarke.
The locations are amazing to see in the heyday and how they have changed to todays safety standards have hugely changed for the better. The crowds are crazy!
The extras are very enjoyable and not boring and have a huge insight into the film, behind the scenes and the 60's F1 era.
If your a motorsport fanatic and enjoy modern day F1, car chases (lets face it Grand Prix is full of them) then this is 'A MUST', forget the fact that this film is from 1966, there are no CGI special effects, no modern motorsport film comes near the quality of this and probably never will.
I purchased the 2 disc Special Edition recently and Ive watched twice since and loved it even more now that film quality has been hugely improved on visual colour and sound quality.
I can now appreciate the film more with age, the director Zimmermann, who also directed Ronin (note the car chases), James Garner (I loved The Rockford Files), Tishiro Mifune (Im a big Akira Kurosawa fan)and now the fact that I know the circuits and locations in the film, the cars and the histories of the REAL individual F1 drivers. Graham Hill, James Hill, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill (who drove the GT40 camera car whilst filming) and of course the great Jim Clarke.
The locations are amazing to see in the heyday and how they have changed to todays safety standards have hugely changed for the better. The crowds are crazy!
The extras are very enjoyable and not boring and have a huge insight into the film, behind the scenes and the 60's F1 era.
If your a motorsport fanatic and enjoy modern day F1, car chases (lets face it Grand Prix is full of them) then this is 'A MUST', forget the fact that this film is from 1966, there are no CGI special effects, no modern motorsport film comes near the quality of this and probably never will.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Top Cat
Format:Blu-ray
Before I bought this imported item, my research indicated that it should play in the UK, but nobody would guarantee it, indeed the dealer at the American end said it would not - for those with similar worries - rest assured it does play on a Region B player. Not only does it play but the picure quality is superb, better then some modern films issued in Blu-ray.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Inspector Gadget
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Blu-ray
"When I look back, I don't know how the hell we ever did that film." - John Frankenheimer
At 176 minutes, Grand Prix is the very definition of epic, but is so perfectly edited and shot that it never really feels that length. I'm always weary of movies with bloated running times, but Grand Prix even features the 5-minute intermission as seen in theatres, so there's no reason to feel guilty for getting up and stretching your legs a bit.
The film follows four Formula 1 drivers as they question life, chase women, and face a crisis of confidence. It's very Day-of-Thunder-ish, but I guess there's only so much story you can shoehorn in-between racing scenes in a film like this. The documentary feel adds an authentic edge to it, which helps keep a far distance from Tony Scott's similarly-themed disaster.
Shot in 70mm and originally projected in Cinerama (a curved screen for an immersive experience, an early form of IMAX in a way), John Frankenheimer does not hold back and thrusts the audience right into the middle of real races. Up until this point racing movies were mostly b-grade drive-in material with actors shot against a projected backdrop (think of Clark Gable in To Please a Lady) and audiences had never really seen it for real, in color, and especially not from the driver's point-of-view. Some shots are mesmerizing, especially the camera, one inch above the surface of the tarmac, hurtling down the road. Few movies have ever given you this sense of speed. And it's all done for real. I'm not saying that there's no place for CGI in movies, but if you want something to look good, you're going to have to do it the hard way.
Grand Prix deservedly won three Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Film Editing.... Read more ›
At 176 minutes, Grand Prix is the very definition of epic, but is so perfectly edited and shot that it never really feels that length. I'm always weary of movies with bloated running times, but Grand Prix even features the 5-minute intermission as seen in theatres, so there's no reason to feel guilty for getting up and stretching your legs a bit.
The film follows four Formula 1 drivers as they question life, chase women, and face a crisis of confidence. It's very Day-of-Thunder-ish, but I guess there's only so much story you can shoehorn in-between racing scenes in a film like this. The documentary feel adds an authentic edge to it, which helps keep a far distance from Tony Scott's similarly-themed disaster.
Shot in 70mm and originally projected in Cinerama (a curved screen for an immersive experience, an early form of IMAX in a way), John Frankenheimer does not hold back and thrusts the audience right into the middle of real races. Up until this point racing movies were mostly b-grade drive-in material with actors shot against a projected backdrop (think of Clark Gable in To Please a Lady) and audiences had never really seen it for real, in color, and especially not from the driver's point-of-view. Some shots are mesmerizing, especially the camera, one inch above the surface of the tarmac, hurtling down the road. Few movies have ever given you this sense of speed. And it's all done for real. I'm not saying that there's no place for CGI in movies, but if you want something to look good, you're going to have to do it the hard way.
Grand Prix deservedly won three Oscars for Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Film Editing.... Read more ›
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Grand Prix/ James Garner et al
One of my all time top ten movies. Unfortunately this version wouldn't play on my machine: in fact the machine wouldn't even recognise the existence of the disc and I returned it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Alan Clarke
5.0 out of 5 stars
awesome film
This film is so good, the in car shots are amazing . for any motor race fan this is a must no cgi here
Published 1 month ago by m mann
5.0 out of 5 stars
grand prix
I have been replacing a few of my dvd collection with blu-ray versions but also adding to my collection the prices available on amazon of new and used make you not bother looking... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic movie
Incredible movie , the graphics sound and atmosphere are terrific. It reminds you how dangerous racing was in the 60's.
Published 5 months ago by S. Davey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
A 1960s film better than expected. Storyline tight and believable, but the Blu-ray makes the track sequences a treat to watch and allows you to become a part of the action. Read more
Published 5 months ago by KayS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still The best
The film gets 5 stars the companies that make film formats for everyones consumption do not.
On the film...... if you are a film lover watch it. Read more
On the film...... if you are a film lover watch it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by K. Reid
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grand Prix
Great footage of GP races of the mid sixties and amazing to see all those historic circuits in the "pre Armco" era - scary stuff by todays standards.
Published 11 months ago by Alderney
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the one to buy
I've been waiting for ages to buy a decent copy of this. Having watched it ages ago on the tv I was paranoid that the quality of the print on a dvd or blu-ray would just be a nasty... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Tim Howard Ltd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous Blu-ray!
-> BLU-RAY review
Very good sound + vision (50 GB double-layer BD). Original aspect ratio. Highly recommended! Read more
Very good sound + vision (50 GB double-layer BD). Original aspect ratio. Highly recommended! Read more
Published 18 months ago by mickey_one
5.0 out of 5 stars
spectacular action adventure, if a bit of a melodrama
I saw this when it came out and remembered scenes from with complete clarity, somuchso that I would think of it often as I grew up. Read more
Published 19 months ago by rob crawford
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