F1: Life on the Limit
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
I'm sure I'll watch once I get hold of it - or it gets shown on TV.
Eric, I wouldn't expend too much energy in pursuit of the film. It seemed to me to be aimed at people with little prior knowledge of the subject and a short attention span. It had its positive moments, but there were also a few errors, not least of which this howler in the opening titles:
With regards to the contributions to safety portrayed in the film, there was very liitle about Bernie's contribution other than his hiring of Professor Watkins. Max Mosely seemd to grab a much larger share of the credit, especially with his comment of being on the grid for the race where Clark was killed in '68, and him saying to himself then that if ever he was in a position of power he would do something positive for safety in the sport.
Interesting.
I wonder if he was operating these principles when he was running March?
The documentary sounds a bit like a back slapping exercise for Max and Bernie.
And that is a bit sloppy with the "Nouvalari" (sic) headline. Is that a genuine headline from the period or a mocked up assumption?
I would be surprised if an English speaking paper of the 1930s would have referred to Germans as Huns at that time.
I wonder if he was operating these principles when he was running March?
The documentary sounds a bit like a back slapping exercise for Max and Bernie.
And that is a bit sloppy with the "Nouvalari" (sic) headline. Is that a genuine headline from the period or a mocked up assumption?
I would be surprised if an English speaking paper of the 1930s would have referred to Germans as Huns at that time.
Scuffers said:
Not sure without looking again, its not really relevant to the film.
The person who created the film put it in - so he/she must have thought it was relevant.Why didn't they use a real headline? Or weren't there any real headlines that were "juicy" enough for their purposes.
If a "documentary" has to fake elements to make a point, then that must say something about their approach to authenticity and truth.
You're coming to that conclusion based on a couple of comments and a typo?
You seem a very knowledgeable man, really surprised you can be so easily led. I thought you'd be more inclined in gathering the facts before forming a conclusion about something, but maybe the problem is you started with a conclusion which the movie doesn't fit.
Watch it or don't watch it, I don't care, but contributing so strongly to a thread about its content when you haven't even seen it is far below your best.
You seem a very knowledgeable man, really surprised you can be so easily led. I thought you'd be more inclined in gathering the facts before forming a conclusion about something, but maybe the problem is you started with a conclusion which the movie doesn't fit.
Watch it or don't watch it, I don't care, but contributing so strongly to a thread about its content when you haven't even seen it is far below your best.
I often read reviews of something before I make a decision about whether I want to watch it or not. That is why people write reviews - to help potential viewers make up their minds. So far, the reviews are not very encouraging - to me. I'm always wary of programmes where they decide to slot in false representations such as made up, inaccurate news reports. It's supposed to be a documentary..
I am more interested in the subject matter of the programme than the programme itself - and that is what I would really prefer to discuss. The number of people on this thread who have actually seen the programme is quite small (two?) so if the discussion is limited to those who have seen the film, it won't be much of a discussion.
I am more interested in the subject matter of the programme than the programme itself - and that is what I would really prefer to discuss. The number of people on this thread who have actually seen the programme is quite small (two?) so if the discussion is limited to those who have seen the film, it won't be much of a discussion.
Eric Mc said:
Interesting.
I wonder if he was operating these principles when he was running March?
March chassis are very strong compared to the majority of their contemporaries in the 70's, with substantial magnesium bulkheads incorporated into the tub. The rules do drive safety performance forward during this period, with changes to incorporate crash structures for example, but even their first F1 car, the March 701 has strong magnesium bulkheads.I wonder if he was operating these principles when he was running March?
Eric Mc said:
The Durex thing stopped any decent broadcasting in 1976 or 1977 - although some races were televised - as they had been since the 1950s.
The BBC had been happily showing live F1 on and off for two decades, including since the advent of full on sponsorship in 1968. I well remember watching the British GP live on TV in 1968, the British GP live on TV in 1973 and 1975, the Monaco GP live in 1974 etc etc.
The BBC finally got their act together for the 1978 season when they introduced the "Grand Prix" highlights programme for Sunday nights. Only a handfull of races were shown live until the early 1990s. Mansell's 1992 season was a big draw which encouraged the BBC to make a bigger effort. Hill's 1996 season was the first one where every race was shown live.
