One of those if I don't watch it now I probably never will documentaries. Once I started I was immersed in the story. Jackie Stewart was pre my childhood F1 viewing days ( which started with James Hunt), so it was informative for me to discover drivers I didn't know. The documentary shows Stewart's relationship with his wife and team mates and his focus and determination to be a winner in life. It I was in a period when driver safety was not a priority so the documentary contains some disturbing crash footage. This highlights the progress that has been made and Stewart was a major influence in driving the agenda.
3 Reviews
Not very good re F1, barely better re Jackie Stewart
jeffdstockton26 July 2023
If you view this because you're a fan of F1, you'll realize quickly that you can find better material elsewhere. If you want to learn about Jackie Stewart, this is barely OK, and there is just a little bit new. But, if you want a LOT of gratuitous screen time of Stewart's wife, you've come to the right place.
There is some new information about Jackie Stewart, but it could be better presented in about 20 minutes, instead of this dolorous plod through melodramatic muck. Also, a great deal of this material is taken from earlier documentaries, so is this done to bring it to a new audience, or is it done, ostensibly, to tell us something we didn't know before? The obvious answer is that it's done to sell programming while the subject might still capture enough interest to sell commercial time during it's broadcast. Ultimately, it's a lazy effort.
The movie-maker/ interviewer(s) insert themselves too often, obviously seeking to drive a narrative, spice things up, or allude to or imply something that otherwise isn't brought up by the subjects of the documentary.
This is, at best, a 20 minute documentary dragged out to....... FAR too long. And, the director, writer, producers managed to make it boring.
There is some new information about Jackie Stewart, but it could be better presented in about 20 minutes, instead of this dolorous plod through melodramatic muck. Also, a great deal of this material is taken from earlier documentaries, so is this done to bring it to a new audience, or is it done, ostensibly, to tell us something we didn't know before? The obvious answer is that it's done to sell programming while the subject might still capture enough interest to sell commercial time during it's broadcast. Ultimately, it's a lazy effort.
The movie-maker/ interviewer(s) insert themselves too often, obviously seeking to drive a narrative, spice things up, or allude to or imply something that otherwise isn't brought up by the subjects of the documentary.
This is, at best, a 20 minute documentary dragged out to....... FAR too long. And, the director, writer, producers managed to make it boring.
Fine - But annoying commentary and music
conradb24 October 2023
Stewart is an interesting subject - I'm a fan of him and the sport, but I found this documentary fairly annoying.
I particularly get annoyed at all of the archive footage with a modern commentator putting on a funny accent and made to sound like it was recorded at the time.
It simply doesn't sound real, and they use it very clumsily to try and insert some unrelated point (e.g how far he's come from working in a garage, that his wife is watching, etc.), or to try to create a forced narrative.
I think it would be much better to have a narrator.
Even the actual recordings from the archive footage have obviously been over processed and don't sound real at all.
I did enjoy many of the 60s and 70s archive clips - at least the visuals.
I particularly get annoyed at all of the archive footage with a modern commentator putting on a funny accent and made to sound like it was recorded at the time.
It simply doesn't sound real, and they use it very clumsily to try and insert some unrelated point (e.g how far he's come from working in a garage, that his wife is watching, etc.), or to try to create a forced narrative.
I think it would be much better to have a narrator.
Even the actual recordings from the archive footage have obviously been over processed and don't sound real at all.
I did enjoy many of the 60s and 70s archive clips - at least the visuals.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
