Ford vs Ferrari – is it worth seeing?

Fun, but flawed

The recent release of the motion picture about the now legendary battle for sports car racing supremacy in the mid-sixties is very welcome because it’s a multi-layered tale about an epic time in motorsport.

I should say straight away that I enjoyed the film and so did my long-suffering wife, despite my elbow nudges and eye-rolls at the scenes I found laughingly inaccurate. I’ll come to those later and, in the meantime, I’ll admit the film needs to entertain a broad audience who wouldn’t necessarily have any interest in motor racing.

A story worth telling

NOTE: Some spoilers ahead (although most car lovers will know the story)

The film captures the essence of the story: the Ford Motor Company, run by the autocratic Henry Ford II, supported by his ambitious managers who, having failed to buy Ferrari, decide to crush them on the race track. Throw in the mercurial Enzo Ferrari, the fast-talking retired racer, Carrol Shelby, and the brilliant but taciturn British driver and race engineer, Ken Miles, there are plenty of colourful characters to bring the plot to life.

We see a posse of Ford executives arrive at the Ferrari factory with a contract and the promise of many millions of dollars that would safely secure the future wellbeing of the small, underfunded Italian sports and racing car manufacturer.

When Enzo Ferrari discovers Ford would ultimately control his racing activities, he rejects the offer from Detroit and announces it’s time for him to have lunch with his secretary and walks away. Just for good measure, he makes some insulting comments about Henry Ford II and his cars that would later inflame Ford so much he vowed to seek revenge.

Goliath trampling David

Ford decided to engage 1959 Le Mans winner, Carrol Shelby, to help them develop a new car to beat Ferrari at his own game by winning the prestigious 24 Hour race at Le Mans and the other famous endurance races at Sebring and Daytona. Looking for support, Carroll Shelby turns to his friend, British born racer/engineer, Ken Miles, to head the development team and to drive the car.

Having been stung by the Enzo’s insults, Henry Ford II makes it clear the full financial might of the Detroit auto giant would be available to ‘go to Le Mans and beat his ass.”

And, to make things thoroughly complicated, Ken Miles tells Carroll Shelby he doesn’t like Ford and Ford racing team boss, Leo Beebe, doesn’t like Ken Miles – ‘he’s not a Ford guy,’ he says.

Somehow, the fast-talking Shelby manages to persuade Miles to come on board, which creates a poisonous atmosphere between the Ford management team and Carroll Shelby’s race team, especially between the odious Leo Beebe and the no B/S Ken Miles.

The movie accurately portrays the tensions and problems Ford encounter on their way to ultimate success at Le Mans in 1966 with a victory that remains highly controversial to this day. I’m sure most people reading this already know what happened although I’ll avoid spoiling further details just in case you’re not familiar with the story, or haven’t seen the film.

An interesting aside

While not strictly relevant to the film, a friend of my family used to be an official timekeeper for Ford at Le Mans. I don’t remember his name, but no matter.

He would confide in me and my dad the many tales of fierce in-fighting between the Ford teams and the consequences of almost unlimited spending by Ford.

Apparently, this led to many ‘team members’ helping themselves to a variety of valuable spares. This seemed to go completely unnoticed by Ford’s management.

What will probably irritate most car enthusiasts

While I’ll refrain from commenting on the acting or production values, I have to have my say about the flaws that struck me as incredibly corny and disappointing to see in a contemporary movie. While I understand this wasn’t a documentary, it seemed a shame to see so many basic errors that Hollywood seemingly can’t resist when they tackle the subject of fast cars or motor racing.

For example, there were scenes featuring racing drivers shouting abuse at each other in the heat of a track battle. Didn’t the Director notice how LOUD racing cars are? Of course, this never happens in real motor racing. Equally silly was the actor who played Ferrari driver Bandini, whose eyebrow acting was about as subtle as a silent movie actor!

There were also countless shots of drivers slamming their feet on the throttle to suddenly find an extra thousand rpm…like some magic switch. Sadly, there’s no hint of the real-life heel and toe pedal work those drivers would have been using to change gear back in those days.

Many other details made me wince, like Christian Bale’s brutal gear-changing technique that would have made a heavyweight boxer proud, and the tyre squeal that NO Ford GT40 ever made. At one stage, we also saw Enzo Ferrari talking English which he never did in real-life. And, for some unknown reason, he wasn’t wearing his trademark tinted spectacles that he always wore during that period – very strange.

The movie doesn’t mention Briton, Eric Broadley, who designed the GT40 originally or the involvement of respected racing team boss, John Wyer (another Brit). Did the filmmakers want to convince us it was a strictly all-American racing car story? If so, that was far from the truth.

Hollywood vs reality

The film was riddled with basic errors that are bound to irritate the more informed enthusiast even if most viewers wouldn’t notice.

I’m sure Hollywood thinks it knows best although I believe a more realistic portrayal of how real racing drivers drive, rather than the almost comedic exaggeration they resort to, would be no less exciting to watch.

Enough carping, despite my criticisms, I thought it was a movie almost anyone will find thoroughly entertaining which, to be fair, is what it’s all about. If you’re a purist like me, you’ll find plenty to nit-pick about, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from seeing it.