1:42.08 (1966) User Reviews

Good learning experience

[Polaris_DiB · 5/10 · 24 September 2007]

Student films are often only interesting for students, it's true, and this would be a film that possibly proves it. As a work exploring cinematography and editing, it's very interesting. As a story, or narrative, or really much of anything, it's pretty dull. This movie is one action: a race-car driver test-driving a vehicle around a course. Lucas captures the progress of the car around with very impressive editing and sound effects (Lucas' primary influence on cinema really resides in the realm of sound, when you think about it). The pacing changes via editing effects as different events happen such as the car spinning out. Then it stops, the movie literally wraps up, and the movie's over.

--PolarisDiB

Pete Brock drives a Lotus at Riverside.

[Winchell43 · 9 May 2001]

USC film student George Lucas always liked cars. He hung around Carroll Shelby's firm enough to convince the Shelby Daytona designer, Pete Brock, to drive a borrowed Lotus around the Riverside track. There are no words in the movie, but see if you can read Pete's lips when he spins out.

Nice cinematography for a student.

Only if you really love automobiles

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 5 May 2016]

"1:42.08" is an 8-minute live action short film from 50 years ago. And the maker here is the famous George Lucas, the man behind "Star Wars". I wish I could say this is a good film, but it absolutely is not. I can't even say it's okay as he was still in his early 20s, but it's just too weak. You may enjoy the race action and sounds if you like car racing, but otherwise there is absolutely no reason to watch this one. Also from a documentary perspective, it is not good as we have no idea where this takes place, who is driving etc. I can tolerate this film as it helped Lucas in improving I guess, but it is still nothing special at all. Thumbs down and you should watch something else instead.

Pete Brock drives a Lotus at Willow Springs

[moviefan069 · 7/10 · 8 September 2010]

George Lucas made this as his USC film school senior project at Willow Springs, a race track outside of Rosamond, CA, and near Los Angeles. Filming of the Lotus 23 on-track was done with a specially modified Corvair camera vehicle. The film helped identify Lucas as a latent gear-head; he's also credited on IMDb as "additional camera operator" on the racing classic "Grand Prix" in the same year (1966). His "American Graffiti" ode to the '60s later confirmed his interest.

Pete Brock, designated driver for the Lotus, achieved significant status of his own in the automobile world. Among his credits: 1) designer of the world-champion Cobra Daytona Coupe that bested Ferrari's GTO in international sports car competition, 2) contributing designer to the original Chevrolet Stingray concept and other projects while at GM, 3) team owner/manager of Brock Racing Enterprises, which helped establish Datsun as a household word through numerous victories on U.S. tracks in the '60s and '70s.

faster - more intense

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 4 February 2017]

This is little more than George Lucas's indulgences coming at a cross-section, his love of race car driving (he stopped doing it after an accident just regular driving as a teen nearly killed him) mixed with his love of impressionistic, "tone-poem" style filmmaking, and the two modes mesh well together. Here, in his first color and sync-sound production, Lucas has the story of a driver who is trying to make the timing right at the mark of the time of the title. There's not much story here except for one key thing: if at first you spin off during a bad turn, you have to try again. And really the power and strength is in the editing; while Lucas had some help in assembling the footage, this feels like the best indication of where his head was at for the future of his films. This isn't as intense a style of montage as he would employ in something like the Star Wars Death Star dogfight... actually, no, it's more intense than that in some spots, and in others Lucas takes his shots longer to spend on seeing the car from afar (there's also a few, though brief, from inside the driver's POV). It's a cool little short, but if you're not fully interested in Lucas's more logistical approach to montage and composition, it may leave one cold.

A Good Racing Film By George Lucas?

[bethlori · 10/10 · 6 June 2022]

This Movie depicts George Lucas in his Racing Days( he had a very bad accident that nearly killed him) it has no words in it and has a lot of intense racing in the short! This is just George Lucas Short Film Gold!!

As Always, Excellent Craft

[Tornado_Sam · 11 February 2021]

"1:42.08" remains, in my opinion, one of the lesser George Lucas student films due to it's lack of a strong concept or idea to convey during the runtime. There is no real story to speak of for the five minutes or so that it runs, and this certainly doesn't allow any room for an idea to begin with, as in earlier films like "Herbie" and "Freiheit", which are both solid examples of a good student film. The technical skills displayed within those latter two works are likewise showcased here, always remaining excellent for a student work, and if anything, this brief film is more like in exercise in these skills with nothing more to stand on than that. Not a bad thing, as it does give more focus and highlights this aspect, but at the same time, it feels a lot emptier in general, even for one watching it for these things alone.

The title of this short refers to how long it takes Pete Brock to complete a full lap in his race car - the subject of the film. That's all this film really consists of - footage of first the car being readied, then the remainder taken up with views of Brock completing his lap. The setup certainly gives the filmmaker an opportunity to show off good camerawork and editing, and both are indeed included - with great stationary shots, tracking shots, and even an airplane view all nicely mixed together. Very well made indeed, with excellent craftsmanship, but not the most interesting thing to watch for the average viewer. Without a real story, it comes off more like a documentary that can only really be appreciated if seen for the technical side alone - and hence something that only a buff of independent films (like myself) would be interested in.

Good Short from Lucas

[Michael_Elliott · 25 May 2015]

1:42.08 (1966)

*** (out of 4)

This seven-minute short is one that was done by George Lucas for his Senior Project while at USC. From what I've read, Peter Brock actually borrowed a car so that Lucas could film it doing laps at a race track. The title refers to the amount of time it took to complete a lap. For the most part this here is a pretty entertaining film thanks in large part to the way it was filmed and for the sound. The various sounds captured as the car flies around the track was put to good use and it certainly makes you feel as if you're right there inside the car. There were some nice shots including one where the camera was placed at the front of the car giving you a terrific view. There's certainly nothing here that would lead you to believe Lucas would become somewhat of an icon but it's certainly worth watching.