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: At one point the gunner pulls the trigger and the main gun fails to fire (a mis-fire) The crew begins yelling, "Cook-off!" and jumps from the tank to take cover. First - a cook-off occurs when a very hot breach causes a round to fire by itself, not at all what happened in this case. Secondly, a misfire is indeed dangerous because you don't know if the primer was struck or the firing mechanism failed. If the primer was struck, the round could still fire unexpectedly. On rare occasions a primer can burn slowly for a bit, then go off. The best place to be in that case is in the tank, clear of the breach. (if the gun does fire the recoiling breach could maim or kill you if you got in the way - such as while scrambling around yelling, "Cook-off!"). Jumping out is a bad idea too, because if the gun fires the muzzle blast will mess you up. So their drill was as wrong as it could be.

Quotes:

Kaminski: You better watch your ass, Koverchenko. You know, sometimes Afghan snipers pick off tank drivers.
Koverchenko: Sometimes tank drivers pick 'em off first, Kaminski.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Syphon Filter 3 (2001) (VG)

Soundtrack:

STREETCAR HEADED EAST

Shouldn't be missed

I just caught this movie last night...I'd never even heard of it before, but I happened across it at Blockbuster. I'm a fan of realistic war movies anyway, but I also liked the fact that Kevin Reynolds directed it. He also did the wonderful Rapa Nui. I have to say this is one of the most gripping films I have seen, and the first I have seen about the Soviet-Afghan war. Great performances by George Dzundza, Jason Patric, and Steven Bauer, who many may remember as Manny Ray from Scarface as the Afghan leader. Definitely worth catching.