Product Description
THE SPEED MERCHANTS is the story of the 1972 manufacturer’s Championship Series as told by drivers Mario Andretti (Ferrari 312P) and Vic Elford (Alfa Romeo T33TT/3). The film takes you behind the scenes at Daytona, Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nurburgring, Le Mans and Watkins Glen, focusing on Mario and Vic, as well as Jacky Ickx, Helmut Marko, and Brian Redman. You visit with the drivers at their homes in France, Belgium, Austria and England where they relax with their families between races. Woven into the film is rare footage of both the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo factories where the cars are prepared before each race. Backed by an original musical score, THE SPEED MERCHANTS gives an unforgettable look at a year in the life of the international racing circuit. 95 minutes.
The music (download link above) was composed by Paul Harris who played keyboards for Stephen Stills in Manassas.
THE MOST GRAPHICALLY STUNNING, PERCEPTIVE, PENETRATING, FASCINATING VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF MOTOR RACING THAT HAS EVER BEEN DONE…The insights are brief, dazzling, lyrical and suggestive rather than insistent…For someone already drenched in motorsports, it is a first-time view. For someone who has never before been involved, it comes as a bright fresh world filled with references to the everyday human condition…Michael Keyser’s story of the Championship of Makes 1972 sets a whole new standard in motor racing films.
– Leon Mandel AUTOWEEK
THE SPEED MERCHANTS is a labor of love, a eulogy to racing by an insider. For comparison, it is superior to Steve McQueen’s LE MANS both as a narrative and as a technical exercise, and some of its technology matches the best of John Frankenheimer’s 1966 movie, GRAND PRIX… Continuity is provided by illuminating interviews that provide deeply human insights.
– John Radosta THE NEW YORK TIMES
We’re here to tell you that at last, and perhaps for the first time, a film has been made that genuinely communicates racing. Where John Frankenheimer, James Garner, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen fell short, Michael Keyser has triumphed…THE SPEED MERCHANTS is definitive. Supported by a superb musical score you’ll have to own after seeing the film, it (the music) has the same integral importance to the film as the music for A MAN AND A WOMAN. Indeed, the entire film has that kind of integrity. But better still, this movie is about reality, about live men with the same names and the same feelings. Please believe this; I know most of these men, and the movie is the way they really are…The color and the poetry of the film is icing, wondrous icing, on the cake.
– Ted West AUTOWEEK
The timelessness of the themes along with the quality of the production make THE SPEED MERCHANTS both relevant and entertaining.
– David Junker FERRARI CLUB OF AMERICA
THE SPEED MERCHANTS provides as accurate a feeling for what the life of a professional driver must be like as we are likely to see. Production quality is as good as anything you’ll find today, and phenomenal for a video from film nearly 25 years old. It is one of the most enjoyable racing videos I’ve seen and is highly recommended
– David Woodhouse VINTAGE MOTORSPORT
THE SPEED MERCHANTS is a must-see, must-have video for any racing addict. I just didn’t want the film to end. Like the Energizer Bunny, I wanted it to keep going, and going
– Doug Darling ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB