Grand Prix Heroes: James Hunt [DVD] [2011]

Charming, handsome, irreverent, tenacious and an outstanding talent, James Hunt had everything it took to become one of England's most famous sportsmen and a household. However, it was his dogged determination and epic battles with Niki Lauda which made him a Grand Prix Hero. Glorious archive footage shows US the great racer in action, while rare interviews remind US of the cheeky quips and trademark broad grin. There's dramatic racing film from his debut at the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix right through to the Formula One World Championship-decided Japanese Grand Prix in 1976, with narration throughout from Sir Stirling Moss. Despite a reputation which earned him the nickname 'Hunt the Shunt', Lord Hesketh signed up the young Brit for an assault on Formula One. We are treated to footage from that first year, including Hunt's maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, and action from 1974, when Hunt, with Harvey Postlethwaite's Hesketh 308 at his disposal could manage only three podium finishes. The 1975 season also proved tough for the team, but the highlight came at Zandvoort when Hunt scored his first, and Hesketh's only, Grand Prix win ? and archive footage let's US share the epic battle with Lauda. In 1976 came a move to McLaren and one of the most fascinating and turbulent season's of Formula One racing. Lauda's Ferrari led the way with a domination which would have broken the spirit of most contenders. Not Hunt. Neither was his ambition stifled by controversies such as disqualification from two GP wins or a grid penalty 'mistake'. Hunt kept the pressure on and at the final race of the year he was just 3 points behind Lauda, still carrying the scars of his horrific crash in Germany. Some say Hunt won his World Championship be default, due to Lauda's crash, but the spectacular and determined racing in this DVD shows he was a worthy winner, and a true Grand Prix Hero.

William "One Shot" Beaudine's companion piece to the equally nonsensical Billy the Kid vs. Dracula represents a memorable closing to the eccentric "Z"-movie auteur's amusing body of work. The hare-brained concept finds the legendary outlaw Jesse James (John Lupton) stumbling into the decrepit lair of Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx) -- not the daughter but the granddaughter of the infamous monster-making Baron. Maria is, of course, following in Grandpa's footsteps by creating a creature of her own, transplanting the dormant but still-intact brain of Frankenstein's original monster into the body of one of James' cohorts. The lumbering, homicidal monster -- imaginatively dubbed "Igor" -- begins terrorizing townsfolk until the inevitable showdown between living and undead gunslingers. Though not as flamboyantly awful as its predecessor (mainly due to the absence of John Carradine), this is still worth a look for trash-movie completists.