Weekend of a Champion

Formula One fans must not miss this excellent and sometimes quirky profile of Jackie Stewart originally filmed in 1971 (the year he won his second World Championship) as he prepared for the Monaco Grand Prix. Following a short theatrical release in Europe, the film was not shown again for forty years until 2012 when it was updated to include extra footage and a new interview between Stewart and Roman Polanski, the film's producer. Like Stewart, Polanski was one of the smart set and a racing fanatic who then and now wanders around the pits and the track, getting the inside story. The glamour of the 1970s - " when motor racing was dangerous and sex was safe", is how Stewart puts it with a wink, before the two men embark on a protracted and fascinating conversation about advances in safety. The whole thing is way above the standard of the usual sports documentary, probing the mind and the frayed nervous system of a racing driver while vividly capturing the mad F1 circus at its most glamorous venue.