Love the Beast (2009)

What if you were a Hollywood movie star with an obsession for cars and racing? You would probably read every script with even the tiniest link to the subject matter, in the hope that you ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Bana

Stars:

Eric Bana, Jeremy Clarkson, Steve Coad

Cast

Credited cast:
Eric Bana	...	Self
Jeremy Clarkson	...	Self
Steve Coad	...	Self
Grant Denyer	...	Self
Todd Kelly	...	Self
Jay Leno	...	Self
Tim Lynas	...	Self
Phil McGraw	...	Self
Barry Oliver	...	Self
Jim Richards	...	Self

Storyline

What if you were a Hollywood movie star with an obsession for cars and racing? You would probably read every script with even the tiniest link to the subject matter, in the hope that you could tell a great car story of the likes of "Grand Prix", "Le Mans" or "Mad Max". Then one day you happened to open your garage door and sitting there, right in front of you, was the film you had been searching for. This is what happened to Eric Bana and this time around, the co-star is his very own Ford GT Falcon Coupe- THE BEAST. Eric realized the story was in fact, about him, his first car, a lifetime of ownership and a lifetime of friendship. He set about documenting his own 25 year long love story. A simple tale of one man's ongoing relationship with his very first car. After years of precious restoration, Eric and his 3 closest friends, decided to enter the car into one of the most grueling and dangerous motor races that exists: The Targa Tasmania Rally. This would be a personal Everest for ...

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Plot Keywords:

hollywood | car | racing | grand prix | dangerous | 

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Taglines:

25 years of love can't be wrong

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screening that Eric Bana attends in the movie is for Lucky You (2007).

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Quotes

Eric Bana: It's hard for me to describe my obsession with motor racing, or what it actually feels like to drive a race car on the limit. There's a focus and an intensity that I don't find anywhere else. You're always on the edge, and you never hold anything back. It's just ten tenths every second. It's a zone that feeds your competitive nature. When a car gets past you, you just want to go after them, you want to chase them down, you want to pass them. It's primal. But then there's another side to it, ...

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Connections

Features Mad Max (1979)

User Reviews

Best movie I've seen in ages - Eric Bana has made an awesome film!

I just watched this movie last night (DVD) and really enjoyed it. I don't think I'd agree that this film is for car buff's only - granted, a lot of the movie is based around cars, but I reckon the movie is more about the connection between men and machines more than just car's themselves.

The conversations with Jeremy Clarkson, Dr. Phill and Jay Leno were totally interesting too watch. Dr Phill provided a view point outside cars (loved his view points on hobbies and work), Jay Leno had some interesting points on why he crashed (ie. the latest iteration wasn't Eric's own hand work) and Jeremy Clarkson had some real insightful stuff on comparing machines to computers and how machines (ie. cars) exhibit more human traits than computers - hence why there is a bond there.

An interesting part of it is how a material object (The Beast) acts as a conduit for men to come around, work on the car and friendships/bonds are formed. I reckon it's the memories created by this is what makes people treasure their cars (and not always limited to cars).

I do have to admit that when about 30 minutes into it, I did look at the clock - not in a boring way and not in a way thinking when is this going to end. Probably because it is more of a documentary it didn't have my total interest in it.

The sorta sub story about the other bloke and his Ford was awesome as well - the personality of the dude (sorry, forgot his name - one of Eric's mates) doing the interviewing was great - his personality really comes across. Same deal with Eric's navigator.

The cinematography is awesome - very well done.

The build up to the crash was just simply great - I liked how Eric did this and built up to the event (and the spacemen conversation was funny as!).

How there is so much old footage is just unbelievable - it's like this movie was planned from a very long time ago! The insight into Eric Bana was also another interesting point in the movie - how he comes across is just a normal Aussie bloke. Top bloke! I've never had the privilege of staying in one country long enough to have friends for that long, but it's awesome how he's stayed real and kept his mates.

There's a lot more to this movie than just the car, but you do have to look past that to see it. Recommend watching the special features on the DVD (interview especially) cause it gives you a little more insight into the actions behind the movie.

At the end of the movie, I was inspired, still am - I've never bothered to write a review on IMDb before, but I liked this movie so much I thought I'd put one on here! It's not a movie like Braveheart or Contact (my favorites anyways) but it's also a lot more real than those movies.

If I had to pin-point my favorite aspect of the movie, it's how Eric Bana has portrayed his car, his family and his mates in the movie. You can actually get a feel of what the individuals are like, based on what has been filmed and what background dialog has been said about them. You can get a rough idea of what each person is like, solely based on watching this movie - and I think that's a pretty good accomplishment.

And I totally hope he rebuilds The Beast!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Australia]

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2009 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Love the Beast

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$511,064

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pick Up Truck Pictures, Whyte House Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1