FERRARI by Michael Mann

We all have our own understanding of history and our conceptions of how things had been. The screenplay was certainly different than my conception. I had to adjust and accept what I saw.

In the end, I thought the movie was superb. Yes, Cruz was a tour de force.

 

If I were Enzo, would not have stepped out on Penelope for Lina......just sayin

 

First of all, I haven't read all of the previous posts. So I apologize if this has been discussed. It just doesn't make sense to me that the entire dialogue was presented by people speaking English with Italian accents. If the film's dialogue had been in Italian, there would have been no accents. Why couldn't director Michael Mann realize that we all speak English and let his characters just speak in a fashion that we could easily understand?

 

I saw the movie yesterday and really enjoyed it. Yes, there was things added to make it more watchable but at the core the movie was the Ferrari story and the way the road racing was portrayed and motor sport in general I think was very fitting and for me as perhaps a "traditional" Ferrari enthusiast this made me happy because it showed the very foundation of Ferrari, Ferrari's were not about posing, they were for racing, built to be driven fast and hard (in all weather) and perhaps what I liked most is this portrayal is so far removed from today where some Ferrari's are apparently just bought by people with no appreciation for this great history.

All in all highly enjoyable as it brought much I had read about for years to life on the screen.

 

Filmmakers have lots of experience with this and the audience prefers the accent.

 

The most telling line in the movie was when Enzo's wife was speaking to Enzo's mother.

Wife: I gave him a son.

Mother: One was not enough.

Harsh to American ears, but post-war Italy was a different place.

 

But ultimately a fabricated scene written by people that work within Hollywood and didn't personally know anyone featured in the film and are also not Italian.

 

Of course, it's a movie. More importantly, it's not a car movie. To me, it was more of a study of post-war Italian culture than a biography of Enzo. In other words, a chick flick.

 

Haha, so true.

From what i have read and know about Enzo, this movie i felt got him wrong. Enzo was a highly driven, single minded and often stubborn man, all he wanted to do was win. He was never bullied by anyone, not the government, other car companies, other racers, or even the mafia.. He apparently only fully listened to his son Dino.. Their was only 2 people of true power in Italy. Enzo and the Pope, and the Pope went to visit Enzo, not the other way around

 

The fundamental problem was Mann attempting to make this Oscar bait. He didn't go all in the 'artsy.' Death Blow (among others) is signing on Hollywood actors with bad Italian accents,get actual real Italians, maybe? (subtitles.)

Typical Mann overreaching, still chasing for Heat afterglow, outside the famous bank scene, is one of the most overrated films ever. Collateral was promising; but again, dumbing down the nuances prevented it from being true to the human condition or providing profundity.

Either go fun (ala Ford v Ferrari) or go in the full bore Canne - low budget, get a bunch of no-name good actors, skip the expensive racing scenes - have emotional scenes that make me anxious (see Bear Season 2 - Christmas dinner.)

 

You forgot Gianni Agnelli.

Marcel Massini

 

Saw this film over the weekend. I am a bit surprised by some of the glowing reviews in this thread, each to their own and nothing better than leaving a film feeling entertained.

Film did not impress me nor exceed my mediocre expectations. The scriptwriting in particular is by my account sore point, and leaves a hard task for the actors. Adam Driver is too stiff in the first place, carrying over his performance from House of Gucci. A personal view is that caricature-accented English is out of place for such a film in todays day and age where most film markets are used to foreign language being spoken with subtitles. The "spaghetti" English spoken in the film, gives it an immediate Friday Night skit feeling. Cruz' acting is good, but I found the character of constantly enraged wife without much emotional spectrum a bit tiresome after a while.

Driving scenes are good. Good soundtrack. It's very difficult to make cars look fast on camera, especially the scenes from the Autodrome have managed this. MM scenes with obvious sped up footage are hard to avoid for any filmmaker.

