Motor Trend - November 2000

Every racing fool has seen "Le Mans," Steve McQueen's self-driven attempt at creating the ultimate racing movie. And for many, it is: After all, any film that's 20 minutes old before the star speaks his first words can't be all bad. Who needs all that chatter when you've got wailing Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s to watch. McQueen was at the peak of his cult powers in 1970: handsomely masculine, an actor's actor, and a more-than-capable race driver. And a perfectionist at all three.

Every film is loaded with its behind-the-scenes stories. "Le Mans" is no different, and then some. Just shy of 30 years after the 1971 release of "Le Mans," another filmaker/race driver, this one named Michael Keyser, has packed the whole drama - on screen and off - into this fabulous book. Keyser notes: "True, he was an actor, but lurking just beneath the surface was another Steve. Steve, the racer. He made "Le Mans" for racers like himself, not for critics." The movie takes place around the 1970 race, which turned out to be Porsche's first victory at Le Mans. Naturally, McQueen has himself cast as one of the Porsche team drivers.

"French Kiss" is worth its price for the archival photography alone, although the primary research material and interview commentary bring into crisp focus the movie's era and background. The book ends up telling three stories: a look at McQueen, the man and the actor; a substantive tome about Le Mans as a motor race; and a documentary piece about the making of the film bearing its name. A bookshelf must.
-M.S.