How Ron Howard brought an all-time legendary Formula 1 rivalry to life

One of the major advantages of cleaning out an old computer is the fact that you tend to come across some interesting files you may or may not have forgotten existed.

During my latest instance of condensing/moving files around, one of those files happened to be a college essay ("A Rush of Reality") I had written about the Formula 1 movie Rush, a biographical film directed by Ron Howard about the 1970s rivalry between legends Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

The point of the college course (which was, by the way, totally irrelevant to what I was actually studying) was to look at movies "in a different way", analyzing things like camera angles and random sounds other than the actual plots to determine whether or not the movie was a good one.

Fortunately, we could select the movie we wanted to analyze, thus avoiding getting stuck with some nonsense film the likes of which they make you sit (or sleep) through in a useless, check-off-a-box high school literature class.

But if anything, it changed how I look at Formula 1.

The movie was now released more than a decade ago (September 2013), but from my viewpoint as a Formula 1 fan, it remains one of the greatest sports films of all-time.

Though there are liberties taken by any great director when it comes to a true story and there are indeed some fictitious parts of this particular movie as well, its portrayal of the events of 1976 is legendary.

On the 48th anniversary of Lauda's life-changing Nürburgring crash, here is one of the best "old files" I've ever happened to come across.

Warning: spoilers included within.

Formula 1: A Rush of Reality

The director of any great movie seeks to capture the audience's interest and keep it throughout the entirety of the film. Many times, this is done by adding effects to a movie that make it seem almost real.

In films that are based on true events that have taken place throughout the course of history, this is especially important. Those watching want to know exactly what happened during these particular events, and the best way for directors to give them that experience is to give them an experience during which they feel the reality of the situation through more than just acting and words.

Ron Howard, who began his career as a child actor and made a name for himself as young Opie in The Andy Griffith Show back in the 1960s, directed the 2013 film Rush, a movie based on the intense 1970s Formula 1 rivalry between Austrian engineering and racing genius Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) and British playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).

The mise en scene of one key scene toward the beginning of the film, the use of certain types of lighting in key scenes, the background music in one particular scene, and the certain types of camera shots, particularly the close-up, throughout the film make this film not only arguably the most realistic nonfiction racing movie of all-time but the most realistic nonfiction movie of all-time in general.

The mise en scene of one of the scenes toward the beginning of the movie reflects what we learn toward the introduction, and it sets the tone for the rest of the film. James Hunt, in addition to being a talented race car driver, was a playboy, and that gave him a bad reputation, as it was something that many people viewed as a negative.

Following the 1975 season during which his rivalry with Niki Lauda heated up, Hunt is sitting alone on the floor of his room playing with a remote-control Formula 1 slot car. He is talking on the phone, trying to land a full-time ride for the following season due to his burning desire to beat Lauda, Ferrari's reigning world champion.

After all, in the few previous scenes of races up until this point in the movie, close-up shots were used to magnify the intensity that these two drivers had developed since back in their Formula 3 days.

As Hunt drives this little remote-control car around and around the track, we hear his agent telling him on the phone that certain teams do not want to sign him because of his bad reputation. It is at that exact moment when the camera is near the ground, right beside the toy track, and it is at that exact moment when this miniature Formula 1 car crashes into and through the track barrier and onto Hunt's floor.

This is the only time we see Hunt playing with this car throughout the entire movie, but the significance of it from a design standpoint is undeniable. Howard wants us to focus on Hunt's surroundings in this particular scene so that we see the little toy car going around and around the track and so that we can see it becoming "derailed" when Hunt, who is not sitting alone in any other scene in the movie, learns that his reputation may prevent him from getting a ride.

He effectively learns that his career could be "derailed" by his actions away from the race track, and Howard portrays that to the viewer strategically through the mise en scene of this scene.

While Hunt does ultimately catch a break by signing with McLaren since Emerson Fittipaldi left the team at the last minute, the mise en scene of this particular scene causes viewers to wonder whether or not his career will indeed be truly "derailed" by his bad reputation or if he will keep himself on the track, both figuratively and literally.

According to Tom Rubython of Daily Mail, Hunt was a heavy drinker and slept with more than 5,000 women, so whether or not he could keep himself on track was exactly what fans were thinking at this point in time. After all, even when he signed with McLaren, he had not yet been back in the car since this scene, so fans were still forced to wonder whether or not he truly caught a break or if he was going to squander a golden opportunity.

We learn what ultimately ends up happening, as far as Hunt's career either being derailed or staying on track goes, as a result of the amazing camera shots, lighting, and even the background music used in the German Grand Prix scene at the Nürburgring, and the scenes that come after it.

