Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans BFI Film Festival
Discussion
lasuze said:
Forgive my ignorance but where's that ?
Place St Nicholas. https://goo.gl/maps/GDctixoJhfyThe pic is actually a screen-grab from Truth in 24
Do we know where we can Pre order the DVD?
A little taster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8T1D6Jqc3Y
A little taster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8T1D6Jqc3Y
Edited by fatboy18 on Wednesday 18th November 22:31
I went to see this last night. Mixed feelings, if I'm honest.
It was very well made. I enjoyed the cinematography (long landscapes with nicely tasteful title text) of the new footage as well as the archive footage. It's always a bit annoying when things keep switching aspect ratio (due to a lot of archive stuff being in 4:3 but they handled it pretty neatly, i thought.
So, as a piece of work, yes, very good.
Where it fell down a little (for me) was at it's inception. I just think the premise that the 'Making of' Le Mans is interesting enough to make a whole documentary out of isn't quite correct.
Le Mans itself is a funny sort of oddity in the film world. Beautifully shot and sparsely edited, it appeals effortlessly to enthusiasts (and probably cinephiles too, I'd think) but I can understand why casual cinema goers stayed away. My OH would think it dreadful. McQueen obviously saw it as his Magnum Opus but I don't think the rest of the world really did.
So, give that, what we learned in the film:
1. McQueen was bit of a s
t with a massive ego (big surprise there)
2. He cheated on his wife a lot (see above)
3. She left him after getting sick of it all (again)
4. The film was a half-baked concept with no real script and they made it up as they went along (Inexperience? Stupidity? Combination of the two?)
5. A couple of drivers were hurt, one quite badly
6. It went over time, over budget and the original director quit
7. It wasn't a great success
8. Ultimately, McQueen seemed a nice bloke underneath it all (his letter at the end)
No real insight or surprises for me there. I'd have loved them to have spent longer on the filming techniques and rigs they used to actually take the footage. That for me was where the film broke new ground and I'd have loved more detail on this.
I just don't think what is essentially just a 'making of' contains the human story needed to really propel it beyond niche interest for fans of the movie.
Still, I'm being critical and I quite liked it. It was a decent way to pass the time but I would have liked more depth on the production itself and less about his womanising.
It was very well made. I enjoyed the cinematography (long landscapes with nicely tasteful title text) of the new footage as well as the archive footage. It's always a bit annoying when things keep switching aspect ratio (due to a lot of archive stuff being in 4:3 but they handled it pretty neatly, i thought.
So, as a piece of work, yes, very good.
Where it fell down a little (for me) was at it's inception. I just think the premise that the 'Making of' Le Mans is interesting enough to make a whole documentary out of isn't quite correct.
Le Mans itself is a funny sort of oddity in the film world. Beautifully shot and sparsely edited, it appeals effortlessly to enthusiasts (and probably cinephiles too, I'd think) but I can understand why casual cinema goers stayed away. My OH would think it dreadful. McQueen obviously saw it as his Magnum Opus but I don't think the rest of the world really did.
So, give that, what we learned in the film:
1. McQueen was bit of a s
t with a massive ego (big surprise there)2. He cheated on his wife a lot (see above)
3. She left him after getting sick of it all (again)
4. The film was a half-baked concept with no real script and they made it up as they went along (Inexperience? Stupidity? Combination of the two?)
5. A couple of drivers were hurt, one quite badly
6. It went over time, over budget and the original director quit
7. It wasn't a great success
8. Ultimately, McQueen seemed a nice bloke underneath it all (his letter at the end)
No real insight or surprises for me there. I'd have loved them to have spent longer on the filming techniques and rigs they used to actually take the footage. That for me was where the film broke new ground and I'd have loved more detail on this.
I just don't think what is essentially just a 'making of' contains the human story needed to really propel it beyond niche interest for fans of the movie.
Still, I'm being critical and I quite liked it. It was a decent way to pass the time but I would have liked more depth on the production itself and less about his womanising.
lowdrag said:
Haven't seen it yet since awaiting my DVD but apparently I am noted in the credits as "Production Fixer, France". Fame at last!
Only just seen this post from you Tony, just back from watching the film and I wondered if your name would be in the credits but I missed it, sorry!
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