Senna (2010)

A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.

Director:

Asif Kapadia

Writer:

Manish Pandey

Stars:

Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Frank Williams

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 18 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ayrton Senna	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alain Prost	...	Himself
Frank Williams	...	Himself
Ron Dennis	...	Himself
Viviane Senna	...	Herself
Milton da Silva	...	Himself
Neide Senna	...	Herself
Jackie Stewart	...	Himself
Sid Watkins	...	Himself
Galvão Bueno	...	Himself
Reginaldo Leme	...	Himself
Gerhard Berger	...	Himself
Nelson Piquet	...	Himself
Nigel Mansell	...	Himself
Jean-Marie Balestre	...	Himself

Storyline

The story of the monumental life and tragic death of legendary Brazilian motor-racing Champion, Ayrton Senna. Spanning the decade from his arrival in Formula One in the mid 80's, the film follows Senna's struggles both on track against his nemesis, French World Champion Alain Prost, and off it, against the politics which infest the sport. Sublime, spiritual yet, on occasion, ruthless - Senna conquers and transcends Formula One to become a global superstar. Privately, he is humble, almost shy, and fiercely patriotic, donating millions to his native Brasil and contemplating a life beyond motor-racing. Yet he is struck down in his prime on the blackest weekend in the history of the sport, watched live on television by 300 million people. Years on he is revered in Formula One as the greatest motor racing driver of all time - and in Brasil as a Saint.

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Plot Keywords:

formula 1 | speed | speeding | tarmac | automobile | 

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Taglines:

The legend of the greatest driver who ever lived.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English Portuguese French Japanese

Release Date:

25 May 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Senna

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$73,497, 14 August 2011

Gross USA:

$1,612,430

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,197,661

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film had a special limited box set edition, that provided the DVD of the film, a double-layered Blu-Ray Disc and a model of one of Senna's racing cars.

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Goofs

When the caption introduces the scene as "Monte Carlo Grand Prix, 14th of May 1988", the onboard footage from Senna's McLaren is infact from the same race two years later. (1990) This becomes apparent when Senna is seen lapping the Brabham car driven by Stefano Modena, who in 1988 drove for the Eurobrun team. Static interference appears to cut the clip short to indicate Senna's race ending crash at Portier. There is then a cut to the aftermath of the accident which is footage from the 1988 race; the camera we were watching the onboard from has now vanished, because the MP4/4 that Senna drove in 1988 didn't actually have an onboard camera, unlike the MP4/5 of 1990. Also noteworthy is that the Hugo Boss logo on the side of Senna's helmet inverts from being black text on a white background during onboard footage (1990) to white text on a black background when Senna climbs out. (1988)

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Quotes

John Bisignano: There's only one word that describes Ayrton's style, and that is "fast." He would take the car beyond its design capabilities. He would brake later, fly into these corners where the car was just over the edge, and somehow he could dance a dance with that car to where it stayed on the track.

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Crazy Credits

While the credits roll, we see home movies by the Senna family.

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Alternate Versions

UK blu-ray edition includes extended version at a running time of 162 minutes

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Connections

Featured in 1,001 Movies You Must See (Before You Die) (2014)

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Soundtracks

Interrogatorio
From the motion picture "Cronicas"
Written and performed by Antonio Pinto
Courtesy of Omnilife

User Reviews

Simply fantastic

I have just returned home from watching "Senna" and am struggling to recall a time I have ever been moved by a piece of film so much.

What has been created is much more than just a documentary, it charts Ayrton's F1 career and gives the viewer an insight into the man, not just the public face we saw and loved so dearly on the TV.

As a F1 fan I could be biased, but I believe this film will appeal to any film lover, it creates a sense of connection and understanding of the man, and unashamedly tears at your heart when the inevitable scene is played out, even though I knew it was coming I was fighting tears in the cinema, it brought back memories from all those years ago.

It is some feat though for a film to leave you with such an overwhelming sense of optimism despite the tragedy, but nevertheless Asif has done this in my opinion, as Ayrton's humanity and personality are explored, as is the influence that this one man had on his homeland.

I can't recommend this enough for motorsport fans, and anyone who loves film.