Ford vs Ferrari: Movie Review
Ladies and gents, we have another one! A racing docudrama! One of the best stories in motorsports that birthed possibly the most iconic race car in history. This is the 1960s saga of Ford vs Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
I have been waiting for this movie since I saw the first trailer a few months ago and it did not disappoint in any way. Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II were impressive support cast for the real stars - the cars.
Given that this is a record in history, a summary of the plot won't exactly count as giving out spoilers. In the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company was struggling to compete against its rivals who were offering more exciting models to a younger generation. Marketing head Lee Iacocca suggested the idea that Ford should go into racing but starting a motorsport division would be quite costly and time-consuming. At that time, a Ferrari had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five years in a row but old man Enzo Ferrari was financially broke and keen to sell.
History says Ford spent millions to audit Ferrari's assets before putting forward a final proposal. Under it, two ventures would be created Ford-Ferrari Motor Company with Ford having control and Ferrari-Ford Racing with Ferrari having majority control. But that wasn't good enough. Ferrari wanted to retain FULL control of the motorsports division. Plus Ford told him he couldn't compete in races that Ford was already a part of. Enzo called the deal off and added insult to Henry Ford II for good measure. Mr. Ford didn't take too well to Enzo's ego and ordered his paper-pushers to find someone to make a car that would crush Ferrari at Le Mans.
The movie cuts this negotiation part of the story into an easily digestible section taking just a few minutes of screentime, including how Ferrari decided to sell to Fiat instead. But the significance of Enzo Ferrari rejecting Henry Ford II was not lost.
After much discussion with potential partners such as Lotus and Cooper, Ford went with Lola since they used a Ford V8 in their Mk6/Lola GT racecar. The project enlisted Lola Cars' owner Eric Broadley, ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer and Ford Motor engineer Roy Lunn to work at the Lola factory in England. This was 1963 and by the end of the year, the Ford project team had moved to Slough. They built the GT/101, unveiled in 1964, a mid-engined sports car powered by a 4.7-litre V8. However, this car performed poorly in every race it entered that season.
Ford then decided to hand over the program to someone else. That someone else was Carroll Shelby. Shelby had won the Le Mans himself in 1959 and was already a well-known figure in racing. This is where the movie picks up the story of the Ford GT40. Shelby knew money alone wouldn't be enough to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, Ford would also need the right driver to win. So, he pulled in British racing driver Ken Miles to help test and develop the car. Miles was the pure racer, not reckless, driving fast was just natural to him. As was building a winning race car. The perfect duo to get the job done you might say.
'Ford vs Ferrari' follows the journey of the Ford GT40 against the Ferraris at Le Mans through Shelby and Miles. Ken wasn't exactly a PR friendly guy and Ford found him too troublesome despite Carroll's insistence that they needed him at the wheel to win. At the 1965 Le Mans, the GT40s were faster than the Ferraris in a straight line but reliability issues resulted in DNFs for all of them.
Finally, Ford agreed to use Ken Miles at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans after winning that year's 24 Hours of Daytona. Those are the two big races in this story and that's where I'll conclude this recap. The stage was set for Ford to finally take down Ferrari.
The movie follows this rivalry through the relationship between Shelby and Miles and there is a tinge of US patriotism in the narrative. It is as much a movie about an iconic racing rivalry as it is about American ingenuity, grit and friendship. I also loved the playlist of the movie with some of the coolest songs from the 60s that symbolised the free spirit, experiencing life at 7000rpm and more. But the best soundtrack was the actual engine noises from those cars as they revved over 7000rpm.
It was clear that the film was limited in its racing scene selections and which parts of the 60s circuit layouts they chose to capture. But it still managed to showcase the intensity of the racing and the euphoria of driving the perfect racing line. I've had sporting movies make me cry before, but this one made me weep. It reminded me of why I love motorsports, why I love cars and everything that I miss about driving. There was another moving quote from the film that I don't think counts as a spoiler, so I'll paraphrase:" Sometimes words are useless. Tools on the other hand. You can use tools to mend, to fix...to create something." When you see it in the movie, you'll know why that hits deep.
Ford vs Ferrari is an opportunity to enjoy the journey of the Ford GT, Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby as a cinematic experience. It's not the same as Rush, but it does hold its own as a racing movie and will be on my list for repeated viewing.
