Jackie Stewart: the Flying Scot [VHS]: Jackie Stewart: Amazon.co.uk: Video

Product details

Classification: Exempt
Studio: Green Umbrella
VHS Release Date: 5 July 2004

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00009QNSS
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 329,053 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

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Product Description

An authorised (and 'definitive') profile of racing-driver turned team-leader Jackie Stewart, the Scottish grand prix maestro who claimed 27 victories from 99 starts. Winning his first championship in 1969 with BRM, he achieved further success in 1971 and 1973 driving for Tyrrell-Ford. Keeping in touch with the sport after his retirement as a commentator and ambassador, Stewart launched his own, Ford-backed, team in the late 90s.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 'The Flying Scot' is superb! 26 Sep 2003

By A Customer

Format:DVD

I've just watched a copy of a new dvd called 'The Flying Scot'
about the life and times of Sir Jackie Stewart and I have to say it's one of the most enjoyable 90 minutes I've spent in front of the tele in a long time. I've never been much of a fan of motor racing before, but this film transcends sport in many ways. It's filled full of superb anecdotes and has a depth of emotion I hadn't expected. Certainly Jackie Stewart has been a national icon for us Scots for a long time, but there is material here - especially his relationships with Ken Tyrrell and driver Francois Cervert - that increased - and cemented my ever lasting respect for the man. Heady words indeed, but well earned over a lifetime of incredible achievment. If only all documentaries were capable of leaving one with such a feeling of wonder? The Flying Scot is such a film and one that I could honestly say is a 'must see'.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First class film about a first class man 20 April 2009

By DudleyH

Format:DVD

Anyone who has had the pleasure of actually meeting Sir Jackie Stewart will surely have been impressed.

Stewart is one of the world's most articulate, charming individuals with genuine integrity and a positive attitude to all aspects of life.

This film presents a well balanced view of Jackie Stewart including the heart rending time he spent in Formula One losing many of his friends at a time when driver safety was a low priority or even frowned upon. The death of Francois Cevert, his team mate at Tyrell brought Stewarts racing career to an early end after just 99 Grand Prix. These 99 races brought him three world championships whilst racing against legends such as Graham Hill and Emerson Fittipaldi.

Not overly long and told with intimacy (the film was made by Stewarts youngest son) it includes recollections from family and friends including the late, great Ken Tyrell as well as Sir Jackie himself.

Highly recommended.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Best F1 DVD Around 19 Mar 2007

By Geoffrey Millar

Format:DVD

This is an excellent documentary which outlines the career and life of Jackie Stewart through contemporary and rare footage, interviews then and now.

Jackie, now Sir Jackie, was of course a three time world champion in an era where the racing was much closer and the cars and circuits far less safe than today.

The most striking thing about the DVD is Jackie's humanity and humility, and the sadness with which he and his wife recount the loss of

Francois Cevert, Jackie's team mate and friend. Jackie's fight for circuit safety is well covered, too.

Audio and video quality is very good and the opening lap of Monaco, set to the music of Pink Floyd and filmed from (his?) racing car, really sets the scene for the DVD

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4.0 out of 5 stars "Jackie has big sideburns and he's going fast - I need to have bigger ones to go faster than him!" 29 Nov 2010

By @GeekZilla9000 TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I've seen a few F1 documentaries focusing on specific drivers, most are fairly boring and consist of dull narrative over ropey video footage and the odd faded photograph. But this is different, this documentary about a sporting hero of mine was put together by son Mark Stewart and makes good use of interviews with Jackie, his family, and important figures from racing history along with home video footage, and shots of the scrapbook kept by Jackie's wife throughout his career.

After a great bit of onboard footage around Monaco we get a brief introduction to Jackie's parents and their family business. We get to see his background and understand that motorcars were a big part of his life with his brother making a name as a fairly successful local racing driver. Naturally, when giving details of Jackie's childhood there's a mention of his time at school. He was incredibly unhappy there (he has dyslexia) and refers to his schooling as "mentally abusive" - he was often made to feel stupid and considers that it made him work harder to try and succeed at whatever he tried his hand at. Leaving school at fifteen to work as a mechanic in his dad's workshop was a massive relief. The liberation from school gave him more freedom and at sixteen he began courting the woman who would become his wife.

After becoming a successful clay-pigeon shooter who very nearly made it into the Olympic team, Jackie turned to racing and here he reflects how he did it anonymously for a while so as not to upset his mother, it backfired though and when he announced his intention to do it professionally she resented his lying and there was an animosity between them....

It's so often said that some people have a natural talent for something that it risks sounding like a cheap cliché, but here it was clear that Jackie was a born racer. The young driver mastered every racing tournament he entered, but it was small-time racing. That is until he received a call from Ken Tyrrell to test in single seater racing - he was more than impressive, he was faster than established drivers such as Bruce McLaren! We then see footage of Jackie dominating the Formula 3 Monaco Grand Prix - all eyes were on him. Pretty soon he was a Formula 1 driver partnering Graham Hill at BRM. Jackie says with genuine candour how surprised he was at the time that he was as fast or even faster than drivers who were his heroes. Hill and Stewart were highly competitive but always respected each other, this documentary manages to show how brilliantly charismatic Hill was by showing various bits of footage featuring him. I loved the excerpt from the "BBC Sports personality of the year award 1969" programme which contains some great banter between Graham and Jackie. Graham comes across as a true gent with a talent for making his audience laugh.

