Magnificent

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2013)

What a fine film this is. It is fantastic that such a great film can be made for such a small budget. If there's any justice, this film should triumph at the Oscars, and pick up more attendance/DVD revenue as a result.
The movie looks like it cost far more to make than ~$40 million.
I think Ron Howard made a master stroke in choosing the 70s F1 era to set his film, and picking the '76 Hunt v Lauda season as the main focus. The race scenes are so brilliantly done. Fantastic camera angles, in car shots, helmet cam shots etc. that really bring home what monstrous and dangerous beasts those 70's F1 cars were to drive. There's a touch of very well done CGI to make the vintage track scenes super realistic. The Nurburgring and Fuji rounds are brilliantly done.
An appreciative shout out to all the owners of the vintage 70s F1 cars, who allowed them to be used in the making of this film.
But it's not just about the cars and racing, it's also the very human story of two ultra rivals who disliked each other intensely, but needed each other to draw the best from themselves. Set during a time when F1 had more characters, or certainly a time when characters were ALLOWED to show their character!! But perhaps the most compelling human aspect to the story is just how the F1 drivers coped with the extreme danger, literally risking their bodies or lives to win. Lauda rationalized it, Hunt embraced it.
Hunt and Lauda were a few years before I started to follow F1, so I can't comment to the absolute accuracy of the screenplay, but I'd guess it's pretty damn close. I do remember Hunt as a commentator with Murray Walker on the BBC though! Anyway, the acting performances all round are superb. Bravo. The costumes are awesome, who says the 70's weren't cool? I walked away from the cinema awestruck!! Some more like this please Ron Howard!