One of two best Racing Films ever...

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2020)

My review for Ron Howard's "Rush" enthusiastically placed it at the top of the heap for "racing genres" if that is such a thing. That film was excellent even if you are not a racing fan.
Well now that I have seen "Ford vs Ferrari", I am having a difficult time choosing which one is better. I'm going to lean towards Ford v Ferrari because of the performance by Christian Bale as it is fresh in my mind and certainly a great character and acting job. I love his rebelliousness and genuine love for the machine...the way he communicates with it intuitively as if it was alive, Iis great stuff. At first I didn't think Matt Damon was cast well for the part of Carroll Shelby. From what I know (and I did meet him once) he was more of an outspoken cowboy, but I have to say Damon was excellent and his performance grew on me. Not as good as Bale who stole the show, but still excellent. The Lee Iacocca character was also slightly miscast but still, a very entertaining performance.
I liked how the period corporate culture of the US car industry was portrayed, with strong personalities and business practices of that era. It was especially entertaining when the Ford boys were they trying to match wits against Enzo Ferrari.
As to the racing and car stuff, it was great. Period authenticity was respected even in the scenes in France. The growling soundtrack and sweeping score just works. I enjoyed the innovative camera work of the racing scenes. The Ford GT40 was a miracle of brute American know-how against the refined Italian machinery of the legendary Ferraris.
Based on factual history (with a little artistic license thrown in), the story is compelling and left me very satisfied.
In my opinion, "Rush" and "Ford V Ferrari" are the two best racing movies ever.