There he meets an array of other cars - including Doc Hudson Paul Newman! It's that sort of greatness among their artists I can only geek about and dream of grasping while in my 3D animation classes. The cars have a definite realistic look, especially with the rendering man, the reflections! The film is also vibrantly colored, making use of a whole variety of shades of dark colors during the race, and warm ones whenever the scenes shift to Radiator Springs. Even the old, vintage car models have that chic look that brings some of the essential charm of this film. There are lots to be admired on this film just for the brilliance in animation.
But among those that stand out are the race itself, and when Doc Hudson gets to bring back his good old days. But what's really nice about this film is how director John Lasseter and the writers effectively tell the story and how they pump up the visual feast with humor and sincere emotions. It still all boils down to the story and how it is told - the very essence of cinema. Granted, when it comes to the standards set by previous Pixar films, it isn't quite up there with it's predecessors; but considering how lofty the bar has reached and the mediocrity that has become of the genre in general, "Cars" more than gets the job done.
As for the voice cast, Wilson brings that sort of cockiness to the protagonist of the story and it fits with his smug humor. Larry the Cable Guy gives Mater an amusingly disoriented state without being irritatingly so. You can't help but care about him and arguably, he's the nicest member of the cast. Newman lends an authoritative quality to Doc Hudson. During the end credits, there's an in-joke about John Ratzenberger, who has his voice featured in all Pixar films thus far.
However, ultimately, the cast is somewhat unmemorable and lacking in diversity. The rest of the voice talents are also underused. Keaton's Chick Hicks is a formulaic one-dimensional villain, which could have utilized his voice more with a little more motivation for the car's part. But then again, that may be beside the movie's point. All in all, "Cars" is a visual feast outside and an effective storytelling inside. When it comes to the basis of their appeal, it doesn't keep up with the rest of Pixar films which have sped up far ahead and this may yet be their first underachiever.
But for what it is and what it achieves, it's a nice ride. I went to the premier of "Cars" last night at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concorde and was delighted to find that the hours of traffic were worth it. The story has a clear point and the message of friendship is easily understood by kids and adults alike. The variety of humor suits all generations, too, making this the first "summer must see" for the family. Being an artist I was struck by the vibrancy of the animation. The colors were rich and beautiful, and there was such diverse vocal talent that the entire experience made it a treat for the crowd's eyes and ears.
People do have their own opinions but there is one thing I came across with, why do some people don't like this movie? I've seen when it came out in and loved it and I think its better then its sequel, in my opinion. Is because of the world of talking cars? Disney has created many films were animals talk, look at the Mickey Mouse cartoons, there is no people in there world, minus the ones during the early years of Disney.
To me I like this movie. It has some nice atmosphere with the small town and the American dessert of the well- known route 66 with the animation and I do like the world of cars. The story is good too and even though its not in the bar of such great films like the Toy Story series and Monsters Inc. Then, as the images of the new graphics and the plot outlines started to came out I was still unimpressed by them, seeing at how unoriginal the plot was and how everything seemed to be aiming for showing off their technical progress, my hopes for "Cars" were really low.
I guess that's why I ended up liking it so much. During the trip towards the final race of the circuit a race that would give him the Cup if he wins , he gets lost and accidentally ends up in a small forgotten town on Route 66 named "Radiator Springs". Without knowing how to return to the Highway and forced to repair the damage caused by his arrival, McQueen will discover the simple way of life of this quiet town and its inhabitants. Visually, the film is perfect; the computer animation has reached a point where it seems that the only limit is to create a human being, and I bet that Pixar is not too far from it.
Light effects, water effects, reflection, chrome and other phenomena are represented with great detail surpassing everything Pixar had done before. However, this tale of a young and ambitious car living in the fast urban world and his clash with the simple and slower life of rural U. Sure, it is by no means an original story and it is very predictable, but the details added by the writers are what makes the film different. The lovable and different characters give soul to the apparently lifeless "Cars", and they make the difference in what otherwise would be a dull boring and predictable film.
This care in the characterization department is what made "Toy Story" or Fox's "Ice Age" different among other animated films. The voice actors are very good, and it is noticeable the care taken in assembling the cast. Owen Wilson makes a very good McQueen, making him an arrogant, ambitious city boy; Paul Newman brings his experience and makes a wonderful Doc Hudson, Radiator Springs' mayor.
