The
World's Fastest Indian (2005)
biography
directed
by : Roger Donaldson
featuring
: Anthony Hopkins - Diane Ladd - Paul Rodriguez - Aaron Murphy - Annie
White
running
time : 2 hours 7 minutes
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.