F1 Review Videos - which was the best review?

[philipbain]

I was going through my library of F1 videos / DVDs and have come to the realisation that I have a season review for each of the last 40 F1 seasons! Those in the know will realise that FOCA produced the first F1 season review after the 1981 season and have produced reviews on an annual basis ever since, though FOCA are long gone and FOM have produced these (and F1's TV coverage) for some years now. As you may have figured, these only account for the last 29 seasons, the previous 11 seasons (1970 - 1980 inclusive) were reviewed as a retrospective DVD box set which made superb use the Brunswick film archive which catalogues many races from the pre-FOCA/FOM TV era of F1.

The quality of these reviews has varied wildly over the years, particularly bad reviews that stick out for me are 1983 (a vain attempt to add humour with a "co-commentator" doesn't work), 2000 (sounds like Barry Scott from the Cillit Bang advert spouting a load of cliches as commentary) and 1988 where the main problem is that Stirling Moss and Tony Jardine have not rehearsed the script properly, all of which are a big shame as they were all good seasons blighted by a sub-par reviews. Personal favourites of mine are 1982, 1984 & 1986, all narrated by Clive James who adds his dry whit to the proceedings and his enthusiasm for the sport really shines through too. In modern times the extensive use of the full array of FOM's coverage has really added to the experience too, giving insights into the races which were not immediately apparent when watching the races live.

A final mention needs to go to the 1970-1980 reviews derived from the Brunswick archive, they give an invaluable insight into the rapid growth and increasing professionalism of the sport throughout the 1970s. They are also very well presented and produced and are a valuable addition to anyone's motor racing dvd collection.

So what are your favourite annual reviews and why?

[Sonic]

I really enjoyed Jonathan W(R)oss in the '93 review. His attempts to say some of the driver names still make me chuckle to this day - Andwetti!

[wedge]

In modern times the extensive use of the full array of FOM's coverage has really added to the experience too, giving insights into the races which were not immediately apparent when watching the races live.

Ah yes, the 2005 DVD/Australian GP. Schumi forced Heidfeld onto the grass which meant Nick slid straight into Schumi and Schumi went into the middle of kitty-litter. Cue Ross Brawn to Michael "try to signal to the marshals for a push(start)". Cheat, evil genius, you decide...

[seamusoldfield]

Hey! I'm also a fan of these reviews and look forward to them each year. My collection is not as complete as the original poster; I have videos and DVDs going back to the 1987 season. I'm also missing the '02 tape and '03 DVD - both are out of print and tough to find!

I'm wondering what's up with the '09 review. I see it for sale on Amazon UK and also in Australia, but no North American release. What gives? I hope they are still planning on releasing it here!

[Sonic]

I do think the title for the '09 review is perfect - "not in a hurry". Lol

[ArrowsFA1]

Personal favourites of mine are 1982, 1984 & 1986, all narrated by Clive James who adds his dry whit to the proceedings and his enthusiasm for the sport really shines through too.

Absolutely

I find myself increasingly disappointed by more recent reviews. I've been watching the '09 release over Christmas and it struck me again that the race highlights are shorter than they could be, while the "extra features" add very little to the story of the season

I'd happily watch the Clive James reviews again many times during the course of the next 20yrs, but I'm not so sure I'll be watching the 2009 in 2029, or anytime in between.

[Bezza]

Absolutely

I find myself increasingly disappointed by more recent reviews. I've been watching the '09 release over Christmas and it struck me again that the race highlights are shorter than they could be, while the "extra features" add very little to the story of the season

I'd happily watch the Clive James reviews again many times during the course of the next 20yrs, but I'm not so sure I'll be watching the 2009 in 2029, or anytime in between.

Are there any plans to release 1981 - 2002 on DVD? As I no longer have a VCR depsite owning videos 1998-2001 and would like to collect them.

I thought 2007 review DVD was excellent but, as above, 2008 there wasn't enough racing and it cut too soon to the finish on a number of occasions. They need to remove the "pole lap" from every race and just focus on the racing. Tell us who is on pole, where the main contenders are, show any major highlights from practice/qualifying and then get on with the race.

[philipbain]

Are there any plans to release 1981 - 2002 on DVD

Very good question, I haven't seen any mention of it from Duke, might drop them an email as I would love to have proper transfers on DVD from the original master (I have transferred my own VHS tapes to DVD for my own use for convenience, but it still means that you only get VHS quality) and it would make an excellent box set. Also there is a way to watch 2000 - 2002 on DVD - they were only available with a limited edition of the Sony Playstation 2 Formula One games from 2001 - 2003 (each with the previous season's review, complete with multi-channel coverage of the races reflecting the Pay Per View coverage available at the time).

[philipbain]

Are there any plans to release 1981 - 2002 on DVD?

I have had a reply from Duke regarding obtaining the 1981 - 2002 seasons on DVD, here is the reply in full with added emphasis:

Hi
Thanks for your e mail [regarding the availability of the F1 season reviews 1981 - 2002 on DVD]; no plans at present [to release the F1 season reviews 1981 - 2002 on DVD,] all to do with licensing. If and when they were available they would be listed on our website.

So for now - no, there won't be any official DVD version of the F1 reviews from 1981 - 2002.

[ArrowsFA1]

So for now - no, there won't be any official DVD version of the F1 reviews from 1981 - 2002.

Madness