The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

The story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writer:

Roger Donaldson

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Iain Rea

11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Burt Munro
Iain Rea	...	George
Tessa Mitchell	...	Sarah
Aaron Murphy	...	Tom
Tim Shadbolt	...	Frank
Annie Whittle	...	Fran
Greg Johnson	...	Duncan
Antony Starr	...	Jeff
Kate Sullivan	...	Doris
Craig Hall	...	Antarctic Angel
Jim Bowman	...	Cook
Alison Bruce	...	Doctor
Phoebe Falconer	...	Janice Springfield
Charles Pierard	...	Bank Manager
Barry Ryan	...	Burt's Neighbour

Storyline

For twenty-five years in Invercargill, New Zealand, Burt Munro (1899-1978) has been working on increasing the speed of his motorcycle, a 1920 Indian. He dreams of taking it to the Bonneville Salt Flats to see how fast it will go. By the early 1960s, heart disease threatens his life, so he mortgages his house and takes a boat to Los Angeles, buys an old car, builds a makeshift trailer, gets the Indian through customs, and heads for Utah. Along the way, people he meets are charmed by his open, direct friendliness. If he makes it to Bonneville, will they let an old guy on the flats with makeshift tires, no brakes, and no chute? And will the Indian actually respond?

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Plot Keywords:

ambition | nitroglycerin | 20th century | based on real person | man | 

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Taglines:

The extraordinary true adventure of Burt Munro from Down Under

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language, drug use and a sexual reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

New Zealand Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The World's Fastest Indian

Filming Locations:

Echo, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,128,124

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,297,690

Company Credits

Production Co:

OLC / Rights Entertainment, Tanlay, New Zealand Film Production Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burt Munro was sixty-eight-years-old when he set the still-unbeaten record of one thousand cc world record (Born 1899; récord set in 1967). Sir Anthony Hopkins was sixty-eight-years-old when he shot this movie (Born 1937, movie filmed in 2005).

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Goofs

During the cab ride to the hotel, as Burt Munro is looking at the lights of LA, a modern-day Arby's sign passes by the window. Arby's was founded 1964 in Ohio, with the logo change in 1975.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Burt Munro: [rolling a distance gauge] 93... 94... 95... 96... 97...

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Connections

Featured in The Making of 'The World's Fastest Indian' (2006)

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Soundtracks

You Are My Sunshine
(Jimmie Davis / Charles Mitchell)
© Peer International Corp
Used by permission. All rights reserved

User Reviews

I never thought I would cry

It's a good thing I took my wife, because as all men know the only way not to cry is to look over at your wife/girlfriend and make fun of them for crying.

Seriously, I am a motorcycle aficionado but I truly think this movie transcends that. It's not a "guy's film" at all but a serious look at the life of a man that was average by his own reckoning - by ours he's a hero. When you find yourself looking at that and saying "I would have quit" and it was only the beginning of the movie, well, that's some tough stock Burt Munro came from.

And it's not tedious, not an uphill struggle all the way against insurmountable odds, none of those clichés. It's a great movie about a real guy and I can't imagine someone watching it and not being entertained, moved, and frankly, impressed.