![]() ![]() The British and Austrian racers had a famous rivalry in the 1970s, and the well-executed film chronicles the story well, which has been reflected over the years in its mostly-positive critical response.Īnother racing movie that more than holds its own is Days Of Thunder, which stars notably young Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Duvall while telling the story of a young American racer named Cole Trickle. Overseen by legendary movie director Ron Howard, actors Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star in the film depiction of Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. There are plenty of other, often-real-life-based racing movies on-par with Ford v Ferrari's caliber. Christian Bale's explanation for the lengths he took to capture the real Ken Miles was particularly insightful: The pair reportedly would ask anyone and everyone they could find who'd work with or knew the real Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, determined to make sure that their portrayals were accurate down to the smallest detail. One thing that was especially important to both Christian Bale and Matt Damon, in addition to respectfully showing the moment Ken Miles died, was that their characterizations were received well by those who knew the real-life Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby. Christian Bale especially is known for his method acting, and the pair's commitment to capturing the true emotions present in the high-risk world of NASCAR is apparent throughout the movie, both in terms of critical reception and how highly regarded it is by racing professionals and fans. ![]() As reported by ESPN, both actors spent an extensive amount of time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to ensure Ford v Ferrari was as authentic a movie as possible. In addition to this, both Christian Bale and Matt Damon went to great lengths to ensure they portrayed Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby correctly, even after Ford v Ferrari had finished filming. I also met Caitriona Balfe and gave her snapshots of my mother and described her as best as I could. Bale was looking to remain as faithful as possible to my father. I gave Christian Bale info about my dad from press clippings and magazine articles, and I showed him personal photos and shared audio recordings with him. Both Miles' wife, Mollie (Caitriona Balfe), and his young son Pete (Noah Jupe) are present for the crash. The scene in question revolves around Miles, Shelby, and their team testing out the GT40 MkII, only for the vehicle's brakes to fail and the car to catch fire, very nearly killing Miles in the process. There's another moment in Ford v Ferrari in the buildup to the Ken Miles death scene that - while created with a heavy dose of creative license - underlines some essential truths of how complex Miles's relationship with his loved ones was due to his work, and why his death was such a tragedy. It also allows the previous sequence involving Christian Bale's Ken Miles' near-death to act as proper foreshadowing and for the film as a whole to show the high price that race car drivers can pay for putting their lives at risk, but which spectators often don't see. Seeing as Ford v Ferrari is really more the story of Shelby and Miles' tempestuous friendship than it is one about Ford's racing program, it makes sense that the movie alters a few real-life details in order to keep the focus on how the Ken Miles death impacted Carroll Shelby and his loved ones, rather than getting into the minutiae of how things began to change at Ford after that. And as much as Hollywood loves including an uplifting ending to biopics, Ford v Ferrari subverts those expectations and reminds everyone that race car drivers don't always make it out of the car alive. There isn't a film out there based on a true story that doesn't exaggerate or tweak the details of events to deliver an emotional payoff or make the theatrical narrative smoother, and the same was the case for Ford v Ferrari. Despite the changes made by James Mangold for Ford v Ferrari, the movie has been lauded in the racing community for its realism. ![]() The Ken Miles death in Ford v Ferrari was justifiably tweaked to deliver a narrative payoff. Following the Ken Miles death, the car was renamed Ford Mk IV and was heavily modified. The J-car testing was halted before resuming with Miles at the wheel. Miles was the second test driver to be killed while testing a J-car in the span of five months, with the previous driver, Walt Hansgen, being killed before Miles. Christian Bale's Ford v Ferrari character is killed in the ensuing fire, resulting in the Ken Miles death scene. In the film, rather than ejecting Ken Miles after an unexplained fault, his Ford test car crashes after experiencing brake failure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |