Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The World's Fastest Indian Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 27, 2008

Winner of seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, granted by the New Zealand Screen Awards Board, Roger Donaldson’s "The World’s Fastest Indian" (2005) follows the true life story of Burt Monroe, a bike enthusiast from the land down under, who set the under 1000 cc motorcycle land speed record in 1967. Forty one years later, the kiwi’s achievement remains untouched. Region-Free.

Racing for the record

The World’s Fastest Indian is a film about a hero. Not the type of flashy Hollywood hero who walks and talks like most cartoon superheroes do, no, this one is aging, a little nutty, and with a charming accent, which occasionally you would have a difficult time figuring out. He isn’t residing in Gotham City either. He hails from a place in New Zealand called simply Invercargill.

Fixated on his rusty Indian, a 1920 exotic bike, Burt Monroe dreams about attending the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and setting a record at the annual Speed Week. Day after day, year after year, he diligently works on improving the Indian. But most people around Burt, though sympathetic of his efforts, aren’t convinced that he would ever make it to the US. After all, he has a shaky ticker and only a state pension to rely on. So, they put up with Burt’s extravagant behavior and most of the time stay out of his way.

But when the old chap approaches a local bank and announces that he would like to take a loan in order to attend the Bonneville Salt Flats race, things suddenly change. Friends and former competitors are impressed. And only days after the loan is secured, the aging kiwi begins a miraculous trip that would lead him straight into the heart of Utah.

Prior to seeing The World’s Fastest Indian, I doubted Anthony Hopkins would be the right actor to play Burt Monroe. After all, the characters he has played in the past have always been immensely powerful (Nixon), edgy (Dr. Lecter), and difficult to see through (Henry J. Wilcox). Burt Monroe is none of that. He is subdued and lonely, quiet and dreamy, friendly and easy to predict. He is a man who lives peacefully hoping that there is still time left to make a dream come true.

But…I was wrong. Not only is Anthony Hopkins incredibly convincing as the ambitious kiwi, but he also provides The World’s Fastest Indian with that special kind of magic great films are made of. From the moment the audience is introduced to Burt Monroe and his beat up garage, where the Indian resides, to the record-setting scene where everyone gathers around the speed clock to witness history, Anthony Hopkins is in complete control. Not surprisingly, even the occasional clichéd twists look incredibly fresh here.

The film’s technical composition is just as impressive. The gut-wrenching motorcycle sequences where Burt Monroe is seen struggling time and time again occupy a major role in The World’s Fastest Indian and, thankfully, each time offer a different point of view. Every new challenge is captured with greater and greater intensity. Cinematographer David Gribble has done an equally outstanding job as the breathtaking vistas from the Bonneville Salt Flats enhance the film’s epic feel without detracting from the overall intimate tone of the story.

At the end, even though The World’s Fastest Indian won’t set new standards of cinematic excellence, its honest and plainly told story will certainly capture the hearts of many. Indeed, there is a lot to admire here and I am absolutely certain that long after the end credits roll, you will think about the film wishing that you could follow your dreams just as Burt Monroe did.

The World's Fastest Indian Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The World's Fastest Indian was shot and projected at theaters around the world in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the director of the film Roger Donaldson decided to alter the film's aspect ratio to 1.78:1 for the home entertainment market and as a result the BD/DVD/and HDDVD releases all ended up receiving the director's preferred version. Given the large panoramic vistas I mentioned in the synopsis above I am somewhat torn as to whether or not this was a sound decision but it is what it is – 1.78:1 is what the director settled on and we are simply going to have to respect his wish. Plan and simple. This being said, Magnolia Pictures offer The World's Fastest Indian encoded in MPEG-2 and boasting a solid 1080p picture quality. Colors here are incredibly well-rendered and truthful to the theatrical look of the film. Contrast is also pleasing maintaining good balance between the greener scenes from New Zealand and the salty white fields of Utah. Film grain is also intact and as far as I am concerned DNR has not been extensively applied to this transfer. The actual master print on the other hand must have been in top-notch condition as what this BD offers is an all around clean and very tight image quality. In fact, as the story progresses you shall notice a subtle difference in detail (particularly between the softer night scenes and sharper daylight scenes) which is once again truthful to what the theatrical print reveals. To sum it all up, the BD produced by Magnolia Pictures is of exceptionally high quality maintaining the film's nuanced look perfectly. There are no issues to report here whatsoever.

The World's Fastest Indian Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Magnolia Pictures have provided two tracks for this disc: English: DTS-HD Master 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1. Of course, the preferred mix here is the DTS-HD Master 5.1. When this disc was initially released a lot of the BD hardware on the market was not capable of decoding the advanced audio coded but suffice to say a lot has changed since then. There is also a lot that audiophiles were missing at the time – a deep and roaring bass during the testing scenes, excellent activity with the rear speakers, crisp and clear dialog. The main difference you shall notice between the two tracks, however, is most easily detectable during the second half of the film. As I noted earlier, the Utah scenes is where it becomes obvious how superior the DTS HD Master audio is. To test and hear a good example of a noticeable difference between the two tracks compare the record-setting scene where Hopkins approaches the final pole and falls off the Indian. This being said, I could not detect any disturbing hissing, cracks, or pop-ups. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are provided.

The World's Fastest Indian Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are a number of extras on this disc. First is Roger Donaldson's documentary "Offerings to the Gods of Speed" (1971) which was the sole motivator behind The World's Fastest Indian. There is plenty of footage here with Burt Monroe where he addresses his passion for racing as well as plenty of interesting stories pertaining to the New Zealander's encounters with people who helped him along the way. There are also plenty of comments from his friends. Having said that some of the similarities between Burt Monroe and Anthony Hopkins are absolutely staggering (especially when it comes to the colorful accent you would have a very difficult time telling who the kiwi is). Next on the disc is "The Making of The World's Fastest Indian" where a second camera follows the cast and crew as they prepare and work on the film. There are sporadic bits of comments here as well but more or less this is a standard featurette which isn't as enticing as Roger Donaldson's documentary. Next, there is a very short collage of deleted scenes where fragments of footage that did not make it to the final version of the film are offered. None of these add anything substantial to the character developments but they are nevertheless nice to have archived. The disc also offers access to an excellent commentary by the director of The World's Fastest Indian. This is an incredibly detailed account of all of the events the story covers with plenty of information pertaining to the director's documentary as well. If you enjoyed the film as much as I did then I strongly recommend that you listen to the entire commentary. Finally, in addition to the original theatrical trailer the disc also provides some informative promo materials from Burt Monroe's home town of Invercargill.

The World's Fastest Indian Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A beautiful and spirited film about a simple man's desire to live his dream The World's Fastest Indian is without a doubt Anthony Hopkins' strongest contribution to cinema in well over a decade. His impersonation of Burt Monroe is flawless. The BD package by Magnolia Pictures is of very high-quality presenting the film without any technical sacrifices or omissions. The supplemental materials on the other hand are just as impressive adding additional flavor to an already spectacular presentation. Highly Recommended.