Le Mans

Being an owner through the years of 3 previously available versions (Beta; LaserDisc; DVD) of this film, the primary question whenever a Blu-ray edition is announced of a catalog title produced 40 years ago, is whether the upgrade is worth investing in one more time. All too often has been the case during the early adoption phase of any new format, the answer at best, is maybe. Improved but due to the source materials and/or mastering methods used, perhaps not fully utilizing the capabilities available with the new technology during any expected learning curve.While my media center isn't what one would consider esoteric, it is for most purposes a capable and representative home theater environment for many featuring a 65" Panasonic plasma display (custom settings but not fully calibrated), Pioneer Elite A/V receiver outputting to a matched JBL 7.1 speaker system about a year technologically obsolete this date.Being a long time Porsche automotive enthusiast, a fan of both Steve McQueen and the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, I have certainly enjoyed multiple viewings of this film through the years and quite familiar with it both visually and sonically from beginning to end. There are multiple reviews available on different websites so with rare exception, the comments I express here will be limited to my personal opinions of CBS/Paramount's effort with this new offering.Right on schedule, my new Blu-ray copies of Le Mans and Grand Prix arrived in the mail together as these two films were once again, "connected at the hip" as they have been through the decades. For the less than $18 you can acquire this Blu-ray from Amazon during its initial release period, my title for this post says it all: "Don't hesitate, it's Magnifique!"One expects an improved image on Blu-ray but I was stunned at how cinematically the final image was. There is almost a perfect level of visual grain from beginning to end that creates what is so missing in many of today's CGI based motion pictures. The look of film! Special effects were all done in camera and look absolutely real in 1080P high definition. The colors are rich and vibrant even considering the conditions the 1 million original feet of film was shot using now, 4 decade old techniques. Flesh tones are spot on with Blacks deep and rich though there is occasional clipping during some of the night time scenes. The Gulf Blue on the Porsches are dead accurate having seen the actual 917's at their namesake's museum in Zuffenhausen.The clarity in some shots are truly amazing in the level of detail shown and even exposing close ups (06:23) that were originally shot with the camera's zoom lens I suspect, unintentionally mis-set at its starting rack focus point. What some have described as "soft." As many times as I have seen this film, the greatly enhanced picture (at times, video bandwidth indicating 30-33 mbs+ output) allowed me to see unexpectedly, background detail that had escaped notice during my many previous viewings such as the Black paint flaking off the right windshield pillar in Delaney's Porsche (24:21) or the exposed rivets/screws in same location on the Ferrari 512's (23:23). Racecars are typically well worn devices and seeing detailing such as this adds greatly to the realism the film is attempting to create.I also noticed for the very first time, B&W portraits of both Michael Delaney (McQueen at 59.28) and his main rival driving for Ferrari in the story, Erich Stahler (Siegfried Rauch at 1:00:24) hanging on the walls (Michael to the right of the sliding entry door; Erich's to the left of where Michael sits with Lisa) of the cafeteria where McQueen has about as much dialog as there is in any one section of the entire film. If CBS/Paramount used compression, it was very slight and one never sees any halo edge effects. They allowed the transfer to breathe and the visuals certain confirm that.As impressive as the visual transfer is short of a full frame by frame restoration which means there were occasional scratches in the final print though few and far between, the new lossless 7.1 audio mix is its equal. The panning from one side of the room to the other (as well as rear to front) matching the cars going right to left on the screen was truly immersive during the driving sequences. While I wasn't expecting my subwoofer to be exercised anywhere close to Tron: Legacy, very pleasantly surprised whenever LFE was used. For someone that used to clean out record grooves with liquids and brushes before playing to minimize background noise (ticks, pops) while maximizing available dynamic range, two sections of the film truly validates the life like audio free from recording hiss offered here even when sourced from older analog masters. The first takes place at the start of the race from 25:54 when Michael closes the rear window in his 917 and one hears the rhythm of a beating heart increasing in rate until the flag is dropped to start the race (28:00). The second is a repeat of this same sonic theme after the Ferrari 512 crashes off the race course with the driver attempting to escape the pending explosion (1:08:10-1:08:47). With the noise floor so low, listen for the very subtle atmospherics throughout these and many other scenes which in a 7.1 system absolutely helps to create a sound field that has great width and depth completely enveloping the viewer. Consider it 3D for your ears and extremely effective. Overall, for the era this film came from, CBS/Paramount did an excellent and highly effective remix.In the end, what most amazed me during my nearly two hours watching Le Mans again, was how completely and unexpectedly I had been pulled back into this racing spectacle during my viewing. The clarity of an updated Blu-ray worthy transfer, a new 7.1 lossless soundtrack, the perceived shortcomings from a lack of any dialog beyond the PA announcer in the background all contributed to producing for me, Steve McQueen's vision for his film: The physical and emotional experience of actually participating as a driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the comfort of one's own neighborhood (home?) theater. Isn't that ultimately, the intended purpose of every motion picture.

A great movie that fail commercially, AND BANKRUPTEDThe production company, but it was a labor of love for Steve McQueen who bank rolled it.

AS DESCRIBED

I grew up near waiting 5 Glen which used to just the Grand Prix for years, and some buddies also studying engineering, from Clarkson, used to get together and meet at the race course. We weren't Harvard rich so we went camping but it let us see the GP in October or the Can Am (think of Bruce McLaren) and 6 hrs endurance race in July. While the Ford v Ferrari was a good movie that was about the players and not so much the race. I'm old enough to remember seeing this movie in high school when it came out again it is still the great actual race scene movie of all time although a preliminary review of the new movie trailer suggests it will be about racing itself. Pitt supposedly spent months training to race and they use actual F2 cars. At speed. McQueen (and Paul Newman) did some actual racing so in Le Mans they filmed real cars at real speed - but old man Ferrari was furious that his wouldn't win so in this film they had to use Lola cars made to look as much like Ferrari as possible. It's a great movie and I've seen it in DVD further but not Blu-ray. I just wanted the higher def that doesn't lose it in the action parts which are significant. I'll watch it before I go to the theater but I've seen it several times over the years including Netflix, but the raw Blu-ray will be nice to have. I rip things and use Plex on my NAS to make it easy to view as my DVD collection is substantial. I already know it's 5 stars.

I have reviewed this movie here already so I'll talk only about the DVD. First, the video transfer is gorgeous! Even though this movie is more than 30 years old, the colors are spectacular. Either the DVD was made from a fresh print, or there was something done to the enhance the colors, but either way the film looks FABULOUS. It actually looks better than many contemporary movies released on DVD. Second, don't be misled by other reviews of this DVD--the soundtrack is not Dolby Surround (which is two channels of audio enhanced to three) but full Dolby Digital 5.1. My only gripe here is that there is too much use of the center speaker. This is only a small gripe, however. If you have a 5.1 sound system, this movie sounds great CRANKED up. The music is fresh and clear, and the roaring of that Porsche flat 12 gave me goose pimples. As my other review mentioned, I saw this movie 7 times in the theater as a teenager, and I have watched it countless times on VHS tape since that was finally released. I was surprised to find that watching it in widescreen (and it is quite wide) on a 53" 16x9 television is a whole new experience. The sensation of speed is much greater, and the beauty of the cinematography really stands out. Many of the shots are just plain ruined on the tape version. It really is a different experience on DVD. Finally, there are no extras whatsoever on this DVD, and that is a shame because there are several outstanding documentaries on Steve McQueen and on the filming of "Le Mans." If you love this movie, you'll consider owning the DVD version a must.