Feeling the "RUSH" of Car Movies...

I'm sure you've all heard or read something about the new Ron Howard movie 'RUSH' by now. Of course, it's not Hot Rod-related in nature, but even if you love car racing in the slightest, I think you'll really en... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

 

i would LOVE to see another American Grafitti movie...but w/ the way movies are today, i want the REAL action scenes.. not the computerized ones that plague the screens today.

 

I agree.Im still stuck on Two Lane Blacktop though,so Im a bit of a dinosaur!lol!
I remember as a kid watching Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna duking it out....I think the '70's and early '80's were kind of the swan song of the truest generation of racing.F1,Winston Cup,Indy cars,Drag racing....it was all much more traditional,and hot rodder-centric than any of the garbage we have now.Everyone built stuff and innovated,it was a constant flow of new ideas and quality workmanship and design.
Now it's spec racers and generic bodies and engines.Lame.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Great post Jive!!. Ron Howard is probably a good choice as Director although If this movie does become a success, and by all reports it will, I suspect the screenwriter, Peter Morgan, will receive most of the accolades ...and rightfully so.

However, I have to disagree with you regarding your choices for movies we'd all like to see. In my opinion, there is nothing romantic, in a cinematic point of view, about Parks, Thompson or Shelby. Their stories need to be told in a documentary by the one and only Ken Burns.

If one movie should be made, that would be The Grand Prix Saboteurs based on the true story of three pre war Grand Prix drivers as told in the book by Joe Saward.

 

Went to see it Sunday. I was in college in the mid-'70's, and wasn't really aware of this racing rivalry going on at that time. There are so many elements in this story that could have been "Hollywooded", and yet weren't.

Good story telling, great action sequences, really great looking women, and overall, a strong sense of technical realism. Ron Howard has made a pretty well done movie.

Later, Kinky6

 

At the same time I'm really hoping to get a chance to see Snake Vs Mongoose on the big screen too. I watched way more drag racing as a kid on tv than any other sport.

 

I'm going tomorrow to see it. Followed F1 since I was a kid. Those were dangerous times,due to lack of safety. There was a great documentary on Velocity called "Formula One: The Killer Years". It was amazing! Jackie Stewart was the guy who pushed for more safety,even boycoting races. The crash scenes,including the actual Nikki lauda crash was horrifying.

 

Personally,I think Ken Burns tries to manipulate and rewrite history,,I have seen some excellent work but I have also seen poorly researched work by him also.

If there is ever a movie done about these men I hope it's some one who knows them. HRP

 

Worlds Fastest Indian was a great show for all the same reasons. Great story, great characters and fast iron...
Haven't seen Rush yet, but I'll take your word for it Jive Bomber.

 

I thought it was a great movie, and an even better show of character. What an inspiring time in racing. Lacking these days.....

 

The American equivalent would be the Jan Opperman-Kenny Weld sprint car rivalry of the 70s and then following through their respective lives. Even Hollywood couldn't dream up a script like that.

 

I saw this Movie last night and I can't wait to see it again. It is a must see for car guys and if you're a F1 fan than you are in for even more of a treat!

 

At the time of his death, Mickey was in the final editing stages of his story "The Man in the Iron Cage". At Mickeys house next to the race shop there was a film vault about the size of a 3 car garage loaded with film canisters because Mick filmed everything he did weather it was on land or water and somtimes both. When the area around where he lived was ablaze, Mickey used the 2" water service to keep the vault cool so the film would not get destroyed while his house was burning. Saw an early version of it and was kind of hokey in the beginning , but the footage was incredable

 

I agree, but a Burns doco tends to draw it's audience in, for lack of a better word. Some of his works centers around events more than a century ago where stories can get murky due to a lack of literature. Researching Thompson or Shelby is very easy.

 

I also went & saw it last weekend, & really liked it. As others have said it is a very well made, very entertaining film. I didn't really know much about the Lauda & Hunt rivalry as I didn't really follow F1 growing up but have always had a huge mount of respect for anyone who runs any car at that level of competition.

One of the best "car" movies ever made.... although personally, I think they could have had more in-car racing scenes

 

I would prefer the "Dust to Glory" approach for something documentary in nature...

