The World's Fastest Indian

In this independently released sleeper, consummate actor's actor Anthony Hopkins brings a deceptively diminutive, real-life hero--legendary motorcyclist Burt Munro--to the big screen in a larger-than-life biopic. Directed with heartfelt passion by Australian Roger Donaldson, The World's Fastest Indian tells the improbable story of one man's all-consuming mission to become the fastest man on two wheels.For twenty-five years, New Zealander Burt Munro has dreamed of trekking far from the shores of his town of Invercargill to take a shot at breaking the motorcycle land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. But as the movie opens, we find not some youth with the latest tricked-out bike, but a pensioner pushing seventy and nursing hardened arteries, for which he must take nitroglycerin pills to prevent his heart from giving out. Pushing his dream even farther from the reaches of reality, he plans to ride to glory on a mechanical antique--his beloved 1920 Indian Scout. The bike originally left the factory able to reach a top speed of fifty-four miles per hour; but Burt intends to reach 200.Hopkins is brilliant in capturing the unassuming outer persona of Munro. His portrayal gives us the sense not that we are in the presence of greatness so much as resolute persistence. Burt Munro is a self-effacing charmer and tinkerer whose eccentric personality is out of phase with his stolid, suburbanite neighbors. They, understandably, are more than mildly annoyed by his loudly revving bike engine before the break of dawn, and by his absent-mindedness about getting around to mowing his lawn.One neighbor, though, twelve-year-old Tom, sees in Burt not some tottering old crank, but a hero and mentor. The scenes in Burt's tool shed as Tom listens to the old man's reminisces and aspirations are among the movie's most sincere and enchanting. Even as we are subtly prodded not to take Burt completely seriously, Tom's uncorrupted awe and youthful idolization help stoke the man's quiet inner passion to see his plan to fruition."If you don't follow through on your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable," he counsels the boy."What kind of vegetable?" Tom inquires.With biting succinctness, Hopkins replies, "A cabbage."One thing that separates Burt from a legion of dreamers who abandon their ambitions is his resourcefulness. On a shoestring budget, he constantly employs his mechanical ingenuity to modify the Indian, with which he is more intimate than he is with any living person. Never taking a day off, not even for Christmas, he spends untold hours and days forging new pistons and souping up his "motorsicle," readying it for the big trip.Much of the movie concerns itself with Burt's personal odyssey to Bonneville for "Speed Week." He finances part of the journey by working as a cook and dishwasher on a freighter bound for America. Upon arrival, he works late into the night repairing a cheap old clunker to tow the Indian across the desert to Utah. Along the way we meet a benevolent, motley crew who happen into and out of Burt's life, including a fast-talking used car salesman (comedian Paul Rodriguez) whom Burt nearly kills while test driving on the left side of the road; a hotel desk clerk in drag (Chris Williams); an aging American Indian (Saginaw Grant) who helps Burt out of a tight spot; a widow, Ada (Diane Ladd), who takes a respite from loneliness during a brief encounter with Burt; and an Airman on furlough from Vietnam (Patrick Flueger).In a quietly reflective scene, Burt relates to Ada what motivates him to push himself further:A man is like a blade of grass. He grows up in the spring, strong and healthy and green. And, then he reaches middle age and he ripens, as it were. And, in the autumn, he finishes, he fades away and never comes back...I think that when you're dead, you're dead.In this soliloquy Hopkins summarizes the film's philosophy--that there's no room for soothing stagnation on Earth by nurturing dreams to be fulfilled only in the hereafter. Life must be lived now, because tomorrow may never come.Arriving in Bonneville, Burt must overcome new challenges strewn in his path: Speed Week organizers inform him that he forgot to pre-register; his ancient motorcycle has no safety equipment; he's simply too old to be allowed to race in the time trials. But because of his dogged refusal to back down after traveling around the world, the race organizers humor Burt and allow him to enter the time trials.The World's Fastest Indian is superb in every respect. For director Donaldson, it represents the fulfillment of a double obsession: dramatizing Burt Munro's breathtaking pursuit of his lifelong goal, and realizing Donaldson's own quarter-century quest to bring his hero-friend's incredible story to the screen. David Gribble's lush cinematography is full of vibrant hues and astounding moving camerawork, expertly capturing racing vehicles traveling at speeds topping 200 miles per hour.But it's Hopkins who ultimately makes this picture work so well, in his most heroic role since playing efficacious industrialist Charles Morse in 1997's The Edge. Though not given to hyperbole, Hopkins proclaimed The World's Fastest Indian "the best film I've been in." I agree, absolutely. His natural, evocative portrayal of a man who refuses to resign himself to the tedium expected of one in old age will inspire viewers of all ages. His Burt Munro is not content merely to dream, but is that rare individual who makes his dreams reality. "For me, it's a big change," Hopkins commented about Munro, "because it's a real winner of a guy. I've had a good career playing psychopaths or uptight people, and I'm fed up with those."Ironically, his rousing performance of this aging hero is the best depiction of the spirit of youth I've seen in a decade. Spend a couple hours with Burt Munro, and you'll find in his quiet resolve the idealism you may have mislaid somewhere along the way.

