Le Mans

Ich weiß nicht… Ich sehe eigentlich nur zwei Möglichkeiten: Le Mans mit einer richtigen Handlung – oder ganz ohne. Das Bisschen, das die Filmemacher als Handlung präsentieren, bringt nichts. Die Rennen wurden ausgezeichnet aufgenommen, der Start, die ersten zwei Runden, der Unfall, das alles ist atemberaubend. Auf der großen Leinwand muss es ein sensationelles Erlebnis sein. Ansonsten habe ich mich aber ziemlich gelangweilt, was ich schade finde. Wenn mir in der Zukunft etwas Seltsames zustoßen sollte und ich ein Motosport-Fan werde, schaue ich mir Le Mans noch einmal an und werde begeistert sein. (26.09.2012)

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 :) (07.10.2021)

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. (12.08.2011)

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. (29.05.2011)