Le Mans

I didn't fully appreciate this film when I was younger, but now, more than 30 years after first seeing it, even I, a person with a reserved relationship with cars, find it interesting. It's actually a kind of art-house racing film, part cool procedural, where we see almost live the preparation and the start directly from the cockpits, and part slightly melancholic experience with an unfulfilled relationship with a fellow racer's wife (but really only very lightly sketched). There's also the gentle jazz, the weaving loops, the rain, and Steve McQueen, whose every glance throws out the charisma of a power-packed racing car. And then there’s the reassurance that the races used to have a really human dimension, with the guys behind the wheel with one foot in the grave, a dimension mortal risk that today, in the face of state-of-the-art technology, is disappearing. That’s a win for Hamilton :) (10/07/2021)

Le Mans. I always wanted to know what it feels like to be a racing driver for the first time on this legendary starting grid and to find the strength to step on the gas and set out on a circuit where injury awaits rather than the finishing line. And Katzin presents us these feelings on a gold platter. He puts his money on the “inner" atmosphere (if you are one of the people who found the scene looking into the eyes of a wild animal in Collateral really powerful, you know what I mean). Which might seem strange with a sports movie, but it works. It works well. On the other hand, it become heavily non-viewer-friendly; almost like a documentary; which is helped by the fact that this movie has no genre clichés whatsoever. P.S.: The similarity with my review for Downhill Racer was fully intentional; these two movies are two sides of the same coin. (05/29/2011)

The story could fit on the little toenail of my left foot, but that’s not the point here. Breathtaking race scenes, marvelous crashes and Steve McQueen. A great look behind the scenes of one of the most iconic automobile races of all. (08/12/2011)

I don't know - either the plot should have been there, or there shouldn't have been the little amount of it that the creators pretend is there. Yes, the races are filmed brilliantly, the start, the first two laps, the crashes, it's all breathtaking and it must have been a sensational experience on the big screen, but apart from those moments I was pretty much bored, and that's a shame. Hopefully, if something weird happens to me in the future and I become a motorsport fan, I'll watch Le Mans again and get excited about it. (09/25/2012)