World's Fastest Indian

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 12 07 (USA - Limited) / 2006 02 03 (USA)

UPC: 876964000710

Studio: Magnolia Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Language, Drug Content]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Adventure

Features: Southland: Burt's Hometown of Invercargill
The Making of "The World's Fastest Indian"
Feature Commentary With Writer/Director Roger Donaldson
Deleted Scenes.
Bonus Film: The Original Documentary (1971) - "Offerings to the God of Speed" Featuring Historical Footage of the Real Munro (Also Directed by Roger Donaldson)

World's Fastest Indian

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 02/13/2007

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- World's Fastest Indian
1. Wake Up Call
2. Cause for Celebration
3. Doctor's Orders?
4. Bonneville Bound
5. Sunset Strip
6. A Favor
7. His Motorcycle
8. New Friend
9. Traveling Soldier
10. The Speedway
11. Rules and Regulations
12. Not Finished Yet
13. Bending the Rules
14. Souvenirs
15. Special Gift
16. Now or Never

Derek Armstrong

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 likable -- he is, and that's what makes The World's Fastest 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 backward 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. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Brian Clark  Actor 
Roger Donaldson  Director 
Roger Donaldson  Producer 
Roger Donaldson  Screenwriter 
Gary Hannam  Producer 
Barrie M. Osborne  Executive Producer 
J. Peter Robinson  Composer (Music Score) 
Satoru Iseki  Executive Producer 
Masaki Fukasawa  Executive Producer 
Masaharu Inaba  Executive Producer 
Charles Hannah  Executive Producer 
Anthony Hopkins  Actor 
Diane Ladd  Actor 
Paul Rodriguez  Actor 
Aaron Murphy  Actor 
Annie Whittle  Actor 
Chris Bruno  Actor 
Carlos Lacamara  Actor 
Jessica Cauffiel  Actor 
Patrick Flueger  Actor 
Walton Goggins  Actor 
Bruce Greenwood  Actor 
Joe Howard  Actor 
Christopher Lawford  Actor 
Gavin Grazer  Actor 
William Lucking  Actor 
Eric Pierpoint  Actor 
Laurel Moglen  Actor 
Chris Williams  Actor 

Country: New Zealand