"Once Upon a Time in Racing" or "Le Mans Avenue"

Camylle 2021-10-20 17:23:59

The first time I watched "The King of Speed ​​Cars" was two months ago. I wanted to write something after I watched it. For this reason, I also sorted out movies related to racing and wanted to compare them, but then there was no movie about it due to well-known reasons. Express desire. Until yesterday, I listened to the discussion of the villain's film critics, and suddenly I ignited my interest in this movie, so I pulled the film again, intending to say a few words.

I vaguely remember my feelings after watching "The Speed ​​Car King" two months ago. Simply put, I was very disappointed, mainly from three more subjective aspects. The first is the title that deceives feelings. "Ford vs. Ferrari" reminds me of a duo movie like "Ferrari". The sound of the engine of the giants has already sounded in my ears. This kind of expectation refers to the "classic" of a certain subtitle group. "The quotation is "Batman vs. Jason Byrne", but within a few minutes of the beginning of the movie, it was discovered that Ferrari turned out to be just a trick, and the relationship between Bell and Damon was more like Sherlock and Watson. It's as if you were looking forward to watching a wonderful and exciting North London derby, but the focus of the whole game was on the infernal affairs between Mourinho and his disciples. It may be good-looking, but it is not my expectation.

If the obsession with duo films can be attributed to my personal preference, then the next expectation of sports films is more practical, that is, the focus of racing movies should be on racing competitions, but this movie puts a lot of pen and ink Focus on the so-called "office politics". Of course, considering innovation (if such old-fashioned thick black studies can be counted as innovation), there seems to be nothing wrong with the element of film arrangement, provided that it can meet my original genre expectations as a commercial film audience. In fact, the past racing movies have depicted too many corners overtaking and straight-track acceleration. As a viewer, and more specifically as an F1 fan, I really want to see the Le Mans race which is more familiar to F1. The difference, for example, the Le Mans race has alternate day and night, two drivers (later changed to three) driving the same car in turn, there are rural roads and scattered villagers, there are more free entry and exit strategies, the above I only learned about the features after watching Steve McQueen’s "Le Mans" (also known as "The Speed"), but the team leader Shelby played by Matt Damon is not familiar with Le Mans. For the reason that Mansions decides the championship rules, I also acquiesce that the creators have only watched F1. As for those who brag about how shocking the engine roar is, I also recommend watching McQueen’s movie nearly fifty years ago to see what pure and shocking motorsport is.

The third thing I want to talk about is the Ford executive Bibby who has always had an antagonism with Miles. Even in the movies of the awards season, which has become more and more convergent and boring in recent years, I rarely see this kind of role that is so much as "I'm the villain" label. It's not that it's impossible to build a villain, but superficial, deliberate, and even a villain's writing that affects the tone of the actor's performance must be terrible. At the end of the game, Shelby's act of pulling Bibby's neckline and hitting it simply expressed my attitude towards the person who created this character. We all know that the villain of the movie should be the leading business model represented by Ford. It is this concept that contributed to the weird scene of the last three Ford racing cars crashing together, but it is also this concept that gave Miles the opportunity to assemble on his own. The car came to Le Mans. I can understand that the director has other concerns, which led to the only way to write the complex and abstract villain of the commercial trend as a concrete Mr. Bibby, but this does not mean that the high-level villain will not be able to shoot, Asif Capadil The director's "Forever Car God" is the best racing movie of this kind, and it is even a documentary.

Steve McQueen and "Le Mans"

I didn't control the writing so much, but it hasn't reached the point of what I want to say. This review did not change my views on the above three shortcomings, but after reviewing, I found a more general problem. Before I talk about this issue, I would like to quote a scene set by Ang Lee in "Billy Lynn’s Midfield Battle". After the intense discussion backstage at the Super Bowl, the agent played by Chris Tucker was opposed to the contract rejection. The soldier said: You know that your performance just now is the climax of a movie.

I agree that movies need a climax, especially commercial films, which is why we are so fond of those Nolan movies with climaxes. But climax also needs restraint. If the climax interval set in the movie is too short and there is no progressive relationship, on the one hand, it is very tired to watch, and the emotions are frequently mobilized but cannot enjoy it. On the other hand, the theme expression of the movie will be confused. Up, such as some repetitive ideologies. After rewatching it, I think "The Speed ​​Car King" has this problem.

