One of the focal points of the mustsee documentary steve mcqueen. A porsche 917 of david piper is in the foreground, behind a chevron, lola t170, porsche 917 and a matra ms12. Filming of 1971s le mans was a precarious proposition for mcqueen, who wanted to imbue the movieabout a race car driverwith his own personal love of racing. In 1970, steve mcqueen set out to make the ultimate racing movie.
Jun 15, 2017 mcqueen was a lover of racing and speed and it is palpable in the documentary. At the height of his fame, he used his star power to make the action drama le mans directed by lee h. This porsche will join more than three dozen other racing and collector cars housed in the jacksonville, florida museum. Nov 22, 2015 mcqueen, centre, during the filming of le mans. Hot off the back of classics like the thomas crown affair and bullitt, the racing fanatic began production of his passion project, le mans, centered on the 24hour car race in france. Buy online, view images and see past prices for steve mcqueen very rare film poster steve mcqueen very rare film poster steve mcqueen in le mans, 83x56cm, smaller damagesat edge, a rarity german description steve mcqueen. The race shots were ahead of their time giving the motor racing fan onboard footage of some of the greatest cars of the time. The actual le mans film never quite clicked with me. What watch is steve mcqueen wearing in the 1971 film le mans. He would lose his marriage, close friendships and control of his film, and risk lives in the. Steve mcqueen was the king of cool, the biggest film star in the world, with boxoffice smashes such as the magnificent seven, the great escape and bullitt behind him. Steve mcqueenlinked porsche 917k joins brumos collection.
After le mans was released in the us, steve went bankrupt, his main solar partners left the company, and solar as a real production company had folded. The man and le mans doesnt have the broad appeal of a movie like senna, its still a fascinating behindthescenes look at what remains the favorite film of many. In anticipation of the film, here is a twopart look back at 24 stories about steve mcqueen s 1970 le mans, now considered a classic, with this first installment centered around filming on the track. He had a personal porsche 908 k flunder spyder chassis 908022 in which he had scored second in 1970 sebring 12h. It premiered at the 68th cannes film festival and was one of two british films to be an official selection for the cannes film festival in 2015. The 1971 le mans film follows one of the drivers in the race, michael delaney played by steve mcqueen, the man in charge of the steering wheels of the porsche and who is affected by the memory of fatal accident at the previous years race. Filming at speed the making of the movie le mans steve mcqueen documentary duration. One driver lost a leg during production, and steve was nearly killed twice.
A line of cars are parked at mulsanne corner during the making of the steve mcqueen film le mans. The fact that ill be revisiting, reliving and delving into a movie that was a critical failure and boxoffice. He was the king of cool and the worlds most notorious ladies man. Featurelength documentary following steve mcqueens efforts to make his passion project, the 1971 film le mans, revealing the true extent of the troubled production process. Maurice hamilton looks at the remarkable tale behind steve mcqueens le mans film, as revealed in a recentlyreleased documentary. Steve mcqueen relaxes during a break in filming of le mans with original director john sturges, who later quit midproduction pat stacey march 19 2020 09. It is ripe with anecdotes and neverbeforeseen footage collected over the course of filming the movie le mans, a very unique time in the actors life. As part of this weeks grand opening of the brumos collection, the racing museum surprised crowds by revealing the most special car in its collection a gulfliveried 1970 porsche 917k used in the 1970 steve mcqueen film, le mans. Oct 12, 2016 filming at speed the making of the movie le mans steve mcqueen documentary duration. Acknowledgements a true steve mcqueen fan, don whistance provided the photograph of the chateau lornay. Steve mcqueen, siegfried rauch, elga andersen, louise edlind credits.
In this film, steve mcqueen is ideally cast as a champion racecar driver, participating in the famed 24hour race headquartered in le mans, france. Jun 17, 2017 mcqueen did go on to feature in other films but, in his view, none of them could match le mans. Steve mcqueen in le mans, is not just a retelling of the movies story, but is a perfectly fitting and beautifully crafted tribute to the king of cool. A ferrari 512s, that in the real race was driven by arturo merzario and clay regazzoni, is parked. Masterfully crafted by sandro garbo and the team at garbo studio, steve mcqueen in le mans fuses a blistering graphic novel with a bold and vivid tribute to mcqueen himself, a man who gave. A great documentary film, telling the story of the making of the original le mans film, with interviews and unseen footage, possibly a more engaging story line than the original film, but the original is without doubt one of the greatest and most iconic motor racing films for enthusiasts, once you understand mcqueen you understand le mans and. Steve mcqueen very rare film poster steve mcqueen in le man. Following his death in 1980, mcqueen s estate was auctioned in 1984.