Bonnie Hunt and Larry the Cable guy complete the cast and all of them are equally competent in their jobs. Their performances give the final touch to the film. As written above, the film has only one big detail that may turn off some viewers. Its plot is nothing really new or unseen, and it could be said that it is one of their least funny scripts. Sure, it touches an important subject, but a few more laughs could had helped the final product. However, credit must go to the writers, who have crafted a movie that will keep the kids interested even when it is not a laugh riot.
Despite its troubles, it is a fine film to take the children. If you keep the expectations low and relax a bit it will be a nice ride. Without giving away any of the story, here's my take. True to Disney form, the premiere itself was spectacular. Four giant screens, live entertainment,lots of fireworks, great inclusion of military personnel, and as good of a red carpet as you can do with chain link fenced areas This movie rates right in the middle of Pixar releases for me.
Everything just looks so real in this movie. The dust stirred up when Lightning drives off, the scenery around Route 66 well, maybe not those mountains that look like the fins of old cars. Even the shine on the clean cars looks so real. As an adult, I enjoyed the story line. I can't tell you how the kids would like it, as by the time the movie finally started, my kids were asleep. As always, don't leave your seat until all of the credits roll. Sometimes they are some of the funniest clips in the movie! You'll love them this time, as they tie back to prior Pixar movies, in a car sort of way.
This is definitely a movie we'll add to the DVD collection. I really hope this movie does well since it's the first release since Disney bought Pixar. Don't go in looking for the action or adult humor of The Incredibles. If you do you'll be disappointed. Just go in looking for the "Disney always has a good moral behind its animated movies" type of movie and you will really enjoy it.
Paul Newman and Larry the Cable Guy really have the best characters in the movie. And while John Ratzenberger's character doesn't have a lot of screen time, I really enjoyed him! I'll be going back to see it when it releases in theaters so I can get a better feel for the sound, as it wasn't the best in an outdoor setting. In my opinion, it easily beats the other animated movies released over the past year or so. Animated films are not my favorite genre and I am not a Nascar fan.
I anticipated that I would reflect on the 2 hours in a movie theater as quality family time rather than quality entertainment but this movie had me hooked from the beginning. My kids did not have my background to understand Route 66 history but they didn't need it. The loved the film for other reasons. I lived in small towns where a day is fueled with hope of what might come over the horizon.
I have actually been cow tipping and laughed at the tractor scenes. I really appreciate the part of the theme of a successful member of a younger generation listening to and profiting by the wisdom of someone older. Far too many children's shows revolve around a plot with stupid adults and the youth needing to save the world. This film perhaps restored, for me, a little faith in our entertainment industry.
This is one movie the whole family really can enjoy. See this movie if for no other reason than to support the production of this type of message. Flagrant-Baronessa 30 October As Pixar, Blue Sky and DreamWorks continue to tick off the list of cute cuddly animals to make films about, director John Lasseter and Joe Ranft the latter sadly and ironically died in a car crash last year brings us a story about cars in incongruous human setting. Nine years of hard work in combining Lasseter's two great interests, cars and animation, finally gives us a satisfying end product but regrettably 'Cars' is just that.
Satisfactory and utterly charmless. The story, for one, is one of the most predictable riffs I have ever seen in an animated feature. It zooms in on an exhilarating, high-profile race for the prestigious 'Piston Cup' and the third lap offers a sense of impending doom. The race becomes a three-way tie between him and his competitors and now the final showdown will be held in Los Angeles in one week. It is on the way to L. He is sentenced to community service in the seedy little nowhere-town and, predictably, here the arrogant McQueen learns the true meaning of friends.
For a movie about fast-paced vehicles, 'Cars' starts slowly and keeps in this lane for far too long. Undoubtedtly its fatal flaw is its length: It is obvious that it caters more to the younger audience than, say, the heavyweights Shrek, Nemo or Ice Age that are all about adult references. Only once or twice does the film sneak in a subtle racy element such as the bitch-tag at the back of the female Porsche's rear or the 'organic fuel' that the hippie-van uses. On that note, "hillbilly hell", as McQueen bitterly spits, is beautifully crafted in terms of animation.
The CGI environment is crisp, fluent, lean and simply superb in capturing the well-oiled sleek machines of superstardom juxtaposed with the rusty hicky complexity of the hillbilly town. Although Paul Newman brings perfect charisma to his bitter-and-doomed-but-good-old-mentor character, none of the other cars shine. Indeed, there is a frightening lack of funny sidekicks with assigned quirks and the closest Cars gets to this is its shy firewagon truck Red.