The German Grand Prix scene itself begins with dark, ominous lighting, ominous background music, and a clip of a crash in pre-race practice. In this clip, the camera zooms in on the leg, which is completely ripped open with bones showing, of the driver involved in the crash.

We then hear thunder and see both rain and a shot of the dark clouds in the sky as the camera focuses on the dark silhouette of a deadly-looking spider climbing on a pole. Right away, viewers can tell this scene is going to be an ugly one based on the darkness of the day, how these camera shots are used, and how the ominous background music was applied.

As the pre-race meeting, which was called by Lauda, is held to determine whether or not racing would be safe in wet, rainy, and stormy conditions, close-up shots on the faces of various drivers in the meeting create even more tension than there already was.

When the decision to race is reached, the situation intensifies when close-up shots of drivers shutting their visors are shown and we hear the engines revving as the rains pour down.

As the race begins, the broadcasters talking in the background and the broadcast-like bird's eye view camera shots of the race, particularly those that accurately illustrate the dark, stormy atmosphere in which the race was being held, add to the realism and make viewers feel like this situation was truly unfolding right in front of their eyes.

After Lauda falls far behind Hunt due to a bad pit stop, pretty much all we see are close-up shots of the Austrian and his car to show the intensity of him trying to chase down Hunt, and the sound effects become more dramatic to create even more intensity.

These close-up shots focus on his face through his visor, and they also focus on the internal parts of the car. The sound effects that stem from the processes going on in the car show just how hard he is chasing down Hunt.

During a close-up shot of an internal part of the car, we see and hear a part breaking, which strikes fear into viewers, something that would not have happened had a close-up shot not been used at the time. 

In an interview with Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton, Howard admitted that his goal for this particular scene was to truly make the audience feel like they were in the action, and that is why he used the film techniques he used.

"We actually filmed at that corner on the old track there at the Nürburgring, which was amazing. In order to really put the audience in the middle of that horrific moment, we used every trick in the book."

- Ron Howard

That is exactly what he did. We then see a close-up shot of the exterior of the car as it smashes into the wall and becomes engulfed in flames. The situation becomes even more dramatic when the first person point of view from Lauda's helmet is shown.

We see that his vision is almost nonexistent, given the fact that he is engulfed in flames, and the horror of the situation is magnified as we hear each and every one of his breaths. As if these tactics didn't magnify the horror enough, Howard goes one step further when the process of getting Lauda out of the car runs in slow motion, no matter which camera shot is shown. 

As Lauda lies in the hospital bed and we see close-ups of the damage the fire did to his face, a sense of disgust is felt by the audience, given the reality of this situation. In fact, the scars on Lauda's face can still be seen to this day when he attends Formula 1 races as the non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport*.

*Lauda has since passed away (May 2019).

This connection to the present magnifies the horrific reality of the situation. The hospital scene is played out far longer than it needed to be as far as viewer comfort is concerned, but Howard did this for a reason. That reason was to create a sense of horror in the audience that would have been experienced in that moment and is still experienced by fans to this day when a fiery wreck occurs and a driver is taken to hospital.

The scene continues with repetitive close-up shots of his scars, and the vileness of these close-ups is magnified when they are shown while doctors are operating on them and we hear the noises Lauda makes while he is being operated on. We also see a medium shot of Lauda while he has his lungs vacuumed, and we can hear the horror in the sounds he makes while these shots are shown as well.

These medium shots eventually transition into a long shot during which we cannot hear him, which slightly eases the horror and disgust of the audience. It is used as a transition to the ensuing scenes. This, too, was done intentionally, as Howard does not want the disgust to boil over in its entirety into scenes during which it is not appropriate. 

In the interview scene, when Lauda is ready to get back into the car several weeks later, is where the aforementioned question as to whether or not Hunt's career would be derailed by his bad reputation is answered once and for all, and it is done through Howard's art of the film.

Lauda is asked how he thinks there is any possibility that his marriage could continue with his face looking the way it looks, at which point he gets up and leaves the interview in anger after telling the reporter to get lost (using more colorful language).

Hunt, whom we later find out actually rigged the voting against Lauda to hold the German Grand Prix, acts like his usual self-absorbed self when confronting the reporter who asked Lauda the offensive question.

The view as Hunt and this reporter walk further down the hallway and away from the camera and Hunt says that he has "got something" about the situation involving Lauda's wife is designed so that the viewers feel a disconnect, or a derailment, from what we had hoped Hunt would change into for the better, as a result of Lauda's life-changing accident.

