Rating: 
Summary: ...a real "driver's" film.
Review: Do you like driving? Do you like Porsches? If you answered yes to either, you'll like Le Mans. It is virtually a documentary on the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Plenty of great racing footage, a mixture of scenes shot for the movie and actual footage from the 1970 event. The prototype sports cars from this era are quite stunning, resembling vehicles from a science fiction movie (lots of Porsches!). They hired "real" racing drivers to drive the cars, along with Steve McQueen himself, also an avid racer. (Note: One of the drivers crashed during a practice session and lost a leg; i.e., no "smoke and mirrors" here, this is the real thing.)On the other hand, if you answered no to the questions above, there is little in this movie for you. The acting is pretty weak. There is a faint attempt to draw the viewer into the human drama of racing. I don't think most "non racers" will be captivated by any of this.
Rating: 
Summary: THE GREATEST DOCUMENTARY of SPEED and LIFE AT THIS RACE
Review: I've heard nothing but bad comments about this film from film critics for years and nothing but GREAT comments from everyone else. The critics pan it for it's lack of dialog or less than spectacular storyline. What they are not seeing is that this was not a film that was written with a story in mind-it's a film that was built around an audio-visual and emotional event first. The storyline/dialog was added afterwards. Like one reviewer here wrote: "WHO CARES ABOUT THE STORY". This film documents Les Vingt Quatre Heures Du Mans in the best possible way. It captures the pageantry, life, the speed and fury unlike any racing film I've ever seen (the only thing I can think of better, short of being a driver in the race, would be the release of the video game). It is the best documentary of what life at that circuit is like during those 24 hours-I know, I've been there. If you've ever wanted to go to Le Mans, BUY THIS VIDEO. If you've ever heard of Le Mans but don't really know about it BUY THIS VIDEO. If you're a NASCAR fan BUY THIS VIDEO-there really is more to life than just driving in ovals-lots more! Have an AWESOME day! Mark Gilvey THE UNOFFICIAL SPECTATOR
Rating:
Summary: Le Mans - Wonderful Dramatic World of 1970's Racing
Review: This movie captures the world of racing at it's finest in the early 1970's when Porsche and Ferrari battled it out for the World Championship. The racing footage is wonderful and the soundtrack brings the racing into your livingroom.
All the acting cast brings to life the world of racing, not with special effects or daytime television "soap" styled scripts. Quiet characters who are involved or part of the international racing scene bring this movie to life. No "over-acting" here, just down-to-earth serious dialog that adds to the whole experience.
The racing footage is spectacular...forget the computerized specials effects of today. This is as real and solid as it gets. I felt a part of being in a Porsche 917 or a Ferrari 512 while accelerating to 200+ MPH.
This is one movie I was happy to spend money on...you can keep the "Fast N' Furious" for the kids.
Rating:
Summary: A pure film for purists
Review: The Le Mans 24 Hour Race is one of the most insane sporting events ever. "Le Mans" attempts to portray the excitement, the speed, the sound, and the surreal quality of the race, and yes, some of the boredom and stupidity as well. Steve McQueen is at his most restrained playing Michael Dalaney. Seldom has the professional racing drivers' mentality and single mindedness been shown with such clarity. Dalaney has respect for his colleagues, but no warmth towards them. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of the race itself, and importance of winning the race. There's a tiny, fragmented, rather strange sub-plot which features a beautiful widow from the previous year's race, if you are a generous viewer then this story seems to only enhance the single mindedness of the drivers. There's also a rivalry between Delaney and another driver. But again, the rivalry seems manufacturered as much by the media (shown at their most despicable) rather than any true emotion between the men concerned. The real stars of Le Mans are the brutal, beautiful sports racing cars of the early 1970s. several meet horrific ends in slow motion crashes that are simultanously beautiful and horrific to watch. Above all else, from the beginning to the end Le Mans has a surreal quality where speed and concentration result in all other aspects of 'real life' being forgotten. We're unlikely to get as honest a portrayal of professional motor racing ever again, and certainly not from Hollywood...
