The Beast of War (1988)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writer:

William Mastrosimone (play) (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 1988 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

War brings out the beast in every man.

Plot:

During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost...

Plot Keywords:

Tank | Battle | Village | Commander | 1980s

Awards:

1 win

Cast

George Dzundza	...	Daskal
Jason Patric	...	Koverchenko
Steven Bauer	...	Taj
Stephen Baldwin	...	Golikov
Don Harvey	...	Kaminski
Kabir Bedi	...	Akbar
Erick Avari	...	Samad
Chaim Girafi	...	Moustafa (as Haim Gerafi)
Shoshi Marciano	...	Sherina (as Shosh Marciano)
Yitzhak Ne'eman	...	Iskandar (as Itzhak Babi Ne'Eman)
David Sherrill	...	Kovolov
Moshe Vapnik	...	Hasan
Claude Aviram	...	Sadioue
Victor Ken	...	Ali
Avi Keedar	...	Noor

Also Known As:

The Beast (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Pashtu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:18 | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

A&M Films

Trivia:

The words "Badal" and "Nanawatai" that are spoken by the rebels in the film mean "Revenge" and "Mercy".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The RPG being shown in the movie has a High Explosive (HE) version. The Russian army would not brought Anti-Tank weapons to Afghanistan. The Russian Tanks had nothing to fear from these RPGs. However damage is shown after the attack

Quotes:

Daskal: [drinks from Kaminski's canteen and spits it out] Brake fluid?
Koverchenko: No wonder they don't work.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001)

Soundtrack:

STREETCAR HEADED EAST

Cold War ideology

The review of this film by whpratt1 is completely wrong. This film is not critical of the Mujahadeen, but rather shows them struggling to fight for their freedom. The Soviet army is the oppressive evil presence. This film was made during the Cold War, when Americans saw a line drawn in the sand between communism and capitalist democracy. In the film, the Soviets are clearly the bad guys, and the Mujahadeen are fighting the good fight. The main character comes to understand this during the film, finally telling his Soviet commanding officer that "we're the Nazis this time."

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States funded, supplied, and trained Mujahadeen forces. American stinger missiles were used to shoot down Soviet helicopters. The most famous Mujahadeen fighter trained by the United States would come to be Osama bin Laden. He would participate in the fight against the Soviet army, much to the approval of the United States. This film pays tribute to the Mujahadeen for valiantly defending themselves against America's enemy. The fact that the United States has invaded Afghanistan makes the film much more interesting to watch. It is ironic that these militants once praised by Hollywood are now our enemies. The lesson this film should teach us now, albeit inadvertently, is that we should be careful who we glorify and who we vilify. Humans will be humans, and will fight for what they *believe* is right, sometimes whether it actually is right or not.