The 24 Hour War

I have watched it for the archive footage. The rest is pretty useless. Nobodies competing to have the most spectacular superlative for yet another of White Man's expensive games.

I came across this documentary on Kanopy via my public library. I watched it a week after I watched the 2019 movie "Ford v Ferrari" which is a dramatization of events in the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses most on the people involved in getting Ford competitive, including hiring Carroll Shelby.

This documentary includes the genesis and history of the two companies. Both world-renowned auto makers, both named after their founders, Ford and Ferrari were on opposite ends of the business spectrum. Ford made affordable cars to transport people reliably and comfortably. Ferrari was mostly interested in racing, they made only enough consumer cars to pay for the racing enterprise and they were the most successful road-racing company.

In a Ford/Ferrari deal gone bad in the early 1960s, Ford II came away with a grudge, determined to build Ford racing cars that would beat Ferrari in the biggest road races, Daytona, Sebring, and le Mans regardless of the cost. Ford assembled an expert team to design the car and build the racing engine but it wasn't easy. However as history tells us Ford in fact did win the three big races in 1966, and were 1-2-3 at LeMans.

This is a very worthwhile documentary. It uses archival footage and photos plus present day interviews with many mechanics, drivers, and Ford executives that were involved back in the 1960s.

Great story that I had never heard before. Well done.

I was born in 1966 and obviously had no clue of the state of auto racing or the major players. I enjoyed the historic slice of racing that you touched on and how events unfolded post WWII. I have always known names like mario andretti and aj foyt growing up and I liked a documentary that connected the dots as to why they were big names in their sports. A good blend of entertainment and education and after watching I realize that there are so many other stories that deserve to be told, specifically Carrol Shelby. Well done!

SteveO

Very cool story, and told by exciting people with great footage. BUT it's a history with many different events, companys and people, and it's impossible to keep apart with this little help through the movie, and this fast skipping through events....