Winning (1969)

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

From very near the start, Newman and Woodward look so comfortable in each others presence. Well, they had been married for eleven years by then! There are other films where the "married" couple just look as though they are acting, and are not real. Here, it is so different and makes watching the rest of it worthwhile, and pleasant.OK, so we know that neither Newman nor Kapua won the 1968 Indy 500, so-what? It is easy to join in the excitement and appreciate the drama. The joining of real footage, especially of the first-lap pile-up is neatly and realistically done.Coping with infidelity is always going to be hard, by both partners, here they do it OK.Richard Thomas as the adopted son is good enough and led me to then watch his simply brilliant "All Quiet on the Western Front".

I saw this "movie" in Charlotte, NC in 1969 as a 1st run, special release. Just saw it again on an obscure cable network (AntenaTV) that specializes in older (1950's to 1970's) TV and film. This weekend was a "Newman's Own Weekend" and one of the films shown was "Winning". In 1969 it was a 1st Date Movie & Dinner with the man I would eventually marry. He hated it (except for the soundtrack)and I loved it. Just enough soap mixed with the right amount of macho to please most. Admittedly, this was obviously Paul Newman's reason to get behind the wheel; the story/screenplay was about mid-line, but the duo of Newman & Woodward was enough to please most and Robert Wagner being ROBERT WAGNER didn't hurt. Also John Boy got face time with the A-Team. Dave Grusin's soundtrack takes me back 45 years; armed with a box of buttered popcorn, large fountain cherry Coke, trying to be a nice cool girl and hoping for the 2nd date. Thank you Paul and Joanne and Robert and Dave Grusin. You all shares so many gifts with us.

I am a big fan of Paul Newman but this must be one of his lowest films, even though he is OK at it. I think this movie deserves 5.5 stars.One of the biggest problems is that it last 120 minutes, it should have lasted 20 minutes less. I think the plot was good but not the way it was developed.What I liked the most was the final scene between Paul and Joanne, this scene deserved to be in a much better movie. The race scenes are good.Frank Capua is a car racer who gets married with Elora who has a 16 years old son who gets along with him, but there will be serious problems in the couple when he puts his career before her...........I recommend watching it if it's on TV and you like old race cars movies or if you are a Paul Newman's die hard fan

Fans of Newman can hardly skip this lesser entry in his sizable filmography as he's shown off to his best advantage throughout. He plays a race car driver (of varying kinds) who one night, after a big win, meets up with a lonely single mother (Woodward) and sweeps her off her feet. They set off on a whirlwind courtship, ending in marriage, and Newman agrees to adopt her teen son (Thomas) whose life has lacked a father figure. Things run swimmingly until Newman has to go off on to the racing circuit, leaving Woodward alone to stew and return to her previous, lonesome life. A reunion at the Indy 500 does not go as well as either of them had hoped and soon their marriage in jeopardy. Newman has trouble separating his worries about his wife from his duties on the track. Meanwhile, Thomas is torn between his mother and his new father, who he looks up to and adores. Also, fellow racer Wagner is always right there, ready to take any and all trophies away from Newman if he can. On the surface, this seems like a film about racing, but it's really a domestic drama examining Newman and Woodward's relationship and the hazards of not communicating properly with one another. It's also a fable illustrating that "winning isn't everything", a point that is driven home not so subtly. When they talk about Newman's baby blue eyes, this is a film that really shows them off. His sun-kissed face provides the perfect setting for his piercing, gorgeous eyes. He does a lot of brooding in the film, but there are fun moments as well. He gets to show many sides to his persona and looks terrific in the clean, trim sportswear of the era (and shows off his fit figure in a brief swimming scene.) Woodward gives a solid, thoughtful performance as well, though her various Edith Head get-ups have not aged as nicely as Newman's wardrobe. At one point, to help get Newman's attention focused back on her, she dons a really frumpy wig which, thankfully, doesn't stay around too long. Thomas, in his film debut, makes a strong impression. The director would later use him in "Red Sky at Morning". He, along with the other leads, has a tendency to open his mouth as if to say something, but then doesn't, which can be a little tiresome, but it does aid the point that these people have trouble saying what they really want to say. Wagner is a prop more than anything... a plot device, but he does manage to get one fairly decent scene in towards the end. The film has a fast-cutting, rapid editing style that does help move it along, though truly it is a tad long for the story it has to tell. Though the authentic footage from the Indianapolis 500 is fascinating in its nostalgia and gives the film unquestionable "you are there" realism, a bit of it, along with some other sections, might have been trimmed to allow for a better-greased movie. The fast-clip pacing and thoughtful relationship drama would be completely absent from Newman and director Goldstone's later work, the abysmal "When Time Ran Out". Composer Grusin provides a bouncy, sometimes goofy, but always interesting, score. This film kicked off a love of racing in Newman which lasted the rest of his life, causing one of the few points of contention in his lengthy, real-life marriage to Woodward as she could rarely bear to watch him on the dangerous track.