Le Mans ‘66 DVD [2019]

An excellent film based on real history of the events.

Saw this I think on Sky or something and loved it so had to buy the UHD version simply because I knew it would look stunning and it does! Perfect 4k transfer and an excellent film.

Fantastic movie but as a prime member to be charged almost 10 with no option to rent personally I think it’s disgraceful. Unlike Netflix where you pay a subscription and then all movies are free prime elects to charge for the majority of any halfway decent movie. Prime also from time to time remove TV series that originally are free and then start to charge them members for them and they also then remove them from your watchlist.
Dexter is a prime example a series that has now been removed and is now charged for and in order to obtain the full series now on prime the cost is something in the region of 50.

Awesome film … one HUGE exception is Bale trying to do an English accent … this is up there with the worst ever, even Dick Van Dyke would be ashamed of that. It utterly ruins it for me – this could have been epic.
Matt Damon is brilliant – end on a high

Saw this at the cinema and loved it. Watched it with my family who also loved it. General all round good viewing, especially if you have an interest in motor sports. Brilliant performances from Matt and Christian as always, they work well together. All the people moaning about lack of accuracy to the real events need to remember this is an entertainment production, not a documentary. There are loads of factual books and clips about Le Mans, get those instead ! Brilliant film, well made and very entertaining.

I am something of a motor racing fan but view and judge this sort of film as entertainment rather than a documentary. As usual there have been comments from those that would prefer the accuracy of a documentary, I am enough of an anorak to see why that would have its place but in the final analysis I prefer to be entertained and would tolerate poetic licence.

Of course, this was always going to be a Hollywoodised version of history showing how the good ol’ boys take it to the Europeans but there are several layers in the story. If you look and listen hard enough you will see that the first version of the car was built in England but that Ford used an engine with insufficient power. That enabled the plot to develop where Miles, Shelby and the team added the bigger engine and developed the aero to take a semi-controllable beast with the new engine and get it through corners.

I thought that the politicking with Ford could have done without the portrayal of Leo Beebe as being quite that slimy; the story would have stood up well enough without engendering that antipathy and that spoilt it for me. This was not Shelby/Ford v Ford Suits v Ferrari, they had enough ‘baddies’ represented by the Italian team. Similarly, I could have done without Shelby being such a wise guy during the race.

I am usually a fan of Messrs Bale and Damon and this film was no exception. I thought they played their characters exactly as I would have expected them to behave – as I say, I’m not looking for impersonations of Miles and Shelby, just believability.

The race scenes are good, believable enough and for a fan like me unnecessary on second viewing. This is essentially a ‘buddy movie’ (in a good way and well executed) and I found the final scenes quite emotional.

I saw this at the cinema and watched it on disc again this week. I absolutely love this film. I’m a great fan of Ken Miles, so to think a film would feature his story like this is so unimaginable it has easily won me over, despite the flaws and historical inaccuracies.
The political machinations of the true story run so far and so deep that it would be impossible to represent them all in one movie, that’s what all the books are for. What this movie does is to take you right into the feel and spirit of the times, and let’s you enjoy the characters, the cars, and the Ford – Ferrari rivalry in an honest and realistic way. Christian Bale is just amazing as Miles, a career defining high for me.
Ok, let’s spot the anachronisms and inaccuracies, while being clear they in no real way spoiled my enjoyment of the film, so good was everything else:
When the Ford team visit Maranello in 63, there is a 275 GTB outside, and several P3 / P4s on the factory floor. None of these cars existed at that time.
When Miles wins Daytona 66, he led from around the second hour and won comfortably, there was no last lap duel with Walt Hangsen as shown in the movie. Also, the GT40 had already won Daytona in 65 with Miles again driving, a milestone that is strangely not even referred to.
The dead heat finish in the film could have had the actual finish represented whereby McLaren shot ahead just at the line to take the win, making some of the fault for the theft of Miles’ victory his responsibility. However, Beebe later said McLaren and Amon deserved to win as they has stuck to the team plan and driven a steady race, an utterly bizarre viewpoint, and maybe he had told Bruce to do this…..Miles broke the Ferrari challenge with his pressing drive, pure and simple.
There are many (eg: Shelby Daytona Coupe fully prepared one year before it even existed), and while it’s fun to spot them, they do not detract at all from the movie. This is the story of an amazing time and an amazing rivalry, with the key characters fully fleshed out. Bravo!!!!

Wife and I saw this in cinema when it was released. She is not interested in motor sport but thoroughly enjoyed the story of the relationship between the main players – loyalty, trust, teamwork striving for common goal etc.
There are many small details that I missed on first viewing – the gamesmanship in the pits where Shelby twice tried and succeeded to unsettle the Ferrari crew and the small nods of respect from Henry Ford 2 and Enzo Ferrari toward Ken Miles who developed and drove the car to such great effect only to be cheated out of the win by Ford corporate suits, but we all know who the real but unrecorded winner was. Also the total terror and elation of Henry Ford 2 when he passengered in the car driven by Shelby, HF2 said he had no idea – and he was right, he had no idea what he had paid to be created.
A brilliant multi-layered film which I shall watch again and again. It has prompted me to research the lives of Shelby and Miles further, just for my own interest – both motor sport heroes.

Entertaining and like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood a pean to 1960s America. There are several diversions from the true story – it took Ford three attempts to win Le Mans, not two, being one example. However, Christian Bale does a great job with the character of Ken Miles, and bringing one of the best racing drivers no-one heard of to a wider public attention. If you enjoyed Rush you will like this.

As a film, it was 4 stars. The AC Cobra story was lost, Carol Shelby was a tougher character than made out, and Ford executives came over as far too benign. Truth: The AC Cobra was the game changer at Le Mans. I had one and drove it hard. Memories!! I also missed an opportunity to meet the great man himself. What a regret!! Finally, I have lived in company cultures as depicted in this film and it is a lot nastier than portrayed. So, nostalgia gives a 4 star film that extra star. Oh and by the way, great action driving.