As a deeply involved participant in the famed Ford versus Ferrari wars of the mid-’60s, I’ve been asked numerous times by editors, media pundits and younger motorsports enthusiasts, who weren’t around at the time, to comment on the recent film of the same name.
As much as I love the art of cinema, I feel it’s not my place to …
Well said, Peter. I agree wholeheartedly.
I am reminded of a comment which I heard about criticism of inaccuracies of the Disney animated film "Pocohantas". While the comment is specific to Disney, I think it's fair to extend the thought to all of Hollywood:
"You're expecting historical accuracy from people who specialize in talking trees and animals?"
Anyone with memory for detail can pick any car movie to its bones, exposing inaccuracies.
So let's celebrate what they got right. A story well-told, larger than life characters, clashing egos and pretty, significant cars.
We were entertained... what more needs be said? Thanks, Peter, you've captured it perfectly.
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Enjoy the short documentary film "8 Meters" about the race. Here's a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhiWRTDZ7-E
Thanks, Peter, for the recommendation of the documentaries.
I recently saw Ford vs. Ferrari, and came away from it liking neither Ford, nor Ferrari, nor Shelby.
I just finished watching "Shelby American," and it paints a much more richly detailed picture of Shelby, as well as the racing and adventures that went on.
I'm going to hunt down "The 24 Hours war" next.
Thank you for the recommendations!
I used to have clients that were screenwriters (we have a sort of outpost movie making industry up here in BC) so I got to talk to them about what Peter said about veracity in films. Peter nailed it, There is regard for money first and accuracy ranks far down the list because if people don't pay to see it, it isn't going to get made.
And face it, an accurate history of such things with all the technical minutiae and such is unlikely to be of great interest to the general public even if it would fascinate our select group of auto geeks.
What I would really like to see is an autobiography from Mr Brock that accurately recounts what really happened over his long and interesting career. It might not be a best seller, but I would sure be lining up to get a copy. Somthing along the lines of Jackie Stewart's Winning is Not Enough!
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