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Best movie of this year hands down!

Just perfect...

How sad is this?

Admirable film.

Having previously seen Grand Prix: The Killer Years; there was little that was new here. We had more on the Lauda and Hunt rivalry in 1976 when the championship came to the wire. We find out how Ecclestone managed to wrest control of F1 by purchasing the worldwide television rights. I doubt safety in road racing would even today be a priority if it was not for Max Mosley who placed a heavy emphasis on safety issues.The documentary narrated by Michael Fassbender starts with a spectacular crash involving Martin Brundle in the 1996 Australian Grand Prix. He hardly received a scratch and ran towards the race doctor to get the OK to resume the race in the team's spare car.It would be a more enthralling film if you maybe have not seen similar documentaries but it does have crash bang wallops which excites the audience, the trouble is that in the early days those crashes were lethal.

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.

Often many an unenlightened fan dismisses the notion of a documentary as being boring, especially one to do with racing. "Au contra-ire" my skeptical friend, I heartily recommend this to you, for it has all the ingredients of a regular movie - excitement, passion, true events, story of individuals willing to go past the edge, push the envelope and draw us into their piercing journey. One gets to learn about many of the sports legends, their views and how major events have shaped it. We get brief lessons into the history of F1 and for any fan - as well as newbie to the sport - this is mandatory knowledge and helps us appreciate to a high degree the ultimate of man & machine together and what they face.

This is the first time I write a review for any movie, showing how much I did appreciate this documentary. It is excellent in portraying the era of Formula 1 in the 60s, 70s and early 80s, not from a technical, but rather from a human perspective.It gives great insight into lives of former champions, some dead, some still alive, while at the same time narrating advances in both thinking and technology which enabled Formula 1 to become much safer nowadays.I thoroughly enjoyed all the original footage, as well as the excellent soundtrack and editing which boost the atmosphere of the whole movie. Excellent job and a must see for any Formula 1 fan.