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 17 wins & 17 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:

No Fear. No Limits. No Equal.

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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:

Сенна

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$73,497, 14 August 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,612,430, 18 November 2011

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

At the end, a title card referring to Senna's fatal accident reads "There has not been a fatality in Formula One since." This is now inaccurate following the death of Formula One driver Jules Bianchi following injuries sustained at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Also, two marshals have been killed during races in Italy and Australia. There is also the F1 test driver Maria de Villota, who died as a result of an accident during testing.

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Quotes

Sid Watkins: [after the death of Roland Ratzenberger] Ayrton got very, very upset and cried a bit, and that's when I said to him, you know Ayrton you've been three times world champion, you're the fastest man in the world, and you like fishing. So I said why don't you quit, and I'll quit, and we'll just go fishing. And he said Sid, I can't quit.

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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

Referenced in Estrenos Críticos: 03/06/2011 (2011)

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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.