MovieChat Forums > Rush (2013) Discussion > No US hero? Ever heard of Mario Andretti...

No US hero? Ever heard of Mario Andretti?


It's a shame this movie didn't do well in the US, because this guy was a great F1 driver and champion. His character - played by Kristofer Dayne (uncredited)- was in the film, perhaps not peaking professionally in 1976 when the film was set.

But Howard could have attracted US money and cinema-going fans with his bigged-up presence?

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The climactic race of the film, the Japanese GP, was actually won by Andretti. That could have been expanded, perhaps?

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Yeah, true. Especially with an eye to US money.

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Says a lot about you Americans when a movie has to portray something/someone American to get your attention although the movie itself is absolutely fantastic.

How pathetic, yet absolutely not surprising after all.

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... a movie has to portray something/someone American to get your attention ...
Yes, pretty sad.
... the movie itself is absolutely fantastic.
I'm not a great fan of F-1, but this is a very good film. Ron Howard nails it contrasting 2 very different competitive obsessions.🐭

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Says a lot about Americans who don't know the sport, that they need someone who was temporarily successful in F1, to find an appeal to watch the movie...

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I don't know shit about the sport, but I'm American and loved the movie. I've watched it several times.

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Just like, I don't know squat, but I loved the movie.

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As an engineer I would love to see something like Rush II​ ​about the 77/78 seasons. There you have "your" (yawn!) hero Andretti (because of a BRITISH car) , drama/tragedy (Peterson), clever engineers trying to fight against the laws of physics...

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No on on this topic knows SHIT about F1, which is not hyphenated, asshole. In the era of the film, it is arguable that US racing drivers were the most versatile in the world, competing in NASCAR, Indycar and F1. Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones and AJ fucking Foyt could take on ANYONE in F1. Maybe not beat him on that day, but give him a grand tussle. Your guy, Mario Andretti, set a standard for elite drivers. He said the most elite driver wins the F1 championship, the Indy 500 and Les Vent Quatre Heures du Man. The only driver who has done this is my idol, Graham Hill, the first and this far only F1 World Champion to have his son also be F1 World Champion. Graham Fucking Hill.

I do think American Dan Gurney was the best driver ever, PERIOD. He drove everything. He created his own F1 team, All-American Racers, where he won at Spa, the track that truly separates the men from the boys. At Jimmy Clark’s funeral, Clark’s father told Gurney, “You were the only one he feared, Dan,” and Gurney cried, showing what a tremendously strong man he was.

Mario Andretti? He was good. I want a movie about Dan Gurney.

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Why are you calling people names?

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LOL I was wondering the same thing. He seemed to angry for no reason.

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