Product Details

• Actors: Formula One Review 2004
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Duke
• DVD Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Run Time: 194 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006SSQ8Y
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,677 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The 2004 Formula One season was one for the history books, and this annual Season Review DVD preserves it all for glorious posterity. Not only did Michael Schumacher score his record-setting seventh World Driver's Championship (13 wins in 18 races), but he and Ferrari teammate Rubens Barichello scored 1st- and 2nd-podium finishes throughout the season, taking the Scuderia to the Constructor's Championship by an untouchable margin. Barichello had a stellar and emotionally moving season that also saw the addition of two glorious new circuits (China, Bahrain); the "walrus tusk" nose on the new BMW Williams racer (eventually abandoned mid-season); the amazing Monaco race, where Jarno Trulli won and Schumacher spectacularly failed to finish due to an avoidable tunnel mishap; Ralf Schumacher's near-tragic shunt at Indianapolis (and his late-season recovery); Kimi Raikkonen's mounting frustrations in the unreliable Mercedes McLaren (and partial late-season comeback); the rise of Jenson Button and Takuma Sato as future F1 superstars; and rule-changes in engine use and qualifying that revamped the grid with equal parts controversy and approval. Even with Schumi's dominance, it was a fantastic season by any standard, setting the stage for tumultuous personnel changes in 2005.

The 2004 Review is better and longer (3 hours 14 minutes) than 2003's DVD, with such welcome additions as cockpit radio samples, improved camera angles, and throttle/brake indicators. It's still expensive, however, and although the race-by-race coverage is fantastic, one wishes for more interviews, expert commentary, and behind-the-scenes news. This is a no-nonsense summary, so you don't get as much background as you do on ITV or Speed Channel coverage, and some amusing details--like the missing diamond from Jaguar's "Ocean's Twelve" car--are conspicuously absent. Still, there's no better DVD available for F1 fans, and that makes the 2004 Review an absolute must-have for your motorsports video library. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairly comprehensive review of the 2004 season, February 22, 2005

By	John Nelson (Connecticut, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As others have mentioned, this review of the 2004 Formula One season provides more in-depth coverage than its 2003 predecessor. The 2003 review runs 145 minutes whereas this version is 194 minutes long, allowing time for fairly comprehensive coverage of each race, reviews some of the controversies (Jenson Button's attempt to jump ship from BAR to Williams) and looks at the new venues at Bahrain and Shanghai. The crystal clear footage provided by DVD surpasses even that of the original broadcast footage I saw on cable TV. There is more in-car footage than has been included in past DVD's, including Jenson Button's complete qualifying lap to take pole position at Imola. That footage is terrific-- in fact my major and continuing criticism of these year end reviews is that more of this dramatic in car footage should be included. Nothing conveys the speed, handling, and yes, car to car racing that takes place in F1 better than seeing it from the driver's perspective. My wish is to someday have in-car footage of either the complete pole winning lap or a complete race lap from each circuit included. Still, the coverage is in depth and well done.

A smaller quibble is that, in such a tightly-controlled sphere of influence as Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One fiefdom, any official review will present the sport only in its best light and offer, at best, muted criticism of of its subject. This is most apparent in coverage of the US Grand Prix where there is no mention at all that the controversial decision to repeatedly parade cars through shards of carbon fiber behind the safety car, rather than sufficiently clean the track of post-accident debris, likely led to the accidents of Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher. Likewise, the scandalously slow response of medical crews to Ralf's serious accident is not mentioned at all. Instead, all that we are offered is the rosy commentary "Ralf receives the undivided attention of the medical team!"

This review is comprehensive, with excellent video and sound from each race as well as a good amount (but not enough) of in car footage. I recommend this to any F1 fan.
CORRECTION: It turns out my review is mistaken on a major point! What I thought at first was simply a chapter listing turns out to be an additional feature that does not appear when simply playing this disc all the way through. When you go to the "Event by event" menu listing, not "Play All," the listing "Pole!" shows you the pole winning lap at each course! This is great-- just what I've wanted to see. I'm not sure why they didn't make this great feature more obvious. Or, maybe I'm just extremely slow. BUT, I take back my prior comments. It's great to see the in-car camera view of a complete lap of each course, driven in anger, with DVD clarity. Also, at the innaugural China GP, there is a race lap with Michael Schumacher that starts with him spinning out, then trying to rejoin, with graphics depicting braking, throttle, gear selection, and rpms. More in the future please!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of 2004, April 24, 2005

By	Live to Drive (NZ) - See all my reviews

This dvd is a great record of the 2004 F1 season and is even better than the excellent 2003 review DVD, continuing in the tradition of the seasonal reviews released on video for the past 20+ years. If you have the 2003 DVD get this, if not I also recommend the 2003 DVD.

It captures all the major action throughout the season and the great racing that occurred throughout the field. Although Ferrari walked over the opposition there was still lots of good racing and that is all covered here; From Trulli's maiden win in Monaco to Raikkonen's crushing win at Spa. The footage is all of excellent quality and shows incidents that weren't always shown during the TV broadcasts, such as DC and Barrichello colliding during the Japanese GP. In addition to the season review there is the option of watching each race separately with the complete footage of every pole position. The only complaint would be a lack of interactivity, however it's far superior to the previously released 2000 season, which lacked the ability to play the complete season.

Overall a great DVD, top quality, and is recommended for anyone with an interest in F1 and/or motor racing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best F1 dvd so far, February 13, 2005

By	Carson D. Harrell (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I also own the 2003 F1 Review, so I will compare this to that one. I loved the 2003 dvd, but it could have been better. I think that this 2004 dvd really came through for me. It has everything that I wanted that wasn't on the 2003 dvd. There are new camera angles and more explanation of exactly whats going on. So you don't have to be a huge F1 fan to understand whats happening. But there are some terms used that a new fan might not get at first but as you watch more you'll catch up. This dvd is just bigger and better than the 2003 dvd. You get to ride along with Jensen Button for one lap and you can watch his RPMs hit almost 19,000! Of course the main attraction here is Michael Schumacher and he doesn't dissappoint as he takes the competition to school almost every race. Its just so much fun to watch these cars rip around the tracks. I used to be a casual NASCAR fan but after watching this dvd I just can't stand to watch boring,lame oval racing. This dvd is awesome and if you are a F1 fan you need this dvd. If I could afford it I would buy it for you. It really is ashame that F1 doesn't get more coverage in the USA. These cars are so high tech that its almost insane. And the sound! I could write a book about how crazy F1 cars sound. Everything is here and this dvd does not dissapoint. I would give it 6 stars if I could.