• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

Ford vs. Ferrari

pdplot

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Went to the early show tonight with another couple. Big screen, loud noise. Entertaining story with good acting by all concerned especially Christian Bale as Ken Miles. There is no mention of Ken Miles amazing MG powered special - the Flying Shingle, that beat a lot of faster cars due to his fearless driving. The racing scenes and crashes were the best ever - don't know how they do it. As usual, they took a few liberties with the facts but the basic story is true and all there. I recommend it.
 

dklawson

Yoda
Offline
I also saw the movie today. I thoroughly enjoyed it. As soon as the scene started where Shelby dropped the nuts in the Ferrari pit area I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pass out.
 

YakkoWarner

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
Went to the early show tonight with another couple. Big screen, loud noise. Entertaining story with good acting by all concerned especially Christian Bale as Ken Miles. There is no mention of Ken Miles amazing MG powered special - the Flying Shingle, that beat a lot of faster cars due to his fearless driving. The racing scenes and crashes were the best ever - don't know how they do it. As usual, they took a few liberties with the facts but the basic story is true and all there. I recommend it.

Definitaely worth going to see on a big screen (or IMAX if available). I missed the IMAX showing unfortunately, but even the standard cinema showing was well worth it. A lot would be lost watching it on TV through 2 inch speakers.....
 
OP
P

pdplot

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Don's daughter did it? Amazing. I'd love to know how it was done. Must be some talented gal.
They have one of those motors in Naples at the Collier Museum.
 

drooartz

Moderator
Staff member
Gold
Country flag
Offline
I saw it a little while ago as well. Thought it was well done -- the basic story was all there, just movie-ized a bit (which is fine, it's a movie).

I've found that auto movies that are not pure documentaries have tended to really suck. Too much drama, too far from any realism or real story. This one was a nice blend. Great racing scenes, and I fully agree that Christian Bale was a real standout. Matt Damon nailed Shelby's voice, but just looked too much like Matt Damon to really pull me all the way in. Still, no complaints. Good fun.
 

vette

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
I enjoyed the move very much but I have to say it was certainly embellished and a wee bit misrepresented. But that's what you have to do to make the story interesting for everyone.
Ex:
- Ken Miles was told to make the 3 car finish happen. He didn't decide to do it out of the goodness of his heart.
- Miles and Shelby were on pretty cool terms after that.
- The day Miles died Shelby wasn't sitting there in a casual posture just relaxing during a test day. He wasn't even there and he had told Miles not to take that car out because Remmy had said it
wasn't ready and it wasn't safe. As the usual modus operandi Miles never listened.
- At the end when Shelby was with Miles' son and the boy said, 'he was your friend' I'm pretty sure that scene never happened. The screen writers are trying to put more heart into Shelby's character than was really there.
- Also, I have never read that Henry #2 ever got scared in the car. I also don't remember reading anywhere that #2 ever even got near a GT40.

I can appreciate the embellishment but as a documentary it doesn't hit the mark. I personally don't like distorted history and to some this might represent history, it is not. But it was good entertainment, WITH CARS.
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
As one of the Ferrari's sails off into the air and crashes in the weeds, then it breaks up... into shards of GFRP. Bit of "poetic license" I guess. But a detail possibly correctable with CGI to appear as alloy.

vette said:
I can appreciate the embellishment but as a documentary it doesn't hit the mark. I personally don't like distorted history and to some this might represent history, it is not. But it was good entertainment, WITH CARS.


A 'documentary' it is not, but you're spot-on as to entertainment WITH CARS! :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:

AngliaGT

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
I saw it the other night.I thought it was a good movie -
not a great one.I liked the cars,& the racing scenes,but had to
keep reminding myself that Damon was Shelby.Damon seemed
a little too "polished",& his drawl wasn't thick enough.
 

Roger

Luke Skywalker
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
I thought it a good tale, good entertainment, and has done a lot for the memory of Ken Miles, which is a very good thing.

The stupid gearchange on the Mulsanne was jarring though.
 
Country flag
Online
This morning while driving in to work, they were discussing some reactions to the movie. Seems a small segment see it as a "tribute to white men and ignoring of climate change". Some on Instagram and Twitter are complaining that there are not enough minority or female characters and drivers shown and want it removed from theaters. While if it was a completely made up story that may have some validity, history many times isn't the way a society grows and changes.
 
OP
P

pdplot

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Political correctness carried to an insane degree. Ridiculous. There are several websites devoted to the real facts of the matter including Henry Ford's actual words about Enzo. The Fiat merger didn't take place until 1969 but some think Enzo was just playing Ford, using lack of control as an excuse. The actor playing Enzo didn't look anything like him but he was a good actor and I agree that Christian Bale stole the movie and was spot on as Miles but Matt Damon was miscast as "ol Shel." But - without a "name", the picture might not have done as well.
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
This morning while driving in to work, they were discussing some reactions to the movie. Seems a small segment see it as a "tribute to white men and ignoring of climate change". Some on Instagram and Twitter are complaining that there are not enough minority or female characters and drivers shown and want it removed from theaters. While if it was a completely made up story that may have some validity, history many times isn't the way a society grows and changes.

I suppose Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph des Willens is what political correctness produced. And something of an example of what not to bow to today. I'd call "Ford vs. Ferrari" a docudrama, reflection of the times with historical events roughly recounted. It didn't include things that weren't there (except maybe a plastic Ferrari crashing to pieces :smirk:smile:, get over it, people!
 

glemon

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
This morning while driving in to work, they were discussing some reactions to the movie. Seems a small segment see it as a "tribute to white men and ignoring of climate change". Some on Instagram and Twitter are complaining that there are not enough minority or female characters and drivers shown and want it removed from theaters. While if it was a completely made up story that may have some validity, history many times isn't the way a society grows and changes.

As geez, can't an old Boomer enjoy an imaginary trip down memory lane without the PC police barging in.
 

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
Gold
Online
I suppose Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph des Willens is what political correctness produced. And something of an example of what not to bow to today. I'd call "Ford vs. Ferrari" a docudrama, reflection of the times with historical events roughly recounted. It didn't include things that weren't there (except maybe a plastic Ferrari crashing to pieces :smirk:smile:, get over it, people!

Well, Riefenstahl's films weren't exactly following "political correctness". More like trying to please the egotistical, incompetent demagogue in office resulting from inability of the legislature, and right vs left, to compromise.

Interesting how social media today allows us to see what everyone else is saying 24/7, while also giving extreme viewpoints a much wider audience than the days before 24/7 social media.

Movies are movies. We use our brains to decide whether the stories are worth believing.

Tom M.
 

PAUL161

Great Pumpkin
Silver
Country flag
Offline
We use our brains to decide whether the stories are worth believing or watching! :highly_amused:
 

LarryK

Yoda
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Just like the lady on the bus from Selma, not enough different people in this movie, oops, we are not majority anymore, too many Mexicans and foreigners to list us. But us seniors are getting to be a majority. Guess people complain about everything these days. Miss the old days and racing real cars.
 
Top