The Beast
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Movie Reviews of The Beast
Movie Review: The Beast
Summary: 5 Stars
The Beast is a great war movie about the Afghan's fight against Russia. It is a favorite movie around our house. I would recommend this movie to any war buff.Movie Review: If only wide screen bluray
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this movie, inspite of its flaws. I wish it was available on BluRay in widescreen. A good look at a misunderstood conflict. Especially relevant today.Movie Review: Perfect !
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is well made I would give it 6 stars if I could, The film is very realistic!Movie Review: Epic cat and mouse in 1981 Afghanistan
Summary: 4 Stars
Based on a play, The Beast tells a story of a war in Afghanistan in the 1980s that most people may know from a much different movie, Rambo 3. In 1981 in Afghanistan, a Russian armored column destroys an Afghan village. One tank is left behind to "clean things up" and when trying to catch up to the column, becomes separated and hopelessly lost in a valley the locals call 'the valley of the jackal' with one way in and one way out. The local Afghan rebels put their differences aside and band together to destroy this lone tank lost in the desert. The war between Russia and Afghanistan in the 80s hasn't been dealt with much through film, but this movie sets the bar pretty high. Characters on both sides are presented so you really get a feel of what everyone is going through along with their beliefs and what drives them, some it's greed, others faith, and other just survival. On a simpler level, it's an exciting movie and one that kept me interested until the very end. Little known, but a must-see movie.
Leading a very capable cast, George Dzundza, maybe most well known for his part in tv's Law and Order, plays Daskal, the tank commander trying to get to safety. Daskal lies somewhere between driven soldier and insane and paranoid stopping at nothing to get his tank to safety. In his first movie after The Lost Boys, Jason Patric plays Korverchenko, the tank driver who's gotten in trouble in the past for thinking too much and because of that, clashes with everything Daskal orders. Dzundza and Patric's conflict is believable and really propels the story along. Steven Bauer is very good as Taj, the leader of the Afghan rebels pursuing the tank across the desert. The rest of the tank's crew includes Stephen Baldwin as Golikov, the young soldier torn between orders and what's right, Don Harvey as Kaminski, the gunner who blindly does what he's told, and Erick Avari as Samad, the Afghan soldier navigating the tank. Kabir Bedi also stars as Akbar, Taj's uncle who he seeks advice from.
The DVD is a bit disappointing when it comes to presentation and special features. The movie's presented in pan-n-scan, a clean one at least, but it would have been nice to see the movie and its Israeli filming locations in widescreen. Special features include talent bios on some of the cast and trailers for three movies, but not one for The Beast. Not a great DVD, but a good deal for the price considering how good the movie is. Check The Beast out, you won't be disappointed!
Movie Review: A STARKLY REALISTIC, YET STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL PORTRAYAL OF WAR AND ITS EFFECTS ON PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Summary: 4 Stars
THIS MOVIE WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME AS A "MUST SEE" IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND AFGHAN TRIBAL CULTURE. I BOUGHT IT FOR THAT REASON, NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL QUALITY OF THE MOVIE ITSELF. I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. IT WAS WELL ACTED, BEAUTIFULLY FILMED, AND (IMPORTANT TO ME) REALISTICALLY PORTRAYED. HAVING A MILITARY BACKGROUND MYSELF, I RESENT MOVIES THAT "HOLLYWOODIZE" FIGHTING SCENES (UNREALISTIC TACTICS, USE AND EFFECT OF WEAPONS, ETC). THIS ONE DIDN'T. THE FIGHTING WAS REALISTIC, ALTHOUGH - TRUTH BE TOLD - THERE ACTUALLY ISN'T A LOT OF FIGHTING PER SE.
ALTHOUGH THERE WAS SOME GORE, IT WASN'T GRATUITOUS, BUT ONLY SHOWN AS NECESSARY TO THE PLOT. ON ONE LEVEL THE MOVIE COULD BE CONSIDERED "A RELATIONSHIP MOVIE" (SORRY GUYS!). THE STORY BEGINS WITH A RATHER GRUESOME SCENE (BASICALLY THE WORST IN THE MOVIE) OF A SOVIET TANK PLATOON CONDUCTING "VILLAGE CLEARING" OPERATIONS AGAINST AN AFGHAN PASHTUN TRIBAL VILLAGE. IN THE AFTERMATH OF THAT OPERATION, ONE TANK BECOMES SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE PLATOON. THE REMAINDER OF THE MOVIE DEALS WITH THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE MEMBERS OF THAT TANK TEAM, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN THE COMMANDER (WHO IS SLOWLY LOSING TOUCH WITH REALITY) AND ONE OF HIS MEN (WHO HAS NOT LOST TOUCH WITH HIS OWN MORALITY AND HUMANITY - AND THUS RESENTS THE BARBARIC ACTS AND ATTITUDES OF HIS COMMANDER).
THE LARGER PLOT PITS THE LOST TANK AGAINST A GROUP OF MUJAHIDEEN WHO HAIL FROM THE RAZED VILLAGE, BUT HAD BEEN ABSENT DURING THE VIOLENCE - AND NOW SEEK REVENGE. IT IS BASICALLY A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE WITH THE TANK BEING CAST, UNCHARACTERISTICALLY, AS THE MOUSE. CAUGHT, AS IT WERE, IN A HUGE TRAP (A MASSIVE CANYON WITH ONLY ONE ENTRANCE). THE TANK MUST EVADE THE MUJAHIDEEN, THE PROTECTIVE ENCLOSURE OF THEIR TANK BECOMING INCREASINGLY A PRISON.
I RECOMMEND THE MOVIE. IT DEALS SENSITIVELY WITH THE HUMAN AND PERSONAL ISSUES OF WAR, WHILE NEITHER ROUNDING THE ROUGH EDGES FOR THE SAKE OF PALATABILITY, NOR EMPHASIZING THE GRUESOME FOR THE SAKE OF MARKETABILITY TO A PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC.