I saw Speed Racer a couple nights ago at an IMAX theatre.
Intense movie in terms of visuals, and I'm probably just getting old but the idea of not having a single shot/camera angle last more than 3.7 seconds seems a bit excessive, even for the ADD/under 35 crowd.
Anyway, watching the movie it occurred to me that Speed Racer's Mach 5, while not a real car in and of itself, was obviously inspired by a real car. The "gadget" elements were apparently inspired by James Bond's Aston Martin, but I would suggest its performance inspiration was the Ford GT/GT40. Here's why:
1. The series came out in the mid-1960s, hitting T.V. in 1967. What car was known for winning races at that point in history? Hmmmm...
2. The Mach 5 is extremely fast
3. The Mach 5 is extremely durable, meaning it can be hit or flip or experience a hard landing but continue to run (thus it's obviously not any Ferrari or Jaguar model)
4. Despite its massive capabilities it can be worked on and upgraded by family mechanics in a home garage - much like an American hot rod or muscle car, thus it's not any exotic European car
5. It's pretty cool looking with enhanced "hips" over the rear end and an extremely low profile (of course it's also got an open cabin, so maybe it's really a GTX1)
Anyway, just a theory. :biggrin
Intense movie in terms of visuals, and I'm probably just getting old but the idea of not having a single shot/camera angle last more than 3.7 seconds seems a bit excessive, even for the ADD/under 35 crowd.
Anyway, watching the movie it occurred to me that Speed Racer's Mach 5, while not a real car in and of itself, was obviously inspired by a real car. The "gadget" elements were apparently inspired by James Bond's Aston Martin, but I would suggest its performance inspiration was the Ford GT/GT40. Here's why:
1. The series came out in the mid-1960s, hitting T.V. in 1967. What car was known for winning races at that point in history? Hmmmm...
2. The Mach 5 is extremely fast
3. The Mach 5 is extremely durable, meaning it can be hit or flip or experience a hard landing but continue to run (thus it's obviously not any Ferrari or Jaguar model)
4. Despite its massive capabilities it can be worked on and upgraded by family mechanics in a home garage - much like an American hot rod or muscle car, thus it's not any exotic European car
5. It's pretty cool looking with enhanced "hips" over the rear end and an extremely low profile (of course it's also got an open cabin, so maybe it's really a GTX1)
Anyway, just a theory. :biggrin