Grand Prix (1966)

During the Formula One racing season, four drivers are determined to become the world champion by the season's end. An American (James Garner), a Frenchman (Yves Montand), a Brit (Brian Bedford) and an Italian (Antonio Sabato). The film follows their wins and their setbacks, both professional and personal. Possible documentaries aside, this really is the greatest auto racing movie ever made. Oh sure, the film is littered with stock characters but the actors are good enough (it's amazing what Eva Marie Saint does with a nothing part) to compensate. The racing footage is stunning! The director John Frankenheimer puts us right into the seats and we can feel the rush of adrenaline while racing at a 100 plus miles per hour. The thrill of racing without actually having to do it! How he got some of that footage I don't know but no other racing movie before or since has equaled it. Lionel Lindon (THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) gets the bravos for the awesome cinematography and giving credit where credit is due, the movie's film editors (Henry Berman, Stu Linder, Frank Santillo) did an awesome job. If it were made today, no doubt it would be filmed in 3D. With Toshiro Mifune, Jessica Walter, Genevieve Page, Francoise Hardy, Claude Dauphin, Adolfo Celi and Rachel Kempson.