The content of the article:
- Spectacular Western films about cars
Bright, high-speed cars adorn any movie, like a blockbuster or a comedy. What foreign films, where the main characters are cars, can be called the best in Western cinema?
Spectacular Western films about cars
1. "Great Races", 1965
The magnificent creative duo of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon made Blake Edwards' already good comedy truly iconic.
The film describes the rally from New York to Paris, where the main opposition unfolds between the intelligent tester Leslie performed by Curtis and the evil genius Faith (Jack Lemmon), whose co-pilot is the famous Columbo Lieutenant Peter Falk.
The action takes place in those years when cars, in principle, were a rarity and luxury, when many elements of the body were made of wood, when it was impossible to get gasoline, and carrier pigeons were the best means of communication.
The film was based on a real race in 1908, in which teams from the USA, Germany, Italy and France took part. The film itself can be called the pioneer of the road-movie genre, and its characters - the first tuning masters.
The insidious Professor Faith, not planning to win in a fair fight, equips his car with various devices such as a smoke screen or a cannon. But the most unique thing for 1965 is the adjustable suspension on his car, which can be called almost a miracle of those years.
The film and Faith's signature team for his assistant Max to press the button have gained millions of fans around the world, including in the Soviet Union. However, for political reasons, the domestic censorship cut out of him a number of scenes that took place in Tobolsk, where the last Russian emperor was exiled.
2. "Grand Prix", 1966
Another great American motion picture, unique in that some of its scenes were filmed during a real car race of the same name.
The sports drama, which won three Oscars, was the only film about Scuderia Ferrari for about half a century.
Although the founding father of the legendary team did not want to give consent to the shooting, after watching the material already filmed by the director, he was delighted and put his athletes at the complete disposal of the film crew.
The cast of Yves Montana and Antonio Sabbato were joined by such pilots as Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill, Phil Hill. Although the main characters of the film have fictitious names, they have real prototypes: John Surtees became on-screen Jean-Pierre Sarti, Chris Amon became Peter Aaron, Jackie Stewart became Scott Stoddard, Lorenzo Bandini became Nino Barlini.
For the film, they used the cars of the younger Formula-3, and the film crew had to move through different stages of the real championship to get the best shots.
3. "Taxi", 1998
This frankly primitive comedy about an unlucky taxi driver constantly getting into trouble and adventure has become one of the most commercially successful projects in French cinema.
Sami Naseri and his Peugeuot 406 with a secret body kit appearing from under the body trim became cult heroes in the very first days of rental. But many other interesting cars of famous brands are involved in the film.
The American auto industry is represented by a 1988 Jeep Cherokee, which was brought from Australia for filming, a yellow Corvette, a 1964 Mercury Montclair, a 1967 Cadillac DeVille Convertible, a 1983 Chevrolet Blazer.
You can see no fewer Japanese models, including:
- 1988 Honda Accord;
- Mazda MX-5;
- Nissan 100NX;
- Toyota Land Cruiser;
- Toyota Carina E.
The creators of the blockbuster and two-wheeled vehicles were involved: motorcycles and mopeds Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
Key roles were left to French cars driven by the local police, while the bandits got the elite Mercedes 500 E in the back of a W124. In the background, rare models can be noted - the Talbot Matra Murena from 1981 and the Sovam VSU truck from 1968.
After the deafening success of the film, a special tour of the filming locations, mainly located near the port, appeared in Marseilles.
But local residents complain that the picture negatively affected the driving style of many motorists, who began to imitate the main character of the franchise, Daniel. Of the 105 cars on the set, 38 were wrecked, and the most dynamic chases were captured by the Formula 1 operators.
Attentive viewers will remember the protagonist's joke that the Bavarians drive tractors. It resulted in a $ 2 million lawsuit from Mercedes, which they honestly sued the filmmakers for insulting the brand.
4. "Gone in 60 Seconds", 2000
In just 60 seconds, a professional Memphis car thief is able to steal absolutely any car. Will he cope with the daunting task - to steal 50 cars at once in one night in order to get rid of the pressure of the mafia and at the same time not fall into the hands of justice?
The star of the blockbuster was "Eleanor" - Shelby GT500 Eleanor, which had an interesting history. The actor, director, screenwriter and stunt performer Henry Blythe Haliki, who shot the first version of this film back in 1974, registered the Eleanor automotive trademark in his name. She had nothing to do with the Shelby Autos brand, owned by Carroll Shelby, and the car itself was nothing more than a Ford Mustang Mach I. Haliki's widow sold the rights to film adaptation of the film, and Nicolas Cage got behind the wheel of that very Eleanor.
Car enthusiasts could note several "substitutions" in the film: the 1999 Porsche 996 Tina, written according to the script, was replaced by a 1978 Porsche 911 with the 996th body installed on it.
More radical replacements affected the rarest models on the list for theft. So, the 1962 Aston Martin DB1 Barbara, whose production was discontinued in 1950, gave way to the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, and instead of the 1967 Ferrari 265 GTB / 4 Nadin, the viewer sees the Ferrari 275 GTB / 4.
The most conspicuous "forgery" is the replacement of a rare 1990 Lamborghini LM SUV, which is an SUV, with a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE.
Almost all the stunts in the film were performed by the actors themselves, who had previously taken extreme driving courses. Moreover, Nicholas Cage liked it so much that in the future auto racing became a favorite hobby.
Curiously, a year after the release of the blockbuster on the screen, Nicolas Cage was hijacked by his own Porsche convertible, which the police found a couple of weeks later at the bottom of the lake.
5. "Fast and the Furious", 2001
The multi-year franchise, full of colorful footage, beautiful women and equally beautiful cars, was born from an article in a street racing magazine seen by director Rob Cohen. Having gone to real races in Los Angeles, he was so impressed that he persuaded Universal Studios to shoot a blockbuster about these desperate people.
For the first part, real street racers were invited, with whom Cohen met in Los Angeles, with their own cars, and in the scene with the race there were a total of more than one and a half thousand racers. But among the cast, not everyone was driving a car, among which were Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
For each film, several hundred cars were built so that in the event of a breakdown there would be no downtime of the filming process. In the first part, a total of 80 cars were involved, of which more than a quarter were wrecked or seriously damaged.
A 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, a 1994 Toyota Supra RZ and a 1993 Mazda RX-7 were specially purchased, each costing $ 10,000 and requiring the same amount for tuning and upgrades. They were insisted on by an experienced street racer invited as a consultant, although initially there is no specific description and characteristics for future models in the script.For the second plan, the studio's specialists agree with the tuning studio to view their copies, and then either use the same or budget copies.
Stunningly accurate footage in a car during a fast-paced race thanks to the interesting development of the "Mic Rig". This is a low-bed pickup with a powerful engine, on top of which a car frame is placed with the actors inside it. The pickup is driven by a stuntman doing the main job, while the cameras are directed at the characters in the scene.
Another trick is to rear up the car like on a drag racing track. The Fast and the Furious team found a solution - they lightened the nose as much as possible, and under the rear bumper they placed a lead load weighing more than 300 kg.
Conclusion
Western cinematography, especially American, is replete with spectacular films with scenes of car chases or simply luxurious cars. Films give viewers an experience and adrenaline that is rarely available in real life.
