Weekend with a Champion

I got the DVD a week ago. Not to nitpick, but the title is in fact "Weekend of a Champion". It's a very good documentary about the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix from the perspective of Jackie Stewart, who was then of course at the pinnacle of his career. It's a wonderful look back at Grand Prix racing in the early 70s, and it really captures the glamorous atmosphere of Monaco in that bygone era.

I found Stewart's comments on race driving, as well as his conversations with other team members, to be very interesting. At one point, he's watching the Formula 3 cars during practice and making comments to Polanski about the different drivers' techniques. I couldn't resist looking up the drivers who participated in the F3 event and found three future F1 competitors; Roger Williamson, Patrick Depailler, and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. Unfortunately, only Jabouille survived what was, in those days, an incredibly dangerous career choice.

The end of the film is a 2011 retrospective conversation between Stewart and Polanski in the same hotel suite that was the scene of some of the 1971 footage. It's interesting to hear Stewart's comments on 40 years worth of changes to F1 racing. Of course, he talks about his role in bringing much greater safety to the sport.

All in all, it's a "must see" for any F1 fan who is interested in the history of the sport. Highly recommended.

 

He got the Chinese knockoff version. gotta watch those copyrights.

 

Great stuff. Saw the original, need to check out the latest release.

 

Thanks for the heads up on this! Looking forward to
watching it

 

I had watched the PAL release from the U.K. from earlier in the year and was quite impressed. Quality footage of F1 from that era is quite rare, and for it to be shot by an expert like Polanski at an iconic place like Monaco makes it all the more worthwhile. About the only other color footage of the "old" Monaco circuit, after all, is that from "Grand Prix".

I enjoyed the modern-day meeting in the same suite at the Hotel de Paris and the conversation that resulted. It's remarkable how much F1 has changed in 40 years.

 

This sounds fantastic!

Off to Amazon.

Cheers,

George

 

Haven't seen this DVD, but I've seen and enjoyed quite a bit of footage from the film.

 

I don't think so. I've loaned it out so I can't check the box, but I'm pretty sure it's a legit new release.

 

Its on youtube if you want to watch now.

 

I just looked. It's not there. Just a few short clips. IOW, I require a link.

Cheers,

George

 

I just looked too, they must have taken it down. I watched it two weeks ago or so. Oh well..