Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin. Starring Steve McQueen, it features footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race.
The film is today still popular among race fans as it is a relatively accurate depiction of the era, with a lot of racing but very little dialogue. Due to this, and partly to the American market's general low awareness of the Le Mans 24 Hour race, it was only a moderate success at the box office there. It followed in the wake of the similar 1966 film Grand Prix.
Production
Main parts of the film were filmed on the circuit during the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race. McQueen had intended to actually race a Porsche 917 together with Jackie Stewart, but the #26 entry was not accepted. Instead, in the movie, he was shown starting the race on the blue #20 Gulf-Porsche 917K, which in the real race was driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. The race-leading white #25 Porsche 917 "Long tail" was piloted by Vic Elford/Kurt Ahrens, Jr..
The Porsche 908/2 which McQueen had previously co-driven to a second place in the 12 Hours of Sebring was entered by Solar Productions to compete in the race, equipped with heavy movie cameras providing actual racing footage from the track. This #29 camera car, which can be briefly seen in the starting grid covered with a black sheet (at approximately 17:51) and again at just before the 79 minute-mark racing past the starting line, was driven by Porsche's Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams. It travelled 282 laps (3,798 km) and finished the race in 9th position, but it was not classified as it had not covered the required minimum distance due to the stops to change film reels. It did, however, manage to finish 2nd in the P3.0 class.
Additional footage was shot after the race using genuine racing cars of the day, mainly Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 models, painted like the real competitors which staged the main rivalry in the 1970 season and the film. According to the rules, 25 of each sports car had to be built, so enough were available, compared to few if any of the prototype class. In the crash scenes, cheaper Lola T70 chassis were sacrificed, disguised with bodywork of the Porsche and Ferrari.
The Porsche 917 which McQueen drove (chassis 022) would later be sold to a privateer for its last competitive year driven regularly by Reinhold Joest and Willi Kauhsen, before later being sold to race driver and film participant Brian Redman.[1] Redman then sold it to Richard Attwood, the 1970 winner and another film participant, who referred to it as "his pension". Attwood then resprayed it to his 1970 winning color of red with white stripes as well attending numerous shows with it. He later sprayed it to the Gulf colors for promotional purposes and auctioned the car off at RM Auctions during the Monterey Historics weekend for less than £1 million in 2000 to Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler, a noted collector. Chandler then sold the car to Bruce McCaw, and it was maintained at Vintage Racing Motors in Redmond, WA. Later, it was moved on to the hands of its current owner, Jerry Seinfeld.
Clarification - The chain of ownership for chassis 022 is from Richard Attwood to Frank Gallogly (auction sale) and then to Jerry Seinfeld. The car that was owned by Otis Chandler and is now with VRM is chassis 017/004 (the actual car that Siffert/Redman drove in the 1970 Le Mans race). Both cars appear in the "Le Mans" film. -JG
Story
There is very little plot; the movie entertains primarily by providing the sight and sound of Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s, iconic racing cars with lots of visual and audio appeal to racing enthusiasts. There are, however, some elementary plot devices. There is the race itself with the fierce competition between the Porsche and Ferrari teams. Since this is a 24-hour race and the cars must have at least two drivers each alternating driving duties, there is time for drivers who are resting to have some human interaction. The main character, Michael Delaney (McQueen) has a very strong rivalry with Ferrari team driver Erich Stahler. Delaney was involved in an accident the previous year at Le Mans, an accident in which a driver named Piero Belgetti is killed. Early in the movie Delaney happens to spot Belgetti’s widow Lisa (Elga Andersen) buying flowers. He then drive his 1970 Porsche 911S[1] to where the accident occurred and has a flashback. Lisa is at the race because of her new relationship with a driver named Claude Aurac, although it appears that they are together because they are friends, rather than them having any romantic link.
One of the major plot lines develops in the thirteenth hour of the race, just after 5 a.m. on the Sunday morning. Erich Stahler spins his Ferrari at Indianapolis Corner, causing his Ferrari teammate Claude Aurac to veer off the track and suffer a major accident. Delaney is distracted by the flames of Aurac's car and suffers an accident of his own. He tries to avoid a slower car and collides with the crash barrier, writing off his Porsche. It is announced that Porsche number 20 and Ferrari number 7 have been involved in an accident. Although these are separate accidents, they were so close in time and place that it appears to the spectators, the pit crews and notably Lisa Belgetti, that the accidents are linked. Delaney and Aurac survive, however Aurac's injuries are far worse than those of Delaney. In the hospital after the crashes, Delaney consoles Mrs. Belgetti and rescues her from the overly forthright questions of the media. After he puts her in a waiting car, a journalist asks Delaney whether the accident involving him and Aurac can be compared to the accident involving him and Lisa Belgetti's late husband. Delaney stares the journalist down and does not respond.
