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Author: David Sztypuljak

We’ve been rather blessed with wonderful motor racing documentaries and feature films over the past few years. Senna immediately comes to mind bringing unseen footage and a truly inspiring story that was beautiful to watch on the cinema screen. The likes of Tt: 3D based around the Isle of Man Tt was another that stands out introducing the fabulous Guy Martin to the world!

Today we’ve been sent the first look trailer of ‘McLaren’ – a feature-length documentary about Bruce McLaren and the man behind the company that still continues at the top flight of international motorsport to this very day. McLaren takes us through the rise, domination and legacy that Bruce McLaren was able to leave after his untimely death in a crash while testing in 1970 at age of just 32 while testing his new M8D at Goodwood.

The movie trailer gives you an...

Ron Howard's Rush piqued my interest in the true story of the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Formula 1 race car drivers in the 1970s, so the straightfoward documentary Hunt vs. Lauda fits the bill perfectly. Focusing on the 1976 Grand Prix season, Hunt vs. Lauda is presented in a straightforward style: talking head interviews, news clips, and simple on-screen graphics. Interview subjects are few in number, but well-chosen -- Lauda; Hunt's older sister, Sally Jones; Daniele Audetto and Alastair Caldwell, team managers for Ferrari and McLaren, respectively; journalist Peter Windsor -- and each has vivid memories. This is especially evident in the talks with the team managers, who clearly harbor deep-seated emotions about that season. Director Matthew Whiteman skillfully weaves together the...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The release of Ron Howard’s Rush, one of the most anticipated (not to say mega-hyped) films of the year, inevitably begs comparisons to some of the great car-themed movies of the past.

“Rush.” Photo by Jaap Buitendijk

© 2013 – Universal Pictures.

It seems that automobiles have played key roles in films of every genre, from drama to horror to comedy to documentary. In some, like American Graffiti, Rebel without a Cause, and Bonnie and Clyde, the vehicles primarily help set the tone of the era in which the stories are set. In other films the cars themselves are the story. The animated Cars comes to mind, along with the Love Bug series, Christine, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And then there are films in which the cars have taken their place alongside the human stars as film icons in their own right. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, for instance, as...

As part of the recent launch activity around Ron Howard's highly anticipated Formula One biopic Rush, I was lucky enough to attend a screening event at Millbank Tower in London, organised by Motorsport Magazine and Altitude.

The film charts the lives of F1 legends James Hunt and Nikki Lauda and their rivalry leading up to the extraordinary events of the 1976 season.The highlight of the event was a talk with Alastair Caldwell, former McLaren team manager. Caldwell knew both drivers closely and was full of interesting anecdotes. These included small details like the way in which Nikki Lauda's incredible return from a life threatening injury was aided by his team doctor making him undergo the painful process of daily swims in the sea so that the salt water could help with his burns.

Slightly more amusing were the anecdotes around Hunt, for example his turning up to the Canadian...