This wide-ranging mediocrity also applies to the soundtrack which is noticeably sub-par and unimaginative: Where's the oomph in the engine of 'Cars'? Step up, Disney, because you cannot ride on the success of Finding Nemo forever. Imdbidia 8 February In a world inhabited by locomotion machines and cars, the little abandoned town of Radiator Spring languishes until it receives the visit of a posh race car, Lightning McQueen. His stop and meeting of the old- style cars living there will change his perspective on life and on what he wants to achieve.
The mate drawing of the landscape and town settings is magnificent. The cinematography and shot angles used to film the story are truly artistic. The design of the cars is equally impressive regarding animation, colors, texturing and lighting. The night scenes in the open field are among my favorites, so beautiful and realistic. The whole film is a long wow in that regard, and you feel like clapping to those big artists working for Pixar in this movie. In that regard, the movie deserves a The voicing of the characters, done by A-list actors Paul Newman among them, in his last acting role before passing away , is extremely good, very charming and effective, as the viewer really feels that the voices match the cars' personality and bring a big cozy feeling to the movie.
This will delight children, guaranteed, but will not engage enough most adults. I thought that Pixar had lowered their storyline standards and made a movie that would suit more Disney's requirements. No wonder that Disney bought Pixar little after the movie was released. An enjoyable movie for kids, with spectacular animation and eye candy colors to be enjoyed by all. Pixar just keeps hitting them out of the park.
Larry the cable guy was a great cast as Mater. Owen Wilson as Lightining was another great decision for the makers of Cars. There is never a dull moment while watching this film. I guess that is obvious by the overwhelming success at the box office. It was developed by Avalanche Software , which was shut down by Disney in , but was acquired and revived by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment published the tie-in game. The film tells the story of Lightning McQueen's trip to the Top Gear track, where he achieves his dream of racing against the Stig. Cars 3 had the lowest opening of the series, but nevertheless was the 16th Pixar film to debut at number one.
The Last Knight and Wonder Woman. The website's critical consensus reads, " Cars 3 has an unexpectedly poignant story to go with its dazzling animation, suggesting Pixar's most middle-of-the-road franchise may have a surprising amount of tread left. Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, " Cars 3 is a friendly, rollicking movie made with warmth and dash, and to the extent that it taps our primal affection for this series, it more than gets the job done.
Yet in many ways it's the tasteful version of a straight-to-DVD or streaming sequel. The end goal this time out isn't just to sell a few more toys and Lightning McQueen lunchboxes. It's actually tapping into something deeper than a corporate bottom line. Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a mixed review, saying: The route that the filmmakers take might be familiar, but after gunning it, they take the corners like pros. Regarding a possible Cars 4 , Cars 3 producers Kevin Reher and Andrea Warren stated speaking to Cinema Blend that "If there's a good story to tell, I mean, our heads kinda break after having gotten this one done, like "oh my God" what could you do the further adventures of?
But like any sequel, from Toy Story 4 to Incredibles 2 , as long as there's a good story to tell it's worth investing, we do love these characters, we love them as much as the public does. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the latest accepted revision , reviewed on 18 December For the film directed by Bobby Hacker, see Cars 3 film. For the video game, see Cars 3: Jeremy Lasky camera Kim White lighting [1]. List of Cars characters.
Retrieved 10 June Archived from the original on 2 March Retrieved 26 November Retrieved June 17, Retrieved May 14, Retrieved 24 February Retrieved June 25, Retrieved 23 July Meet Pixar's new millennials".
Retrieved 5 January Retrieved 6 June Retrieved 11 March Retrieved 29 March Retrieved October 29, Retrieved 19 November Retrieved 10 April Retrieved 16 June Retrieved 20 March Retrieved 19 May Retrieved May 21, Pixar's new 'Lou' short tackles playground bullying". Retrieved February 2, Retrieved June 11, Retrieved June 10, Driven to Win Release Date Revealed". This particular unit is the very first example constructed of the second series design that featured louver sail-panels, and was initially purchased by Southern California building construction magnate Tony Parravano who found that the American sanctioning body did not recognize it as a production car.
