The Snake & The Stallion - best Cobra documentary ever

[petrolheadSL]

Thought this might be of interest-

Spirit Level Film are doing a special offer on their awesome Cobra doc, the Snake and the Stallion, $15 discount here

‘The Snake and the Stallion’ vividly documents the legendary rivalry between Texas chicken farmer turned American sporting hero Carroll Shelby, and the Italian automotive aristocrat Enzo Ferrari.

First broadcast in 2002 by the BBC as ‘The Cobra Ferrari Wars’ to great critical acclaim, now retitled and remastered, ‘The Snake and the Stallion’ is being released as a collectors’ edition double dvd. The filmmaker
Richard Symons, has painstakingly added rare footage and previously unseen interviews.

Ten years in the making, the documentary tells the remarkable story of Shelby’s mission to “nail Ferrari’s ass”, resulting in the fearsome Cobra – possibly the most revered sports car of all time. The double DVD set includes the full broadcast film, picture galleries, previously unseen footage, exclusive never‐before seen interviews, and 6 hours of un‐cut interviews with Shelby, giving a unique insight into the man himself. With its fast‐pace, 60’s soundtrack and effortless split‐screen cool, this is a classic film vividly portraying the danger and excitement of a bygone era in motor sports history.

"It’s a wonderful story and I’ve never seen anybody tell it better. I’m very proud to have been part of it ” Carroll Shelby

[Tony Radford]

That appears to be 15 pounds, not 15 dollars. Sounds like it might be worth it if there's plenty of track / road footage. 6 hours of interviews might be tough to endure unless it's spiked with lots of good action (my attention span is frighteningly short).

[KevinM]

Amazon has it for $45.00.

According to the website, 2 1/2 hours of it is part of an interview with Shelby 10 years ago.

Kevin

[onefastmustang]

Its only 39.95 on Shelby's site.

[petrolheadSL]

It's a £10/$15 dollar discount, normal price from Spirit Level website is £24.99/£39.95 so that makes $25, good value tbh, great film

[jmillington]

I just ordered a copy - total was £17.72 (£13.03 + £4.69 shipping to California, USA) - which is $25.65 total ($18.86 + $6.79 shipping).

[KevinM]

How much of it is video footage, and how much is still photos and interviews? The clip on the website makes it look like a lot of it is still photos.

Kevin

[289ACE]

If you order from the UK is the video format NTSC or PAL? I have to admit I am not sure what video format is used in the UK.
Jay

[petrolheadSL]

The DVD is all regions compatible apparently so will work anywhere

[sidepipe49]

Originally Posted by jmillington

I just ordered a copy - total was £17.72 (£13.03 + £4.69 shipping to California, USA) - which is $25.65 total ($18.86 + $6.79 shipping).

where did you order your vidio from' thanks

[onefastmustang]

I just bought one on Alibris.com for 9.99

[Dinobyte]

This looks like a repackaged "Cobra / Ferrari Wars" video.

[petrolheadSL]

It was repackaged to avoid confusion with the book of the same name

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by jmillington

I just ordered a copy - total was £17.72 (£13.03 + £4.69 shipping to California, USA) - which is $25.65 total ($18.86 + $6.79 shipping).

Just got mine. Same price as jmillington and same source. Great production, awesome interviews with the guys who actually did it. Can't say enough good things about the DVD set!

Get one you'll love it.


Ed

<begin edit> Total time from order to shipment arrival was less than four days from UK <end edit>

[petrolheadSL]

Thats pretty quick

[Cobra Lite]

I also ordered online direct from Spirit Level Film (spiritlevelfilm.com)
on January 20th at 9 pm their time and the DVD set arrived in my mailbox yesterday, the 27th.

The cost was the same as the above 17.72 (pounds) delivered (that is $25.34).

I have only had a few minutes to skim a bit of the first of the two disks.

Disk 1:
Original program (Cobra Ferrari Wars)
Picture galleries: of the movie, of making the movie, of the cars in the movie
Trailer: Rendezvous film

Disk 2:
Deleted scenes
The cars (specs?)
Shelby Interview Transcript (DVD ROM)

Also included is a voucher sheet with 5 coupons good for 5 (pounds) off another DVD purchase or five.

[petrolheadSL]

It's such a well made film, a real tribute to Shelby

[petrolheadSL]

Has anyone else seen it and wants to discuss it?

[JWilly]

I ordered the set after seeing this thread and I have enjoyed it a lot. I have read a number of accounts of cobra and Shelby history but the DVD set did a nice job of telling the story. There was a good bit of redundancy in the scenes (one of the interview scenes with the "Dragon Lady" must have played 4-5 times in the two DVD set) but I did not find that too annoying. When you want to get a good feel for the history, it's hard to beat getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Also, it did give me a better understanding on why CS disliked Enzo the A$$o so much.

If one is a fan of the Cobra and wants to know its history and wants to know what drove CS to develope these cars and to compete and win; this DVD set is a must-have.

[eschaider]

I think there was a crack in time where the Cobra story was possible. Usually the necessary pieces to make something happen are impossible to put together for the event to come off. This time it was different. All the right pieces were certainly there, just laying around waiting for someone with the vision and drive to put them together - like so many times before. The difference this time was that Shelby was there and his vision and drive was just what the doctor ordered!

When you see the DVD(s) it becomes apparent there were many automotive and racing giants that all pulled together to make this happen. Most of us know the big names like Ford, Ferrari, Iacocoa, Shelby. But the team of Southern California hot rodders who were equally talented and the driving giants who signed up to the campaign reads like the Who's Who of motorsports.

Shelby's nickname was Billy Sol Estes. For the young'uns ol' Billy Sol was convicted of fraud relating to cotton and fertilizer. Most people forgot the cotton and just remembered the fertilizer, because of the bull $hit. The amazing thing about Billy Sol Estes was despite what he did people still liked him - he was just a real likable sort of guy. Well Carroll had a certain similarity. He could sell anything to anybody even if they didn't want it and when he was done they still liked him too. So the guys started calling him Bily Sol Estes.

These are a bunch of extraordinary insights into the real people and times by the real people and they are forever caught on the DVD(s).

I can't say enough good things about this DVD set. Buy it you will always be glad you did!

Ed