Main Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Paul Rodriguez, Aaron Murphy, Annie Whittle
Release Year: 2005
Country: NZ
Run Time: 127 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
The true story of a man who never gave up on his dreams of doing something big -- and doing it very, very fast -- provides the basis for this engaging comedy drama. Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) was born in 1899 in Invercargill, New Zealand. From childhood, Munro had a passion for machines that moved fast, and when he was 21 he bought his first motorcycle, an Indian model with a 600 cc engine. Motorcycles became an obsession that stayed with Munro for the rest of his life, as he constantly tinkered with his beloved Indian machine, modifying the engine and frame, determined to see just how fast he could make it run. In 1967, Munro decided it was high time he proved to himself and the world just what he and his machine could do, and he booked passage for the United States, with the goal of breaking the world's land speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. As Munro made his way across America to Utah, he discovered not everyone took his dream seriously, but some did, and he made a handful of friends along the way, including Ada (Diane Ladd), a widow who fell for Munro's rough charm, and Fernando (Paul Rodriguez), a car dealer who offered to help him. However, when he finally arrived at Bonneville, Munro was told his machine was unsafe to participate in the time trials, and -- far worse -- he was too old to ride. It took some intervention from a ranking American driver, Jim Moffett (Chris Lawford), before Munro was given his chance to ride the famous Salt Flats. The World's Fastest Indian was written and directed by Roger Donaldson, who early in his career made a documentary about the real Burt Munro, Offerings to the Gods of Speed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
For a film that celebrates speed, The World's Fastest Indian certainly doesn't move very quickly. At least 30 minutes could have been chopped from the meandering true story of Burt Munro's 1967 attempt to break the land-speed record with his Indian motorcycle. Roger Donaldson's film observes the following school of thought: If you don't see Burt brush his teeth, can you really be sure they got brushed? The movie's engine warms up nicely in Burt's New Zealand home, where there's plenty of local character to contextualize this senior citizen speed fetishist and his tendency to flout convention. But once Burt goes to America, that Kiwi charm is gone, mostly because Anthony Hopkins can't transplant it there himself. Despite peppering his speech with the words "mate" and "crikey," Hopkins sounds more Scottish or even Irish than he does anything else. This isn't to say Hopkins' Burt isn't extremely likeable -- he is, and that's what makes The World's Fast Indian come across favorably as a pleasant little diversion, rather than the tension-free dramatic failure it actually is. Still, this pleasantry steadily begins to suffocate, as Burt meets and spends about five minutes of screen time with one helpful American after another, addressing challenges that turn out to be nothing but minor hiccups. He's shaken down by an immigrant cabbie and a Sunset Boulevard flower saleswoman, but otherwise, numerous nice people bend over backwards for this determined old SOB from halfway across the world, and that just seems too easy. What's missing is a palpable sense of why going fast is important to Burt, how he developed his passion for mechanics and racing, and the details of his previous attempts at setting records, of which there were several. In a two-hour film, that could have easily been wrenched in. ~ All Movie Guide
Chris Bruno - Bob Higby; Carlos Lacamara - Cabbie; Jessica Cauffiel - Wendy; Patrick Flueger - Rusty; Walton Goggins - Marty Dickerson; Bruce Greenwood - Jerry; Joe Howard - Otto Donner; Christopher Lawford - Jim Moffet; Gavin Grazer - Mike; William Lucking - Rolly Free; Eric Pierpoint - Earl; Laurel Moglen - Ali; Chris Williams - Tina; Brian Clark
Credit
Diana Rowan - Casting, Dianne Crittenden - Casting, John Kelly - Co-producer, Jane Holland - Costume Designer, Nancy Cavallaro - Costume Designer, Roger Donaldson - Director, John Gilbert - Editor, Barrie M. Osborne - Executive Producer, Satoru Iseki - Executive Producer, Masaki Fukasawa - Executive Producer, Masaharu Inaba - Executive Producer, Charles Hannah - Executive Producer, Don Schain - Line Producer, Murray Francis - Line Producer, J. Peter Robinson - Composer (Music Score), Robert Gillies - Production Designer, Dennis Washington - Production Designer, David Gribble - Cinematographer, Roger Donaldson - Producer, Gary Hannam - Producer, Douglas Cameron - Sound/Sound Designer, Roger Donaldson - Screenwriter, Kent Houston - Visual Effects Supervisor, Tim Prebble - Supervising Sound Editor
The World's Fastest Indian is a 2005 film based on the Invercargill, New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro and his highly modified IndianScoutmotorcycle. Munro set numerous land speed records for motorcycles with engines less than 1000 cc at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. Some suggest his records may never be broken.
