Ford v Ferrari (2019)

[AimingforYoko]

Quote

American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.

I'm a little surprised this movie is doing as well as it is. It's on track to take in more in the opening weekend than the entire domestic gross of Rush. And it's not even about NASCAR.

Very good performances from Bale and Damon and a very bittersweet ending. It was a bit tricky making an American institution the underdog, but they mostly pulled it off.

[magdalene]

I am not surprised it's performing well.  I expected it to do well since the first trailer. It has Matt Damon and Christian Bale in top form.  Fast cars.  And the story is well told and gripping.

[kiddo82]

12 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

I'm a little surprised this movie is doing as well as it is. It's on track to take in more in the opening weekend than the entire domestic gross of Rush. And it's not even about NASCAR.

Very good performances from Bale and Damon and a very bittersweet ending. It was a bit tricky making an American institution the underdog, but they mostly pulled it off.

I feel like a NASCAR movie would only appeal to NASCAR fans while a movie about Ford in the 60s has a broader reach.  Also, it's not even really about the racing.  

It's funny you mention the underdog status because I was pleasantly surprised at how the bad guys were usually the Ford brass themselves.  But I guess Ford vs Ford or Shelby vs Ford doesn't really have the same punch to it.

[tres bien]

The movie had great background and history which I'd only previously seen in Formula One racing documentaries. 

I liked the movie and usually like race car movies. I would not have seen it if it had been about NASCAR because I don't follow that.

Edited November 17, 2019 by tres bien

[Crs97]

It was good.  We saw it last night.  It kept my interest, but I thought it was too long and found myself ruminating on what scenes I’d cut.  I didn’t know the story so was surprised throughout.  I know Shelby is revered as a designer, but I never really thought he did much in the movie besides take phone calls and give bad news to Ken.  I found myself getting more annoyed with him as the film went on.  I guess I am a little more “[shrug] it was fine” than I thought based on the trailer.

[roamyn]

Shelby in RL was a womanizing dick.  I thought they downplayed his personality.

Christian Bale - whom I’ve loved forever, was fantastic.  In fact my favorite scene was the diner.

I knew the story (all except Shelby’s medical condition), but I didn’t realize the why’s behind the ending of the ‘66 LeMans.

All in all we loved it.

Edited November 17, 2019 by roamyn

[Crs97]

I should have said that Christian Bale was terrific!  He usually makes movies I cannot watch so this was a revelation for me, all his acting awards notwithstanding.  I’m not sure I’ve seen him in anything since “Newsies,” which I saw in the theatre in its original run. 😉.

[nickp1991]

The performances of Matt Damon and Christian Bale were exceptional.

This film will inspire enthusiasts the same way RUSH did for formula one

[Shannon L.]

I enjoyed this a lot.  I knew nothing about the story when I went into it. Bale giving a fantastic performance wasn't surprising.  I do think it could have been a bit shorter, though.  I think I'd have cut out the last two scenes after Ken died-it seemed kind of tacked on.

My favorite scene, strictly from a technical standpoint, was when Ken was working on the cars while listening to the race on the radio.  The lighting in the scene was gorgeous. 

[Robert Lynch]

Is that the kid from Wonder? I thought he looked familiar.

[Ohwell]

I saw this movie today.  I know very little about racing and knew nothing about the story, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.  Christian Bale and Matt Damon were fantastic!  

This was one of those rare instances where I didn't mind that the movie was a bit too long.

I just thought about the one nitpick I had, that I could have done without Ken Miles' wife being in so many scenes.  It was an idiot move of hers to drive recklessly to get him to tell her the truth.  She could have killed both of them.  However, I really liked his son so I guess she was in many of them because they were together.  

Edited November 28, 2019 by Ohwell

[MisterGlass]

I saw this last week.  I thought it was a good all around movie.  The racing scenes were exciting and well shot.

I agree with everyone on how good Christian Bale's performance was.  Even the physical motions and ticks helped build the character.  I did enjoy Matt Damon's work also.  There was a visible shift when he went from Shelby to salesman.

I liked the inclusion of Miles's wife.  I thought it was important to see her consent and support of his participation.  Otherwise, he would be taking risks without considering his family.  They were also charming together.

The death scene was also well played.  It stung, but as my friend said they didn't linger too much on it.

Lee Iacocca, played by Jon Bernthal in the movie, passed away just this year.

[Ohwell]

45 minutes ago, MisterGlass said:

I liked the inclusion of Miles's wife.  I thought it was important to see her consent and support of his participation.  Otherwise, he would be taking risks without considering his family.  They were also charming together.

While it was important to have her included, I thought there were just too many scenes with her in them.

I did  like the one scene of her casually sitting out front as Miles and Shelby fought it out on the ground.

Edited December 1, 2019 by Ohwell

[StatisticalOutlier]

58 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I did  like the one scene of her casually sitting out front as Miles and Shelby fought it out on the ground.

I would have, except I'd seen the trailer several times and that scene in the trailer is different from the one in the movie. 

[VCRTracking]

An Ode to ‘Ford v Ferrari’ and Dad Cinema

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award nominations:

Best Picture

Best Cinematography – Phedon Papamichael 

Best Editing – Andrew Buckand, Michael McCusker

Best Visual Effects

Best Action Movie

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SAG Award nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Christian Bale

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Edited December 12, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[bijoux]

Saw it last night and enjoyed it tremendously. I didn't even notice the two and a half hours pass by. I can honestly say I don't get racing at all, especially of the 24 hour kind, in which drivers can be taken out like flies. I'm perplexed at the people who actually hang around for that long. 

