Rent Grand Prix on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Robert Alan Aurthur (screen story), Robert Alan Aurthur (screenplay), John Frankenheimer (uncredited), Bill Gavin
(commentary writer, uncredited), William Hanley (additional dialogue, uncredited)
Directed by: John Frankenheimer
Starring: James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Jessica Walker
Rated: Approved [PG]
Watch the trailer
Plot
American Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard.
Verdict
The racing is really well done, and the questions of why drivers race in a dangerous sport, tempting mortality, are striking. It's what happens off the track that's less interesting, though I think the goal is to explore the worry the racer's profession creates in their wives and girlfriends. Part of racing for these guys is to wrestle chaos, but every race poses a danger and every accident reminds them of their mortality.
It depends.
Review
It's funny watching this after F1 (2025) as the cars seem so low tech and unsafe. They were much slower back then too. I'm impressed with the racing scenes, especially for a movie this old. A crash in the first race is edited well, maximizing the effect. It makes the racers and their wives consider mortality and the dangers of racing. Pete Aron (James Garner) is blamed for the accident as Scott Stoddard (Brian Bedford) ends up hospitalized. Aron is out of a job, desperate to get back into racing.
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| James Garner plays Pete Aron |
Racers want to go fast. It's the old story of attempting to control the uncontrollable. Spectators want to see them zoom around the track, approaching the limits of what's possible. The very first race reminds characters and viewers of the fleeting mortality when you get into these cars. This soon seems like a racing movie in the vein of Days of Thunder (1990), exploring some of the same themes and where you could skip through everything that's not racing. There's a lot of soap opera stuff with Stoddard's wife and Aron.
Aron finally gets a job with Yamura motors. They don't have much money, but I expect Aron would have raced for free, seeing this as his only path back. No one else was willing to hire him.
Stoddard desperately wants to race again despite how obvious it is that he's not ready, but racing is all he knows. Even Sarti (Yves Montand) who is older questions why he still does this despite the risk and danger.
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| Top: Brian Bedford, James Garner play Scott Stoddard, Pete Aron Bottom: Yves Montand, Antonio Sabàto play Jean-Pierre Sarti, Nino Barlini |
It's raining at the Spa race, and we get a perspective shot where it's obvious how much vision is reduced. The drivers had talked earlier about how dangerous rain can be. Aron wins, but there's a devastating wreck involving Sarti and collateral damage.
The Italian Grand Prix is the final race of the movie, interspersing interviews with drivers asking them their feelings about racing. Barlini (Antonio Sabàto) states he's immortal. Aron talks about how exhilarating being on the edge is. A tragic accident in the race makes the winner's victory bittersweet. The racers may be rivals on the track, but they're brothers in this sport. A tragic accident is a distinct reminder to every racer how fragile life is and how tenuous their grasp on chaos really is.
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