The BRM was becoming less competitive than it once was and old friend Ken Tyrrell formed his own F1 team, 'The Flying Scot' contains the last ever interview with Ken and it's done in great style. The two old associates are seen sat on crates in the old woodshed which formed their main car-works. They reminisce and jokingly compare the �25 site to the modern multi-million pound McLaren factory. The new Tyrrell team with Jackie in the racing seat weren't expected to be front runners - but in their maiden race at a rainy Nurburgring Jackie won the race convincingly (there were over 4 minutes between him and second place!) and the following year (1969) Jackie won the world Championship. There's brief but no-less fantastic black and white race footage with the original commentary from commentating legend Murray Walker.

There isn't a lot of race footage here however, and viewers wanting to see lots of the driving which Jackie made look so effortless may be disappointed to find that there are only quick moments and small clips of home video. Personally I was pleased to see the home video as I've watched a lot of material from the 1970's and much of the footage in here was new to me. It's also nice to see more private moments, though again there isn't a massive amount shown.

Jackie was aware that there was a definitive change in the way sports personalities were viewed by the public. Jackie was as famous as any pop star at the time and his merchandise flew off the shelves. His wife Helena explains that his trademark look with large sideburns and long hair peeking out from under his black hat was her idea - she found it very sexy. The look became fashionable and future champion Emmerson Fittipaldi adopted it too. Fittipaldi is one of numerous drivers who look back with humour at events of the time and jokes about the massive sideburns the two sported - the two drivers even posed facing each other to show off the Stewart look!

Jackie's wife Helen describes how the role of women in Formula 1 was changing. Once the partners of the drivers helped out in the garage and even helped to change the wheels on the cars, but as things became more glamorous their role became less involved as women became pit babes rather than spanner attendants. She and Jackie also talk about the controversy surrounding his move to Switzerland to dodge the high tax-rates, it's something Sean Connery can empathise with and he offers his opinions here.

Those interviewed on the DVD look back fondly on the Tyrrell years. Jackie's relationship with Ken Tyrrell was more like a father-son relationship rather than Manager-driver. The two never had any contracts in their F1 career together, they trusted each other absolutely. They bonded further with the introduction of driver Francois Cevert, jokingly described by Jackie here as "too good looking". The French driver was a fine musician, sportsman, and loved by the ladies and media alike. The documentary frequently returns to the subject of danger, we see accidents and drivers having the fire on their back extinguished. There's a reason the documentary should focus on the hazards - Jackie became a spokesperson for driver safety. Every year drivers died at tracks which were poorly equipped and badly staffed. Jackie increased pressure to improve conditions for drivers, this involvement increased demands on his time which was increasingly spent travelling. The constant pressure along with the sad death of his young protégé, friend, and team mate Cevert led to his decision to retire from racing. His final year also gave him his third world championship.

Jackie points out that although he was a triple world champion, he still had to make a living. The last half an hour looks at Jackie's life after F1, and his rise in America. His growing popularity in America was something of a surprise as many couldn't understand his thick accent! He tried to build himself as a commercial brand as he appeared in TV adverts and become a regular TV commentator on race events. He laughingly recalls that when he started testing cars again (this time for the large manufacturers such as Ford) he was earning more than when he risked his life in Formula 1!

His sons speak fondly about their father's dedication to his family, although he spent a lot of time away from home on business - he didn't do it at the expense of his family. It was his son Paul's decision to go into racing himself which led to Jackie Stewart becoming a major player in F1 again. Jackie and both of his boys his ventured into Formula 1 with their own racing team, but they didn't realise how much would be involved - Murray Walker describes the business world of F1 as a 'Piranha Club' where the businessmen cut each other to ribbons. Jackie and his two boys didn't enjoy the experience, it was tense and stressful. There were some proud moments though - unveiling the car for the first time was a highlight for Stewart GP, and watching it zoom off on the first test drive was very emotional. Initially things looks good but the team struggled to win points. The third season, though not great, saw some successes however and the team finished 4th in the constructor's table. The three Stewarts were tired by the whole thing and Paul was very ill fighting cancer, after three seasons and a place on each step of the podium it was a dignified bow out of the sport as the team was bought by Ford and renamed Jaguar.

In a nutshell: One of the strengths of this DVD is that it doesn't just look at the legend of Jackie Stewart - it presents the man behind the name, and we get to hear frank reasons for his decisions. Formula 1 is a big part of Jackie's life but it's not the only aspect to it. This is a great insight into his personal history, family, and his outlook on life in general. A brilliant biographical piece which is fascinating throughout. As a TV programme it is perfect, but as a DVD it would have been nice to have had some extra footage from the family archives - they would have made fabulous bonus features.

In Jackie's own words - "I'm a very lucky boy..." Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars an interesting and enjoyable DVD 27 May 2007

By A. Pitts

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I agree with mr Millar's appraisal.

This is an interesting and enjoyable watch. proffesionally put together.

However don't expect too much in the way of race/driving footage from the early seventies. Another 5 or 10 minutes indulging us with his sublime driving skill from that era would have really been the icing on the cake. I know that's not really the point of this DVD but still....

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5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended 2 Feb 2004

By P. Sainsbury

Format:DVD

This is a great dvd, in a whole different league to most sports programs. Buy it, you won`t regret it.

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