The 1957 Mille Miglia crash sequence is one of the film’s most impactful moments. <\/p>
Perhaps the most impactful moment in Michael Mann\u2019s new film Ferrari comes late in the runtime: the fatal crash at the 1957 Mille Miglia road race, which killed racer Alfonso de Portago<\/a> and 10 others.<\/p>\n The crash and its aftermath are recreated in shocking, graphic detail, and prior to the film\u2019s release, Mann spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> about how he approached putting the scene together.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first step is\u2026 what really happened?\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I always go there, sometimes I find out what really happened [and] I reject it, [but] usually what really happens or the way people really are is very impressive and is better than stuff people make up.\u201d<\/p> He went on to explain that a member of staff at Ferrari\u2019s Classiche Department \u2013 where they do restorations \u2013 had gone to the prefecture in Mantua, where the accident happened, and had pulled out the actual files from the time.<\/p>\n \u201c[There were] reports, diagrams, blueprints of exactly that accident which they investigated for two years,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so, we knew exactly the distances and we duplicated all the distances.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to [De Portago] historically has always been misstated, and in the forensic report we found out exactly how De Portago ended up and that\u2019s how I staged it and duplicated it.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that while he was preparing for the sequence, he had also looked at another horrendous crash that had occurred at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1955, which had killed 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n