Movie Review: Rush

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Austin Ogonoski submitted a new blog post:

Movie Review: Rush

I've seen Ron Howard's RUSH twice now. Once, under influence and a more recent viewing, completely sober. On one hand, Rush is a fantastic cinematic reconstruction of the 1976 Formula One season and by far the greatest auto racing movie ever conceived. On the other hand, Rush ultimately fails at telling the story of the intriguing off-track friendship between champions Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

Motorsports enthusiasts will be in awe of the effort put into making Rush as accurate and...
Continue reading the Original Blog Post
 
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What a nice introductory paragraph there, man. I also felt the same thing too when I watched the movie on its second day of premiere filming. You know another reason why I like that statement you've made is that many people don't really have an idea of how really an auto racing is or even have no idea yet about Formula 1 in the 1970's. I wasn't born in the 70's at that time but I was able to understand it fully.

So to speak, it's a kudos to your review.
 
I can't recall ever shedding a tear during a cinema film but "Rush" did it with two particular scenes. The scene where Niki is trapped in his car burning up with 800 degrees flames surrounding him gave such a real life experience how powerless a man can be when the odds turn against him.

The end scenes where you see the modern Lauda on screen staring at you gave me the shivers. Beautiful ending of a fantastic movie.

The only improvement I could think of was by letting the voice over at the end of the film to the real Niki Lauda and I am sure the entire audience would be weeping.

If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it as its already a true classic and again a super production by Ron Howard. I always though he couldn't do a better job after his success with "Backdraft" in the 90s but this one was even better.

PS: you don't need to be a Formula 1 or car fan in general to enjoy this film. Very suitable for everyone.
 
Wow what a great write up.. 10/10
makes me want to see it more and more..
A old film i used to love was Grand Prix from 1966 with James Garner
that film even beats Talladega Nights and Driven.
But this i hope takes it to a new level...

cant wait to see it now
 
I enjoyed the movie and it is nice to read another perspective. Some scenes felt a little exploitative (disgusting) and I think they were meant to keep the 'casuals' interested.
Regarding the movies you mentioned I think it is because americans have a different concept of sport. It is not meant to be a measure of who is the greatest but it should just be entertainment (see draft picks, commercial breaks). I fear modern F1 is buckling to this trend with DRS, KERS and engine restrictions.

I didn't like the CGI because it felt uncanny to me. You should watch the movie for the story, 70's vibe and recreation of the cars.

IMO the best racing movie is still Grand Prix (1966) and it doesn't use CGI. You can clearly see it is the inspiration for Rfactor 2 Historic Grand Prix mod.
 
OP claims not to be an avid film fan, then proclaims this to be the best racing movie ever made. So it's likely that he has not seen many other motor racing films.
 
I saw it yesterday . Great Movie . No faults from the Formula One Fan side . Very emotionel at the End
I think both guys like and respect each other but there know the they are totaly different Types of Human Beings . Lauda wants to be like Hunt and Hunt sometimes like Lauda . But their all in their own skins .
I ll wait for the Bluray its defently bought
I give a 5 Peters of max 5
 
I can't recall ever shedding a tear during a cinema film but "Rush" did it with two particular scenes. The scene where Niki is trapped in his car burning up with 800 degrees flames surrounding him gave such a real life experience how powerless a man can be when the odds turn against him.

The end scenes where you see the modern Lauda on screen staring at you gave me the shivers. Beautiful ending of a fantastic movie.

The only improvement I could think of was by letting the voice over at the end of the film to the real Niki Lauda and I am sure the entire audience would be weeping.

If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it as its already a true classic and again a super production by Ron Howard. I always though he couldn't do a better job after his success with "Backdraft" in the 90s but this one was even better.

PS: you don't need to be a Formula 1 or car fan in general to enjoy this film. Very suitable for everyone.
Thanks for these insightful comments Bram. Looking forward to seeing it.
 
They did do a bit to show that the Nurburgring was dangerous with the guy rolling out and mashing his leg up badly. Does anyone know if that was a real event, or just something to show how bad the circuit really was.
 
I can't recall ever shedding a tear during a cinema film but "Rush" did it with two particular scenes. The scene where Niki is trapped in his car burning up with 800 degrees flames surrounding him gave such a real life experience how powerless a man can be when the odds turn against him.

The end scenes where you see the modern Lauda on screen staring at you gave me the shivers. Beautiful ending of a fantastic movie.

The only improvement I could think of was by letting the voice over at the end of the film to the real Niki Lauda and I am sure the entire audience would be weeping.

