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 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: $4.04
You Save: $5.91 (59%)
New (49) Used (38) from $3.02
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 13140
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled), Portuguese (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: COLD06200D
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 -- As pictured above-Gift Quality DVD -Manufacturer Factory Sealed -- - Prompt Shipping - Ships immediately via 1st class mail in solid packaging. Fully guaranteed. BRAND NEW
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 83
 A curious example of Pro-Taliban propaganda Made in USA February 21, 2008
Dr Relliscada (Spain)
0 out of 6 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.
 A War Film Ahead of Its Time February 4, 2008
C. Chow (Leesburg VA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
From beginning to end the thing I could just not shake was, THIS WAS MADE IN 1988? The photography and production quality were very modern and ahead of its time.
So was the story. 5 western solders invading in Afghanistan become disillusioned with the war after battling with peasants. But this isn't 2008. It's the 1981 Soviet invasion.
The scene opens with simple peasants in mud huts being massacred by Soviet T-62 tanks. As the monsters remove their gas masks we are shocked to see they are the stars of the film, Jason Patric, George Dzundza, and Stephen Baldwin.
After the massacre Dzundza's T-62 becomes separated from their column and lost in the desert low on fuel and supplies. Worse yet they are being hunted by Afghan rebels armed with an RPG.
As the situation intensifies Patric begins to sympathize with the Afghans more and more while the vicious Dzundza preaches about fighting at Stalingrad and begins executing his crew as traitors to communism.
I can't ruin much more of the plot but at every single moment right up till closing credits anything is possible. Any character can turn evil, any character can die. `The Beast' is not afraid of anything.
In addition to the superb production quality and gripping story, the choice of cast is also interesting. The Afghans are lead by Cuban Steven Bauer even though most of the others are played by Arabs. The cultural conflict is not apparent as all the characters speak Afghan thus their true ethnicity does not show. I never understood all those WWII films which cast Germans as Germans speaking English with a thick German accents right next to Brits with fake German accents. Pick a language and stick with it otherwise it seems cheesy.
Likewise all the Russians are played by Americans speaking English with American accents. Having them speak English with Russian accents would be cheesy. George Dzundza was rather an odd choice for a villain as he is always known as the fat sidekick friend. But `The Beast' also proves Dzundza was once thin. Dzundza claimed he was at Stalingrad when he was 8, about ten years off for Dzundza, and placing his character's age at 46 or 47. Pretty old for a Russian solder. Is his story intentionally false to show how crazy he is? This is never made clear. Dzundza the actor was actually born in 1945 Germany. I'd never have guessed from his Brooklyn accent.
The `Beast' AKA `The Beast of War' not to be confused with Peter Benchley's `The Beast' is truly an amazing film.
Call me a war junkie but I really liked the way all of the T-62's many features were utilized.
Outstanding Performances January 10, 2008
J. Ronthi (Washington, DC USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This film is highly underrated.
What is not to like about this compellingly complex tale of David and Goliath? Well, not merely a 'tale', it is also a commentary. A very poignant and familiar one, dealing with the horror of war and its implications.
PROS: astoundingly good performances throughout; well-written; great cinematography; great battle sequences; nice battle suspense.
CONS: story was somewhat predictable; audio.
If you like these kinds of films, you are not going to care if it is predictable.
It is a minor-masterpiece, in my opinion.
Check it out.
Neither right nor wrong, it just is. December 19, 2007
M. Lucas (Australia)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
First up, I have to give special mention to the convincing acting by the Russian tank crew. I was expecting to hear some dodgy Soviet accents, but the actors just stuck with their natural American accents. And I was still able to believe they were the crew of a Russian tank. Onto the review.
As well as seeing this movie title on a few lists for "what to watch/read if you're deploying to Afghanistan", I've also had it recommended by a few mates who've been deployed there.
I personally wouldn't recommend it anymore than any other war movie for deploying personel, as it doesn't offer any real insight into the current situation.
Having said that, please don't think that it's not a good formula movie in it's own right. In it's simplist form, the story follows the formula for one man's struggle with morality and how he compromises it to survive.
Even though the story gives us 4 different groups (the Russian tank crew; the men of the attacked village, led by Taj; the muhajidin led by Taj's cousin: and the women of the village), the story is Koverchenko's, so his character is the one that develops the most (within the limits of the action/war genre).
What I liked most about this movie is that no side is really made to be "the good guys". Each side's actions are decided on without considering an alternative to what the situation presents.
Koverchenko and his comrades do what they rationalise as the best course for their immediate survival. Taj's group and the women do what they do because it is the code their culture lives by. Taj's cousin fights as a muhajidin because it is an extension of his banditry. In the end Koverchenko finds there's no absolute answer for what is the right thing to do, only situations and actions.
Soviets in Afghanistan November 29, 2007
James D. Crabtree (Fayetteville, NC USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
An awesome movie! I originally rented a VHS of this film and it took me forever to find a copy of it on DVD.
A tank, commanded by a Soviet NCO who fought in Stalingrad and was known as "tank boy," finds itself isolated and very much alone and under attack by a band of mujideen whose village was destroyed by the unit this tank belonged to. The tank, known as "the Beast" to the Afghans, is technologically very formidable (by Soviet standards) but circumstances begin to turn the tables on the Soviet crew, giving the mooj the upper hand.
An excellent film!
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