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The Beast (1988)
Front Cover Actor
George Dzundza Daskal
Jason Patric Koverchenko
Steven Bauer Taj
Stephen Baldwin Golikov
Don Harvey Kaminski
Kabir Bedi Akbar
Erick Avari Samad
Chaim Girafi Moustafa
Shoshi Marciano Sherina
Yitzhak Ne'eman Iskandar
Movie Details
Genre Drama; War; Action
Director Kevin Reynolds; Rhoderyc C. Montgomery
Producer John Fiedler; Laurie McDermott; Christopher Dalton
Writer William Mastrosimone; Rhoderyc C. Montgomery
Studio Sony Pictures
Language English
Audience Rating R (Restricted)
Running Time 111 mins
Country USA
Color Color
IMDb Rating 7.3
Plot
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
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 270
Collection Status In Collection
Links Amazon US
The Beast of War at Movie Collector Connect
IMDB
Amazon US
Product Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen (16:9)
Layers Dual Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 043396062009
Release Date 8/31/2004
Subtitles English; French; Spanish; Portuguese; English (Closed Captioned); Korean; Thai; Mandarin; Chinese
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital Stereo [French]
Dolby Digital Stereo [English]
Dolby Digital Stereo [Portuguese]
Dolby Digital Stereo [Spanish]
Dolby Digital Surround [English]
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Color Closed-captioned Dolby