On the Pole

The camera is in the back of famous racing driver Eddie Sachs’s car – a shiny new 1959 Buick sedan – as he drives to the circuit where the next day he’ll line up in pole position for the Indianapolis 500, the most famous car race in the United States. The year is 1960. Talking over his shoulder, Sachs speaks in detail and with fervor about the technical aspects of racing, about his near-fatal accident in the previous year’s race and how he has prepared for the race ahead. This is a masterly opening to a documentary about car racing that has since become recognized as a classic of the genre. The hands of several masters are revealed in the final credits: legendary filmmakers Richard Leacock, D. A. Pennebaker, Bill Ray, Abbot Mills and Albert Maysles all worked on this documentary. The atmosphere of the race, the personality of the driver and the anxiety felt by his wife are all recorded with merciless accuracy. The cameras are everywhere, not missing a single detail, including the accidents – but respecting Sachs’s dignity when he’s unable to hold back tears just before the start, and after a quick prayer.