TT3D: Closer to the Edge (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)

Every tribe has its legends, and Richard de Aragues' TT: Closer to the Edge--a year in the life of the Isle of Man’s notorious Tourist Trophy--is an extreme close-up of a mystically dangerous race, one that’s a magnet for motorcyclists with far more racing instincts than professional ambition. The film’s central character is Guy Martin--a young mechanic with Wolverine hair and the cadences of a death wish in his plain-speaking Yorkshire burr. It follows the tense build-up to the 2010 tournament, where Martin and his fellow riders will consciously stake their lives for the deep personal glories of TT success. The odds are ranged steeply against them--more than 230 riders have died along the course's 23 miles of rollercoaster dips and traction-busting corners--and TT: Closer to the Edge is as much a nail-biting survival story as it is a straightforward racing doc. Shown in 3D during its cinematic run, the film's lasting images are captured by bike-mounted cameras: the scenes of riders laying their bikes at impossible angles around corners--or straightening up to zip through the gap between a hedge and a stone wall--are a parade of near-misses. Composed interviews with grieving wives--and the personal philosophies of these brave riders--underline the questions of personal liberty at the fringes of the action. While the Tourist Trophy can only exist as long as the legal exemptions and laissez-faire government of the Isle of Man are in place, TT: Closer to the Edge will speak to your inner daredevil as an increasingly rare expression of our freedom to choose. --Leo Batchelor