Let us see that as the Le Mans race approaches the end, Bibby persuaded Mr. Ford of the three-car tie plan and informed the team leader Shelby, and Miles learned from Shelby that he was reluctant to say Of this plan. At this time, the character's dilemma has been established (this is also a very strange point, the director seems to skip Shelby's dilemma and directly pay attention to Miles), and the audience wants to know that Miles as the leading driver will how to choose. The next is probably the most beautiful scene in the whole movie. Miles in the morning sun was completely immersed in the joy of straight acceleration, and rushed out of the fastest lap without hesitation. After that, he chose to obey the team's arrangement and started to slow down. In the end, he found that he was played with the ruthless game rules (and even shameless business rules), and quickly walked away with his good buddy Shelby in relief.

We will find that many movies like to arrange the climax of the movie when the characters complete the arc, and Miles's arc has been completed in the above-mentioned twisting scene. His belief in victory has been completely transformed into a love for the car itself. So in a sense, this is the biggest climax of the whole movie. I believe most audiences feel the same as me. But soon, the director immediately arranged the next scene. boom! Returning to the pure Myers car crashed and the car exploded with smoke from the hillside in the distant view. At this time, the audience’s just-established understanding and recognition of the characters was interrupted by this sudden disaster, and they began to sigh and sympathize. This drastic emotional change and the sudden change in the fate of the characters also coincided with all that a climax should have. element.

So in less than a few minutes before and after, we were hit by two movie climaxes in succession. They both involve Miles, and the focus is on the changes in his attitude towards racing. If you insist on distinguishing, the former is Miles. For the car's relief of the victory and defeat, the latter is Miles's relief for the car's life and death. I don't think this is a kind of progression, and the two are so close, even if the emotions are progressive, it is difficult to follow. As I said before, this setting made me feel tired, and then tried to find a better solution when reviewing the pull tab.

Three Ford GT40s immediately crossed the checkered flag at Le Mans in 1966

The first solution is to eliminate the interval of these few minutes and let the two orgasms merge into one. The easiest way is to let the old man Dongmu do in "American Sniper", after leaving the figure of Miles at the end of Le Mans, the subtitles will be black screened directly:

Miles was killed in a test car a year later.

Some people will say that the treatment of "American Sniper" is too sudden. Maybe Dongmu's anti-genre climax will really make commercial movie viewers uncomfortable, but "Speed ​​Car King" here ends with a climax, and the audience's emotions can be postponed to the point. The subtitles appear. Of course, there is a better way to finish under the above ideas. Here we need to contact the era background of Le Mans. We may have a better understanding of F1. In the impression of fans, drivers and teams are at least the same weight (in fact, many fans also agree that F1 discusses more about drivers [1]). For example, I like Ferrari, but when it comes to the driver, it's where Kimi is and where I am. Before the end of the 1970s, the Le Mans race was also the same. The difference in body technology between major manufacturers was not particularly large, but the skills and attitude of the drivers could have more influence on the competition [2]. This is not difficult to understand. One of the most attractive aspects of the car is the ultimate personal heroism of the driver. It was also mentioned several times in "The King of Speed ​​Cars" that Miles and his partner could have become the triple crowns of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which made history. This also shows that The times value the honor of the driver itself. However, the emergence of the Ford GT40 is the first time that a manufacturer has spent a lot of money to seek technological breakthroughs on the body[3]. After this model finally achieved unparalleled success, more and more teams have devoted their attention to racing. The Le Mans era when the drivers themselves led the traffic is gone forever.

Against this background, when we look at Miles' final failure, can we immediately realize the sadness of the end of the era? This is also an extension of my dissatisfaction with the villain setup at the forefront. After all, what a charming villain should be when the commercial era comes. In this sense, Miles' final death was doomed from this failure. This is a very fatalistic manifestation. In the film, defeat and death can be cross-edited together. The two are originally unified. of. Even I think it is possible to rewrite the true historical ending and let Miles die directly on the Le Mans circuit. This approach is of course extremely controversial, but in the eyes of people who really understand racing, it may reflect the ultimate romance. Here is a digression, such a story has actually been staged in the history of racing, which also explains why only Senna can be called the "car god".

The above-mentioned practice of closely linking personal destiny with the background of the times, everyone can certainly think of Leonne's "Trilogy of Past Events". Take my favorite "Once Upon a Time in the West" as an example. In the ending, the woman’s dilemma is lifted. The harmonica who succeeded in revenge carries the shot Xia En, and the sound of the train’s whistle is heard in the distance. A disputed western era is about to come. At the end, the train of the new era is rolling in. I think if "The King of Speed ​​Cars" can focus on the ending, Mangold will be able to shoot "Once Upon a Time in Racing".

