In stark contrast to the ‘Frozen 2’ release on the big screen in November, this docu-drama surely put some heat in one genre that has been overlooked, or perhaps forgotten, in the past half-century: American dominance in the motor industry.
Director James Mangold, of ‘Wolverine’ and ‘Logan’ fame, has created a masterpiece that brings the audience out of the spectators’ rafters into the cramped cockpit of the Ford GT40 as it tried to wrestle the 24-hour race away from the Italians, specifically the Ferrari 330 P3. To the layman, the red Ferrari has always been the sleek and sexier mechanical representation of man’s desire for speed and aesthetics, while endurance has been the ultimate test of both man and machine. This is where the men behind the desks created a corporate rivalry across the Atlantic Ocean, with the ego as huge as American automotive mogul Henry Ford II passing on his legacy on the international racetrack that has been traditionally and exclusively European – to prove to the whole world that good ol’ Detroit gearheads can come face to face with the Italian giants – with some English put in to add class.
Originally written with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in mind, British Oscar great Christian Bale was a much better-looking choice to portray British racecar driver Ken Miles to maintain the creative tension with Ford’s Texan auto designer Carroll Shelby (Oscar winner Matt Damon), and their camaraderie oozes like gear oil on the drawing board, the test track and the moment of truth at Le Mans, France in the summer of 1966.
Whether or not it was due to the difference in citizenship, strategic approach or pressure from then-Ford GM Lee Iacocca (who recently died last year at 94 – played by ‘Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal), and ultimately adding the matching soundtrack of the era in its fuel tank to the tire-level camera angles on the French asphalt, this cinematic and ‘bromantic’ car trip will surely take you for a joyride that you won’t soon forget.
Experience ‘Ford v Ferrari’ in your own living room now, without the fumes, sweat, burning rubber and engine noise that made heroes out of extraordinary men, as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment recently released this epic in 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray and DVD.