It is the story of how one of the most volatile, charismatic stars of his generation, who seemingly lost so much he held dear in the pursuit of his dream, nevertheless followed it to the end. Le mans is a 1971 film depicting a fictional 24 hours of le mans auto race starring steve mcqueen and directed by lee h. L ike hearts of darkness, this documentary follows the making of a movie on which more than a million feet of film was reportedly exposed, but. The man and le mans is the story of obsession, betrayal and ultimate vindication. He decided to use his star status to bring a passion project to the big screen, a film about the 24hour car race in france called le mans. It is not a love story, or action drama that wastes time on psychological profiling for the benefit of the weak minded. This 1970 gulfliveried 917k was used as a test car for le mans before becoming the star car in steve mcqueen s legendary racing movie legendary racing movie le mans film. The film focuses on film star steve mcqueens efforts to take control of his career. The thomas crown affair and bullitt had made him a sex symbol and a household name. With steve mcqueen, siegfried rauch, elga andersen, ronald leighhunt. Born in indiana in 1930, steve mcqueen was one of the big screens most popular leading men.
Le mans 24 hours for steve mcqueen, and many others, a race. Movie star and racing driver steve mcqueen had an idea to make a film based on the le mans 24h racing. This included the ford gt40 used in his 1971 film le mans, along with ferraris and even a gmc pickup truck. At the time le mans went into production mcqueen was one of cinemas biggest stars. Aug 21, 2017 this 1970 gulfliveried 917k was used as a test car for le mans before becoming the star car in steve mcqueens legendary racing movie legendary racing movie le mans film. Depicting the racing at the famous le mans circuit. Jun 23, 2018 on june 23, 1971, the 106minute racing drama le mans, starring steve mcqueen and siegfried rauch as rivals, hit theaters stateside. From steves raw ambition to attempt the purist racing film ever, on through the massive preproduction steves solar productions actually ran a camera car in the le mans race and on through steves struggle against the hollywood rules to create the finest and most realistic gran prix auto racing picture the world has ever known.
On june 23, 1971, the 106minute racing drama le mans, starring steve mcqueen and siegfried rauch as rivals, hit theaters stateside. The man and le mans doesnt have the broad appeal of a movie like senna, its still a fascinating behindthescenes look at what remains the favorite film. With steve mcqueen, sharon tate, roman polanski, chad mcqueen. It features actual footage captured during the 1970 race held the previous june. For the le mans the car was converted into a camera carrier and was equipped with three cameras. It was his passion project but it became a nightmare that almost destroyed him, says don nunley, who worked with mcqueen on the 1970 movie, and whose new book exposes the debauchery, drugs and disasters that plagued the classic film. Maurice hamilton looks at the remarkable tale behind steve. Featurelength documentary following steve mcqueen s efforts to make his passion project, the 1971 film le mans, revealing the true extent of the troubled production process. Over 100 million feet of film was used, many of the behindthescenes shots woven into the. Though dedicated to winning the race, mcqueen finds time to romance widowed elga andersen. He would lose his marriage, close friendships and control of his film. On 12 july, production of the movie about ferrari and fords duel at the 24 hours in the midtolate 1960s made a stop in le mans. Theme challendging the clock is more rewarding that challenging ones self. Steve mcqueen two finger salute autosports marketing.
Le mans in the rearview mirror, chronicles the iconic 1971 racing film with hundreds of never before seen photos taken by don nunley. It is the story of how one of the most volatile, charismatic stars of his generation, who seemingly lost so much he held dear in the pursuit of his dream, nevertheless followed it. We were at the silverstone wec 2014 when the dapper derek bell emerged from the building, thats me on the left. With sharon tate, roman polanski, steve mcqueen, chad mcqueen. Porsche enthusiasts will particularly thrill to the close up scenes. Le mans in the rearview mirror by don nunley with marshall terrill. Movie info the turbulent production of the steve mcqueen carracing classic le mans serves as the subject of this documentary from filmmakers gabriel clarke and jon mckenna. Posters of steve giving the two finger salute taken by nigel snowdon on the set of the film le mans are available as an 18. Mar 18, 2020 in 1970, steve mcqueen set out to make the ultimate racing movie. Mcqueen in the documentary the man and le mans a weird mood of solemnity settles like rain on this interesting, odd documentary about the petrolhead hollywood star steve mcqueen and the film he.
Both steve mcqueen and carroll shelby owned this classic. In general, le mans depicts a 24 hours of le mans race involving michael delaney steve mcqueen as he participates while faced with the presence of the widow of a driver who died the previous. It is a test of endurance for driver, machine, and crews. Le mans has very little plot, of course, and the story such as it is centres around steve mcqueens michael delaney returning to the famous 24hour race a year after being involved in a serious accident which had killed a fellow driver, the widow of whom played by elga andersen has also returned to the circuit for reasons she cryptically describes as being for. It was his moment to make the movie that he always wanted to make. The turbulent production of the steve mcqueen carracing classic le mans serves as the subject of this documentary from filmmakers gabriel clarke and jon mckenna. Lot of 3 steve mcqueen le mans 1971 vintage japan picture. Le mans was a passion project but it nearly destroyed steve mcqueen. The car movie that made steve mcqueen lose his cool for steve mcqueen, filming his race car movie le mans was the culmination of a dream and yet it wrecked his life. Almost at the verge of documentary, film depicts a single auto race from the ground up. The film got finished 2 months later than planned and 1.