It's Formula One. The movie starts at the Monaco Grand Prix. Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves Montand) is the past champ tired of racing. Nino Barlini is his brash Italian teammate. American Pete Aron (James Garner) crashes his car severely injuring teammate Scott Stoddard. Scott's wife Pat (Jessica Walter) is eager to leave the racing life. American journalist Louise Frederickson (Eva Marie Saint) covers the races.The technical aspect of the race filming is ahead of its time. Director John Frankenheimer uses the real tracks and gives the movie a real racing feel. It is miles ahead of its competitors and comparable to modern race coverage. It isn't always clear between the drivers but there are plenty of great shots of the drivers' faces while driving. Away from the races, the movie is rather ponderous and slow. Those scenes are static in comparison both in movement as well as drama.

In truth the plot of Grand Prix is pretty wafer thin, with not enough story to fully justify the gargantuan run time, yet it's both thrilling and fascinating all the same. Plot essentially centers around the 1966 Formula 1 motor racing championship, with James Garner, Yves Montand, Brian Bedford, Eva Marie Saint and Toshiro Mifune heading up the large ensemble cast list. It deals with the trials and tribulations of the drivers, both on and off the track.The human drama is a bit soapy, of which there is much, yet these narrative characterisations help to make us care and understand the protagonists at the core of the story. And of course when the drivers are out there on the track, we know their psychological make-ups, their driving mirroring their motives and emotional fortitude.The racing segments are superbly filmed by Frankenheimer, with multi-angles used to maximise the experience, while he also uses split screen sections to fully immerse us with the key characters. Two crash sequences are genuinely heart stopping, filmed with a clarity that makes us realise that people actually do die in this sport. While the sound work and editing is quite simply stunning.See it on the biggest screen you can, and for home formats get the best possible disc available. 8/10

Not John Frankenheimer's best film, but certainly the most technically ambitious and advanced, still impressing today after 50 years, and yet I was never a fan of motor sports. The most interesting aspect of the film is the discussions going on behind the screen, the drivers talking about the madness they are involved in, why they do it, trying to explain their fascination with associating with death as closely as possible, more than well aware they are risking their lives every second.Their different stories are also interesting, the most interesting one being Scott's, who loses everything including his girl in an all but deadly accident and still manages to retrieve it all merely by simply in crazy obstinacy continuing to risk his life even under unendurable pains. Pete is an honest racer who really is in it for the sport and sacrifices anything for it, including his good standing and relationships, but still emerges as a winner. Sarti is the tragedy, not realizing himself that he is finished, although he admits that he is tired, and just keeps pushing on, even if his car is burning and refuses to start and he is warned by his manager. Nino is a young Pete, fresh and ambitious and absolutely carefree - he still has everything ahead of him.Then we have the girls, Pat and Louise above all, Pat trying to divorce his wrecked husband who still can't abandon his mad race, and Louise falling in love with Sarti against her will, while he is still married. Their love is genuine, but they don't know how to continue after the race, while his wife won't divorce him, anything could happen, and of course the most unexpected happens.In spite of all this, the psychology, the drama, the excitement, the pathos of the accidents, the many personal fates involved, there is something hollow about this film, as if it never really could rise from the triviality level. It's Frankenheimer's last great film, he had only made superb films throughout the 60s earlier, and this was made straight upon the masterpiece "Seconds", which in spite of its incredible SF plot stirred you to the core, but this doesn't, while the strongest moment of the film is Louise in despair demonstrating her bloody hands to the press, showing the real truth of the fake show, which is still glossed over by the superficial triumphs, the vain glory, shallowly ignoring the mad vanity and the hopelessness of any real human relationships.

I saw this after the death of James Garner. The idea was good, but this was not one of his better movies.The concept was interesting-a mixture of Formula One racing and the intrigues and romances of the people involved. Trouble is, the movie tries to include too much and ends up overlong and tedious.We do get a feel of what it is like to be in the race-the high speeds, the tight curves, the dangers of other drivers or cars that break down, leading to serious accidents. We also see the strains and divided loyalties of the drivers and their respective friends and spouses. We also see the rocky relationships between drivers and their employers.But the film becomes overlong because it just tries to incorporate too much. It is easy to see why most films try to simplify their stories as much as they can.