WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Ferrari.
Michael Mann’s twelfth directorial effort Ferrari portrays the life and struggles of the real-life Enzo Ferrari during the 1950s as the face of the luxury car and racing brand. Adam Driver gives a powerful performance as the titular protagonist alongside an unstoppable display from Penelope Cruz as Enzo’s wife, Laura Ferrari. Mann, who is best known for his highly stylized and fast-paced crime thrillers, does an excellent job at providing some heart-pounding action sequences that lead toward a tragic end, which would change the world of racing forever.
The ending of Ferrari recreates the fatal crash at the 1957 Mille Miglia, which was an incredibly challenging 1,000-mile race across Italy. Mann expressed that there were many different accounts of what exactly happened during the tragic accident, which makes sense considering nearly all of the accounts were based on witness testimony in the era before extensive camera coverage. Mann was able to ascertain the most accurate depiction of the incident, which he displayed at the end of the film. Mann said of the gruesome scene, “The tire got punctured, that it hit a mile marker that launched the car in the air, that it was doing between 140 and 160 when it hit a telephone pole. The wires may have severed his body. We’re not sure how that happened, but they found his body in three pieces.”
Every Movie Portrayal Of Enzo Ferrari, Ranked
Adam Driver gives a dynamic performance as Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s Ferrari, but where does he rank amongst other actors’ portrayals?
Enzo Ferrari Merged His Company With Fiat
After the events depicted at the end of Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari and the tire manufacturer Englebert were charged with manslaughter after the 1957 crash killed nine spectators, five of whom were only children. They would go go to fight legal battles and avoid jail time until the case was finally dismissed in 1961. According to Biography, “Ferrari lost the services of several top engineers and executives in the “Palace Revolt” of 1961, reportedly after a dustup over the intruding presence of his wife. Two years later, he engaged in serious talks with the Ford Motor Company about merging their operations, before pulling out at the last minute due to concerns over a loss of control.”
Eventually, Ferrari merged his company with Fiat in 1969, which required him to forfeit some of the controlling aspects of his Ferrari brand. Because of his pervasive financial issues, he was forced to sell a 50% stake in his company to Fiat during the time of the merger. Enzo Ferrari retired as President of Ferrari in 1977 but retained control of the business even after stepping away from that role. His wife, Laura, died one year later at the age of 78. Before agreeing to a deal with Fiat in 1969, Ferrari enjoyed continued success at Le Mans and Formula One throughout the 1960s.
Ferrari Fact Check: 8 Biggest True Story Changes & Inaccuracies
Michael Mann’s Ferrari, which stars Adam Driver as the indefatigable Enzo Ferrari, has more historical twists and turns than the Mille Miglia.
Ferrari’s Racing Team Experienced More Tragedy Under Enzo
As depicted in Michael Mann’s Ferrari through Adam Driver’s convincing portrayal, Enzo Ferrari was a force to be reckoned with and had an incredibly strong personality that would often rub people the wrong way, even his closest business associates. In 1962, many of these conflicts came to a head when a group of Ferrari’s key figures, including two managers, Girolamo Gardini and Romolo Tavoni, as well as Ferrari’s chief engineer Carlo Chiti and development head Giotto Bizzarrini, left Ferrari to start Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS) in an attempt to become one of Ferrari’s biggest rivals, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
Even after the so-called “Great Walkout” at Ferrari, more tragedy struck the seemingly undefeatable company and the man behind the operation. Much of the tragedy came at the expense of the drivers, whom Ferrari was often accused of intentionally pitting against each other in order to force competitive rivalries between them. The real tragedy, however, was the increasing death toll between 1955 and 1971, which saw eight Ferrari drivers killed in Ferrari racing cars. These drivers include Alberto Ascari, Eugenio Castellotti, Alfonso de Portago, Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, Wolfgang von Trips, Lorenzo Bandini, and Ignazio Giunti.
Enzo Ferrari Died In 1988
Enzo Ferrari lived to the age of 90, dying of leukemia on August 14, 1988, in Maranello, Italy. The last product launch that Enzo was alive to witness was the Ferrari F40. In 2002, Ferrari released the Enzo in honor of its founder. The Italian Grand Prix took place only weeks after Ferrari’s death and featured two Ferrari divers in the number one and number two positions, defeating the heavily favored McLaren. Ferrari also received an honorary degree in physics from the University of Modena shortly before his death. His cars had won more than 4,000 races and 13 world championships during his lifetime and he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Ferrari
Ferrari is a dramatized biopic about Enzo Ferrari, detailing his family problems and his struggle to prepare for the 1957 Mille Miglia. The film stars Adam driver as Enzo Ferrari, alongside Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, and Gabriel Leone. Heat director Michael Mann helms the film and also worked on Ferrari’s script.
- Release Date
- December 25, 2023
- Director
- Adam Driver , Shailene Woodley , Jack O’Connell , Sarah Gadon , Penelope Cruz , Patrick Dempsey
- Cast
- Michael Mann , Brock Yates
- Rating
- Not Yet Rated
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Genres
- Biography , Drama , History
- Writers
- Troy Kennedy-Martin , Michael Mann , Brock Yates
- Budget
- $90 Million
- Studio(s)
- STXfilms , Moto Productions , Forward Pass , Le Grisbi Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment , Esme Grace Media , Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Neon , STXfilms
