In this quite compelling documentary Roman Polanski revisits his 1971 doc, of the same name, and follows up its' showing with an interview with the great Formula 1 race driver Jackie Stewart some 40 years after the initial film. In this modern movie, Polanski does not direct leaving it to Frank Brown, but produced it and, as mentioned, does the key interview in the last 20 minutes with Stewart, now 75-years-old.
The documentary focuses on the weekend, in 1971, of the Grand Prix of Monaco, in Monte Carlo. The charismatic and charming Stewart is closely followed as he prepares for the event, amidst uncertain weather which often makes the course quite treacherous. Stewart's attention to every detail and knowledge of every inch of the racetrack are highlighted, and illustrate his true professionalism as a driver.
I thought the colorful pageantry of the race scene was vividly portrayed, with the adoring fans, dashing race drivers, beautiful women, and you really get a sense of being right there on the scene. Stewart's entourage is also highlighted, including his glamorous and supportive wife Helen, car owner Ken Tyrell, his pit crew and fellow drivers, and even his own personal physician on call in case of any problems.
As mentioned, in this updated version of the 1971 film, the last 20 minutes is devoted to Polanski and Stewart conversing in the same hotel room overlooking the Monte Carlo course some 4 decades later. One aspect of this part of the movie was my one criticism here, which was in trying to illustrate how dangerous Formula 1 competition was in those days, several fatal accidents of drivers are graphically and morbidly shown on screen, which can be quite macabre.
Aside from that, Stewart and Polanski discuss how Stewart was instrumental in getting the supervising bodies of Formula 1 racing to make safety improvements, so that today there are much fewer deaths and critical injuries. Also, it was fascinating to hear how Stewart, because of his dyslexia, still to this day can barely read or write and how he hid this from everyone including his wife. Finally, Stewart reveals humbly how he got his start racing cars, and it's quite an interesting story.
All in all, I found this documentary to be very well presented and compelling, and I would rate it highly.
RATING: A-
