The world of Formula One motorsport is filled with tales of passion, triumph and sadly, tragedy, but few have captivated audiences quite like the story of Ayrton Senna, arguably the greatest driver in Formula One (F1) history. SENNA is a high-octane documentary film that spans the 3 times Word Champion Senna’s impressive Formula One career and his physical and spiritual journey, both on track and off, and his quest for perfection. This is the true story of the Brazilian motor-racing legend and is much more than a film just for race fans.
SENNA is not just a documentary; it’s a thrilling ride through the career of one of Formula 1’s most legendary figures. It is an enthralling documentary that ray brings this larger-than-life figure into sharp focus, offering a visceral and intimate look at his life, both on and off the racetrack. This film was made with the co-operation of the SENNA family and Formula One Management. SENNA is the first official documentary feature about his life, featuring astounding archive material using home video, news video and race video (including driver race meetings), much of which is previously unseen.
Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in 1960 in São Paulo, Brazil and raced for 10 years in Formula 1, winning 41 races and three world titles.
SENNA is a 2010 documentary, a true story, with a narrative that focuses on Senna’s racing career in Formula One, from his debut in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix to his death in an accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, with particular emphasis on his rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost. This documentary is available on Blu-ray (run time: Original 106 minutes / Extended Version 162 minutes) and DVD (run time: Original 101 minutes / Extended Version 155 minutes). Directed by Asif Kapadia.
Overall, SENNA is an excellent film, even if you are not a motorsport or Formula One fan. It not only gives a great insight into Senna’s racing career, but looks at his relationship with the sport and God, his quest to be the best, his pursuit of perfection and his relationship and rivalry with 4 time World Champion Alain Prost.
SENNA follows his career from his young racing days and his 10 years at the top of the sport in F1, up to his fatal crash at Imola in 1984 (the safety rules have since been changed in F1 because of this and there has only been one fatality since, Jules Bianchi of France). This documentary is made up from over 150,000 hours of footage drawn from the vaults of F1 that Oscar winning director Asif Kapadia poured over and took four years to edit down to create this film.
Whilst this documentary covers a lot of racing, it also shows Senna’s fierce and bitter rivalry between him and Prost (despite their rivalry Prost became a trustee of Senna’s charity to educate children in Brazil). It also looks at the struggles he had with the politics of the sport and his desire to improve driver safety.
SENNA is a fascinating and compelling documentary giving an insight into one of the world’s truly great motor racing drivers, covering his racing, his relationship with God, his pursuit of perfection, his struggles with the politics of the sport, changes that he made to the sport and his charity work to try and help children in his native Brazil. Senna is a true champion and hero, and this film is a must watch, whether you are a fan of F1 or not – it is a story of the man rather than the sport.
This 2020 release from Fabulous Films is a two-disc set film featuring the original and extended versions of the film, Filmmaker Commentary featuring Director Asif Kapadia, Writer Manish Pandey and Producer James Gay-Rees, home videos, interviews, The Greatest Victory of All, “Lost” Radio Interview with Gerald Donaldson and trailers.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99 (Blu-ray) / £14.99 (DVD)
For more information, visit www.fabulousfilms.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.