I found this not a film about Ferrari, but about a man named Enzo. However story is told and script is written in such a way that no character in the film is given any emotional dimension or background to connect with, this especially goes for the drivers [when they are injured, retired, killed]. This is shame that even though deaths were common and the film probably deals with them in this way to portray some for of replicability of the drivers from Enzo's standpoint.

I wish more on the film was spent on Enzo's backstory and his building of the company with great engineers at Ferrari, and less repeat scenes from his private household conveying the same message. The film as I watched it could have been about any defacto Italian businessman in post war Italy, not Ferrari.

There is a film on Netflix about Enrico Piaggio in the same style as this film, which is very good and worth a watch. Except for the driving scenes, I didn't find this film watchable.

 

Just saw the Ferrari movie on Amazon (finally!) and I have to say I liked it.
Script is fluid and Mann emphasized brilliantly what Ferrari is the epitome of:
A sort of Italian genius escaped from Renaissance époque.
Beautiful landscapes scenes and all the dramas when people were ready to risk their lifes for glory..

 

My two cents. Mann should have done more homework. Should not have had any reference to FORD in there since it was much too early in timeline - didn't happen until at least a few years later. Simply stupid movie making. And curious as to why no reference at all to Luigi Chinetti. I still can't get past casting of Adam Driver... just a poor choice. There was also much that should have and could have been in the film without making it overly long, but that's Hollywood again, coming close, but at least partially failing. Some have said how obsessed Mann was with detail & accuracy. Unfortunately some small items were wrong... such as the toys young Piero had. Film was ok, not great, but half decent.

 

His attention to detail for a master filmmaker in this instance is quit appalling,

 

I liked it.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

I haven’t seen it so I can’t credibly comment on details. The general public isn’t going to know about the details…since so few of them saw it. I think films that are made with informed audiences in mind have a feel of authenticity that ultimately also benefits those who are there just to be entertained. So, yes. Getting the details right is important.

In general, based on comments of others, I expect to be disappointed if and when I see it. I think the foundational concept of making a film based only on one year of someone’s life…especially about such a complex and accomplished person…is hugely flawed. The Driver casting might have something to do with other movie contracts, casting obligations, etc. I’ve made the point several times that Paul Sorvino would have been perfect for the role but the movie took so long to get done that he died long before it even started. Sorvino was right in terms of physical stature, his age for the period depicted, and his ability to play Ferrari’s volatile personality. Not to mention his ineffable Italian persona. Think Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas.

Mann muffed a big opportunity, as did Ridley Scott with Napoleon. I hope the planned series on Apple TV is better.

 

It's a movie. Just go with the flow. It's a freakin movie.

 

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a shame in comparison.

 

I understand your point. We all have our opinions. I'm not onboard with revisionist history or propagating misinformation, which Hollywood and internet publications constantly do, and all too many people believe. I'm not the only one who doesn't like choosing fiction over facts, especially when it's completely unnecessary. The history of Ferrari doesn't need any juicing up - it's got plenty to offer without that (much of which was not in the movie). Yup...it is just "a freakin movie."

 

meh

i thought it ended way to soon in the story

i was like... what that's it?

 

Just watched it tonight. Was excited to see it. Paid $17 to own it before seeing it because...Ferrari. I'm admittedly not a big movie guy, but there are a handful I can watch over and over again.

This is not one of them.

 

yep, I liked it...

How come no one else here has made one better?

 

I finally got around to watching it.

- Good cinematography
- Average acting
- Loads of dramatic licence
- Scenery was pretty nice, it's Italy after all
- Not to be taken as a historically accurate film, but rather as an initiation to Ferrari's world to the uninitiated.
- I was tickled to see ex-F1 Ferrari mechanic Pietro Corradini cameo and act in this film
- To be enjoyed more as an entertaining film, and not a documentary

 

I would probably buy it to have it with "closed caption". Between the mumbling and the accents, some of it was unintelligible.