One by One

Saw this on tape several years ago, as I'm a huge Formula 1 fan.

While this documentary is a representation of the 1973 Formula 1 season and was released in 1974, it's disturbing that graphic footage of Tom Pryce's horrifying accident at the 1977 South African Grand Prix was included.

It was probably included to make an extra dollar, but really had no reason being there as it had nothing to do with the 1973 season (Pryce wasn't even driving in F1 at the time).

Aside from that, it's a good and gripping documentary about the racers, races and season in general. There is more graphic footage of the Roger Williamson crash, where he was killed and Clay Regazzoni's crash (he survived), but the interviews with Francois Cevert are good.

If you're a racing fan and like history, this is okay, but edit out the opening sequence.

Something to watch in the off season. On one hand possibly the worst ever example of 1970's documentary film making (the editor must have been on LSD and the musical score later probably appeared in Deep Throat) BUT put that to one side and enjoy the spectacle of those incredible 1973 F1 cars and just how far the sport has come in the intervening years.

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.

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.

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.