I liked both Shelby and Miles, and Peter was the definition of adorable. He could have given the press at the race a run for their money. Despised that prick Leo Beebee. I actually believe he didn't know he'd be screwing over Ken at Le Mans, simply because he had no clue about racing, but the fact that he did seemed like a huge bonus for him. Poxy bastard. 

Frankly, I would have ended the movie at Le Mans. The tragedy after it could have been included in the info at the end. This was devastating to see. 

Here's what I can't shake off. How and why do I know of Lee Iacocca? I'm not American and his Wiki page didn't help much. I thought maybe he went on to work in the entertainment industry, but apparently not. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by bijoux

[MisterGlass]

10 hours ago, bijoux said:

How and why do I know of Lee Iacocca?

While he didn't work in entertainment, he appeared in commercials and was often interviewed on video.  He also wrote some books that were popular for managers.

[AimingforYoko]

11 hours ago, bijoux said:

How and why do I know of Lee Iacocca?

My dad made a lot of money thanks to him. Chrysler was on the mat when he took over and my dad bought Chrysler stock when it was dirt cheap. My dad said, "There is no way the gov't is going to let a Big 3 car company go under."

[bijoux]

Again, those things feel like something the American public would know about, not international. His Wiki page did mention his book and potential presidential campaign, but no, it's neither of those. I don't know, maybe I just read about his death on the boards here and the name stayed with me. 

[xaxat]

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. In addition to the previously mentioned Bale and Damon, I thought the cast was strong throughout. The Deuce (from "Go to war." to crying after the test drive.), the asshole Ford exec being an. . . asshole, Enzo Ferrari and

On 12/1/2019 at 6:19 PM, MisterGlass said:

I liked the inclusion of Miles's wife. 

More Caitriona Balfe is always good. 

And even though I don't think he got a single line, the glare downs between Miles and the Ferrari driver were great.

I know the Shelby cars were the stars of the movie, but Miles was right. If it were a beauty pageant, they would have lost. Those Ferraris were gorgeous.

On 1/12/2020 at 8:04 AM, bijoux said:

How and why do I know of Lee Iacocca?

Maybe it was this?

 

[bijoux]

No, it's the first time I've seen the commercial, but thanks for trying to help. ☺️

[Ohwell]

I've always associated Lee Iacocca's name with the Chrysler K car commercials.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oscar nominations:

Motion Picture
Film Editing - Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker
Sound Mixing - Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow
Sound Editing - Donald Sylvester

[rmontro]

On 11/17/2019 at 2:44 PM, roamyn said:

I knew the story (all except Shelby’s medical condition), but I didn’t realize the why’s behind the ending of the ‘66 LeMans.

If this had been fiction, and not a true story, I would have thought the ending of the race was too ludicrous to be credibly believed.

I thought the movie was excellent, easily one of the better movies I've seen recently. 

For some reason, I kept imagining Leo DiCaprio in the Matt Damon role.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I was disappointed, given the build-up I was given by folks whose opinions/reviews I trust.  I think the bottom line was the Shelby character.  Damon never really brought the passion and the massive ego that Shelby had IRL.  Clipped and sparse dialogue don't of themselves make a badass character.

The very beginning intrigued me when Shelby seemed to have a very special place in his heart for apeter, Miles' son.  I didn't understand why the movie made such a point of it throughout.  Peter was the one loving spect of the Shelby we saw.  Why?  

I really liked Mrs. Miles.  She was a wonderful partner for Miles.  Being a little nuts herself, she needed another like Ken to fully flourish.  

Not enough was made of Iacocca's personal triumph with the Mustang program.  And like it or not, and barely mentioned, Shelby made his mark and boatloads of cash creating his Cobra edition of the Mustang.  

The racing scenes were aight.  I have read of the lengths they went to in re-creating them.  What I could not get was how the car could be in the highest gear, but somehow there was another.  The shift/lever could only go so far, ya know?  

I appreciated the ambitious project this movie was.  In the end, it was too mechanical.

 

[katha]

Just watched that, it was entertaining in an old-fashioned kind of way. Damon was good, Bale was outstanding, evil obstacle guy was believably loathsome, the racing created enough tension and wasn't extra boring to watch for someone like me who isn't very interested in that subject matter. Kid wasn't annoying and showing Miles and his relationship with both his wife and his son were some of the highlights of the movie.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just watched this.

There isn’t a single movie of Christian Bale’s that I’ve seen where he doesn’t make me believe he’s the character he’s playing, and not “acting” if that makes sense.

And his performance as Ken Miles is another example. I love Christian Bale. 

I was glad we didn’t have to see Ken’s body, but the movie should have ended there. 

But nothing will beat me 😂😂😂🤣🤣 harder than when Bale thanked Satan for his Globe I think it was.

What?

 

[Dancing Queen]

I finally saw the movie this past weekend.  I know nothing about cars or car racing or any of the history, but thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Bale's performance (and seeing Matt Damon in a cowboy hat - I didn't know that was missing from my life until I saw it).

The whole movie reminded me of the Apollo project - the competition against another country's program, the large numbers of people working toward a common goal, the trial-and-error process of applying physics to develop something new, the heartbreak of not getting chosen to participate after hard preparation, the satisfaction of "winning," and the physical danger inherent in the entire endeavor.  Of course, the Apollo program had much higher stakes long-term, and I hope they had more cooperation and less machismo and micromanaging than the Ford team had in this film, but the comparisons really stood out as I watched - in a good way.