The film stars Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and was written and directed by Roger Donaldson. The film opened in December 2005 to positive reviews[1] and quickly became the highest grossing local film at the New Zealand box-office taking in $7,043,000;[2] and taking in over $11 million overseas.[3]
Burt is loved in his community for his friendly and charming personality and for being featured in Popular Mechanics magazine (May 1957 p6) for having the fastest motorcycle in Australia and New Zealand. However, that recognition is contrasted by his exasperated neighbours, who are fed up with his un-neighbourly habits such as urinating on his lemon tree every morning, neglecting his yardwork, and, most of all, waking up before sunrise to rev his bike.
When Burt arrives in Los Angeles, he experiences bureaucracy, scepticism and the coldness of big city people. It is his blunt but gregarious nature which overcomes each hurdle. He wins over the hardened motel clerk, a transgender woman named Tina, who assists him in clearing customs and helps him in buying a car. The car salesman allows Burt to use his shop to make a trailer and later offers him a job after Burt fixes one of the cars on the lot. Burt declines the offer, however, and shortly afterwards begins his long trip to Utah.
Along the way, Burt meets many people, including a Native American who aids him when his trailer fails, a woman named Ada who helps him repair his trailer and becomes his lover, and an Air Force pilot who is on a leave from his military service in Vietnam.
He is further assisted by various competitors in the Bonneville series, and is eventually allowed to make a timed run. In the 8th mile, he achieves over 200mph then falls with the bike and skids to a stop. His leg is burned by the exhaust, yet he has succeeded in his quest.
Director Roger Donaldson had been working on this movie for over 20 years before he started filming it, and had previously directed a short television documentary about Munro called Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed in 1971. Many of the props used for filming were actually owned by Munro, including all the exploded pistons and the piston mould that Hopkins uses for a scene in the film. These were on display at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.
The location used for Burt Munro's workshop in New Zealand took place on land once used as the headquarters for the notorious Black Power gang during the 1990s until the house burnt down in 1998. A house has been built on the plot since the film was released.
In interviews Hopkins has stated that Munro was one of the easiest roles that he has ever played in his career, simply because Munro's view on life was not all that different from his own.
Chris Bruno (The Dead Zone) stated this was "one of the most exciting jobs" he's ever done.
Historical accuracy
The historical Munro married Florence Beryl Martyn in 1927, whom he later divorced. The couple had four children together. However, no mention is made of children in the film, but it is implied that he was married and either estranged or divorced.
Munro in the film recalls the death of a twin brother named Ernie, who died when a tree fell on him. However, the historical Munro had an older brother who was killed when a tree fell on him. Munro also had a stillborn twin sister.
The historical Munro had set numerous speed records in New Zealand during the late 1930s through the early 1970s. However, these records are only implied in the film.
The Bonneville run in the film is a composite of several runs Munro made, the first in 1956. In 1962 at Bonneville, he set the record of 178.971 MPH.
Munro's fastest complete run at Bonneville was 190.07 MPH. He never set a record of 201 MPH at Bonneville as the film portrays, but did reach 205.67 MPH on an uncompleted run, on which he unfortunately crashed.[4] Munro does crash after his 201 MPH record-breaking run, which is officialised unlike the 205.67 MPH run.
Munro was never known to urinate on his lemon tree; film director Roger Donaldson added that detail as a tribute to his own father, who did.
The May 1957 edition of Popular Mechanics (p6) has a letter to the editor about H.A. "Dad" Munro and his 1920 Indian Scout
Near the end of the film, Speed Week participants throw money into "the hat" and Burt Munro is presented with a bag of cash before he sets the speed record. In fact, Munro had to take up a collection before Speed Week as U.S. Customs required a cash bond before releasing his motorcycle.[5]
Hopkins' portrayal of a New Zealander
The Welsh-born Hopkins did not employ the kind of Kiwi accent which the real Munro would have had — the review in The New Zealand Herald said that "his vowels swoop from the Welsh valleys to the high veldt without ever alighting in Southland" [Munro's home region of New Zealand]. Nevertheless the same reviewer said Hopkins gives a "generous, genial and utterly approachable performance … he nails the backyard eccentric genius dead centre … he has inhaled the nature of a mid-century Kiwi bloody good bloke and he inhabits the part to perfection".[6]
