Le Mans '66

Original title: Ford v Ferrari

2019
12A
2h 32m

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

518K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

683

Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Le Mans '66 (2019)

Academy Award-winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in FORD v FERRARI, based on the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

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Docudrama Motorsport Period Drama Action Biography Drama Sport

American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 2... Read allAmerican car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

518K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

683

See production info at IMDbPro

Top rated movie #206

Won 2 Oscars
- 26 wins & 88 nominations total

User reviews1.7K

Featured review

8/10

old fashion greatness

Racing champ Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) has to retire due to a medical issue. His racing friend Ken Miles (Christian Bale) is seen as difficult and the IRS has confiscated his garage. Ferrari has been at the top of racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Ford Motor Company finds its sales going stale and Henry Ford II wants a big idea. Marketing VP Lee Iacocca has the idea to enter the race. They first try to buy Ferrari and Enzo Ferrari insults Henry Ford II. Iacocca recruits Shelby to create a racing car and Shelby recruits Miles to be his driver.

This is an old fashion rip roaring good times. Damon and Bale are great. All the actors are great whether it's Tracy Letts being told that he's not Henry Ford or the villainy of Josh Lucas. It's a solid sports underdog story. It's fun like Caitriona Balfe driving crazy. The race is thrilling. It is a perfectly made old fashion movie.

SnoopyStyle
Feb 23, 2020
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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
To prepare for his role, Christian Bale took race driving lessons at the Bondurant High Performance Driving School. The school's founder had been a friend of Ken Miles, so Bale got to hear stories of the 1960s racing scene. Robert Nagle, Bale's instructor and the film's stunt coordinator, called Bale "hands down the best actor I've ever trained."

Goofs
In real life, Enzo Ferrari sold 50% of his company to Fiat S.p.A. in 1969, not in 1963 after declining Ford Motor Company's buyout offer.

Quotes
Carroll Shelby: [narration] There's a point at 7,000 RPM... where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. Just disappears. And all that's left is a body moving through space and time. 7,000 RPM. That's where you meet it. You feel it coming. It creeps up on you, close in your ear. Asks you a question. The only question that matters. Who are you?

Crazy credits
Epilogue: "Revered by racing fans worldwide, Ken Miles was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. Carroll Shelby became one of the most successful and celebrated sports car designers in history. The Ford GT40, developed by Shelby and Miles, won Le Mans in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969. It remains the only American built car ever to win the 24 hours of Le Mans."