INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
McQueen might have been one of the world's biggest movie stars at the time, but he mostly wanted to be a racing driver
The actor was originally up for Garner's role in Grand Prix and never gave up on a motorsports movie, capitalizing on his success in the
late 1960s to get his own project underway.Objectively, as a movie, Le Mans can be considered a failure
There is no dialogue for the first half-hour, just the occasional narration from a trackside announcer that contextualizes the scale of the
There was no script for months during filming, and the film went through directors John Sturges and Alan Trustman before Lee H
Katzin finished the job.Even so, there was an assortment of many of the actual race cars that competed in the 1970 race at Le Mans
And the town had graciously allowed McQueen's production company to close some of the roads used by the track for more filming
racing driver make a movie.
CBS via Getty Images
This is what happens when you let a
frustrated racing driver make a movie.
CBS via Getty Images
Sadly, Le Mans was neither a box
office nor critical success at the time.
Henri Bureau/Sygma/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Sadly, Le Mans was neither a box office nor critical success at the time.
Henri Bureau/Sygma/Corbis/VCG via Getty
Images
The film used the actual facilities at Le Mans; there was no stand-in.
Bernard Cahier/Getty Images
The film used the actual facilities at Le Mans; there was no stand-in.
Bernard Cahier/Getty Images
Sadly, Le Mans was neither a box office nor critical success at the time.
Henri Bureau/Sygma/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
The film used the actual facilities at Le Mans; there was no stand-in.
Bernard Cahier/Getty Images
Other footage had been shot in the actual 1970 race, both trackside and
onboard, thanks to the same Porsche 908 that McQueen drove earlier that year in Florida, which was used as a camera car
At times, it's more like a documentary
With Le Mans, there was no CGI, and no other tracks were standing in for filming.F1 can't quite make that claim
Perhaps my biggest issue was with some of the unsporting behavior you see on screen
Those antics work better in a comedy like Major League; in a serious drama, it feels a little like disrepute.None of that will stop me
watching F1 again, however.
