In Part Two of our Summer Special featuring a panel of movie industry experts, we analyse the most cherished racing movies; the classic Grand Prix (1966) as well as other celebrated motorsport films Rush (2013), Days of Thunder (1990) and Le Mans (1971). Are they any good as movies and what does it take to create a film that appeals to all audiences, not just motorsport enthusiasts? And what, if anything, did this summer’s Apple blockbuster F1 Movie with Brad Pitt take from them?

We explore how well the various stories and plotlines work and the all-important action sequences. We reveal which cues they take from each other. How are female characters depicted and how does their treatment compare across the decades? Which films were commercially successful and which ones flopped?

Finally, if the master rolls of all these films were in a burning warehouse and only one could be saved for posterity, which one would the experts rescue? The answer may surprise you.

With James Allen in the studio are:

Eddie Hamilton, editor of Top Gun Maverick and the two most recent Mission Impossible films.
Adrian Wootton OBE, runs the British Film Commission (encouraging productions like F1 to film in the UK).
Mark Lane is an award-winning movie producer, with over 40 credits including I am not a serial Killer and The Cut.
Nick Manzi is a producer with a string of hits from Blitz to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and a lifelong F1 enthusiast.

Don’t miss the chance to compete against our expert writers on Motorsport’s hugely popular F1 Fantasy League. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/race-our-writers-motorsport-launches-its-first-ever-featured-league-on-f1-fantasy/10702182/

Send your comments or questions to: @jamesallenonf1 on X or jamesallenonf1@autosport.com.

46: What makes a great racing movie and which one is the best?