Rating:
Summary: More than just the race
Review: "LeMans" is one of the few contemporary major motion pictures that explore the human factors and motivations in Motor Racing. I feel that the reason for this is that the star of the movie, Steve McQueen (as American race driver Michael Delaney), understood professional motorsport very well. McQueen competed in several international sports car events, notably the 1970 Sebring 12 hours, prior to the start of this project. Critics have taken the movie to task for it's dark feeling; it's true that most scenes in the movie at least hint at the constant danger inherent in the most violent of the remaining "blood sports". However, I feel that it's the thoughtful way that the danger is acknowledged is what makes this film particularly interesting. One only has to look to the opening scene where Delaney (McQueen) visits the spot on the famous Mulsanne straight where he was involved in an accident in the prior years running of the famous 24 hours race that claimed the life of a rival. Not a word is spoken in this scene, but the viewer knows what happened, and the agony that Delaney feels having been involved in the fatal crash. It is ironic that the film is largely based on events that happened in the 1970 LeMans 24 hours sports car endurance race. 1970 will forever be noted in the record books as the fastest and most dangerous running of this famous race. Due to changes in the layout of the course, emasculating the famous Mulsanne straight (due to safety concerns), and due to changes in specification of the race cars themselves, it is likely that Vic Elford's 242.685 km/h qualifying lap and race record lap of 241.235 km/h will never be eclipsed. It is to be noted that in recent years the winner of the event has completed more miles (in the 2000 event more than 5000 km were completed by the winner), but this is due to rain causing a dramatic slowing of the field in 1970. Speaking of rain- there is an interesting scene in the first hour of the movie where the Porsche and Ferrari team managers are faced with losing the lead by calling their drivers in for rain tyres. Who would blink first- you could cut the tension shown on screen with a knife. Finally a minor accident on the course convinces both team managers that they must bring their drivers into the pits to avoid disaster. Even if you aren't a racing fan, you owe it to yourself to witness the breathtaking "first person" driving scenes and the thrilling in-car shots. The story of how this spectacular photography was achieved is the subject of a recent book "A French Kiss With Death" which I would strongly suggest that students of cinematography and the curious take the time to read. Overall, the movie "LeMans" is more about the human drama that is endurance sports car racing, than the race that the movie takes its name from. Enthusiasts will thrill in seeing the vintage racing footage and the "staged" shots taken not only at the circuit, but during the race itself (in full 35mm Panavision). But everyone can appreciate the emotion, irony and drama that is shown to the viewer by the talented cast.
Rating:
Summary: Best motor racing movie ever - superb DVD
Review: I'll keep it short and sweet - Le Mans is the best motor racing movie ever, and the DVD looks absolutely superb, with a terrific widescreen print that showcases the stunning cars of the era (the most exciting cars ever built in my humble opinion). In particular, the first 8-10 minutes of the race is a master class in motor sport cinematography and editing. On the first lap we are able to marvel at the sights, and incredible sounds, of the mighty Porsche 917's and Ferrari 512's dueling, and then, as lap two begins, Michael Legrand's outstanding, upbeat and funky-ish orchestral score kicks in, helping propel the race footage to further levels of excitement. I could go on, but I won't. Buy this essential DVD.
Rating:
Summary: "Everything Else Is Just Waiting"
Review: The single line that's necessary to understand this film -- if you don't have an instinctive understanding from the moment you hear the engines beginning to rev -- is McQueen's response to "Why do you do it?". He says (and i'm afraid i have to paraphrase a bit here) "That out there, that's living. Everything else is just waiting." And that's the truth; for some people, living on the edge -- whatever it may be the edge of -- is the only time they feel truly alive. The great British driver Stirling Moss's biography is entitled "Everything But my Life". Graham Hill, after retiring and taking a job as a commentator was asked if he missed racing. He replied along the lines of "Twenty-four hours out of most days, I don't miss it at all. But when those engines start up -- I miss it more than anything." McQueen's film catches this attitude well -- these are men with an obsession, a need to get out there and push themselves and their vehicles to the limits, and beyond. (Limits? Another Graham Hill story -- he took a car out for practice at the Nurburgring. It was impossible for the car's suspension to allow its belly to touch the roadway. He came back with all the paint rubbed off the bottom of the car. (A car magazine decided to see how different drivers approached their art; they fitted a gran prix car up with full instrumentation and sent three different drivers out to run hot laps on the same race course. As expected, the profiles of all three varied, some were faster on one corner, some on another -- but two of the three touched the car's theoretical absolute limits in acceleration or cornering force at several points on the lap. The third exceeded them several times...) If you want a RACING MOVIE -- one that gives equal emphasis to the "Racing" and the "Movie" part, this isn't it -- try "Winning" (with Paul Newman), which i believe Amazon is/was offering as a