The Beast | 
 enlarge | Director: Kevin Reynolds
Actors: George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin, Don Harvey
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $3.83
You Save: $6.12 (62%)
New (34) Used (16) from $2.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 3904
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled), Portuguese (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 110
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: D06200D
ISBN: 0767863984
UPC: 043396062009
EAN: 9780767863988
ASIN: B00005AVZU
Theatrical Release Date: 1988
Release Date: May 15, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The director of Waterworld teams up with playwright William Mastrosimone for a story of a lost Russian tank during the Afghan war; doesn't sound like your normal action fare, does it? Despite its awkward origins, The Beast is a satisfying action yarn that unfortunately was never widely distributed. When Afghan rebels find the lone tank lost in the high desert, a cat-and-mouse chase commences with nail-biting, emotional precision. The Russian tank crew is also at war with themselves after the sympathetic driver (a stalwart Jason Patric) debates the brutal tactics of his commander (George Dzundza). This visceral action drama was adapted from--believe it or not--a stage play but keeps its feet firmly planted in the war-action genre. Director Kevin Reynolds's second film showcases his aggressive camera work that was featured later, less successfully, in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Made directly after the Afghan war, the film was hard to sell in the late 1980s. With the Russians speaking English (and the Afghans their native dialect), the viewer is uncomfortably bonded to the unpopular aggressors. Yet the film reverberates in the sweat and toil of battle, with Patric bringing a more dramatic flair to the role than comes from the usual set of cinematic action heroes. --Doug Thomas
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 77 more reviews...
 War as it is. July 26, 2008
I've watched this film 4 times. Each time it gets better and more relevant.
Outstanding performances by all cast members depicting the (mostly) realistic sadism of war. Many movies either glorify it (Pick a John Wayne war movie.) or make it an antiwar statement ("Johnny Got His Gun", "Paths of Glory". This one comes close to showing how war, realistically, can break one man (Dzundza), while driving another (Patric)[to turning against the people with whom he fights.
Admittedly, the tank has a dysfunctional crew, except for the Afghanistani member (whose fate shall not be disclosed in this missive) and he is suspect. Atrocities are, for the most, those that can be found in asymmetric warfare, although the water hole is stretching it.
Worth the watching for acting, technical direction, and scenery. A tightly knit, taut war drama that is all the more poignant due to the current U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and, finally, the attention being paid to the effects of combat on service personnel.
Well worth adding to your permanent collection.[ASIN:B00005AVZU The Beast]]
A Well-told Story June 16, 2008
I had never heard of this movie until it came up as a recommendation, and the reader reviews persuaded me to try it. I'm glad I did.
This is a well written and well-acted story of a Soviet tank crew who, after destroying an Afghan village, and becoming separated from the rest of their unit, are hunted down by the surviving men, and women, of the village.
The story turns on the stormy relationship between the tank commander, a bullying, straight-laced officer scarred by his childhoom war experiences in Stallingrad, and a young, university educated enlisted crew member.
The "beast" is the tank, and the Afghanis think they have a way to defeat it. The hunt to kill the beast provides the story line, and the impact of the tank commander's style on his crew leads to the eventual distruction of the beast.
 The Beast June 2, 2008
Suspensful war drama with mutiny. Uncommon afganistan deasert mountainous location. I routed for the underdog.
underated film February 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
In my opinion this is definaltey a classic war film. The characters don't speak russian nor do they fake accents which would have given better imersion into the movie and its the ony real reason I wont give it 5 stars i would say more like 4 and three quarters stars. Otherwise beside that acting, pacing, and quality are all pretty spot on and shouldn't be missed if you enjoy war and action movies.
 A curious example of Pro-Taliban propaganda Made in USA February 21, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
This film shows how propaganda can turn over who made it.
In this film the soviet soldiers are a gang of fanatic assasins, sadics and undisciplined savages, but the Afghan Mujahideen (the actual Talibans) are nice and pacific pleople, so good and saint that can even accept one of their enemies among them. After 2001 this movie is funny, as can be "The triumph of the Freedom" after the Nazi fall.
This movie, along with the book "Valley of the lions" by Ken Follett, should be studied by all Politic Science, History and International relations students.
|
|
|