50 Years of Formula 1 On Board
DVD - PAL - Region 2
Buy NEW for £19.99
Reviews
(Rated 2 out of 5)
I rented this and it just about was worth the £2 it cost to do that. It jumps from 1957 to the 70s with barely a shot from the 60s. Very poor value.
(Rated 5 out of 5)
The DVD is split into 2 distinct parts. The first part is as it says on the tin "50 years on board". Excellent footage, mainly captured on board car, starting in the fifties and ending very recently. The quality of the camera work is high-surprisingly better on the earlier footage. The ambient sounds seem to be mainly captured with the original footage. The emphasis is on exhilaration even though a lof of the footage is of practice sessions - this is about driving more than racing. The narration, mainly from ex racers, is sparse, complements the camera very well and never intrudes once the cars are under way. The sense of acceleration, speed, enormous power and the way the cars slide is all captured. The cars with manual gearboxes and without traction devices are particularly exhilarating to watch. The senna footage is breathtaking.
The only criticism I have of the first part of the DVD is that there's not enough of it.
The second part of the DVD is possibly a way of filling in run time, as the first part is too short. It is a concise run down of all formula one world champions and is not really in the same vein as the first part. Even so it is not spoiled by the "bontempi" background music which seems to be an infuriating trademark of most other DVD'S. This fact alone justifies the 5 star rating!
(Rated 2 out of 5)
Agree with all of the above that this is a good concept but a missed opportunity and any enthusiast will be familiar with most of the clips. The overhead shots at Monaco in 1973 are exceptionally clear and the 1967 practice session at the Nurburgring is interesting in so far as it shows you how close the trees and bushes are, but a full lap of the old ring would have been good. The Fangio clip has been well used and the later clips are largely uninspiring. I would have rather watched Senna's mesmeric lap at Monaco in 1988 for example than the rather odd and uneventful choice of Suzuka thrown in here. For edge of the seat onboard stuff better to purchase Frankenheimer's Grand Prix! and fast forward to Monaco or Spa. The DVD - and the strangely rave reviews it got on release - though does show up the paucity of F1 DVDs, and the burning gap for a 'best of Grand Prix..' The closest we have is the Murray Walker DVD that came out in 2002 or better still if you can track it down a video (not out on DVD) released in 1992 titled the History of Formula One. Only 60 minutes but originally shown on BBC and a very well packaged F1 highlights from 1950 to 1990.
(Rated 1 out of 5)
What a rip off.... They seem to have missed most to the 80's out no coverage of Nigel Mansell.. what happened to those silly fast laps from the turbo days.... I guess this just sums up F1 today its just for the fat cats and not the fans... when will they learn... or will they never!
(Rated 1 out of 5)
Given the thousands of hours of onboard action available, they really did choose some exceptionally dull footage.
I was hoping for action - overtaking, slides, offs, accidents, start line action. What I got was single laps of cars mostly by themselves. Where was Ayrton Senna hitting Martin Brundle from behind in the rain? Where was Jean Alesi applying tons of opposite lock with one hand whilst showing 'the bird' with the other at Adelaide in the Ferrari. This DVD does not have any excitment in it whatsoever. If you're looking for racing action, forget it.
The second section of the DVD has a brief clip (10 seconds?) of every F1 World Champion, and that's it.
Apart from some nice footage of the original Nurburgring, this DVD is pointless. It is not worth the money - and I'm saying this as a huge 'never miss a race' F1 fan.