The success of the film Ferrari, a true masterpiece, makes us reflect on how passion always makes the difference. Director Michael Mann has in fact sent on stage all of Enzo Ferrari's historic collaborators, the mechanics of the old F1 team in the roles of extras and – above all – he has looked for actors who are as passionate as possible. Hence the role of Piero Taruffi entrusted to Patrick Dempsey (third in the GT Class of the 24 Hours of Daytona and second in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans) and that of Stirling Moss entrusted to the legendary The Stig, the mysterious Top Gear driver of the century Ben Collins. Their support, during the very long processing times, was fundamental to giving credibility to the film.
But there is also another key aspect of the Ferrari film: the stage presence of the cars: a fleet of almost 400 vintage cars and some meticulous copies made the difference.
Showcasing vintage cars that crash and burn in the film posed an extraordinary challenge: Danny Trihook, the visual supervisor of “Ferrari”, procured 393 vehicles, “a treasure – he explains – which required its own huge transport. We couldn't drive them on the road to get them to set due to insurance issues (some are worth millions). So we had to use 333 car transporters.”
Trihook made use of the services of Ferrari Classiche, the brand's in-house archive and restoration centre: they helped verify which vehicles may have been on the roads in 1957, when the film is set. But great support also came from important collectors who agreed to lend their jewels for the film.
Then the manufacturers also involved Carrozzeria Campana, a 76-year-old family-run automotive manufacturing and restoration shop based in Modena. “They were asked – continues Trihook – to build nine replicas for the film: three Ferrari 355 S, two Ferrari 315 S, two Ferrari 801 F1 and two Maserati 450S”.
Then the bodies were digitally scanned. Some were rebuilt in fiberglass and later in metal for scenes involving collisions and accidents. “Because when Michael needed a car accident, he wanted to see the actual accident,” explains Rita Campana, granddaughter of the founder of the Modena atelier. “If you crash a fiberglass car, all you see is the fiberglass breaking. It doesn't crash like an aluminum car.”
And then there is the chapter of sound: of fundamental importance in a film about car racing. This is why director Mann wanted to capture the music of these cars at speed: accelerating, changing, braking, suddenly steering. This required driving the cars in a sort of simulacrum of the racing experience, on a closed course, full of microphones.
“We had a couple in the engine compartment, a couple in the cabin and two on the tailpipes because that's where the magic happens,” explains Tonyi Lamberti, the Oscar-winning sound editor who worked on “Ferrari.” Here is the secret of a film that continues to fascinate fans all over the world.
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