The car subsequently changed hands before eventually being purchased by Walt Disney Studios for use in the film The Love Bug , the celebrated Disney classic about "Herbie," the racing VW Beetle with a soul. Carandmotors has some images of the Berlinetta during its cinematic career. The Ferrari subsequently fell on hard times, and quite remarkably for a car now in the most valuable in the world, was reportedly abandoned on the Hollywood Freeway at one stage during the seventies. Redemption eventually came, and the story can be read in great detail on the official RM Auctions page.
While the cars above it on this list may have sold for more money, the Batmobile is one of the most significant automobiles in the history of moving pictures. It began a trend of using motor vehicles as stars or co-stars in television series which has since spawned a substantial industry. The car we know as the original Batmobile began life as a concept car: The foot long, two-seat, grand touring car prototype was hand-built in by Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, Italy, and unveiled with pearlescent Frost-Blue livery at the Chicago Auto Show.
As we pointed out when writing up the forthcoming auction of this car , the use of external microphones to transmit ambient noise to the occupants is exactly the opposite of today where automakers go to great lengths to block out such sounds. In , sporting a fresh red paint job, the Futura was recycled into another feature film, It Started with a Kiss , starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. The Futura even appeared on the movie's poster.
George Barris then acquired the vehicle and kept it in his garage for several years. In late , 20th Century Fox Television and William Dozier's Greenway Productions contacted Barris and asked him to produce a car for the heroes to drive in an upcoming television series based on the super successful Batman comic book series. Superheroes with super powers are a dime-a-dozen these days, but prior to the s, they didn't exist, though it could certainly be argued that the Scarlett Pimpernel's plot line has been reused many times since it appeared in the early twentieth century.
Detective Comics began in , and the company's Action Comics series began in June, , introducing Superman in the first issue. Batman too captured the imagination of the public, and Robin the Wonder Boy made his first appearance in Issue 38, dated April, Batman's success spawned a comicbook series of the same name in Spring , and according to Comic Book Brain, the Batmobile made its first appearance in Issue 5 of the Batman comic book.
The success of Superman, Batman et. The list of cars he has created is extensive and can be seen at George's official site, Barris Kustom. The fifth of only seven examples of a hp V12 racing car built specifically for use in events such as the Mille Miglia the MM in its name , it's price has almost nothing to do with its film appearance.
This is a rare and valuable car in its own right. When author Ian Fleming created secret agent James Bond for his novel Casino Royale in , he unwittingly set the imagination of a generation in motion. Bond, not to mention his creator Ian Fleming, and his cohorts gadgetmeister Q, long-suffering boss M and Miss Moneypenny all became famous due to the resulting film franchise, which has become the longest continually-running and second-highest grossing film series ever. The film franchise helped propel the almost-believable fictional super hero into a household name across the globe for his girls, guns and gadgets, with co-producers Albert R.
Broccoli and Harry Saltzman creating the benchmark of excellence for innovative use of multiple mediums and popular culture to imprint each film on the psyche of a generation. Regardless of the aspect of the film, only the very best people were used to create unique signatures for every facet of the movie. Musical signatures were used throughout the movie and in the opening and closing sequences.
Billions of people would recognize the recurring James Bond Theme , Theme , On Her Majesty's Secret Service and even the signature Bond "suspense motif" - an underlying motif played under the main melody to heighten the drama. Music imprints very effectively on the human mind, and every subliminal audio trick in the book was used to creating a distinctive and memorable Bond audiovisual DNA.
Each film's musical score was created by the biggest names in the business: Then the most popular and current performers were employed: Then there were the Bond Girls, always the most beautiful, desirable or interesting women in the world at the time: Even the actors who played Secret Agent , many of whom have significant bodies of film credits to their name, will always be remembered most for their portrayal of Bond, notably Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig plus a few forgettable ones.
Finally bear with us , there were Bond's gadgets, and every technophile no doubt looked forward to the point in the film where the British Secret Service's gadgetmeister of the day Major Boothroyd, Q and Algernon , dispensed out the dastardly clever tools of the trade. The most original and most memorable of Bond's technological advantage was the gadget-festooned Aston Martin DB5 which starred in the films Thunderball and Goldfinger.
Possibly the most famous automobile in the world during the s when Ian Fleming's books became consecutive movie blockbusters, the highly-modified model Aston Martin DB5 was presented by gadgetmeister Q Desmond Llewelyn to Bond Sean Connery complete with. There are images of all of these gadgets in the photo library for this article. As usual when it comes to cars on this list, there's an intriguing story behind the evolution of the car before it graced the screen. Moreover, the vehicle was regularly at Ian Fleming's direct next-door neighbour in Kent - the house which was also used as inspiration for Sir Hugo Drax's residence in the Fleming novel Moonraker.