two-fer with this film. If you want a racing MOVIE -- one that's first a Movie and secondly a racing sory (albeit with incredible racing sequences) try "Gran Prix", with James Garner. But if you want a RACING movie -- one that understand swhat and why racing is and lays it all out there, this is it. Some Other Random Comments: One review mentions McQueen driving a race with his ankle in a cast -- it wasn't in this film, it was either Sebring or Daytona, and he only barely lost to Mario Andretti who was determined not to lose to "an actor". Almost all of the cars in this film -- including the Porsche which meets such a horrific end on the Armco -- were actual factory cars from the previous season, which were pretty much obsolete in the new season, and which the factory donated/sold cheap to the production company. Except for the Ferraris -- Enzo read the script, said "A Porsche wins? No Ferraris!" The "Ferraris" which McQueen and crew took great pleasure in destroying are actually replica bodies on old Lola chassises. Another review mentions that the tires on the Porsche can be seen spinning as it bounces off the Armco in slo-mo, and says that this is beacuse the accelerator had been jammed open to cause it to crash more spectacularly. From what i heard at the time, the car was first smashed into the Armco under radio control at a speed approaching 200MPH; after it bounced off, a stutn driver got into it, strapped himself solidly in, and gunned it up to sixty or more MPH, hitting the barrier again at a sharp angle which resulted in several more bounces. The tires are burning because it was wide open to enable him to do more elaborate spins and crashes. (They cover up the cut between the RC crash and the controlled crash in the slo-mo sequence by one of the cutaways to McQueen's face as he relives the crash after everything comes to a halt...) Feel the Need For Speed? This is the DVD for you.
Rating:
Summary: The best racing movie ever, as it was meant to be seen
Review: Sure, this film is not Citizen Kane or anything, but it is really quite good. I guess people tend to write it off because it is a "racing movie". It does have a simple plot and, as many others have pointed out, minimal dialogue. But this film says a lot in a subtle way -- something you never see in movies today. The late 60's/early 70's were such a great time for cars and racing, and this movie captures the essence of that period in motorsports. Actually the cars themselves would not look out of place at all today. But this was a long time ago -- before NASCAR ;-) -- and these cars were not so high-tech as they might look. Racing was far more dangerous then than it is now; drivers were getting killed all the time as I recall (I was 14 when "Le Mans" was released). "Le Mans" really makes you feel what it must have been like to be a racer back then. It is a study of contrast between dull, quiet "real life" outside the race and the vitality, urgency and danger of competition that motivates the drivers. "Le Mans" is one of the only two good auto racing movies that were ever made. (The other is Grand Prix, which is unfortunately not yet available on DVD.) It is a completely visual movie -- you MUST see the DVD version in widescreen format, with its superior video/audio quality; way too much is lost in the VHS version. The action footage is truly incredible, especially when one considers that this was 1971. If you like cars/racing and movies, "Le Mans" should be in your collection.
Rating:
Summary: what we've been waiting for
Review: A great version of the best racing film ever made. The video upgrade is amazing, you can see every detail of every curve on the 917 and ferrari's screeching down the straights. The color is amazing. The sound overall is not great, comparable to the VHS version. The quiet scenes have a great track to them though.
Rating:
Summary: Great racing movie for race fans
Review: Le Mans is a great racing movie that focuses on the actual race while also including a thin love story behind the racing sequences. The race is a 24 hour endurance challenge for drivers on an 8.5 mile course. The story in the movie is about Michael Delaney, an American driver returning to the race for the first time after being involved in a crash that injured himself and killed another driver. Returning to the race, Delaney finds himself drawn to the widow of the driver killed in the race whether it be so that he can explain himself and what happened or just that he is attracted to himself. The thin love story plays second fiddle to the actual race. The racing sequences take up much of the movie as the drivers battle themselves, each other, the cars, and also the weather. All of the crash sequences are very well put together. Done in slow motion, you want to look away, but can't. It reminded me a lot of The Wild Bunch with something so horrible going on yet you cannot look away. Steve McQueen stars as Michael Delaney, the racer returning to Le Mans. He gives another great performance even though he lets his driving do most of the talking. McQueen does not even speak until 40 minutes into the movie. What impresses me is that he did most of his own driving on the course hurtling along at well over 200 miles per hour. Siegfried Rauch plays Erich Stahler, Delaney's main opponent battling for the title. He doesn't say much but the respect between the two men is very evident. Elga Anderson stars as Lisa Belgetti, the widow Delaney is attracted to. She does not have a big part, but what is there is very good. The DVD does not offer any extras, but the widescreen presentation looks great compared to the VHS release and the sound is incredible, especially in the racing scenes. Racing fans will love this movie even with the thin love story put behind the race story. Fans of McQueen and racing will love this classic!
| 
