Editing John Frankenheimer (section)

===''Grand Prix'' (1966)===
[[File:John Frankenheimer 1966 Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|upright|Frankenheimer on the set of ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]'']]

By the mid-sixties, Frankenheimer had emerged as one of Hollywood's leading directors.<ref>Thurber and King, 2002: “...in 1964, Frankenheimer seemed firmly entrenched as a top director in Hollywood. A year later he made his first color film, the car-racing saga Grand Prix.”</ref>
As such, M-G-M provided lavish financing for [[Grand Prix (1966 film)|''Grand Prix'']] (1966), Frankenheimer's first color film and shot in 70mm [[Cinerama]].<ref>Axmaker, 2010 TCM: “Grand Prix (1966), a sprawling drama of race car drivers shot on locations across Europe with a glamorous international cast.”</ref> A former amateur race car driver himself, he approached the project with genuine enthusiasm.<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 151; “...it communicates the director's enthusiasm for the subject…” And: Frankenheimer: “[I’ve] driven a race car and driven one fairly well…”<br>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “Grand Prix is Frankenheimer's first color film...Shot in 70mm Cinerama.” And: Frankenheimer: "...one of the most satisfactory films I've made.” And: “Having been an amateur racer himself, Frankenheimer is intensely passionate about the subject...”</ref>

The screenplay by [[Robert Alan Aurthur]] and an uncredited Frankenheimer, concerns the professional and personal fortunes of [[Formula One]] racer Pete Aron ([[James Garner]]) during an entire season of competitive racing. The action climaxes at Monza, where Aron, Scott Stoddard ([[Brian Bedford]]), Jean Pierre Sarti ([[Yves Montand]]) and Nino Barlini ([[Antonio Sabàto Sr.]]) compete for the championship, with tragic results.<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 150 and pp.151-153: “...his first original screenplay since The Young Stranger…” And: “...his most expensive production…”</ref><ref>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “As could be expected, a tight race ensues with plenty of thrills, chills, and spills, before a final victor emerges from the big event.”</ref>
 
Wishing to craft a highly realistic rendering of racing and its milieu, he assembled a panoply of innovative film techniques with ingenious apparatus and special effects.<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 151-152 And p. 154-155: Frankenheimer: “I want to show what racing was really like and every incident in the film is based on truth.” And: “I used to do racing as an amateur…”<br>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “Frankenheimer and cinematographer Lionel Lindon used specially constructed cameras mounted on the racing cars…creative use of split-screen…” And: “Having been an amateur racer himself, Frankenheimer is intensely passionate about the subject...”</ref> Working closely with cinematographer [[Lionel Lindon]], Frankenheimer mounted cameras directly onto the race cars, eliminating process shots and providing audiences with a driver's-eye view of the action.<ref>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “To achieve the level of realism that Frankenheimer wanted, there were no "process shots" used in the film. All scenes used real cars with mounted cameras...cinematographer Lionel Lindon used specially constructed cameras mounted on the racing cars, which put us on the track with the drivers.”</ref><ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 159: Frankenheimer: “There was not a single process shot in the entire film.”</ref> 
 
Frankenheimer incorporated [[Split screen (video production)|split-screen]]s to juxtapose documentary-like interviews of the racers with high-speed action shots on the track.<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 156-158: See Frankenheimer narrative re: [[Francis Thompson (film director)|Francis Thompson]]'s [[To Be Alive!]] (1964), and World Series televised baseball.<br>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “...Frankenheimer used the wide space to his advantage with a creative use of split-screen…By combining the ‘on-track’ footage with helicopter shots of the cars in a split-screen action sequence, he combats the monotony of racing cars merely driving around in circles.”</ref> Frankenheimer explains his use of the “hydrogen cannon”:<ref>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “For the spectacular crashes, special effects man Milton Rice created a hydrogen cannon, which functioned as a giant pea-shooter. A car could be attached to a shaft on the cannon, and then ‘shot’ out like a projectile at speeds in excess of 125 miles an hour.”</ref>

{{blockquote|“The special effects, the accidents, were very hard to do. I had an excellent special effects man, Milton Rice, who devised a [[Ram accelerator|hydrogen cannon]] which worked on the principle of a pea shooter. The car was attached to a shaft and when the hydrogen exploded the car was literally propelled through the air like a projectile at about 125 to 135 miles an hour and you could aim it anywhere you wanted it to go. And all the wrecks were done that way. They were real cars. No models at all. Everything was very real. And that's why it was good…”<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 161</ref>}}

{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|fontsize=100%|salign=center|quote= “I'm not saying it's my best film. But it is certainly one of the most satisfactory film I’ve made...to be able to indulge your fantasies with ten-and-a-half million dollars is, I think, marvelous.”—John Frankenheimer on ''Grand Prix'' in Gerald Pratley's ''The Cinema of John Frankenheimer''(1969)<ref>Pratley, 1969 p. 156</ref>}}

Characterized largely by Frankenheimer's bravura application of his striking cinematic style, ''Grand Prix'' has been termed “largely a technical exercise” by film critic [[David Walsh (writer)|David Walsh]] and “brandishing style for its own sake” according to The Film Encyclopedia.<ref>Walsh, 2002. WSWS: “Grand Prix, a story of race-car drivers, is largely a technical exercise, whose dramatic narrative seems accidental...”<br>Barson, 2021: “...The racing sequences were entertaining, but the rest of the film was largely dull.”</ref><ref>Georgaris, 2021 TSPDT: “...Frankenheimer seemed to be losing his edge by brandishing style for its own sake.” - The Film Encyclopedia, 2012</ref> Film historian [[Andrew Sarris]] observed that Frankenheimer's style had “degenerated into an all-embracing academicism, a veritable glossary of film techniques.”<ref>Walsh, 2002. WSWS: “Sarris suggested that the director's style had ‘degenerated into an all-embracing academicism, a veritable glossary of film techniques.’”</ref>
 
A commercial success, ''Grand Prix'' garnered three Oscars at the Academy Awards for Best Sound Effects (by [[Gordon Daniel]]), Best Editing ([[Henry Berman]], [[Stu Linder]] and [[Frank Santillo]]), and for Best Sound Recording ([[Franklin Milton]] and [[Roy Charman]]).<ref>Goodman, 2003 TCM: “..earning three Oscars for Best Sound Effects (by Gordon Daniel), Best Editing, and Best Sound.”<br>Baxter, 2002 “...returning to France [he made] his commercially successful, biggest budget, and first colour movie, ''Grand Prix'' (1966).<br>Pratley, 1969 p. 149: See here for credits</ref>