One: Quand les pilotes jouent avec la mort

This was an excellent documentary. I have recommended it to people with the advice, "you know a documentary is good if you will find it interesting even if you aren't interested in the subject matter". I think almost anyone would find this documentary very interesting.

I was a child of the 70s and remember seeing F1 races on TV, and remember the big names of the era from my childhood watching. This brought all of that back and filled in a lot of the details about the decades from 1970-2000 that I have learned as an adult.

The timing of the film was very well executed, not spending too long in any period but also including important events.

The voice-over was well-paced and measured, and had just the right intonation to induce suspense at the right times.

The effects in the soundtrack captured racing mechanics at its best. The music soundtrack captured the progression of time well.

My only criticism (and why I give it 8 and not 9 or 10 stars) is that they put just a bit too much focus on the safety of the sport... at times it feels like it is a documentary about racing car safety and not ... racing. Still, it doesn't err too far in this direction, so I still feel it is worthy of an 8 for any racing fan.

Through this documentary we understand the evolution of F1, its safety rules, the influence of business and sponsorship, and of course we learn about some of the legendary battles that made this sport loved all over the world.

However, having watched it and enjoyed it, in the end I got the feeling that the producers must have realized that they would end up with a very long documentary (truly rich F1 history!) and to prevent that they started to speed up the story right in the years I wanted to see the most - the Ayrton Senna ones...

In spite of that, it does present F1 in a clever new perspective that not many documentaries have shown us already and because of this those who like F1 or car racing in general will surely enjoy watching it.

Just to clarify that I would have rated this excellent documentary at 8.0 but marked up to 10. 1 out of 10? Really? As an avid fan of f1 during the golden area I found this an epic watch. Brundles amazing escape in the Jordan at the start had nothing to do with fortune and everything to do with the evolution of the sport over many years. Rewind to the birth and beginning of F1 and get ready to be shocked, awed and inspired as we progress through generations gone by. Reliving the harrowing moments where legends are lost sends shivers down your spine and makes you appreciate the levels of in car safety reached in the modern era. If, like me, you dig the engineering as well as the racing you will enjoy this doc.

Where are Ballestre? Prost? Pironi ? All those guys deeply involved in security but also in the transformation of this sport. Just because they are French ? Too bad, it seems pretty similar to Senna the documentary that completely forgot Prost and the very strong relationship developed after Prost retired and that explains why Prost was so proéminent in all charity organization managed by Vivian Senna. Almost a revision of history (the small one we love).

Coming in the wake of Senna and Rush, F1 has been spoiled in recent years. Despite production starting before either of the former films, 1: Life on the Limit is the last to be released, and suffers a little because of it.

I had the privilege of seeing this film screened at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix weekend, and what an arena to see it in, surrounded by Formula One Fans of all ages!

The film tells the history of Formula One, from its beginnings right up to the 2012 season, (Sebastian Vettel is credited as "3 time world champion"). Bookended by Martin Brundle's horror crash at the Australian Grand Prix in 1996 where he ran back to the pits and simply got in the spare car to take the restart, the documentary struggles to find the story it is trying to tell. Is it the evolution of safety, or a straight documentary about the history of Formula One?

As a story about the strides made in safety, the story seems to finish with Brundle's crash highlighting that it was just 2 years after the death of Ayrton Senna, but then goes on for a while after that, leading more towards it being aimed as a story about the history of F1.

As a history of F1, it doesn't offer much more than a long-time follower of F1 wouldn't know, but does offer little morsels that may be unfamiliar to some people, such as how Bernie Ecclestone became one of the most influential people in world sports, or Jacky Ickx, the driver who rebelled against the drivers union when they attempted to strike over safety concerns.

But with 64 years of history to cover, the documentary does not really have the time to go into much depth over the stories and personalities involved, and comes across as a little shallow as a result.

Having said that, I would recommend this film to anyone with a passing interest in F1 as a springboard to other stories within F1 and adding context to the names of legends that are still revered by F1 drivers and fans alike, especially after seeing Rush, but possibly before seeing Senna as the Senna section of this film does leave you feeling a little short-changed.