It seems that although the car was delivered new from Aston Martin to Cunliffe-Lister, it was fitted with a host of non-standard features designed for the owner to use in the execution of his duties: The car which provided the inspiration for this car was recently offered at auction by Coys , but failed to meet reserve. Fleming adapted many real-life scenarios for his novels, and just as the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had roots in reality see below , so too did the film car we saw in Goldfinger.
Film audiences want current cars though, and by the time Goldfinger was ready for production, Aston Martin was selling the DB4 and developing the DB5.
The producers approached Aston Martin, the prototype DB5 was offered and eventually four complete cars were made and used in the film. Not only did the car set the imagination of a generation in motion, it was probably the most successful product placement in history.
Read the full story on the official auction page. With a third place in the Le Mans 24 Hour race, this Porsche is significant in being one of the machines which elevated Porsche from being consistent class winners in FIA World Championship endurance racing to challengers for outright victory.
The full ownership provenance of this rare and desirable Porsche Siffert is best known as a Formula 1 and sports-car racing driver but he was also a classic car collector and trader and it was he who hired it out to the Solar Productions film unit as a running 'prop' used during the filming of Steve McQueen's celebrated motor racing movie 'Le Mans'. It appeared in several scenes in the movie in its Martini International Racing Team livery, as pictured. The full details of that sale and the iconic gadget-festooned DB5's place in movie car history is well documented in our all-time movie car listing.
This car is also a Aston Martin DB5, but was driven by Pierce Brosnan as Bond in the spectacular opening scenes of the movie GoldenEye — a chase through the hills above Monaco with female villain Xenia Onatopp driving a Ferrari One of only 35 built, the Monza is a perfectly restored, matching-numbers example of the car campaigned by Ferrari in the World Sportscar Championship , but had the misfortune to come up against the fabled Mercedes Benz SLR being driven by a rampant Stirling Moss, even then only missing the title by two points.
Sporting a hp kW three-litre four-cylinder engine, the Monza weighed just kg lb with a sleek body penned by Pinin Farina and interpreted by Scaglietti. Neumann set the Monza on an aggressive race program up and down the West Coast that saw it win twice and score another nine podiums at various sportscar racing events, bringing on board, among others, no less a talent than Phil Hill, who would go on to win multiple world championships.
It was eventually leased or perhaps even bought by Stanley Kramer Productions in Hollywood, on its way into movie history. In the story, Australia is the last place on earth where human life survives, but the radiation cloud from all the nuclear bombs is drifting that way. As the survivors struggle to keep stiff their upper lips, he makes the acquaintance of Moira Davidson Ava Gardner , who has already decided there's nothing to live for except the next party, and Dr.
Julian Osborne Fred Astaire , the scientist trying to calculate exactly how long everyone has left to live. Astaire's character has always wanted to be a racing driver, and when the Australians decide to hold the world's very last Grand Prix, Astaire buys this car to enter. The film was shot in and around Melbourne, and the race was to be set at the Phillip Island race track the current venue for the Australian round of the World Superbike Championship and World MotoGP Championship , but in a far more pastoral state than today.
While two days of filming took place at the Phillip Island track, not much footage made it into the movie. The "Australian Grand Prix" takes place with hills in the background and is recognizably shot at Riverside Raceway in California. Stunt drivers Carey Loftin and Dale Van Sickle did the crashes, and some cars were towed to their doom. A DVD of footage from this film is included with the sale of the car, depicting Fred Astaire's character as he charges through wrecked cars and dangerous turns to take the lead.
It's announcement shook the US automobile industry and momentarily halted trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Noted automotive enthusiast King Alfonso had a vast fleet of exquisite cars, but when he was overthrown by the revolution in Spain, he chose his Deusenberg to take into exile with him. Dolores del Rio's husband, Cedric Gibbons, the famous film art director and creator of the 'Oscar' statuette, was also a Duesy owner. The list of high profile owners was a veritable who's who: Given that only Model Js were ever produced, that's quite some clientele.
