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, Reginaldo Leme, John Bisignano

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

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ayrton Senna	...	Self (archive footage)
Reginaldo Leme	...	Self (voice)
John Bisignano	...	Self (voice)
Neide Senna	...	Self (voice)
Richard Williams	...	Self (voice)
Mili Okada	...	Self, Fuji TV (archive footage)
Ron Dennis	...	Self (voice)
Viviane Senna	...	Self (voice)
Alain Prost	...	Self (voice)
Pierre Van Vliet	...	Self (voice)
Vera Lucia Caixeta	...	Self (archive footage)
Arnaldo Jabor	...	Self (archive footage)
Xuxa	...	Self (archive footage)
Jean-Marie Balestre	...	Self (archive footage)
Martin Donnelly	...	Self (archive footage)

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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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

First-ever documentary film produced by Working Title Films and distributed by Universal Pictures.

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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

Jean-Marie Balestre: The best decision is my decision!

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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: El Castor, NowhereBoy... (2011)

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Soundtracks

Requiem
From the motion picture "Collateral"
Written and performed by Antonio Pinto
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

User Reviews

Truly excellent...

My local cinema is only small, it only has two screens and consequently, to make money, they have to show a lot of mainstream films. Most of these don't interest me too much and I sometimes despair that they will ever show anything like this. So you can imagine my surprise when the weekly email I receive from them listing the upcoming films included this little gem. I've had it on 'The List' (that's my 'To See' list for those that don't know) for some time and always thought I'd end up seeing it on TV. But no, the Picture House are showing it! Admittedly it's only for two screenings, but they're actually showing a film I never thought I'd see on the big screen.

Two of us went to the first screening; myself, a Formula One fan for many years and my buddy Dave, who isn't into Formula One but is a bit of a connoisseur of film. He had heard about this one and was interested to give it the once over. The film tells the story of the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna from his early days in carting through his rise to fame and fortune in Formula One to his untimely death in an accident in 1994. We are told about the feud he had with fellow driver, Alain Prost, and the battles they had both on and off the track. How he dealt with the politics of the sport and how he became a huge star, giving hope to millions, back home in Brasil. And also the thoughts of those involved in his life and career.

I love the way this film was put together, there is no commentary and no interviews with people made after the fact. It's all archive footage and interviews, mostly with Senna himself, that tells the story. As has been said many time before, real life can be so much better than fiction and this story has so much drama and emotion in it I firmly believe, in this case at least, it's true. The section of the film concerning his death I remember watching events unfold live on TV very well. It was the blackest day on Formula One history and I don't think I'll ever forget it. In the film it is very emotional and even Dave admitted to shedding a manly tear at one point.

To many, Ayrton Senna was the greatest driver ever to race in Formula One. I'll admit that I wasn't his greatest fan when he raced; I wanted the British drivers to win (of course). I always admired his talent though, and now I know more about him I am inclined to think that, yes, he was one of the greatest. This is a truly remarkable film and one I can highly recommend to fans of the sport and those that don't follow it. It's a remarkable story and one I'm sure you will find yourself thinking about for a long time afterwards.

My Score: 9.2/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

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