![\"\"](\"https:\/\/velocetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/6s.jpg\")
<\/a>Hollywood or Bust for Ford v Ferrari<\/em>\u2026(Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n By Wallace Wyss<\/strong> Movies about racing cost a lot of money to produce, and it is likely that the audience could end up just being hard core race car nuts watching it over and over. McQueen had his film Le Mans<\/em> yanked away from him for going over budget; RUSH<\/em> didn\u2019t do that well, (I feel it\u2019s partly because the driver\u2019s faces were covered and you couldn\u2019t read their expressions) and it seems that most racing movies seem to have a robot-like interaction between the characters.<\/p>\n Bales, as Ken Miles (left) has a myriad of expressions but Damon, as Shelby, has just three: grinning, stoic, and totally pissed off. (Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Ford v Ferrari<\/em> is different. It\u2019s more of buddy-buddy movie like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid<\/em>. Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale is cast in the role of Ken Miles, hired by Shelby to help make a winner out of the Ford GTs. (Read the author\u2019s initial movie announcement<\/a>)<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the story of two very different companies slugging it out on a track in France. Ford is the newbie at Le Mans; they were at Indy, in drag racing and in NASCAR, but in the movie, Lee Iacocca convinces Henry Ford II that he needs to beat Ferrari to show the Europeans that, yes, Ford can do anything. And fair warning here; the film centers on Ford, and the Ferraris get roughly 10% screen time compared to the Ford GT40s. <\/p>\n Carroll Shelby was such an interesting guy; a WWII veteran, a failed chicken farmer, a self-taught car racer, a horse breeder, a car builder, big game hunter and a Le Mans winner (\u201959 for Aston Martin). But although he is one of the two lead characters, this is only a slice of his life, roughly a four-year period from about 1962 to 1966. I was dubious of Damon playing Shelby; too short, for one thing, but in the role, he was convincing, with that jocular manner most of the time, but hard as steel when it came to making a decision. <\/p>\n At Willow Springs (the same track Cobras were tested on back in the \u201960s), there\u2019s a scene where the impetuous Miles (Christian Bale) cops a trophy. Several racetracks were used in the filming, including portions of the real Le Mans track. (Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Nevertheless, Bale steals scene after scene, plus the scriptwriters play up on his character\u2019s past, with references to Miles\u2019 life as a WWII veteran (first Africa, then Europe with the British army) and later as an inept businessman who alienates customers by expressing his opinions in no uncertain terms, necessitating Shelby to go around and put out the fires Miles has started. It\u2019s also the story of his marriage to Mollie, who wanted him to be a shop owner, but she finds out Shelby is trying to involve Ken in something that is definitely not shop keeping, involving cars that go 200 mph plus. There is no Shelby back story shown here (other than a glimpse of him driving an Aston years earlier); no wives, ex-wives, girlfriends, children, nada. This drama is about how Shelby must rein in a cantankerous employee. <\/p>\n The movie recounts the story of the finish of the victorious 1966 Le Mans when Miles was told to slow down for a three-abreast finish, and one sees the pain in Miles\u2019 face acceding to the request, made more poignant by his death later on. Another memorable scene is when Miles fails to get his door closed at the start of Le Mans, and is driving at nearly 200 mph while trying to close the door. <\/p>\n The three-abreast finish for the Ford GT40s ordered by Ford management is depicted as a real downer for Miles. Yet in real life he soldiered on with the team, until his untimely death in testing the J-car that evolved into the Mk IV. (Photo copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Just as there is a buddy-buddy relationship with Miles and Shelby, there is a lot of head butting between Leo Beebe, a slick Ford executive working for Henry Ford II, and Shelby. Tracey Letts does well portraying Henry Ford II and Josh Lucas is your typical butt-kissing executive, trying to tell Shelby what to do. When Shelby ignores him, Beebe claims any success as \u201chis\u201d idea. The running plot is that Beebe hates Miles but can\u2019t get him fired from the team because Shelby has convinced the Deuce that he is vital to the mission.<\/p>\n Besides the battles between the Ford execs and Shelby and crew, a larger battle is portrayed between Ford, who wants to have a better image in Europe, and Ferrari. Enzo is shown as a minor king, who walks out of negotiations with Ford over details of the purchase of Ferrari by Ford (the film implies Ferrari was also dealing with Fiat).<\/p>\n
\nOur intrepid reporter, having been invited to a sneak preview of Ford v Ferrari shown on November 6th, filed this review. The movie opens in a theater near you on November 15th.<\/em> <\/p>\n
\nPhotos copyright Merrick Morton, 20th Century Fox<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>