Customer Reviews

Star Named Ayrton Senna [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just about anyone who is a motor racing enthusiast knows of Ayrton Senna and of his racing accomplishments. Yes, we all know about the 65 record pole positions, 41 Grands Prix victories, rivalries with Prost, Mansell, Piqeut and even Schumacher. But, not many of us really knew the man behind the bright yellow helmet.

Some people loved him. Some others loathed him. Senna appeared to be the most controversial and enigmatic driver of his era. For me, this video really uncovers the true personality of the late 3-time world champion. For the first time, viewers will be able to see another side of Senna that isn't visible at the circuit. This tape shows the real human side of Senna; and, I firmly believe that once people have seen this video, they will now see Ayrton Senna as a humanitarian, not just a great Grand Prix driver.

This is a fantastic and poignant portrait of Ayrton Senna that will bring back a lot of memories to those who followed his stellar career in Formula One until his tragic death at Imola on May 1, 1994. The film starts with footage of Senna in the cockpit of his Williams right before the start of his last race and then we hear those famous words he spoke at the legendary 90 minute monologue press conference in Japan after yet another clash with Prost: "racing, competing, is in my blood...". Throughout the film we hear a lot of Senna in his own words as well as recollections by his friends and family. A lot of the movie was filmed at Senna's personal retreat in Brasil, the beautfiul Angra. The portrait reveals a lot about Senna as a person, about his motivation, his outlook on life and his goals. It is an intimate look into the psyche of one of the most successful, perfectionist and motivated racing drivers ever. This film is not for those who expect wall-to-wall race footage, it focuses more on giving insight into one of the most enigmatic and sometimes controvial geniuses Formula One racing has ever seen.

While good at giving us some of Senna's insights into his desire and love of racing and life in general, I had hoped for much more racing footage. Most of what footage there is has been marred by, of all things, overly loud flute music. While certainly making for an "artsy" effect, I would much rather have heard the F1 engines' own music. Really a bit bizzare. I had also hoped for much more footage and commentary regarding some of Senna's most incredible drives. The Crash is not shown. I certainly expected it to be present and had hoped for much more commentary and updated information on it. A good rental video but I don't think I'll watch it more than twice.

This video was put together by the same French production team that did, Racing Is In My Blood. That video was made before his death, but A Star Named Ayrton Senna was made after his death, using some of the same footage, but improved with poignant interviews with people who knew Ayrton, including childhood friends in Brazil.

A very touching and moving documentary. Like Racing is in my Blood, the producers allow Ayrton himself to describe what he was feeling and how he did the things he did. The day of his death is handled very respectfully and not presented in any great detail. The last part of the video is devoted to the work of the Ayrton Senna Foundatation, and the many thousands (now millions) of poor Brazilian children that they have helped. Must have video.

Ayrton Senna's "official" memoir video is based on two films covering his life right up until Imola in May '94, plus subsequent reminiscences and personal insights from Senna's family, friends, colleagues, rivals, mentors, teammates and managers. Senna reveals, in his own words, his meticulous professional approach, his tactics for achieving mental and physical fitness, and his thoughts on the risks of racing, religion and the controversies that marked his record-setting career. The video includes extensive action footage from many of Senna's most memorable GP races plus earlier footage of his karting days. This is without a doubt the best Senna video ever!

I can only say that this is the best documentary I have seen thus far on the great Ayrton Senna. It shows so much more than his racing side, but how he lived as a human being outside of F1. Moments with his family, very touching. Funny that the little boy in the boat with him, his nephew Bruno is now racing and following in his footsteps. Very good. I rec'd it yesterday and watched it 3 times already. Do yourself a favor and get it you will love it!!!!

This video does an excellent job of revealing the composition and character of Ayrton Senna da Silva. Often misunderstood and controversial until just before his death, the things that drove Senna to be who he was are revealed and explained by childhood friends, his sister, Viviane, and Formula One contemporaries and teammates. Peter Warr (Lotus team manager) and the Renault engineers share great insights of their dealings with this incredible racing driver. Ayrton Senna also does a lot of explaining of his actions and beliefs. Senna's outright passion for racing is displayed in everything from racing karts with his nephews to his more stunning laps in F1 contests. A fair amount of footage also appears in the other video, "Racing is in my Blood." The segues between some scenes isn't particularly impressive (watery morphing and soft music) but can be overlooked in the greater context of the subject matter of this remarkable driver, his life, and accomplishments. Those looking to see his fatal crash will be disappointed. The video handles this in a montage of moving images from that black weekend at Imola in 1994. I would have loved to seen the last four laps from Monaco in 1992 included where Senna held off a hard-charging Nigel Mansell for victory. I recommend this video to anyone wishing to learn more about this three-time World Champion and his approach to racing (including his physical training to his technical acuity of a turbo F1 car)

Who else, but only Senna!!!. Great video, good commentary, I would have liked it much more if it had some more racing scenes.