RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Great Race
The Great Race

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Great Race (1965)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
75 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:20

Fresh:15

Rotten:5

Average Rating:6.1/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 43 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: A tribute to masters of slapstick Laurel and Hardy, Blake Edwards's spectacular farce stars Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood. In 1908 New York, the evil, black-clad Professor Fate... A tribute to masters of slapstick Laurel and Hardy, Blake Edwards's spectacular farce stars Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood. In 1908 New York, the evil, black-clad Professor Fate (Lemmon) challenges the Great Leslie (Curtis), a heroic daredevil who wears only white, to a 22,000-mile New York-to-Paris race. As the race gets under way, Fate eliminates all the other contestants through nefarious means except for feminist Maggie Dubois (Wood). But when her car breaks down on its own, she's forced to ride with Leslie, who has his hands full trying to avoid being obliterated by the artillery-laden Hannibal 8 that carries Fate. After getting into a brawl in the wild West and riding an ice floe across the Bering Strait to Siberia, Fate kidnaps Maggie, and the racing teams make an extended soujourn in Carpania as Edwards parodies THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. Then the dastardly Baron von Shtuppe (Ross Martin) tries to take advantage of Fate's resemblance to their ruler, Prince Hapnick, to start a revolution. This enjoyable, out-of-control spectacle, loaded with hysterical sight gags and routines from the silent comedy era, features good work from Lemmon, Martin, and Peter Falk as Fate's henchman, Max. The film was the basis for the WACKY RACES animated children's series. [More]

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Blake Edwards, Arthur O'Connell, Vivian Vance, Dorothy Provine, Larry Storch, Ross Martin, Marvin Kaplan

Director: Blake Edwards

Director: Blake Edwards
Composer: Henry Mancini
Story: Arthur Ross, Blake Edwards
Screenwriter: Arthur Ross
Producer: Martin Jurow

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 4, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Great Race

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Laughs aplenty! Lemmon is hilarious!

comment Comment
10/26/08
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Tsunami Magazine

Both panned and praised when it was released, this zany cross-continental romp zooms ahead full throttle for all of its 157 minutes.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/06/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Lemmon plays it dirty throughout and for huge effect. Curtis underplays for equally comic effect. Wood comes through on a par with the two male stars.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/06/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is one of those spectacular comedy star vehicles which is perfectly watchable on a wet Sunday afternoon but which, looked at from almost any other perspective, is just a waste of celluloid.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/06/08
Channel 4 Film

No review available.

comment Comment
12/09/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
10/09/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
09/23/05
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

Not a great film but one with some funny moments and line of stars.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/02/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk save this overblown comedy that tries too hard to be too slapstick.

comment Comment
06/26/03
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Everything a farce should be, played straight while being seriously silly.

comment Comment
04/27/03
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
01/21/03
Josh Gilchrist
Josh Gilchrist
Billings Outpost (Montana)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/30/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Goofy and overblown, but still hard to resist.

comment Comment
12/30/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

A lumbering behemoth of 160 minutes of overproduced, overbearing overkill.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/21/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

An amiable comedy full of chase, chase, fall-down, chase.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

...a boisterous, madcap chase film that overstays its welcome but provides enough laughs along the way to make up for its shortcomings.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
06/20/02
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

It's highly inventive, self-conscious camp, made in 1965, well before the genre wore itself out in superciliousness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, posters, and videos!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What to Watch?

What to Watch?

Read our Holiday Movie Preview!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
76
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
63
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
128
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
73
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
68
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
38
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos
32
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
28
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Great Race at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.