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Winning (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Winning' is a 1969 American Panavision action drama sports film directed by James Goldstone and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner. The film is about a racecar driver who aspires to win the Indianapolis 500. A number of racecar drivers and people associated with racing appear in the film, including Bobby Unser, Tony Hulman, Bobby Grim, Dan Gurney, Roger McCluskey, and Bruce Walkup.
Plot
Professional racecar driver Frank Capua (Paul Newman) meets divorcee Elora (Newman's real-life wife Joanne Woodward). After a whirlwind romance they are married. Charley (Richard Thomas), Elora's teenage son by her first husband, becomes very close to Frank, and helps him prepare his cars for his races. But Frank is so dedicated to his career that he neglects his wife, who has an affair with Frank's main rival on the race track, Luther Erding (Robert Wagner). Frank finds them in bed together and storms out. The couple separate, but Frank still sees Charley regularly. Frank's bitterness fuels his dedication to his work, and he becomes a much more aggressive driver. At the Indianapolis 500, Elora and Charley watch while Frank drives the race of his life and wins. After winning, Frank attends a victory party. He is uninterested when attractive women throw themselves at him, and he slips away. Luther finds Frank and apologizes to him for the affair, but Frank punches him. Frank visits Elora and tells her he wants to start again. Elora is unsure. The film ends with a freeze-frame as the two look uncertainly at each other.
Cast
* Paul Newman as Frank Capua
* Joanne Woodward as Elora Capua
* Robert Wagner as Luther Lou Erding
* Richard Thomas as Charley Capua
* David Sheiner as Leo Crawford
* Clu Gulager as Larry the Mechanic
* Barry Ford as Bottineau
* Karen Arthur as Miss Dairy Queen
* Bobby Unser as Himself
* Tony Hulman as Himself
Production
During preparation for this film, Newman was trained for the motorsport by drivers Bob Sharp and Lake Underwood, at a race track high performance driving schoolwhich sparked Newman's enthusiasm for the sport and led to his participation as a competitor in sports car racing during the remainder of his life. He would eventually launch the much successful Newman/Haas Racing with his longtime racing competitor and friend Carl Haas, winning more than 100 races and 8 Driver's Championships in IndyCar Series, although notably the team never won the 500.
The film includes footage taken at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the legendary 2.5 mile track. Most of the footage is from the 1968 race. The accident during the first green flag is from the 1966 race.
Reception
Box office
The film earned an estimated $6.2 million in rentals in North America."Big Rental Films of 1969", 'Variety', 7 January 1970 p 15 It was the 16th most popular film at the US box office that year."The World's Top Twenty Films." Sunday Times [London, England] 27 Sept. 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 Apr. 2014Critical
Quentin Tarantino, when asked about his favorite race car films, was not a fan of 'Winning'. "Id rather saw my fingers off than sit through that again," he said.Nicholls, Adam Hay (August 21, 2013) [https://web.archive.org/web/20130825135156/http://f1socialdiary.com/2013/08/21/quentin-tarantino-my-favourite-racing-movies/ "QUENTIN TARANTINO: MY FAVOURITE RACING MOVIES"] 'F1 Social Diary'. Archived from the original, accessed May 28, 2016.Soundtrack
The film score was by Dave Grusin, and the original soundtrack album was issued on Decca Records.[http://www.discogs.com/Dave-Grusin-Winning-Original-Soundtrack/release/1611672 Dave Grusin - Winning (Original Soundtrack]. From Discogs. Retrieved 2012-02-11. The opening moments of the film's theme, "500 Miles," were used by WEWS-TV in Cleveland in the 1970s and 1980s as the theme for their 'Million Dollar Movie'.. Retrieved 2012-02-11.. Retrieved 2012-02-11. The movie's opening theme was used in the early 1970s in TVG's US syndicated college basketball network's telecasts.
See also
* List of American films of 1969
References
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