Ferrari: Race to Immortality

What a disappointment. This is not a documentary about either Ferrari the manufacturer or Enzo Ferrari, the iconic owner. Most of the documentary is about some of the drivers in the 50's, probably 2/3 of the whole film is about Mike Hawthorn. And a lot it's very repetitive with so many other documentaries about how dangerous was F1 in the 50s. But other documentaries, take a clear storyline on that topic, take a more broad view and show how safety in the sport improved from the 50s to the 2000s, particularly during the 70s. In this case, they stay in the 50s. I was expecting learning either about Enzo (his origins, how he built the empire, his personality, the way he managed the team and the company, his quirks) or learning about Ferrari team and the evolution of it and the unique philosophy to manage competition and drivers. But nothing, besides a few short quotes and recordings of Enzo Ferrari, nothing much more about Ferrari. An absolute waste of film and time.

This was so disappointing it drove me to make an imdb account just to complain about it. From the title you might expect a documentary about Ferrari, but don't fool yourselves into thinking it will be. It's merely about Mike Hawthorn and Petter Collins.

A documentary of extreme British bias, where even a legend like Fangio only gets a passing mention to enalt "how nice" Petter Collins was.

If you're looking to know more about Ferrari, this will be a waste of time. There's nothing there. At most you will have a mention of other drivers here and there, and tasteless footage of dead bodies that was clearly included for shock value, without any consideration or respect towards the people involved.

I can't for the life of me understand why this was advertised as a Ferrari movie at all.

Glorious 16mm and specially 35mm footage from one of the most aesthetically pleasing eras in motorsports history. Harsh testimonies of what racing was all about back then. The movie is a tremendous showcase of a bygone era we will never come close to.

Of course the movie is absurdly British, specially considering the topic (they care more about Stirling Moss than about Ferrari's Alberto Ascari). If you have ever watched motorsports-related media, you would already know nothing ever gets produced if there are no Brits triumphing in it either at the wheel or as a manager.

Those cars, those courses, those people, the absolute "vibes" as the kids would say... Tremendous through and through, horrific at times, and it is all presented with great competence.

This movie is not about very badly designed and constructed racing cars in the fifties. It is more about poor judgment drivers who were regularly killed driving those flying coffins. How come this all sport was not banned at the time is beyond me. Profit above people, I guess! Enjoy if you can, but it is pure horror, if you ask me.

In a documentary about Ferrari, it is very disappointing on how little effort there was from the director on portraying Enzo himself or the team. Apart from one interview and some "il Commendatore" quotes, the film solely focuses on the drivers and mainly Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins. In fact, Mr Goodrich chooses to completely overlook José Froilán González (the driver who gave Scuderia Ferrari their first Formula 1 victory), Alberto Ascari (the first Ferrari F1 champion) and casualy mention Juan Manuel Fangio (arguably the best driver of that era).

And although Hawthorn's and Collins' story is compelling indeed, it is not what you come to expect from a documentary called "Ferrari: Race to Immortality". In this point, i have to note that we first see a picture of Enzo beyond the 18th minute and actual footage of the man himself beyond the 22nd minute.

On the other hand, this film has its moments and it does really well in presenting the 50s F1 era, along with the emotions, the danger and the camaraderie of the drivers and their loved ones. It has Phil Hill (former Ferrari champion) who is the only one of those who speak in the film, trying to delve deeper in Enzo's feelings and character and give us some real insight. It also shows rare clips of the races and private lives of drivers, all beautifully presented. But i didn't like the mix of old footage with newer ones, which didn't knit together nicely. Thankfully these parts were sparse.

In conclusion, for a Ferrari documentary this is an average try. From a british drivers view, on the 50s era and the Ferrari team, it would be OK. Being very lenient indeed, i give it a 6 out of 10 and i highly recommend that you check out instead the Williams (2017) one.