There is a little subplot involving Johann Ritter and his beautiful wife Anna. He senses that she would like for him to stop racing and take up other employment. He suggests doing that, thinking she will be overjoyed. She probably is, but she apparently doesn’t want to make it seem like he has to do this for her, and says she would like it only if that is what he would like. He chides her a bit about not being entirely honest, since he is certain that she would like nothing better than for him to quit. Later on, this decision is taken out of his hands when the team manager replaces him for not being “quick enough.” Anna tries to comfort him, reminding him that he was planning to quit anyway.
Meanwhile, Lisa Belgetti seems strangely drawn to Delaney, the very man involved in the accident that killed her husband. She seems to greatly wish that he would quit racing because of the danger. However, he says that the thrill is just too addicting for him to even consider quitting. During their conversation, the Porsche team's boss enters the room and asks Delaney whether he would consider taking over the driving of Ritter's car. Delaney agrees without hesitation.
The closing stages of the race has two Porsches and two Ferraris competing very closely. The Porsches are driven by Delaney (now in car #21) and Larry Wilson (#22). One of the Ferraris, leading the race, suffers a flat tyre and is out of the race, leaving just one Ferrari driven by Delaney’s arch rival Stahler (#8). Wilson is in the lead, but looks likely to end up in third as his car seems to be the slowest of the three, since Stahler had caught up with Wilson, and Delaney had caught up with both. Were the road wide enough to permit easy passing, the race would end with Delaney coming in first, Stahler second, and Wilson third.
Delaney suddenly sees slower traffic ahead in his lane, (the right lane) and he must slow down, let Stahler pass him, and then go to the left lane to follow Stahler around the slower car. Then they both catch Wilson. One might expect Delaney to remain in the left lane to follow Stahler around Wilson and then try to pass Stahler. However, his actions seem designed to gain both the top two positions for Porsche rather than narrowly focusing on coming in first himself.
Rather than remaining in the left lane, Delaney switches to the right lane and places himself immediately behind Wilson's bumper and alongside the overtaking Stahler. The drafting maneuver increases the speed of both Porsches, allowing them to pull away from the Ferrari. During the maneuver, Delaney's Porsche bumps the Ferrari, causing Stahler to throttle back to avoid spinning out when his car goes partially off the pavement. Delaney then blocks Stahler, forcing him to remain in third position to avoid being sent into the guard rail.
Although Delaney doesn’t win the race, he beats arch rival Stahler and ensures that Porsche takes the top two positions, relegating Ferrari (and Stahler) to only a third place finish.
The inherent danger is realistic. Racing driver David Piper lost part of his lower leg in a crash during the shooting. The very close finish in the movie is unusual, but not unrealistic. Two years before the movie's release, the 1969 race was decided by just a few hundred yards.
The movie's most memorable quote is by Michael Delaney:
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A lot of people go through life doing things badly. Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it... it’s life. Anything that happens before or after... is just waiting. |
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Some version of this is acknowledged to have first been said by 1950's French racing driver Maurice Trintignant.[citation needed]
Another memorable line was team manager David Townsend's very succinct guidance:
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Michael, I want you to drive flat out. I want Porsche to win Le Mans. |
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Legacy
Despite the film's lack of success, the film now has a large cult following as it is considered difficult to replicate realistic racing scenes with the use of CGI and without an over-dependency on stunt doubles. Also the film tends to be used as a referencing point by motorsport and car media, when referring to the race itself. For example, at the time of the film’s release, a pitwall was added for the safety of pit crews as other circuits already had similar set-ups. Although the pit lane has been commonly used as a referencing point in the film, it was unpopular with both drivers and pit personnel for being cramped as well as difficult to get cars in and out of the pits, even when repairs were needed. It wasn't until following the 1990 race that the outdated pit lane was demolished in favor of a modern complex which is still in use today.
Parallels
The conclusion of the race in the movie is similar to races of the period. The 1969 Le Mans race was decided by a few hundred feet, the closest unstaged finish in race history. In the 1970 Sebring 12-hour race, McQueen himself and partner Peter Revson were relegated to second place after Mario Andretti took over the car of Vacarella/Giunti.
The temperamental Latin style of the Ferrari team manager and the reserved Anglo style of the British team manager for Gulf Porsche reflect the image of the real teams. The movie's Gulf Porsche manager, David Townsend, is similar to real Gulf Oil team manager John Wyer.
Gulf and Wyer won Le Mans twice with Ford GT40s, and Gulf won once more with its Cosworth-powered Mirage car, but Gulf and Wyer never won Le Mans with Porsche.
See also
References
External links