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This is an awesome and entertaining movie!

Perfect gift for him. Loved this movie...a great addition to the collection.

Anthony Hopkins has appeared in over a hundred films during his fifty-year career as an actor. Though famous for his performances as Hannibal Lector and the legendary Zorro, few roles have been as much fun for him to play as that of the real-life Burt Munro--a seventy-year-old New Zealander who was finally able to make his dreams come true by coming to America and racing his motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats.The World's Fastest Indian refers to the 1920 Indian motorcycle that Burt Munro purchased when he was in his mid-twenties. At that time the bike could only go about fifty miles an hour. Not knowing a hill of beans about how to work on a motorcycle, Burt took it upon himself to slowly learn how to take his bike apart and then to put it back together, sometimes having to make the motorcycle parts himself from scratch in his tool shed. Burt's intent was to make his bike go faster and faster. And, over the next forty-something years, he got his Indian to do speeds of over a hundred miles an hour. That, however, wasn't enough. Burt's dream was to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during Speed Week and try to get his bike to go over two hundred miles an hour. No one really thought he could do it. Defying all logic, Burt mortgaged his home, packed his motorcycle up, and hopped a steamer to the United States in 1967. When he got to Los Angeles, he purchased a cheap car and hooked his Indian to the back of it and eventually made his way to Utah. Once he reached the Bonneville Salt Flats, no one at first wanted to let him race. The man was in his seventies with heart problems, and his Indian motorcycle wasn't in the best looking condition when compared to the other machines competing for world speed records. Because of Burt's perseverance and positive attitude about life, he eventually won over the people at the Salt Flats and the rest is history.This movie, directed by Roger Donaldson, deals with Burt's odyssey in getting to Utah and the problems that he had to overcome. It was no piece of cake, yet he never gave up on moving forward with his dreams. There always seemed to be people who would come to his aid like synchronicity and help him to get over each hurdle that faced him. The World's Fastest Indian is a beautiful testimony to never giving up on your dreams no matter how old you are. This film is also the dream of Roger Donaldson. His first student film was a documentary on Burt Munro. He met Mr. Munro and realized that this old man was the stuff of movie legends. Mr. Donaldson then spent twenty-five years trying to get The World's Fastest Indian made. No one wanted to touch it until Anthony Hopkins read the script and decided that this was a movie he wanted to make with Roger Donaldson. Mr. Hopkins brings to life the character of Burt Munro by depicting his eccentricities and his good-natured attitude about life and how to live it. The audience is immediately drawn into the dreams that Mr. Munro wants to accomplish and roots whole-heartedly for him during the entire length of the film. This is certainly a feel-good movie of the highest caliber. It inspires one to never give up and that anything is possible if your heart is in the right place. The DVD extras include a behind the scenes making of the film, the original documentary that was done by Roger Donaldson, a look at Southland, New Zealand and how Munro affected the people of his community, several deleted scenes, and a feature-length commentary by the movie's director/writer, Roger Donaldson. The World's Fastest Indian is definitely one of Anthony Hopkins' best roles to date, and the movie will have you yearning to hop on a motorcycle to see just how fast you can get it to go.

It's a great story for sure and the movie is excellent in many ways, but it seems a little long, even for its day. There are too many short gag scenes containing standard issue Hollywood social statements. If they were thought to be frosting on a tasty cake, those scenes are more sugary than the palette requires and are thusly out of place for such an inspiring true story. The 2nd quarter of the film drags a bit as it tries a bit too hard to be cute and relevant- causing me to fast forward until the action picked up.The scenes at the flats are well done and capture the camaraderie of the participants during Speed Week. The movie really comes alive as the lead fights to realize his dream and sidestep some of the track rules. The final setup is nicely done, leaving the viewer with warm, nostalgic feelings.Sadly, the days of racing on the flats are about over. Doing so has become a bureaucratic nightmare and the bed itself is a fraction of the thickness it used to be with so much material having been mined for sale. Perhaps there is enough for a few electric vehicles to battle it out, but the sounds, smells, and culture may be fading faster than the great stories born of the event can be told.