24 Hours of Le Mans Web Gems

Hollywood Inspiration

Racing has been a great inspiration for many movies and film productions that fans and casual moviegoers have enjoyed for years. Many times, racing fans will spend their time on off weekends watching these films, in order to stay close to the sport they love so much. The movie Le Mans is one of these films to be inspired by the world of racing.

While it was considered a flop in the United States, the film proves very popular among racing circles. Starring Steve McQueen, who turned down the starring role in Grand Prix some years earlier, the film is noteworthy for its focus on the action on track and not the dialogue from the actors. The racing in fact is from the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, though clearly in an abbreviated form. The movie also includes many familiar brands in auto racing, including Porsche, Ferrari, Firestone, and Gulf.

The living legacy for Le Mans today is that accurate racing on track still trumps CGI. Obviously, the technology to create CGI was not available at the time of the film’s creation, but it continues to speak to what racing fans crave the most – actual real hard action.

Next: From the Hospital to the Racetrack