One by One

My interest in F-1 started in the early 70s. Back then, the only TV coverage of F-1 in the US, was a few minutes of Monaco on Wide World of SPorts, between other segments. Any other footage I saw of F-1 races came along once a year when Auto Expo auto show would run some of the Castrol films covering motorsports during the previous year. When One By One opened in Los Angeles, I skipped school and drove 60 miles to see it! Then went back with my parents on the weekend, then skipped another day of school the following week. I was a big fan of Tyrrell team and had been sad at the loss of Cevert at Watkins that previous year. I appreciated that the film became a tribute to him. The film had been intended to be about the passing of the torch from Stewart to Cevert.

As some have noted, the film was later released on video as "The Quick and the Dead", with that morbid addition of Tom Pryce and the course worker losing their lives. That aside, the movie captures the atmosphere of that era quite well. It was tragically common up to the early 80s for at least one driver to be killed per season in GP racing (same applied to most of the big league motorsports), and the film brings that to our attention in a very non-gratuitous way.

OK, so this was made in 1974, and, wow!, it shows! It's about 80% filler & time wasted. It's obvious the the producers & director deliberately include a lot of 70s risque crap.

What IS worthwhile is the 20% of material that shows racing, incidents, discussion of racing by the drivers, a tour of the Nurburgring with Jackie Stewart, and the display of just how primitive and chaotic F1 was at the time.

It was, compared to today, a poorly administered exercise in making rich people richer, and letting fragile egos of a few European men play with lives of drivers and the welfare of their families.

It's not a proud time for F1, and this documentary suffers mightily in retrospect for choices made to put style first over actual content. It is, maybe, an effort to celebrate excess for its own sake. At best - trying to be generous - it's an experience of F1 of the times, moreso than an exposition.

Fortunately, there are much better documentaries and far better resources for learning the history of F1.

It was the days when F1 was really a lethal sport for crazies... the interviews of many of these guys, knowing that most of them finished burned alive in their cars few months or years after the filming, is so tragically poignant. Cevert in particular... so genuine and open about his passion, Jackie and their friendship. A future world champion until his fate was sealed this terrible day at Watkins Glen 1973. Awesome footage of movie quality of these 1973 raging motor beasts mastered by their crazy fearless masters... rarely seen so vibrant footage of a long gone era. And of course the awful drama of these 2 terrible and visceral graphic scenes that demonstrate why so few could ride these mechanical monsters. A documentary that explains the essence of this sport during these early eras: epic, raw and dangerous. One of the best ever.

While the film is a little dated, it reminds you immediately why race car drivers are considered some of the coolest and most courageous athletes in the world. The opening scene sets the tone for the film. This is no film for the faint-hearted. In fact, if you are at all squeamish about scenes of car wrecks, this is not for you. There are scenes with not only wrecks but the carnage that follows. Far from being a glorification of that carnage, the accompanying interviews with formula 1 drivers from the early 70s remind you that there are people in those cars; people who get hurt or even killed in those crashes. I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of racing in any capacity.

Having been a race fan for many years I have always found the courage of both the drivers and course workers to be compelling.

While I have seen some horrifying crashes, the one which shows Pryce's car hitting and then launching a course worker into the air like a broken rag doll, virtually cutting his body in half, as he runs across the track to help another driver, is the worst I have seen.

As you see the track worker alive one second and horrifyingly killed in the next, you become painfully aware of just how precious life is, and how quickly a tragic and unforeseen event can cut it short.

I would have to say that while some racing enthusiasts suggest viewing this footage of Tom Pryce in the 1977 South African GrandPrix, I don't recommend it. You can hear about tragedies like this one, but when you see it even on film it is devastating. I can only imagine the nightmares that other course workers who immediately ran over to the mutilated body of their dead comrade, must have had for years afterwards.

Sometimes, it's just better to hear about these things rather then see them.