Crash and Burn review – ugly side of Formula One

A documentary on Irish racing driver Tommy Byrne gives an insight into the sport but is strictly for fans

This documentary about the rise and fall of Tommy Byrne, a talented but troubled also-ran on the motor racing circuit, is most interesting for the insight it gives into the ugly, elitist attitudes in Formula One. But unlike Asif Kapadia’s Senna, there’s not much here to recommend the film to non-fans of the sport.

Watch a trailer for Crash and Burn.

Contributor

Wendy Ide

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Williams review – a driven man, in a tale that lacks throttle
The dramatic life story of Formula One’s Frank Williams suffers in an unwieldy and contrived documentary

Wendy Ide

06, Aug, 2017 @7:00 AM

Article image
1 – Life on the Limit – review | Mark Kermode

Paul Crowder's documentary focuses on how Formula One has become less deadly since the 1994 crash that killed Ayrton Senna, writes Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode

12, Jan, 2014 @12:05 AM

Article image
McLaren review – classy F1 documentary
Driver and engineer Bruce McLaren is the focus of this good-looking film

Simran Hans

21, May, 2017 @7:00 AM

Article image
Mark Kermode's DVD round-up
Ayrton Senna is the subject of a spellbinding documentary, while Fred Cavayé's Point Blank offers unusually frank extras, writes Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode

01, Oct, 2011 @11:05 PM

Article image
Edith Walks review – a walk on the wild side
Andrew Kötting explores the legacy of King Harold and his wife in this wonderfully eccentric film

Wendy Ide

25, Jun, 2017 @7:00 AM

Article image
Matangi/Maya/MIA review – her side now in a star-dominated music documentary
The maverick musician gets to tell her story, her way in Steve Loveridge’s film

Wendy Ide

23, Sep, 2018 @7:00 AM

Article image
Side by Side – review
Keanu Reeves presents an intelligent documentary looking at the impact of digital film-making, writes Philip French

Philip French

17, Feb, 2013 @12:05 AM

Article image
The Ice King review – finely balanced John Curry documentary
The brilliance of the British figure skater is celebrated in a documentary that doesn’t shy away from his demons

Wendy Ide

25, Feb, 2018 @7:50 AM

Article image
Speed Sisters review – women race against prejudice in the occupied territories
Celebratory documentary following Palestine’s first all-female motor racing team

Mark Kermode, Observer film critic

27, Mar, 2016 @7:00 AM

Article image
I Am Bolt review – life in the fast lane
This gushing profile of the great Olympian contains nothing likely to damage the Bolt brand

Xan Brooks

27, Nov, 2016 @7:00 AM