FORD v HOLDEN
Australia, 2023, 99 minutes, Colour.
Narrated by Shane Jacobson.
Directed by Serge Ou, Martin Baker.
If there can be a title, headline, Ford versus Ferrari, why not a story of Australian car rivalries? And here it is.
Older Australians have vivid memories of what the rivalry was like. But, since the 2010s, and manufacturing coming to an end in Australia, the younger generation needs this kind of documentary to inform them about this automobile past.
The narrator of the film is Shane Jacobson, popular from his film Kenny, a strong presence on stage and screen. And, there are many talking heads, writers, journalists, observers, academics… And they offer quite a range of reflections. (Shane Jacobson is not seen until a final glimpse before the final credits.)
The opening of the film offers a historical survey, going back to the early days of cars, the American influence, the 1920s, but very much a focus on the end of World War II, the developments of the late 1940s and the rivalries in the ensuing decades, a great deal of attention given to the 1960s and 1970s.
For those interested in manufacture, there is a great deal of information and visuals of developments of design, the elements of production, the factories, assembly lines, but also advertising and promotion, and emerging of the use of sexual imagery and gimmicks for enticing the potential buyers.
The voice-overs just provide the descriptions, reminding us of popular names, FJ Holden, FX Holden, Kingswood, Monaro… as well as Ford and its Valiant’s.
Which means then that a great deal of attention is given to look and styles of the cars of the two companies, what they meant for their owners, especially families, and, from the 1970s, women driving these cars. Emphasis on the motivations for buying the cars, detailed picture of some of the tests, some of the drives – in difficult terrain, to prove that the Holdens were better for Australian situations, roads, range of countries than the Ford cars.
There is a great deal on Bathurst Panorama, excerpts from the races over the several decades, the careers of such drivers as Colin Jones, Peter Brock, Alan Moffat and their rivalries. Many scenes of the crowds and their excitement.
Then, towards end of the century, the production of cars in Japan and their importation, changing perspectives, changing buying habits. Always issues of popularity, price, and marketing.
Finally, there is decline in production, crisis for the Americans and Fords, Australian government factors, and the decline of General Motors in Australia.
There is some pathos at the end of the film, the closure of the factories, moving into a different 21st-century and Australians and their use and selection of their automobiles.