 

Have yet to see RUSH but I will...all car-guy reviews coming my way have been very positive so I'm looking forward to it. In addition to Shelby, Thompson, and Parks, here's a few others I'd like to see considered:

Foyt/Parnelli/Andretti/Unsers storyline focused on 1959-1973 USAC era.

Barney Oldfield - Life and Times of the original barnstormer based on Bill Nolan's book.

Harry Miller/Tommy Milton/Frank Lockhart/Jimmy Murphy storyline based on the board track era from 1918-1928 -based on Dick Wallen's board track book.

They Call Me Mr. 500 -Andy Granatelli and the Granatelli Brothers' story based on Andy's book from '68.

State Fair Circuit : Decades ago Johnny Rutherford penned an article about the thrills, dangers, wild times and tragedies of racing the State Fair Tracks throughout August and Sept all throughout the U.S. in which he high-tailed it to as many races as possible in a one month period all across the land.

Holman-Moody/Total Performance/ Henry Ford II/Jac Passino/Fran Hernandez: The men behind the money that launched Ford's massive Total Performance racing campaign throughout the 1960's that forever changed how factories went racing...no longer hiding behind 'dealership sponsorships' and racing out in the open.

Larry Shinoda: From growing up in a WW2 internment camp to crewing on Indy 500 winners, to designing the first Funny Cars , '63 Corvette, later Boss 302s for Ford-what a life story.


I'm sure others will have more and/or better ones...but I'd sure love to see those subjects and people get The Ron Howard treatment.

 

Went to see Rush Saturday. Excellent movie. Definitely worth seeing in the theater. I'd forgotten much of the story, but it came back to me as I watched. Hopefully the success of this film will encourage some more racing movies.

Weaverville: I like that wish list!

 

I saw it last Saturday, and I really liked it a lot. I was hoping the racing scenes would be a little more technical (like John Frankenheimer did in Grand Prix), but it was a great story and was well acted.

For anybody that saw the movie:
TELL ME that you don't have a much greater appreciation for Nikki Lauda after watching that movie. There's some things that he went through during his recovery that are graphically depicted in the movie that will make you absolutely cringe. The guy was a badass.

 

After all of the positives from you guys I can't wait to see this movie on Saturday.

 

Bobby Allison Vs Richard Petty in 1972

 

Joanie & I went to see the film Friday night, her choice.

I liked the film, know the story and figured any film with Ron Howard attached would be good. A couple of down sides for me, IMHO, the quick cuts as you find today in film and the sound system was too loud for these old ears. Well acted and enjoyed by both of us.

A couple of thumbs up and I look forward to seeing it at home on Netflix.

DW

 

I can hardly wait to see it.Grand Prix was great,Winning was another,and as long as the sound was off,Lemans was visually very cool.

 

And then there's THIS crap coming around the distant corner.



I'd like to see a movie about the early Indy racers or The Ed Miller Story.

http://www.thevrl.com/profile/EdMiller?xg_source=profiles_memberList

 

Hmmm . . . sounds like you might know something about this, Jay!

Love almost all of his movies, looking forward to this one.

 

Just saw Rush this afternoon. What a great movie! Really enjoyable. I just hope Snake & Mongoose is half as good, and I was not impressed by the trailer, sorry to say.

 

The documentary Senna is also a pretty good movie to watch. For those interested in watching or learning about more F1. Sorry to be OT.

 

All good subjects. I think the friendship/working relationship of Harry Miller and Leo Goosen would make a very compelling story. The combined genius of the two supported by the talented and inventive staffers in the foundry and the shops, along with their clients continues to amaze me. The speed with which they created totally race-worthy engines, drive trains, and chassis -- beautifully rendered at that, is astonishing even by today's standards in race-car development. CNC machining, 3D modelling, and CAD/CAM weren't even in the collective consciousness at the time.

 

I thought the movie Grand prix was great. Is rush better?

 

My wife and I went to see Rush last Saturday. She couldn't care less about any type of racing but loved the movie. She loves old cars, but not racing, yet the movie spoke to her because the characters were so believable. The guy who played Lauda was incredible. I read that Lauda himself was over whelmed by the actor's portrayal of him and I can see why. Hope he wins an Oscar. Great movie.