Its movie provenance is only one of the factors involved in its spectacular price, as the quality of the restoration work on the car puts it at the absolute pinnacle of examples of the marque. In May , it was awarded Best of Show at the second annual Celebration of Automobiles, at the Indianapolis , and it was also featured in Fred Roe's book, "Duesenberg: This is the car driven through the French countryside at ballistic speed by Steve McQueen for the first three minutes and 40 seconds of the film Le Mans.
Spinout was one of the 33 feature films in which the most successful recording artist in history, Elvis Presley, starred. In the film, Mike McCoy Presley is the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The auctioned car was one of just two short-wheelbase Dual Cowl Duesenberg Phaetons with body by Derham Body Company, and was rented by the film studio to be driven by Mike McCoy Presley in the movie to tow his race car.
When Touchstone Pictures decided to remake the cult movie Gone in 60 Seconds , the choice of a hero car to play the role of " Eleanor " a Mustang modified to look like a model in the original movie was equally as important as the male and female leads. Working from Stanford's drawings with Ray Claridge of Cinema Vehicle Services in North Hollywood, wings with new wider wheel arches, a bonnet with a prominent bulge, a deep front valance and side skirts and a spoiler incorporated into the boot lid were designed.
PIAA lights were installed in both the nose and tail and a distinctive billet grille was specified.
Schmidt 17x8-inch wheels finished off the car's external appearance while the interior is standard Shelby with a monster tachometer and a subtle roll cage. Eleanor is essentially unchanged today from when she completed her starring role. Instantly recognisable whether a movie aficionado or not, the Mustang is in very good condition overall. The paintwork, resplendent in metallic Grey with Black stripes, is in excellent condition. The interior is equally fine with carpets and seats clean and free from significant wear or damage. To say the engine sounds healthy would be an understatement. The side exit exhausts make a satisfying and potent rumble, which sets hairs on end.
As seen in the movie, the switch to arm the nitrous oxide system and "go baby go" switch on the gear lever are present and correct. There were numerous Lotus Esprit cars used in the making of these movies, but this one in particular isn't a car - it's a fully functioning submarine. The Lotus look-alike is nonetheless fascinating. Accordingly, the film's producers had to build a submarine that looked like a Lotus Esprit, and they hired Perry Oceanographic in Florida to do the job. Clearly they did a very good job, as the pic above attests.
Llewelyn appeared in more Bond movies than even Sean Connery. The Lotus Esprit was originally designed by Giugaro for Lotus, but when it turned out to be not quite as aerodynamically efficient as its bullet shape and steeply angled windscreen suggested it has a cd of 0. Chapman pictured below was one of the great pioneers of automotive design, particularly in the area of aerodynamics and the Lotus brand he created retains its technological leading edge to this day. Chapman's focus on light weight and aerodynamic efficiency saw him create one of the great Formula One teams, beating Ferrari to become the first team to achieve 50 F1 Grand Prix victories, winning the F1 constructor title in , , , , , and , and producing the cars which won F1 Drivers' Championships for Jim Clark 2 , Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti.
Italdesign persevered with the visually-striking wedge-shaped vehicle and showed the concept at the Turin Motor Show in to great acclaim, reinvigorating Chapman's interest and eventually resulting in one of the marque's most memorable cars amongst many. The star of the movie by the same name , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was inspired by a racing car Ian Fleming author of the book upon which the movie was based plus the James Bond novels which created a movie dynasty had seen at Brooklands racetrack in as a year-old.
Flemming wrote the book for his son Caspar, with the book adapted for the screen by no less than Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes.
Whilst the car was undoubtedly the star of the film, the lead character was played by Dick Van Dyke and the Director was Albert R. Broccoli, the co-producer of the James Bond series of films. The car was actually named Chitty Bang Bang I, a chain-driven monster with a Mercedes-Benz chassis and a two-meter long, 23 liter six cylinder Maybach engine from the famed Zeppelin airship. Fleming appears to have borrowed heavily from not just the car, but the exploits of the driver and racing team which fielded Chitty Bang Bang.
The Zboroswski team took its racing seriously but was one of the first to approach the sport with an eccentric and promotional flair, with one of its trademarks being spectacularly colored checkered Florida golfing caps worn by the driver and crew - something clearly borrowed by Fleming for the movie's star, Caractacus Potts played by Dick Van Dyke.
Zboroswski may have been of independent means, but he was not lacking in talent. He was later signed by no less than the official Mercedes Benz factory team, before his career was prematurely ended at the wheel of one of his beloved racing cars, just as his father had done in Chitty Bang Bang I, the real racing car which inspired at least part of the story, was a fearsome beast, and well described by uniquecarsandparts.