I rate Ford vs Ferrari 9 out of 10 spanners. It would be a 10, but I threw the last one at someone.
I have been waiting for this movie since I saw the first trailer a few months ago and it did not disappoint in any way. Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II were impressive support cast for the real stars - the cars.
Given that this is a record in history, a summary of the plot won't exactly count as giving out spoilers. In the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company was struggling to compete against its rivals who were offering more exciting models to a younger generation. Marketing head Lee Iacocca suggested the idea that Ford should go into racing but starting a motorsport division would be quite costly and time-consuming. At that time, a Ferrari had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five years in a row but old man Enzo Ferrari was financially broke and keen to sell.
History says Ford spent millions to audit Ferrari's assets before putting forward a final proposal. Under it, two ventures would be created Ford-Ferrari Motor Company with Ford having control and Ferrari-Ford Racing with Ferrari having majority control. But that wasn't good enough. Ferrari wanted to retain FULL control of the motorsports division. Plus Ford told him he couldn't compete in races that Ford was already a part of. Enzo called the deal off and added insult to Henry Ford II for good measure. Mr. Ford didn't take too well to Enzo's ego and ordered his paper-pushers to find someone to make a car that would crush Ferrari at Le Mans.
The movie cuts this negotiation part of the story into an easily digestible section taking just a few minutes of screentime, including how Ferrari decided to sell to Fiat instead. But the significance of Enzo Ferrari rejecting Henry Ford II was not lost.
After much discussion with potential partners such as Lotus and Cooper, Ford went with Lola since they used a Ford V8 in their Mk6/Lola GT racecar. The project enlisted Lola Cars' owner Eric Broadley, ex-Aston Martin team manager John Wyer and Ford Motor engineer Roy Lunn to work at the Lola factory in England. This was 1963 and by the end of the year, the Ford project team had moved to Slough. They built the GT/101, unveiled in 1964, a mid-engined sports car powered by a 4.7-litre V8. However, this car performed poorly in every race it entered that season.
Ford then decided to hand over the program to someone else. That someone else was Carroll Shelby. Shelby had won the Le Mans himself in 1959 and was already a well-known figure in racing. This is where the movie picks up the story of the Ford GT40. Shelby knew money alone wouldn't be enough to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, Ford would also need the right driver to win. So, he pulled in British racing driver Ken Miles to help test and develop the car. Miles was the pure racer, not reckless, driving fast was just natural to him. As was building a winning race car. The perfect duo to get the job done you might say.
'Ford vs Ferrari' follows the journey of the Ford GT40 against the Ferraris at Le Mans through Shelby and Miles. Ken wasn't exactly a PR friendly guy and Ford found him too troublesome despite Carroll's insistence that they needed him at the wheel to win. At the 1965 Le Mans, the GT40s were faster than the Ferraris in a straight line but reliability issues resulted in DNFs for all of them.
Finally, Ford agreed to use Ken Miles at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans after winning that year's 24 Hours of Daytona. Those are the two big races in this story and that's where I'll conclude this recap. The stage was set for Ford to finally take down Ferrari.
The movie follows this rivalry through the relationship between Shelby and Miles and there is a tinge of US patriotism in the narrative. It is as much a movie about an iconic racing rivalry as it is about American ingenuity, grit and friendship. I also loved the playlist of the movie with some of the coolest songs from the 60s that symbolised the free spirit, experiencing life at 7000rpm and more. But the best soundtrack was the actual engine noises from those cars as they revved over 7000rpm.
It was clear that the film was limited in its racing scene selections and which parts of the 60s circuit layouts they chose to capture. But it still managed to showcase the intensity of the racing and the euphoria of driving the perfect racing line. I've had sporting movies make me cry before, but this one made me weep. It reminded me of why I love motorsports, why I love cars and everything that I miss about driving. There was another moving quote from the film that I don't think counts as a spoiler, so I'll paraphrase:" Sometimes words are useless. Tools on the other hand. You can use tools to mend, to fix...to create something." When you see it in the movie, you'll know why that hits deep.
Ford vs Ferrari is an opportunity to enjoy the journey of the Ford GT, Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby as a cinematic experience. It's not the same as Rush, but it does hold its own as a racing movie and will be on my list for repeated viewing.
I rate Ford vs Ferrari 9 out of 10 spanners. It would be a 10, but I threw the last one at someone.
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