Wow! Such a good movie.

Lack of good storyline.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

I have loved this movie since I was ten years old. Las night I was watching it again for the nth time, and behold!!!! the engines on the cars are fake!!! I could not believe my eyes!! They mix real life shots with the real cars, but when they do the close ups with the drivers.. the engines are fake!! I can only imagine that there were safety and logistical reasons for this. After all I don't think any of the actors were capable of actually harnessing one of these babies...Am I the only one to notice this??/Check the Ferrari, The scene where it stalls at Monza, its the real car. you can see all the details of the engine from the rear take, then compare with the cockpit shots, amazing!

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.

Great motor racing movie, possibly the best non-documentary motor racing ever. (If you include documentaries, however, "Senna" takes it).Excellent racing scenes. Every race was seat-of-your-pants stuff. Nothing was predictable: by the time of the last race there were still several possibilities open to how the movie was going to end. The last race was one of the more intense 15 minutes or so in cinema history. There was a huge feeling of impending doom, but you did not know for whom (or even that it was for only one person).Great cinematography during the racing scenes. It was like being there. Plus you get to feel what it is like to be someone in the crowd, or in the pits, or in the press.However, the non-racing scenes detract from the quality of the movie. Yes, they show the private lives of the racers and make them more human, but they aren't done very well. The non-racing stuff doesn't develop the characters much, even though with all that time spent (and it is a lot) you'd think it would.In the end the non-racing stuff just feels like padding, blowing out the running time and making it boring in stretches.Good performances from James Garner and Yves Montand. However, nobody else really measures up. Jessica Walter was unconvincing and Eva Marie Saint, for all her talent (thinking North By Northwest), just seems a bit spare. Francois Hardy does a decent job, and looks stunning doing it, but has little screen time, or impact on the movie.