I know this review is coming a little late, but the movie ‘Ford v Ferrari’ is American capitalist propaganda

A (long) thread

In what other context would one of the largest corporations in the world outspending the little guy to beat him at a race be the hero of the story?

In a movie, would a politician from out of town outspending their opponent and buying the election be the hero? No.

In the movie you might notice on the back of the Ferraris the word “PROVA” is written in white paint. Except (and this isn’t shown in the movie) that’s not white paint, it’s white shoe polish.

Ferrari was so poor, they couldn’t afford white paint.

I know we think of Ferrari today as synonymous with success and fortune, but in the ‘50s and ‘60s they were a racing team struggling to make ends meet in postwar Italy. They spent all the money they had on racing.

And the movie completely glosses over the production of the cars. Ford could afford metal stamping and mass production, but Ferrari? Every piece of sheet metal on that beautiful P3 was beaten into shape by hand with a hammer by a talented craftsman.

So long story short, Ford tries to buy Ferrari, but then the deal falls through. Happens in business all the time.

But instead of being cool about it, Henry Ford II decided to beat Ferrari at the race they always win - The 24 Hours of Le Mans

Keep in mind, Ferrari was building cars by hand in basically a fancy shed, and Ford was, in 1965, the third largest corporation in America.

And this is where the movie really starts to lie.

Carroll Shelby was a talented car and engine designer. No one should dispute that. But the movie makes it look like he built the Ford GT40 from scratch. That COULD NOT be further from the truth.

The truth is much, much dumber.

Ford bought the rights to the Lola GT, a pre-existing Le Mans racecar, took the body panels off, put their own on, and called it the Ford GT40.

And don’t get me wrong, I love the GT40. But it’s really a Lola GT with prettier body panels and a Ford engine.

Shelby’s contribution to the car was almost entirely engine-based. He put the 7-liter Ford V8 in the car, and a couple of other things like clever brakes and stuff like that, but the movie makes it look like he built the car from scratch. He did not.

Ford was so breathtakingly rich that, before the race, when the GT40s’ windshields broke, they flew new windshields to France overnight on a Boeing 707. They had bottomless cash.

So here’s the deal. Ford started a grudge match with a small Italian company and spend hundreds of millions of dollars just to beat them at a race.

Ford is the villain of the story. And that’s why the movie made Shelby the hero. But in doing so, it flat out lied to the viewer.

If this movie was produced in France, Spain, Argentina - any other country - do you think the third largest corporation in America outspending a small group of talented craftsmen over a perceived slight would be the good guy? No. Not even slightly. The movie is a lie.

Ferrari should have been the protagonist of the story. ‘Ford v Ferrari’ could have been a genuine and compelling tragedy, but instead its creators chose the wrong side because that way American industrial might wins in the end.

Propaganda.