The rolling train of the times in "Once Upon a Time in the West"

In addition to merging the two climaxes, I also thought that I could separate the two from a distance, and then Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" came into my sight. At the beginning of "Sunset Boulevard", we know that the protagonist is dead, and the whole story is presented through his perspective (I call it a ghost perspective). It is precisely because we all know that the protagonist is dead, so there is no need to struggle in the two climaxes of the heroine's highlight moment and the protagonist's death process. Similar films include "Lawrence of Arabia", which will not be expanded.

Using this idea in "The King of Speed ​​Cars", that is, the scene where Miles had an accident at the beginning, let all the audience know the death of the protagonist, then you can re-examine the sport and the game from his perspective. The change in the ideals he admired. Finally, with the failure of the Le Mans race and the relief that followed, the film ended in the climax of the completion of the character arc. Arranging the structure of the film in this way will have a stronger meaning of fatalism, and the overall expression will be much stronger than what it currently presents.

After considering these two options, there will be questions immediately. Wouldn't Mangold think of such a way to deal with it? You know, the nostalgia for Hollywood's golden age expressed in his works can be clear, at least he must be aware of Billy Wilder's screenwriting ideas. But why didn't he make a "Le Mans Avenue" or "Once Upon a Time in Racing" out? The reason is very simple, because then Shelby will be out of play, and to put it more directly, Matt Damon will be out of play.

Imagine no matter which of the above two schemes, Miles played by Bell will become the absolute protagonist. "Once Upon a Time in Racing" may still be remembered from the end of the two generations of racing drivers, and the filming of "Le Mans" will undoubtedly delete many scenes from Shelby's perspective in the current movie. Furthermore, the scene of Shelby falling out with the boss at the end of "Speed ​​Car King" and the scene of sending a wrench in response to the beginning will no longer exist in both versions. This is impossible in a Hollywood blockbuster that obviously has two stars as a gimmick. After all, the rules of the Hollywood game are the same as the Ford in the movie. Commercial interests are the first. The expected profits of "Once Upon a Time" and "Le Mans Avenue" can never exceed the current "Speed ​​Car King" project. It is the law of reality and the shackles that bind the artistic value of this film.

Finally, I will add another reason why this type of dual male main film is difficult to shoot. In a word, the difference between the two people is too great. This difference is not the character difference between Ricky Lauda and James Hunter who are both racers in "Fast Wind" (their character difference corresponds to the exquisite Protestant rationality and the passing spirit of chivalry), but Congenital differences in character settings. Throughout the story, Shelby is like a husband caught in the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. He has to deal with Ford's requirements from the top, and to appease Miles' emotions from the bottom. And Myers is a thorough technical house, a pure driver who can desperate for racing. How can these two types of characters be put into one work with their respective emphasis? There is a domestic TV series that solves this problem well, and that is "Daming Dynasty 1566". And even if Liu Heping had more than forty episodes that could be opened up for discussion, he definitely chose to use the first half to talk about Hu Zongxian, and only let Hai Rui take over the second half. From this perspective, it is indeed not easy for the two-and-a-half-hour "Speed ​​Car King" to finally appear as we have seen.

Isn't Hollywood a Le Mans?

Reference materials:

[1] Why does Audi not participate in F1 and love the Touring Car Masters, Le Mans and Endurance races?

[2] The last red brilliance in the endurance race, the Ferrari mid-engine series racing car

[3] "Go, go to conquer Le Mans!"-Ford GT40, one of the most shining American racing cars

View more about Ford v Ferrari reviews

Extended Reading
  • Adonis 2022-04-23 07:01:24

    I don't like Ken's wife very much. Is there something wrong with her? ? The idiot in charge is even more speechless. The racing scene was so good, I got my eye on Matt Damon's glasses. (In 200116, there were a lot of people in the movie theater that I didn't understand. After reading the subtitled version, I felt a lot smoother, but I still felt that there was something wrong with the wife.)

  • Levi 2022-04-24 07:01:03

    only need to get 1 point: executive producer is Michael Mann

Ford v Ferrari quotes

  • Ken Miles: Well, you promised me the drive. Not the win.

  • Carroll Shelby: It was a hell of a drive.

    Ken Miles: She's a hell of a machine.

    Carroll Shelby: Oh, she's fast.

    Ken Miles: Could be faster.