Super Speedway

Starring: Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Andretti Director: Stephen Low Original UK Premiere: 1997 Dvd Release: 29th May, 2000 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding Dubbed In: German

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One of the best directors of IMAX films, Stephen Low has always been a race fan. After obtaining permission from CART, a governing body of Indy car racing & Newman/Haas racing , Low found his stars for Super Speedway: the racing Andrettis, father Mario & son Michael. Mounting cameras fore & aft on the Andrettis cars, IMAX offers a better vantage point than an ESPN camera, at a superior grade of clarity. Add to that the excellent sound & you can feel the bumps on the asphalt as the cars zoom in & out of corners. The large format can turn a pit stop into a dramatic 12 seconds as we see the drivers eyes dart away from his cockpit for a few brief seconds. We watch Michael Andretti on oval tracks & exciting road courses going over hills & sharp turns. Theres even a spin, probably staged, from an angle weve never seen before.

Although true race conditions were impossible , Low sneakily edits his film to stretch the imagination. On race day, several Indy cars drove alongside the camera car hours before the main event, passing & drafting each other with crowds whizzing past them. When edited with footage of the race, it feels like the real thing. Low takes a few off-beat choices in setting up his story. The first image is the biggest chicken youve ever seen. The last shot is a 1950s car racing through perfect golden foliage on an autumn day. It gives his movie of modern technology a wonderful sense of nostalgia.

Christian Fittipaldi is the son of former Grand Prix driver & team owner Wilson Fittipaldi & the nephew of twice F1 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Christian was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, who drove 40 Grand Prix for Minardi & Footwork between 1992 & 1994. Fittipaldi graduated to Formula One following a Formula 3000 championship winning season in 1991. Opportunities to test & impress were limited at Minardi, though & despite a number of points scoring positions early in 1993, Christian fell out with the team management & was dropped with two GPs to go. He had one final crack at F1 in 1994 driving for the Footwork team, scoring two 4th places. Disillusioned with GP racing, however, Fittipaldi moved to America to race where he has been ever since. Competing mainly in Champcars, Fittipaldi was a slow starter, noted for his consistency rather than his outright pace, although by the time he won his first Champcar event at Road America in 1998, he was a championship contender due to his consistent finishing.

Editors Choice: Super Speedway, View DVDology

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