The Wild Racers

This movie will BLOW YOUR MIND! I cant believe this movie is seen by very few people it is easily one of the best i have seen in my lifetime. The plot is full of heartwarming love and fast action. The only thing that triumphs the directing is the WRITING! Max House is a great writer and it is very sad that this is his only credit, might as well quit when your at the top i guess. I really wish to see more of Max House I hope he is still doing well and writing lot's! I will keep this review short and brief but i can't say it enough SEE THIS MASTERPIECE PLEASE AND SPREAD THE WORD.

Thanks.

As a vintage racing buff, I am drawn to the movie with the vintage cars (more on that) and the views of the classic tracks in their original configurations. This film using the cars and footage from 1968.

The story of an American breaking in to the European scene is not too far-fetched. In real life there were Americans in F1 in the 1960's:Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Ritchie Ginther, Ronnie Bucknum, Bob Bondurant and Masten Gregory. Like the Fabian character,most of these guys came out of California; but were sports car drivers,not NASCAR.

The story is interesting as the main character is very shallow, not likable and destructive. But I am drawn to the people around him.

About the cars. While they refer to the races a Grands Prix, these are not F1 cars but Formula 2 cars. At that time F2 were very similar to F1, the displacement was 1.6 liters (F1 was 3 liters), narrower tires, and no wings. In 1968, F1 cars had high mounted wings in front and back. Good footage of the cars' internal bits, notably the Cosworth FVA 4 cylinder engine. In the 60's, F1 drivers would often race with the up and comers in F2. Stewart drove Ken Tyrrell's Matras, Rindt drove the Winklemann Racing Brabham, Jack Brabham would field a team of Brabham Hondas to name a few. The cars of the protagonist are the Winklemann Racing Brabham BT-18's with the Cosworth motor.

The race footage was from the actual F2 series at the appropriate tracks.

Today's racing is too corporate and sterile to make a decent film...

Roger Corman has one of the most unbelievable records when it comes to filmmaking. While he's directed over 500 movies, he only reportedly lost money on one of them! Now I am not saying all his movies worked well at the box office because they were great films or artistic triumphs. No, instead Corman knows how to make very, very cheap films that the public accepts and goes to see. Such is the case with "The Wild Racers"...a film which, technically, is very bad...but the overall movie is still worth seeing despite its many shortcomings.

The movie is about a racecar driver named Jojo (Fabian). Jojo has apparently worn out his welcome driving in the States and has now moved on to Europe to Formula One racing. While he is doing well, he insists he must always win...and is ruthless in pursuing victories. Along the way, he treats people like dirt...particularly his girlfriends.

The first portion of the movie is a mess. Instead of SHOWING any of Jojo's races or even showing Jojo, the film shows various clips of NASCAR style racing...with voiceovers from various drivers who hate his guts. It's sloppy. Later, the film switches to the story and you see and hear Jojo. However, this is also a problem because of the many, many rapid edits...really, really sloppy looking ones at that. It's supposed to be stylish, perhaps, but looks amateurish...as well as the extensive use of stock footage.

So why did I still give the film a 5 even if the film is technically bad? Well, the portrait of a high functioning sociopath IS interesting. You can't help but watch...much like you would if you saw a trainwreck...you can't help yourself from getting pulled up into it. Still, the film is clearly one which could have been better and I am sure may will dislike the vague sort of ending to the story.

A surprisingly artsy AIP drive-in race car movie whose credits are as interesting as what's actually on screen. The great Verna Fields (before "Jaws," etc.) and Nestor Almendros (a favorite DP of Truffaut and Rohmer before lensing films like "Places in the Heart") have editing and cinematography credits. That is a very big deal! And it was fun seeing "Talia Coppola" before she became "Talia Shire," and Mimy Farmer a year before she made Barbet Schroeder's X-rated "More" (also shot by Almendros btw). Fabian was a 1960's dreamboat. He was much "hotter" than Frankie Avalon or Tommy Sands: I never understood why his career never transcended teeny-bopper fare like this. A fascinating curio for connoisseurs of '60s "B" cinema.

'The Wild Racers' as movie is as shallow as its main character Jo Jo Quillico (played by pop singer Fabian) a race car driver living on the edge. Winning a race is his only intention and everything else comes second. Traveling from circuit to circuit, from country to country he conquers the women like racetracks. Until he finds a girlfriend (Mimsy Farmer) who sticks besides him, until she sees she can't get enough love from him.

The story is well written, but the most interesting part of the film is it's style - tilted camera angels and quick cuts - there are barely any shots that last more than 20 seconds, and scenes drive into scenes (we can barely set down at the dinner table when we are already back on racing track). The dialogue is minimal, but use of voice over is rather interesting - two characters are having conversation, then there is the change of the shot and conversation has turned into narration. I guess it has to do something the guerrilla style filmmaking as the crew didn't have permission to shoot on location (everything had to be canned on rush) and mixing it all real racing footage that some was colored from black and white.

Despite pseudo art house style the film carries the mood and atmosphere of '60s Grand Prix racing very well. Not stylistically as pure as lets say 'Le Mans' with Steve McQueen 'The Wild Racers' is still interesting film that any fans of the genre and racing should check out when the chance.

Voice of Fabian was dubbed by Dick Miller who also has brief cameo as pit mechanic, blink an eye and you miss him.

P.S. Although the film is about Formula 1, the cars shown in the movie are actually Formula 2 machinery.