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CHRISTOPHORUS | 359 MOVIES MOVIES CHRISTOPHORUS | 359

TIMELESS LE MANS

Best Porsche fan fi lm of all times: Surveys show that 99.5% of Porsche fans would choose Steve McQueen’s Le Mans (1971) as their sole DVD if stranded on a desert island. Yes, it’s overlong, has continuity errors galore and a threadbare plot, and lacks convincing secondary characters. But Legends these are minor details. After all, the movie consists in large part of original footage of the 24-hour races. From the 917 to two-piece driving suits to of the Big Screen clunky watches, Le Mans is faithfully rendered, and epic rivalries such as that between Porsche and Ferrari Porsche is a cinematic star. Sports from Zuff enhausen are presented in detail. McQueen play key roles in numerous movies. We present twelve was initiator, fi nancier, and actor all in one—coolness personifi ed, as well of the Porsche fi lms we agree are most worth seeing. as a serious Porsche driver off -screen Lights, Camera, Porsche! and a role model for many a male Porsche owner who keeps his key in his left-hand pocket. By Gary Stock Illustrations by Jan Bazing

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BAD FOR GOOD TIME TO GROW UP FRACTURE RISKY

Best bad guy in a Porsche: Much as BUSINESS we hate to think of a villain driving a Porsche, Hollywood does give good Best coming-of-age fi lm featuring rides to bad guys. One member of a Porsche: and his white this category is Sir , BVDs achieved certifi ed stardom in who seems to have a special talent Risky Business (1983), with his dad’s for playing mannered but chilling sleek 928 coupé serving as a key plot malefactors. In Fracture (2007), element and representing his quest he plays an aircraft manufacturer for maturity. Enthusiasts will wince with a breathtaking but unfaithful at the underwater dunking of the wife (Embeth Davidtz). Hopkins’s Legends rare 928. But close your eyes during gorgeous Carrera GT stands in the splash and then open them again stark contrast to the boring wheels of the Big Screen to watch Cruise grow up. of his stolid pursuer . Th e plot is a triple-pretzel-twist version of an aristocratic, somewhat overconfi dent murderer being INNER VALUES caught by a clever prosecutor. Th e car, however, goes free. HARPER

Best use of a Porsche 356 as a symbol of mature masculinity: In Harper (1966), plays Lew Harper, an L.A. private eye from the weathered Humphrey Bogart school updated by way of a Ross Macdonald novel. Harper’s Porsche speedster has seen better days, the driver’s door and fenders are rusted, but the car shows a genera- tion of moviegoers how well it runs regardless of the cosmetics.

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(NOT) ONLY FOR GIRLS TWO DAYS OF TASTE LOOK, BUT DON’T TOUCH NEW MOON 48 HRS. AGAINST ALL

Best reason for a guy to watch a vampire Best use of the Porsche 356 as a symbol ODDS movie made for teenage girls: For anyone of authenticity (part one): In 48 Hrs. who cares about Porsches, the high- (1982) we’re introduced to Eddie Best cautionary tale about irresponsible light of New Moon (2009), the second Murphy as a noisy inmate in prison behavior in a Porsche: Taylor Hack- part of Th e Twilight Saga, is a race blues, but once sprung from the Big ford’s 1984 fi lm-noir remake Against through the Tuscan countryside in House he is revealed to be more than All Odds captures the glittering a 911 Turbo (Type 997). Th e yellow a street hustler. Clue number one shallowness of L.A. nightlife and car looks as if it has been created for is his fl awless Prince of Wales suit. the dangers for a callow football player the sole purpose of romping on curvy But the giveaway is his vintage in becoming too wedded to a cham- Italian roads. Th ere’s a marvelous Porsche 356—Hollywood’s way pagne lifestyle. Today of course the YouTube video of the residents of of telling us that this young man fi lm is most famous for an insanely Montepulciano, where scenes with the has style and depth. Th is time, irresponsible road race on L.A.’s Porsche were shot, showing their policeman Nick Nolte is the master Sunset Boulevard between amazement at the 911. turned pupil. in a 911 Targa and James Woods, the creepy boyfriend of wonderfully beau- Legends tiful Rachel Ward, in a Ferrari. Back of the Big Screen then the movie’s producers had to justify this scene in interviews with MISSION POSSIBLE the caveat “don’t try this at home, CELLULAR folks.” Th at warning to viewers also portends the fi lm’s tragic denouement Best movie featuring a Porsche support- for all its characters. ing an unlikely hero: Th e 2004 suspense fl ick Cellular might seem an odd choice for a Porsche fan; after all, the movie promptly introduces us DRIVING CULTURE to a Porsche owner who is grotesquely self-absorbed. However, the fi lm’s LEGALLY young hero, Chris Evans, ends up screaming around Los Angeles on BLONDE a desperate mission to fi nd the trapped heroine. Porsche owners can laugh Best Porsche that refl ects the character at the overplayed stereotype while also of its driver: Reese Witherspoon is cheering on the 911 Cabriolet’s over- the irrepressible heroine of Legally used brakes and over-revved engine. Blonde (2001), a clash-of-cultures romantic comedy that poses the question, “What happens when a shallow social butterfl y enters an Ivy League law school?” Self-aware and resolute, Witherspoon ignores the snobbishness of assorted intellectuals around her. Th e storyline mandates that her car be impeccably stylish yet also extroverted and possess a certain measure of plucky bravado. Presto, a sapphire blue Boxster that accompa- nies her through each stage of her journey.

50 911 (TYPE 997) CO2 emissions: 275 g/km to 194 g/km, Fuel consumption (combined): 11.7 l/100 km to 8.2 l/100 km 51 CHRISTOPHORUS | 359 MOVIES CHRISTOPHORUS | 359

FOR HIGH FLYERS TOP GUN

Best use of the Porsche 356 as a symbol of authenticity (part two): Th is category is a tie. In Top Gun (1986), Kelly McGillis is an implausibly young and beautiful fl ight-tactics instructor at the Top Gun fi ghter pilots’ school, resisting the well-practiced roman- tic tactics of Tom Cruise. Her restored 356 Cabriolet becomes a symbol of depth and authenticity, and the audience immediately senses that this instructor will teach pilot Maverick a thing or two before the credits roll.

AUTOMOTIVE LOVEMAKING ANIMATION ON SPEED MISSION: CARS

IMPOSSIBLE II Best movie with a Porsche in a speaking role: Th e 2006 classic fi lm Cars Best cinematic spin in a Porsche: features fl awless computer animation, No real-life encounter will ever attain a beguiling plot for the whole family, the sheer perfection of the pas de and Paul Newman in one of his last deux in Mission: Impossible II (2000). vocal roles. But the real show-stealer After a verbal fl irtation with Th andie is sassy Sally Carrera, the blue Porsche Newton, Tom Cruise pursues her over 911 Carrera Coupé with a heart of the narrow mountain roads of Anda- gold, voiced to perfection by Bonnie Legends lusia on a golden summer day. With Hunt. As the big-city gal who settles Cruise at the wheel of a 911 Cabriolet in fi ctional and of the Big Screen and Newton driving an Audi TT then wins the heart of hero Lightning convertible, the stage is set for strate- McQueen, Sally represents every gically placed gravel to get both cars lady who ever found that love is more spinning side by side in a ballet of about truth than appearances. As Have we left out your favorite? perfect concentric circles, as the two for the sequel (), let’s just say Do you agree with our choices? soon-to-be intimates gaze at each Sally was bound to it by contract. Let us know: another desirously—a choreography [email protected] of automotive lovemaking.

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