Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic dB
Perhaps...but the Italian driver smiled back at McQueen after he did it to him.... there was a comaraderie between the 2 drivers.... imo, McQueen's character did not do it as an insult.... i think it was more of a whimsical statement out of sportsmanship.... after all, his character ran interference allowing his teammate to actually win the race...
imo... he was gesturing to the driver something like "gotcha this time, but we live to fight another day, it was fun..."
also...he could have simply been gesturing "2nd place... damn oh well" to which the Italian driver smiled back....
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Well, back to the movie, then. I didn't feel that way about the gesture. Yes, McQ's #21 blocked the Ferrari and we'll never know why. The 2 cars were so far behind that the fact that they caught up with the 22 Porsche should have made them both faster than the lead car. After all, that was why McQ's character was placed in the car removing the original starting driver.
So, they get 2nd and 3rd and McQ spots the Italian and flips him a sign that American censors would leave alone. To me, he was saying something a little more than
gotcha. However, I do fully accept that it was not a mean gesture. There was just enough smirk on Steve's face to say, "That's how it works with me, pal." The other driver seems to reply with his facial expression, "Touche'." Hey, it's a movie and they left a bit there for us to figure out. That's good movie making for a marginal plot movie.
I saw LM the 1st time on an afternoon near the college when the theater had ONE screen and 2 movies per show. I have no idea what the other one was. After the smarmy "Gran Prix" deal, it was a terrific thing to watch on the big screen. In fact, it may have been GP.