Senna [DVD] [2010]

Quite possibly one of the greatest, most awe-inspiring film documentarys i have seen, certainly the best for a long time.
The way the movie is handled and researched, shot with dignity and respect but maintaining an engrossing tension, is immense and full credit to the makers. The footage of some of the actual racing is terrifying in an adrenaline fuelled way..Breath-taking stuff! The part where Senna over takes every other driver in the pouring rain at Monaco is something to behold, pure genius. It has footage from paticular positioned cameras i didnt even think existed back then.
The rivalry between Alain Prost and Ayrton was gripping stuff. Prost being the fighter, the competer against Senna's dignified, reserved but raw talent.
Ayrton Senna seemed like an emotional, sensitive human being and that is something, that publically at least, you rarely see in the world of sport. A humble, generous man fighting against a corrupt, money driven sport, that still rmains contrived to this day.
Music is added that really fits composed by a fellow brazillian.
It was frustration through all the corruption that killed Senna, well that and a steering wheel support piece going straight through the temple. A crying shame that makes you ponder lots of things like why they didnt postpone the race after Ratzenburger's death at qualifying. A must watch for all F1 fans but also for those people that want to see how to make a fantastic documentary about a dangerous sport.

Senna was touted as one of the movies of 2011 and one of the best sporting documentaries ever and it doesn't disappoint.

It tells the story of Brazilian Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna's time in the sport. He arrived in Europe as an unknown go-karter but his talent was obvious and he soon joined Formula 1. He graduated from the small Toleman team to the more prestigious Lotus and finally to McLaren where he was a team mate of Alain Prost. They were the two best drivers at the time and their rivalry was so intense that they eventually stopped speaking to one another after many racing incidents between them.

The best parts of the movie are the brilliant race footage and the many interviews with Senna at various stages of his career. Senna was remarkably frank in describing his feelings about the internal politics of Formula 1. There is also great footage of pre-race drivers meetings. At these Senna wasn't slow in expressing his feelings at what he saw as the favouritism of the FIA authorities towards Prost.

All commentary and interviews are included as voice-over or sub-titles. There are no "talking heads".

Senna comes across as an unusual character for a Formula 1 driver. People such as McLaren boss Ron Dennis and chief F1 doctor Sid Watkins speak of what a great man he was, as well as being a great driver. There is plenty of footage of Senna's personal life, including his charitable work in Brazil and a fascinating clip from a Brazilian TV show where the blonde presenter unashamedly chats him up!

Unfortunately most people watching the movie will be aware of how tragically it ends. The fatal weekend at Imola is covered in depth from the death of Roland Ratzenberger in practice to on board footage of Senna's final lap during the race. The scenes in Brazil on the return of his body and during his funeral make it clear how important he was to ordinary Brazilians, at a time when they had few reasons to be proud of their country.

Senna is most definitely the "hero" of this movie and the story is told from his point of view. Perhaps the filmmakers could be accused of some bias of their own. However given the character of the man and his life story they can be forgiven for this.

A great movie for followers of motor sport as well as anyone with an interest in fascinating life stories.

This is a great docufilm, it really touches on some of Sennas greatest and most controversial moments in Formula 1, from his stunning performance at Monaco in 1984, his epic 1st victory in the pouring rain of Estoril to those 3 monumental Japanese Grand Prix races in 1988, 1989 & 1990. It also gives you an idea on just what a massive sporting icon Ayrton Senna was all around the world.

For me however the best part of the film was the rare footage of the drivers meetings before races, I've never seen these before and that for me alone was worth the purchase of this DVD. It showed how Senna wore his heart on his sleeve at all times fighting for what he thought was right and just how badly he was treated by Jean Marie Balestre, the then president of the FIA.

Another feature on the main disc is that there is a complete commentary in English from the makers of this docufilm. Its certainly worth listening to their thoughts and views on Senna and how they went about making this film and using the best and most poignant footage that they possibly could.

Also included is a 2nd bonus DVD disc which contains interviews with F1 race commentators from the 1980's along with insight from Ron Dennis and Alain Prost. Some of the comments are absolutely spell binding and are certainly worth watching. You also get your usual cinema trailers from Japan and other places around the world.

Going back to the docufilm itself, the only negative point I could find is that in my opinion it could do with being about 45 minutes longer! Some of Sennas later battles were not really covered (eg Monaco in 1992 with Nigel Mansell or that race at Donnington in 1993 where he literally destroyed the whole field).

As mentioned by the previous reviewer the subtitles on the main DVD are only available in Italian, its a shame as quite a few of the interviews are spoken in Portugese so unless you can read Italian you dont really understand what's being said. Then again I suppose thats my fault for purchasing the DVD from Italy and not waiting until its officially released in the UK! Luckily you can change the film's language to original (ie English) instead of Italian dubbing over in the options screen so its not all bad. The bonus disc isn't an issue as you get the choice of chosing English text right from the beginning.

Nevertheless I cant rate this double DVD highly enough and if you are a Senna fan get it as soon it comes out or take a trip to the cinema in June. I really cant wait to see it on a big screen :0)