The thrill of racing is something I've had in my blood since my birth. My father raced motorcycles in England in the late 50's / early 60's where I was born. When I was growing up I was constantly exposed to both cars and motorcycles and the thrill of the sounds, smells and shear excitement of racing.
I became familiar with the relationship/competitiveness of James Hunt and Niki Lauda at a time when my brother and I were competitive swimmers. Hunt and Lauda raced on tracks around the globe while my brother and I represented the USA in swimming outside of the USA.
I was actually expecting this movie to fall flat and be a special effects nightmare, but instead was pleasantly surprised at the very beginning by a number of things. Camera, sound, grain of the picture. Yes GRAIN OF THE PICTURE. Ron Howard seamlessly melded real world footage as well as staged to accomplish a weaving of both in such a way that the transition was difficult to pick up. BRAVO to him and his team for this as it works really well. You're not lost in the effects even though you know they're there.
Transitions from scene to scene are done in such a way that I found myself looking around the theater to see what door James or Niki would come through next. I got caught up and swept into the movie which for me is a big deal. Let me forget that I am in a theater and instead let me feel as if I am a fly on the wall in the actual event.
Rain...a drivers enemy in racing in a big way. So many variables change in the performance of the car, the engine, the drivetrain, the steering characteristics all shift and cause your psyche to be modified to compensate for these. Funny that Lauda blamed Hunt for keeping the race going that injured him, but in reality Lauda could have bailed out of that race and preserved his face for the future. He chose to keep going and well the rest is history. You have to respect the man for what he did, how he came through things and was in fact driven to come back and give the quest to be world champion his all.
I won't spoil things for you, but this is not TITANIC. It's a well made movie that recounts one of the hottest competitions in auto racing HISTORY EVER and it does a damn good job of bringing us into touch with that time. I remember it because I was alive and glued to the TV with my Dad giving commentary for those things I could not understand.
Ron Howard...You've UPPED your game with this film in my humble book. I appreciate your cinematic genius. I hope others will see in this what I have.
Whatever you do this week...if you can get out and see this movie. It's one to be enjoyed. Great soundtrack, great believable characters and if you were alive at this time it will be a great refresher for you of a time in our lives when things were much different and more connected.
@rushthemovie @kimlouise55
#awesome #intense #enjoyable #historical #lauda #hunt #formulaOne