It was built on a custom-designed ladder frame chassis, with many "old world" automotive construction techniques employed. The end result was a car authentic enough to fascinate veteran car aficionados under the scrutiny of 70 mm cinema cameras, and durable enough to withstand everything from driving in sand, cobbled streets and down staircases. The bonnet was crafted of polished aluminum; the boat deck is hand-crafted of red and white cedar built by boat builders in Buckinghamshire, and the array of brass fittings were obtained from Edwardian cars.
Even the alloy dashboard plate is from a British World War I fighter plane! While it was not used in the flying or floating scene, the auction car was the fully-functional road car purpose built for principal shooting and is officially registered with the "GEN 11" plates as seen in the film. We anticipated the stellar price in an article on Gizmag prior to the auction. This car was resold by the auction winner twelve months later because at 17 feet long, it wouldn't fit in his garage. It has subsequently been seen at many promotional events as the subsequent owner was UK motoring enthusiast and media personality Chris Evans.
A car with the lot, plus a bit more. This Rolls-Royce Phantom I Transformal Phaeton was given new to one of history's greatest stars, Marlene Dietrich , by legendary Film director Josef von Sternberg upon her arrival in America to further her already illustrious career. It is one of only two Transformal Phaetons ever made, and appeared conspicuously in Dietrich's first American film, Morocco , in which she starred opposite Gary Cooper, and won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
This superb Mercedes was used in the seventies blockbuster, "The Hindenberg" but its price is entirely related to its rarity and mechanical excellence. Last offered for sale by Brooks' auctions at the Mercedes-Benz Museum sale in April , at that time it was stated that the car had previously been resident in the Busch Museum and was believed to have featured in the airship movie Hindenburg. Duesenberg had won America's premier race, the Indianapolis , three times before the arrival of the Model J and to underline the Model J's competition-based credentials, every chassis built was tested for miles on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before being handed over to a coachbuilder for the construction of bespoke bodywork.
Duesenberg was more than usually mindful of the quality of the coachwork erected on its chassis, for in June the company opened an in-house body-design department whose mission was to create new body styles for individual clients and to liaise between the buyers, factory and the various coachworks. This matched numbers, long chassis Model J was used for several years by Duesenberg owner E.
Cord's wife, but its path to the silver screen took a turn in when it joined John W. De Noira had arrived in California, some eleven years earlier from Portland, Oregon with the intent of setting up a car rental company. He quickly discovered that in California there was a rental market for rare and classic automobiles, and it wasn't long before the movie studios began to tap him for the automobiles they needed for film parts.
Like any sensible business man de Noira set about making sure he had plenty to choose from. To put the size of the operation in perspective, when George Finnerman of Popular Mechanics magazine visited for an article he wrote in February , there were automobiles at Pacific Auto Rental. Some of the cars fluctuated in their popularity with studios, some it was said were featured too frequently in movies and were sold on to make way for others, all the same visiting the business must have been quite a trip!
J, the Judkins Duesenberg seems to have been perennially popular, and over the course of its 48 year tenure it featured in at least seven movies. The first film of the trilogy was the highest-grossing film of and became an international phenomenon, leading to the second and third films and creating one of cinema's most popular and best-loved movie series. Back to the Future spawned an animated television series, a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks at Universal City in California, and Osaka in Japan , plus a multi-platform video game.
In total, the three films in the trilogy were nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Best Sound Editing. One of seven DeLoreans used on-screen in the Back to the Future trilogy, this particular car was used in the drive-in movie scene when Michael J. Fox drives it into the past and lands in to find Doc. It was built completely for off road use. Of the seven DeLoreans used in the series, only three have survived since filming, and this is one of those three - the only one in private hands.
After filming completed, the car sat on the backlot at Universal Studios for about 14 years, with a short time on display at the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles. The other DeLoreans are still owned by Universal Studios, and are usually on display at the theme parks. The car was auctioned with a Universal Studios certificate of authenticity and an original signed Bill of Sale with the Vehicle Identification Number.
It wasn't built in-house, having been outsourced to to former Buick designer Steven Pasteiner to create the concept and we're certain no-one was disappointed - it's a masterpiece. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
But what about us? We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca.
We got it back last night. When I said I would never leave you. And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.