OT: The World's Fastest Indian

Saw thje movie _The World's Fastest Indian_ the other night. For those of you who don't know, the film is about New Zealander Burt Munro (google the name for more) and his attempts at breaking a land speed record with a very modified 1920's vintage Indian Scout. Anthony Hopkins stars as Burt. The movie show some metal casting (Burt made his own parts out of whatever was handy) and other good gearhead stuff. There are a couple of moments in the movie which at first appear to be technobabble goofs, but are more likely Burt's somewhat sideways theories on how things work. There is some awesome footage of 1960's era land speed record cars running at Bonneville. The movie time-compresses Burt's record runs into one run, but it would hve been a nine-hour movie otherwise. There is a bit to much of Burt's philosophy on life, love, ect.. It's still a great movie, one Hollywood doesn't make very often (like _October Sky_) .

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns
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Although I doubt he used lead, as they appeared to be casting in the film!

The misapplication of the Barrowman equations?

That's probably because Hollywood didn't make it.

It's a great film though. If you like Neville Shute, go see it.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Or the theory that Chevrolet used alloyed titanium with aluminum for pistons. In 1936.

Didn't realize that- who did make it?

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns

I know a guy that worked in Burts shop in Invercargill when he was a kid. If you have any details about the technobabble, post them here and I'll ask Nev next time I see him.

Tom

Reply to
Tom Miller

Has he seen the film? Any comments on it?

Well, the theory that Chevrolet used alloyed titanium with aluminum for pistons. In 1936. That might or might not be Burt's idea- it could be a plot device to show how Burt saw things. From reading some of the material on the web, it would seem that Burt did a lot of odd (but inventive) things to make the Indian into a record breaker.

Truly a neat guy.

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns

Roger Donaldson; Australian by birth but emigrated to New Zealand and later co-founded the New Zealand Film Commission

More info on Burt and the bike

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Reply to
Andy Dingley

This is the second film Roger Donaldson has made about Burt. In the early 70's he made a 30 min documentary called "Offerings to the God of Speed' , the title taken from the label on the shelf of broken bits in Burt's workshop, also seen in the recent feature.

The documentary has interviews with Burt and others and includes footage shot at Bonneville. I'm reliably informed it will be included as an extra on the DVD release of "Fastest Indian".

-- Regards Malcolm Remove sharp objects to get a valid e-mail address

Reply to
Malcolm Moore

I'll Ask

Tom "Carl Byrns" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Reply to
Tom Miller

Have you any idea how soon the DVD might be released? I wanted to go back and see it a 2nd time, but an influx of work prevented that... Soon as that's out on DVD, I'm buying one.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

"Tom Miller" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@quokka.wn.com.au...

I talked to Neville today about the film and he loved it. He said that it was pretty authentic in a lot of ways but that the trip to race on the Bonneville salt flats was, in reality, a number of trips. He apparently was a little eccentric.Neville says that the shed in the movie was either the original one or an exact copy,and that the broken bike bits were original. He did cast pistons from cast off automobile pistons but, the details of it has escaped his memory.

I hope to see the film myself in a while but will be away for a while so don't expect to get a chance for at least a month.

Reply to
Tom Miller

Yeah, otherwise the movie would have been nine hours long.

From imdb.com: "The set of Burt Munro's garage/shack was formerly the site of a gang headquarters in Invercargill, New Zealand. Many of Burt Munro's tools and props from his toolshed are kept for posterity in a hardware store in Invercargill. These, as well as small pieces of costume such as one of Munro's ties on loan from his son, were used by Anthony Hopkins to add to his character's authenticity."

The toolshed may or may not be Burt's (I couldn't find anything definitive either way), but the tools and the Offerings to the Gods of Speed are.

-Carl

Reply to
Carl Byrns

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