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Released by: Paramount
Released on: 5/24/2011
Director: Lee H. Katzin
Cast: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen
Year: 1971
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The Movie:
For those who don't know, the Le Mans is a 24-hour car race that takes place in France every year. Each car is driven by a team of at least two people, swapping the driving duties every two hours to rest and eat. McQueen was a racing junkie in life and felt the famous race would make a cool place to film a movie. What resulted was Le Mans.
McQueen's character was involved in an accident in the race the prior year, one for which he feels responsible. The widow of this killed man is present at the race (in support of another driver she's probably boinking) and he is having trouble with having to face her. There is another driver in the race of whom McQueen is rivals with and the media has really hyped up the competition between the two, causing McQueen more angst. And the battle of Porsche Vs. Ferrari pretty much fills the screen from start to finish.
So yeah, there's not much to this one by way of story. The first 45 or 50 minutes has next to nothing by way of dialogue and for the first half of the movie the story hardly comes into it. Once it does, it's never anything remotely remarkable. This almost seems like a documentary the way it's presented, kind of an inside look at the race. And although there's not much to get involved in story-wise, there's plenty to take in visually and audibly. At some points the racing is edited to music, which by the way is great, and at funky angles. Great 70s hairstyles and clothes, neat 70s advertisements, and cool-as-shit 70s attitudes. This one is an interesting time capsule piece. But in the end, it's pretty much just a car race. If that's not your bag, this is pretty boring.
High on octane but low in protein, Le Mans probably won't appeal to the masses. But for fans of fast cars, insanley fast and dangerous racing, and Steve McQueen (who did most of his own driving) this one should get you going.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Paramount delivers the film with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio. The picture clarity varies as they filmed outdoors, and at times during poor weather conditions, as a few (very few) scenes were filmed inside. The inside scenes look the best, but for the most part things look decent. The colors on the cars look great at times and the black levels seem pretty deep too. No artifact troubles to report.
The audio chores are handled by a 5.1 Surround Sound track and there is plenty of noise to get into. Loud cars, crowds, and music all make good use of the surround and the sub woofer gets a decent workout as well. No audio weirdness to report.
The only extra, aside from a trailer for the movie, is a 24-minute featurette that was originally aired on the channel Speedvision (which became Speed Channel). Hosted by Steve McQueen's son the program gives some interesting information by the people who made it, with interesting facts such as NO SCRIPT. It's worth watching for sure.
The Final Word:
Paramount did a nice job with the film presentation and the extras (well, extra really) is a good watch. If you dig auto racing, check this one out. If you don't like auto racing, skip it.