If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it as its already a true classic and again a super production by Ron Howard. I always though he couldn't do a better job after his success with "Backdraft" in the 90s but this one was even better.

PS: you don't need to be a Formula 1 or car fan in general to enjoy this film. Very suitable for everyone.
PS: you don't need to be a Formula 1 or car fan in general to enjoy this film. Very suitable for everyone.

my exact words when describing it to my friends.
 
Very interesting read. Old enough to remember this when it was actually happening, was only young but some things stay with you for life. Thanks for the review, might even go see it now I know it hasn't been hollywooded to death. ( like just about everything else )
 
I saw it and I thought it was great. My GF not so much. she kind of got uninterested in the middle though, IMO it does sort of drag out some of the storytelling. Albeit there's a lot of story and a lot of time to cover, so combine that w/ drinking a bit and it's easy to lose someone that's not absolutely glued to the screen.

I have to say the sounds of the cars (in the theater I was in at least) were absolutely phenomenal. Never heard anything like that. and the racing scenes are done fairly well. Plenty of shaky cam and super quick shots though, so all the driving and racing scenes carry an air of confusion with them. I'm sure that adds to the sense of speed, but there's absolutely no way to spot any kind of technical driving.

The way they shot Lauda's wreck though was awesome. I imagine that's exactly how it would have looked had it been recorded in HD from a helicopter back then.
 
I can't recall ever shedding a tear during a cinema film but "Rush" did it with two particular scenes. The scene where Niki is trapped in his car burning up with 800 degrees flames surrounding him gave such a real life experience how powerless a man can be when the odds turn against him.

The end scenes where you see the modern Lauda on screen staring at you gave me the shivers. Beautiful ending of a fantastic movie.

The only improvement I could think of was by letting the voice over at the end of the film to the real Niki Lauda and I am sure the entire audience would be weeping.

If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it as its already a true classic and again a super production by Ron Howard. I always though he couldn't do a better job after his success with "Backdraft" in the 90s but this one was even better.

PS: you don't need to be a Formula 1 or car fan in general to enjoy this film. Very suitable for everyone.
Bram I feel better now knowing I wasn't the only one who shed a tear at the same scenes. Beautiful movie.

Even my sister, who has no interest in racing cars let alone F1, was enthralled by the movie. She loved it.
 
At those particular scenes mentioned a lot of guys all of a sudden started looking for peppermints in their pockets. :)
 
I saw the movie yesterday, with my wife, and even she enjoyed it.
I was most impressed that it wasn't "hollywood'ed", but they stayed true to the history.

The movie actually inspired me to do some more serious research on Hunt and Lauda, so I ended up learning even more.

Hats off to the makers of Rush, very well done. :thumbsup:
 
It was a mixed experience for me. The first half of the film annoyed me a bit (dodgy script, cheesy caricatures) but the second half was extraordinary. I had a lump in my throat by the end.
I already knew a lot about that particular season, I even remember the news bulletins of the time (I was about 8 then and excited that Hunt was winning). However, what was new and fascinating to me was the portrayal of Lauda in hospital. Such a punishing six weeks and an incredible feat to return to the grid so soon.
Yet it's worth remembering that the film did invent or exaggerate certain details. For example, two controversies (McLaren's 'wide-vehicle' in Spain and the British GP disqualification) were merged into one for the screenplay. Also, an early scene lingered on the gym-chiselled Hemsworth seducing a nurse - the real James Hunt was more lean than buff. He never lifted weights, just lifted glasses, cigarettes and skirts. That said, I appreciate that the drama has to work in a two-hour slot and that leading men are shaped differently these days.
Meanwhile, the BBC did an excellent documentary this year - Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals - which I hope anyone interested in the story gets to see. It has lots of contributions from those involved in or reporting on the events as they happened. One contributor is Simon Taylor, a veteran motorsport journalist and radio broadcaster in the UK, who also provided the running commentary in the version of Rush I saw. His voice describing all the on-track events in the film nailed on the authenticity for me, all helping to bring a lump to my throat by the end.
I know lots of non-motorsport-fans who enjoyed Rush as a stand-alone movie. Unusually, it was a film with two heroes, we rooted for both of them. It was easier to watch knowing that despite losing in '76, Lauda won the championship in following year then found himself years later winning it again, in a McLaren. Conversely, it was hard to watch knowing that Hunt was the one destined to die young.
So, the next F1 film I'd like to see someone make is the tale of Jackie Stewart and Francois Cevert: team-mates, not rivals, but the triumph and tragedy is all there.
 

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