Completely unexpectedly good

Rating: 10/10 (29 August 2015)

I have to admit I watched this film for reasons that had nothing to do with it, it was a completely random choice. I even looked it up first just to see what it is about before I started watching it and was kind of put off by being a sports movie about car racers. I have to also admit that I think the sport itself quite silly, even amongst other silly sports. But the film was so good that I had to rate it top grade.
The story is a classic conflict between the clear headed unpleasant man racing cars for money and the maverick charismatic risk taker that does it for the kicks, but unlike most American movies, it does not turn one into a hero and the other into a villain. Instead it presents the world of racing as it was back then: high risk of injury and death, the glory and the pain, the races that are not cancelled if people paid too much for viewing rights no matter the risks, the gladiatorial adrenaline filled world of the racers themselves.
But what was better than great acting, great directing and a wonderful story was the refreshing perspective from actual people with actual lives and problems and emotions. It was so personal and so touching that I believed it to be Lauda's own biography and searching for it I see that he actually published one, called To Hell and Back, yet the script is not based on that, but on the work Peter Morgan did with constant input from Lauda. Daniel Bruhl's extraordinary performance was also honed by him spending time with Niki Lauda.
Not everybody is happy with the film, though. Some think that the film pales in comparison to John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, a movie that I have no watched. It might make a good viewing if you like this one.
All in all, I really appreciate the effort done in researching and planning the film as well as the wonderful performances and directing. Carjack TV videos show Lauda and Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl interviews of the film which might come nicely after watching the movie. Great job all around!