Grand Prix (1966)

Izo Yamura: Some years ago, when I decided to race cars, I tried to buy the Jordan-BRM company.
Pete Aron: Oh yes, I had heard that.
Izo Yamura: Impatience on my part. I also manufacture radios and sewing machines. In order to save time, I wanted a proven product. That was not to be, however. Racing cars are not merely another product. They require great attention if any success is to be hoped for.
Pete Aron: Then that's why you're here.
Izo Yamura: I have been racing my cars in Formula One for two years, and have yet to win my first Grand Prix. I intend to win, by whatever means are open to me.
Pete Aron: That's the right attitude. All you have to do is go fast enough and long enough.
Izo Yamura: And with the best drivers! Do you want a job with me?
Pete Aron: Driving?
Izo Yamura: Driving, of course.
Pete Aron: Who are you dumping?
Izo Yamura: Dumping?
Pete Aron: Ah, which one of your drivers are you getting rid of?
Izo Yamura: Neither one. I am entering a third car.
Pete Aron: That'll be expensive.
Izo Yamura: Yes.
Pete Aron: You've got a driver.
Izo Yamura: My racing headquarters is at Silverstone, in England. Can you be there next week?
Pete Aron: Yes, sir.
Izo Yamura: We must begin to think about - Spa!
Pete Aron: Next week, then.
Izo Yamura: By the way, you are a terrible broadcaster!
[Aron turns and starts heading for the door]
Izo Yamura: Oh, Mr. Aron, if giving you the job would have meant firing one of the other drivers, would you still have taken it?
[Aron glares at Yamura]
Izo Yamura: Good!

---

Izo Yamura: Right after the war, my house in Tokyo was used by an American general and his family. When it was returned to me, it had: flowered wallpaper, three new bathrooms, and four new closets. Americans, I think, are over-devoted to bathrooms and closets.
Pete Aron: Well, we accumulate things.
Izo Yamura: And then you lock them away in closets. And the bathrooms?
Pete Aron: No, no, you don't get me on that one.

---

Izo Yamura: Why do you drive racing cars, or do you not think about it?
Pete Aron: Oh, Mr. Yamura, I don't think there's one of us who doesn't ask himself at least once in the middle of a race, "What the hell am I doing here?" Of course, when it's over, we conveniently forget that we asked ourselves that question. I think about it and a lot of reasons I don't know. Maybe to do something that brings you so close to the possibility of death and to survive it is to feel life and living so much more intensely.

---

read more quotes from Grand Prix...

Frankenheimer's first film in color.
Swedish actress Harriet Andersson was cast as the female lead and filmed some scenes. James Garner wanted to replace her so Eva Marie Saint got the part instead. No explanation was given.
Crowds can be difficult to manage simply because of the effort needed to maintain their concentration. During the filming of Grand Prix there was a scene where a flaming car is driven into the pits. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the director, John Frankenheimer, was disgusted by the crowd's lack of reaction to the dramatic action during the rehearsals. They appeared to be more interested in their tea break. Frankenheimer called his special effects man over and told him to 'blow up the tea van' when given the signal. The unit went for a take. The flaming sports car came into the pits. The crowd looked on. The signal was given and the tea truck exploded. The crowd reacted and Frankenheimer got his shot' This is an extreme example of how to direct crowds. (from "Production Management for Film and Video" by Richard Gates)
read more facts about Grand Prix...