Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Mangold
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPhedon Papamichael
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • August 30, 2019 (2019-08-30) (Telluride)
  • November 15, 2019 (2019-11-15) (United States)
Running time
152 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$97.6 million
Box office$225.5 million

Ford v Ferrari (titled Le Mans '66 in some European countries) is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale, with Jon Bernthal, Caitríona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon in supporting roles. The plot follows a determined team of American and Swedish engineers and designers, led by automotive designer Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, who are hired by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca to build a race car to defeat the perennially dominant Italian racing team Scuderia Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.

Ford v Ferrari had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 15, 2019, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $225 million worldwide and received acclaim from critics, who lauded the performances (particularly Bale and Damon), Mangold's direction, the editing, the sound design and the racing sequences.

It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best films of the year, and at the 92nd Academy Awards received four nominations, including Best Picture, and won Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing. Bale also received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Drama and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

Plot

In 1963, Ford Motor Company Vice President Lee Iacocca proposes to Henry Ford II to boost their car sales by purchasing Italian car manufacturer Ferrari, which is dominant in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Owner Enzo Ferrari uses Ford's offer to secure a deal with Fiat that allows him to retain ownership of the firm's racing team, Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari verbally insults Ford II and the whole Ford Motor Company. An enraged Ford II orders his racing division to build a car to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans. Iacocca hires Shelby American owner Carroll Shelby, a retired driver who won Le Mans in 1959. Shelby enlists his friend Ken Miles, a hot-tempered British racer and mechanical engineer.

Shelby and Miles develop the UK-built Ford GT40 Mk I prototype at Los Angeles International Airport. At the launch of the new Ford Mustang, Miles gives a witheringly rude appraisal of it to Ford Senior Vice President Leo Beebe. Beebe campaigns against sending Miles to the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans as a public relations liability. Shelby reluctantly excludes Miles and sends Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren to Le Mans. None of the Fords finish.

When Ford demands why he should not fire Shelby, Shelby explains that despite the GT40's reliability problems, it instilled fear in Enzo Ferrari by reaching 218 mph (350.8 km/h), on the Mulsanne Straight before breaking down. Shelby states a racing car cannot be designed by committee. Ford tells him to continue the project and report directly to him. During testing of the GT40 Mk II, the recurrent problem of brake fade causes a crash and fire, which Miles survives. The team develops a fix when they realize the rules permit replacing the whole brake assembly during the race.

In 1966, Beebe takes over the racing division. When he and Ford arrive to inspect the program, Shelby locks Beebe in his office and gives Ford a ride in the GT40. Shelby makes a deal with Ford: if Miles wins the 24 Hours of Daytona then he will race at Le Mans. If not, Ford will take full ownership of Shelby American. At Daytona, Beebe enters a second GT40 supported by a NASCAR team, permitting quicker pit stops. Shelby clears Miles to push his car beyond the 7,000 RPM redline, and he wins.

At the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, Miles struggles with a faulty door during the first lap. The pit crew fixes it and Miles sets lap records catching the Ferraris. The GT40 suffers brake fade while dicing with the prototype 330 P3 Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini, so Miles limps into the pits for replacement of the entire braking system. Ferrari protests but Shelby assures race officials it is legal.

Miles and Bandini duel on the Mulsanne Straight until the Ferrari's engine blows. With Fords in the top three positions, Beebe orders Shelby to have Miles slow down for the other Fords to catch him and give the press a three-car photo finish. Shelby tells Miles what Beebe wants but says it is Miles's call. Miles initially continues to set new lap records, but decides to comply on the final lap.

McLaren is declared the winner as, having started behind Miles, his car traveled further overall. Miles is placed second. Shelby accuses Beebe of deliberately costing Miles the win, but an unusually sanguine Miles lets it pass, saying to Shelby, "You promised me the drive, not the win." From his vantage point, Enzo Ferrari tips his hat to Miles on the track. As they walk off together, Shelby tells Miles they will win Le Mans next time.

Two months later, during testing at Riverside International Raceway, a mechanical failure in the J-car kills Miles in a crash. Six months later, Shelby meets Miles's son Peter and gives him a wrench that Miles once threw at him in anger.

Epilogue text says Ford continued its Le Mans winning streak in 1967, 1968, and 1969, and Miles was posthumously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.

Cast

Production

Development

A film based on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari for the dominance at the Le Mans endurance race had long been in works at 20th Century Fox. Initially, it was going to star Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt from an original screenplay titled Go Like Hell, by Jason Keller, the name being taken from the book, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A. J. Baime. However, after writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth drafted a script and Joseph Kosinski was brought on to direct, the project fell apart due to the budget being too high.

On February 5, 2018, it was announced that James Mangold had been brought on board to direct the film based on the previous script by Keller and the Butterworths. Later, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, and Noah Jupe joined the cast alongside Christian Bale and Matt Damon in the lead roles.

In July 2018, Jack McMullen was cast in the film to play one of Miles's key British mechanics, and Tracy Letts also joined to play Henry Ford II, along with Joe Williamson. In August 2018, JJ Feild was cast in the film to play the automotive engineer Roy Lunn, the head of Ford Advanced vehicles in England and the right-hand man to Henry Ford II. Mangold approached Harrison Ford for a part in the film.

Composer Marco Beltrami confirmed in an interview that he would be scoring the film, Beltrami having previously worked with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine and Logan.

Filming

Filming began on July 30, 2018, and lasted for 67 days, taking place in California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlanta; Savannah; and Statesboro, Georgia, as well as Le Mans, France.