However, Howard manages to smoothly blend this into a scene during which the exact opposite happens. Given Hunt's bad reputation, we are supposed to take his "got something" comments as a negative that he would use against his bitter rival. However, his bad reputation also stems from the fact that he messes around a lot.

It is at this moment when we find out that Hunt was only joking around with this reporter when he stated that he "got something" about the situation. Hunt throws the reporter into a side room in this hallway, throws him to the ground, and starts to beat him up relentlessly for asking Lauda the question that he asked him.

A low angle camera shot is used to depict Hunt in this scene as he continues to pummel this man's face, which illustrates that Hunt is the figure of power in this situation. However, it symbolizes his power on an even deeper level as well. It symbolizes that he has grown as a human being and is a lot more powerful as a person, not just as a driver or a playboy, as a result of it.

After being lucky enough to get the right to compete with Lauda when it appeared as though his career was headed for derailment, as we saw in the Formula 1 slot car scene, Hunt overcame his bitter rivalry with Lauda and his bad reputation to stand up for him when it mattered most.

This scene and the low-angle camera shot used on Hunt as he beat up the reporter would have certainly been effective regardless, but they would not have had the same deep and lasting effect had it not been for the mise en scene of the slot car scene earlier in the movie.

The camera shots and lighting of the championship race scene in Japan particularly stand out. In fact, I have had several opportunities to speak with racing legend Mario Andretti over the years at various IndyCar races, where he drives the two-seater with fans as his passengers.

As depicted in the movie, Andretti was the winner of the final race of the 1976 season, which took place during a torrential downpour. When I talked with him at Pocono Raceway in 2014, he stated that he truly could not see a thing during that race.

The dark lighting and the camera shots that Howard uses throughout the scene support this claim perfectly. Because of this, the viewers themselves start to feel somewhat tense about what is going on, since it is so hard to see the cars on the track. No one wants to watch a race – but not really watch it – because of horrible visibility.

When the close-up shots of the internal parts of the car are shown, they are far less clear than they were in previous race scenes because of the water that splashes around and gets in the way. When the shots depicting first person points of view are used and the camera is showing the scene from the perspective of the drivers, we can visualize just how blinding that rain was and how hard it was to see anything under that dark sky during that downpour.

When the race ends, the way that the medium shots and the long shots are strategically used creates an impact on the viewer both in the moment and even after the movie ends. When the race ends, everyone seems to have charts documenting different positions of where Hunt finished.

As a result, the audience is left wondering whether or not he won the world championship since he needed to finish in third place or higher in order to do so. He trailed Lauda by three points coming into the event, and Lauda opted not to finish the race, which is why Hunt only needed to finish in third place or higher to secure the 1976 title.

This suspense was magnified because of the fact that the camera kept switching back and forth from person to person and from group to group, with so many people giving so many different accounts regarding where they believed Hunt finished, based on their charts.

At this point, it is truly anybody's guess in regard to where Hunt actually finished, and it is truly anybody's guess as to who should be and would be crowned the 1976 Formula 1 world champion.

When it is finally revealed that Hunt did finish in third place and won the title, it causes the audience to wonder whether or not they really got it right, which is another aspect of the realism of the movie, since this would have indeed been questioned back on that day. In this day and age, everything is done electronically, unlike back then, when much of it was calculated by hand.

Nowadays, there is no doubt about which driver finishes in which position, and there is also no doubt about how many thousandths of a second they finish behind the leader either, due to today's technology.

But without these camera shots jumping back and forth from person to person and group to group sharing different ideas and charts of what they believed was Hunt's true result, the audience would be more likely to accept the results of the race, just like they do in this day and age. However, if this was the case, the movie would not accurately portray how Formula 1 was back then.

This suspense really gets the audience thinking, much like fans back in the 1970s. When that scene quickly flips to the closing scene during which Hunt celebrates his title and he and Lauda have one more discussion prior to the ending of the film, the people in the audience, especially those with no prior knowledge of the 1976 Formula 1 season, are forced to wonder whether or not Hunt is truly the world champion.

Hunt is recorded as the official world champion in all of the history books, but the fact that Howard had the camera jumping around so frequently in the scene before Hunt is crowned world champion causes those who have seen the movie to wonder whether or not what they are reading on the internet is actually correct and whether a mistake may have been made after that race.

To sum it up, Ron Howard could not have possibly done a better job representing the reality of the world championship battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt which dominated the entirety of the 1976 Formula 1 season in his 2013 movie Rush.

The mise en scene of the Formula 1 slot car scene, in addition to his usage of certain types of lighting, background music, and camera shots throughout the film, add to its realism and make it one of the most realistic portrayals of a true set of events of all-time.