On Sunday night I went to see The World’s Fastest Indian at the Reading Cinema in Invercargill, ten days after the world premiere there. The family were curious to see if Uncle Jack Johnson got into the movie as the driver of one his 1960s cars.
The World’s Fastest Indian is the story of Burt Munro, a 68 year old Invercargill resident who takes his 1920 Indian motorbike from a capacity of 55 mph to a speed capable of setting a world record. To do that he sets out from Invercargill for Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, via Los Angeles. Doesn’t sound much of a plot does it. But somehow this movie seems full of humanity and drama.
Roger Donaldson, director of The Recruit and Thirteen Days, takes the true local story and weaves it into a true piece of cinematographic theatre. Filming took place on location in Invercargill and Utah, making the most of financial incentives from local governments. I wonder if the one condition for Invercargill City Council support was the casting of mayor Tim Shadbolt as the man in the post office. Fortunately Tim didn’t upstage Anthony Hopkins who gave a captivating performance as Burt.
The movie has an official site at http://www.worldsfastestindian.com/ which includes a quicktime trailer. Indian Motorbikes have a page dedicated to the TWFI, including photos of Burt, trivia on the making of the film and excerpts from articles published by Burt Munro in the 1960s.
The great thing about seeing the movie in Invercargill was being able to see one of the bikes used in the movie on show in the theatre foyer. The other bonus was sharing in the laugh when Tim Shadbolt first appeared.