Worth remembering that BBC's original stint at coverage wasn't all that, ITV showed every qualifying session for example. Why did the bbc in the 80's show highlights for the fly away races and not the whole race, seems strange, maybe people just didn't watch early morning tv back then? Or weren't ready for it , apart from stoned students watching ceefax. The BBC had been happily showing live F1 on and off for two decades, including since the advent of full on sponsorship in 1968. I well remember watching the British GP live on TV in 1968, the British GP live on TV in 1973 and 1975, the Monaco GP live in 1974 etc etc.
The BBC finally got their act together for the 1978 season when they introduced the "Grand Prix" highlights programme for Sunday nights. Only a handfull of races were shown live until the early 1990s. Mansell's 1992 season was a big draw which encouraged the BBC to make a bigger effort. Hill's 1996 season was the first one where every race was shown live.
Getting TV footage from abroad was a very expensive, difficult to organise and time consuming process, its easy to forget just how difficult this was not that long ago. When I first started watching F1, we didn't even have a home telephone as it cost too much! We probably still had a black and white TV too. Internet, that didn't arrive for a couple of decades. 
markcoznottz said:
Eric Mc said:
The Durex thing stopped any decent broadcasting in 1976 or 1977 - although some races were televised - as they had been since the 1950s.
The BBC had been happily showing live F1 on and off for two decades, including since the advent of full on sponsorship in 1968. I well remember watching the British GP live on TV in 1968, the British GP live on TV in 1973 and 1975, the Monaco GP live in 1974 etc etc.
The BBC finally got their act together for the 1978 season when they introduced the "Grand Prix" highlights programme for Sunday nights. Only a handfull of races were shown live until the early 1990s. Mansell's 1992 season was a big draw which encouraged the BBC to make a bigger effort. Hill's 1996 season was the first one where every race was shown live.
Worth remembering that BBC's original stint at coverage wasn't all that, ITV showed every qualifying session for example. Why did the bbc in the 80's show highlights for the fly away races and not the whole race, seems strange, maybe people just didn't watch early morning tv back then? Or weren't ready for it , apart from stoned students watching ceefax. The BBC had been happily showing live F1 on and off for two decades, including since the advent of full on sponsorship in 1968. I well remember watching the British GP live on TV in 1968, the British GP live on TV in 1973 and 1975, the Monaco GP live in 1974 etc etc.
The BBC finally got their act together for the 1978 season when they introduced the "Grand Prix" highlights programme for Sunday nights. Only a handfull of races were shown live until the early 1990s. Mansell's 1992 season was a big draw which encouraged the BBC to make a bigger effort. Hill's 1996 season was the first one where every race was shown live.
I think you are getting your decades mixed up.
By the time BBC were showing sponsored world snooker, they had already settled into their standardised format for covering all the GPs.
As for claiming their coverage was poor prior to ITV, it looks poor by modern standards but it was the BBC who eventually were the first to cover an entire season in full (1978) and were the first to show all the races live (1996). The coverage was getting better as the years progressed and the audience was gradually growing - thanks mainly to the BBC's pretty good coverage. And it wasn't just limited to the UK, the BBC programming was also carried by some other English speaking countries.
ITV upped the game massively when they took over and moved the coverage to a new level. Their main problem was they never came up with a satisfactory way of inserting ad breaks into their coverage.
As the years have progressed, the expectations of the audience have grown and now any change to the TV format is generally looked on as a step backwards rather than an improvement.
By the time BBC were showing sponsored world snooker, they had already settled into their standardised format for covering all the GPs.
As for claiming their coverage was poor prior to ITV, it looks poor by modern standards but it was the BBC who eventually were the first to cover an entire season in full (1978) and were the first to show all the races live (1996). The coverage was getting better as the years progressed and the audience was gradually growing - thanks mainly to the BBC's pretty good coverage. And it wasn't just limited to the UK, the BBC programming was also carried by some other English speaking countries.
ITV upped the game massively when they took over and moved the coverage to a new level. Their main problem was they never came up with a satisfactory way of inserting ad breaks into their coverage.
As the years have progressed, the expectations of the audience have grown and now any change to the TV format is generally looked on as a step backwards rather than an improvement.
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