January, 2007 at Flying
Bear Theatre
Saturday,
the 27th of January 2007
‘Grand Prix Night’
Schedule: TBA
‘Grand
Prix’
Amazon.com
essential video
Light on story, this 1966
spectacle directed by John Frankenheimer was shot in 70 millimeter,
with a cinematically enthralling emphasis on unique, visceral new ways
of capturing the sensations of a car race. James Garner, Eva Marie
Saint, Yves Montand, and Toshiro Mifune are part of the stellar,
international cast whose characters plod through assorted relationship
and business conflicts. But the film's real hook is the thrilling and
inventive means by which Frankenheimer (The Manchurian
Candidate)
brings an urgency to the drama happening on the racetrack. A true
master of the plastic techniques of obtaining and cutting kinetic
footage, Frankenheimer offers more than a joyride to viewers: he makes
action part of the compelling language of stories. Cameras are strapped
to vehicles as they round the track, shots are taken from a helicopter,
the screen is split between angles for maximum impact--even if Grand
Prix doesn't rank among the director's best character-driven
stories, it is certainly driven on its own terms. --Tom Keogh
This movie was one of my great Cinerama experiences - Dennis Grittner