Race scenes that appear in the film as Daytona were filmed at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana; many other race scenes were filmed at a Honda test track in Mojave Valley (doubling for the Willow Springs Raceway), on the Big Willow road course at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, and at the Porsche Experience in Carson (for the Dearborn test track).

A few scenes were filmed at tracks and roadways in Georgia such as Hwy 46 in Statesboro, Georgia. The Le Mans grandstands, pits, and garages were replicated at the Agua Dulce Airpark in Agua Dulce. The hangar area where the cars were developed (originally at LAX) was filmed at Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California.

Music

Release

Ford v Ferrari premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2019. It was subsequently released in the United States on November 15. It was previously scheduled to be released on June 28.

The first trailer for the film debuted on June 2, 2019, during Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

Home media

The film was released on digital format by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on January 28, 2020, and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD on February 11, 2020.

Reception

Box office

Ford v Ferrari grossed $117.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $107.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $225.5 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Charlie's Angels and The Good Liar, and was projected to gross $23–30 million from 3,528 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $10.9 million on its first day, including $2.1 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $31.5 million, topping the box office. In its second weekend the film dropped 50% to $15.7 million, finishing second behind newcomer Frozen II, and then made $13.2 million in its third weekend (including $19 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing third. It continued to hold well in the following weeks, making $6.7 million and $4.1 million in its fourth and fifth weekends.

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 353 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Ford v Ferrari delivers all the polished auto action audiences will expect – and balances it with enough gripping human drama to satisfy non-racing enthusiasts." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+," while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 87% (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars), with 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle gave the film four out of four stars, saying that it "is what it promises to be, a blast from the past" and writing: "Ford v Ferrari could have just been a sports story, dramatizing an interesting chapter in racing, and it would have been fine. But in showing Ford and his minions' constant interference in the dedicated work of Miles and Shelby, this James Mangold film becomes a tale of souls battling the soulless."

Eric Kohn of Indiewire gave the film a "B", saying that "Ford v Ferrari excels at evoking the sheer thrill of the race—'a body moving through space and time', as one character says—and it's compelling enough in those moments to make the case that nothing beats the thrill of competition."

Variety's Peter DeBruge praised the racing sequences and the performances of Bale and Damon, writing: "The best sports movies aren't so much about the sport as they are the personalities, and these two go big with their performances."

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
AACTA Awards January 3, 2020 Best International Actor Christian Bale Nominated
AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards January 19, 2020 Best Buddy Picture Ford v Ferrari Nominated
Academy Awards February 9, 2020 Best Picture Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, James Mangold Nominated
Best Film Editing Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland Won
Best Sound Editing Donald Sylvester Won
Best Sound Mixing Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow Nominated
ACE Eddie Awards January 17, 2019 Best Edited Feature Film (Drama) Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker Nominated
Art Directors Guild Awards February 1, 2020 Excellence in Production Design (Period Film) François Audouy Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers January 25, 2019 Best Cinematography (Theatrical) Phedon Papamichael Nominated
British Academy Film Awards February 2, 2020 Best Cinematography Phedon Papamichael Nominated
Best Editing Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland Won
Best Sound David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow and Donald Sylvester Nominated
Cinema Audio Society Awards January 25, 2020 Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Live Action Ford v Ferrari Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 12, 2020 Best Picture Nominated
Best Action Movie Nominated
Best Visual Effects Nominated
Best Editing Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker Nominated
Best Cinematography Phedon Papamichael Nominated
Camerimage November 16, 2019 Golden Frog Phedon Papamichael (cinematographer), James Mangold (director) Nominated
Golden Globe Awards January 5, 2020 Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Christian Bale Nominated
Golden Reel Awards January 19, 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR Donald Sylvester and Polly McKinnon Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Effects and Foley Donald Sylvester, Jay Wilkenson, David Giammarco, Eric Norris and Anna MacKenzie Won
Hollywood Critics Association Awards January 9, 2020 Best Editing Michael McCusker Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards November 3, 2019 Hollywood Director Award James Mangold Won
Hollywood Editor Award Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland Won
Hollywood Sound Award Donald Sylvester, Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow Won
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 19, 2019 Original Score – Feature Film Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders (tied with Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker) Won
Movieguide Awards January 24, 2020 Best Movie for Mature Audiences Ford v Ferrari Nominated
Producers Guild of America Award January 18, 2020 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and James Mangold Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society December 9, 2019 Best Actor Christian Bale Nominated
Best Editing Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker Won
Best Cinematography Phedon Papamichael Nominated
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle December 16, 2019 Best Editing Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker Won
Satellite Awards December 19, 2019 Best Motion Picture – Drama Ford v Ferrari Won
Best Director James Mangold Won
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Christian Bale Won
Best Original Screenplay Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller Nominated
Best Original Score Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders Nominated
Best Cinematography Phedon Papamichael Nominated
Best Visual Effects Olivier Dumont, Mark Byers and Kathy Segal Nominated
Best Editing Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland Won
Best Sound Donald Sylvester, Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow Won
Best Art Direction and Production Design François Audouy and Peter Lando Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award January 19, 2020 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Christian Bale Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Ford v Ferrari Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society December 16, 2019 Best Picture of the Year Nominated
Best action choreography Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards January 29, 2020 Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature Olivier Dumont, Kathy Siegel, Dave Morley, Malte Sarnes, Mark Byers Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 8, 2019 Best Editing Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker Won

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