Rush [Blu-ray]

On time - Product was in excellent condition as well.

When this film came out initially it didn’t interest me. I tell a lie; the myth of the James Hunt / Niki Lauda rivalry meant nothing to me but as one who had grown up around a Formula One obsessed Dad, I knew the names well. No huge draw to me though, but still sounded an interesting biography. Now a couple of years on how glad I am that that I finally had the chance to watch this on the off-chance it would be entertaining. It was everything I expected and more.From the opening minutes I was won over by Chris Hemsworth and the brilliant Daniel Brühl as Hunt and Lauda. They immediately portrayed their characters in relevance to the sport and the era of the 1970s perfectly and they hooked me, with their electric chemistry evident from the start which is the foundation for this film to work. Both actors are superb in being totally different men but fuelled by the same thing; winning.Director Ron Howard crafts a faithful look to the 1970s racing circuit as I would expect, with the locations and characters just how I would imagine. It looked natural and authentic with no evident sugar-coated Hollywood touches. It could have passed as an expensive documentary rather than a multi-million dollar biog. It’s clear from this look that the money has gone into the details, such as the racing cars themselves and the set design, once again evoking a truly authentic look. And never mind the look; the sound is superb! The diegetic engines roaring to life were like nothing I’ve heard before. Howard captures the world of Formula One racing and those involved in it, really surrounding you with a sense of how it felt to be in the racing pits or spectator stands.The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer at times is TOO much like a ‘Batman Begins’ nod, but that can be overlooked on the fact his music is superb anyway, and mixed with the literally nail-biting racing sequences and drama played out, it accompanies the visuals perfectly. The cinematography in the racing sequences are fantastic, from the tight camera angles of the racers to the claustrophobic confines of the racing helmets themselves, it’s the big and small detail that paints a picture of the world Hunt and Lauda lived in, and fuelled them in a life or death sport.The racing is breath-taking even if you know the outcome or not, and thankfully I didn’t and so was as hooked as audiences would have been in the 70s, and I know I could watch this again and still feel it thanks for the authenticity of this masterpiece. Winning performances, exceptional direction and a world created with great detail and passion make this a stand-out film that isn’t just aimed at sports fans, but those who love great drama and tension from their films.

Just got this Blu Ray today. The cardboard outer sleeve has a hologram on the front which shows Lauda or Hunt depending on the angle. Really impressed with that. A small thing but a really nice touch.There aren't many good movies about racing but this ranks up there in the top 3.Ironically unlike most movies about racing it is actually the off-track scenes and story that are the star of the show here.The racing is good but obviously being set in the mid 70's it is created with a lot of CGI. In fairness there is no way they could replicate films like "Le Mans" with Steve McQueen or the 60's classic "Grand Prix" when doing a movie set so far in the past as those other movies were filmed at actual race meetings in their day.The race scenes are still good mind you and I was impressed that they were able to create them at all and do so fairly convincingly.However as I said the story is the star of the show here. Most people know the general story anyway but the way it tells the story is incredible. It doesn't take sides and manages to show the positive side to each drivers approach to life even though they are total opposites. Most racing films have a cheesy story to act as filler between exaggerated racing scenes. In this case the story provides the real value for money with the racing accurately filling in the blanks.Bruhl's performance is what you will come away remembering as he somehow manages to make the rather cold Lauda an extremely charismatic and likeable character whilst still retaining the essence of the man. I guess the Lauda character probably comes away as the main hero though.There are very few movies I watch twice and I mostly rent them or wait for them to come on the movie channels. This is the first I've bought on disc since 2007 so that shows you what sort of an impact this movie had on me.Soundtrack also deserves some credit.

The main plot point here of geek versus playboy is a well worn path for film scripts of course. In this example the story is written with more depth and subtlety. The magnetic attraction is that the protagonists are engaged in a pitched battle and a battle to the death - literally. The film just manages to get one engaged sufficiently on this point with torn flesh and blood exposed in sufficient quantity to paint the picture. It is of course the geek that sails closest to that ultimate end and it is this moment about which the whole plot hinges. It is hard for me to be dispassionate here. A tingle runs down my spine watching a car fish-tailing in the wet because I know what it is like. The successive moments on which the plot hangs ring true because I used to follow Formula One - when technology was allowed more free-reign. Mr Lauda resonates with me because I have known passionate clever people who short-circuit everything else for a singular goal and yet also those in the Hunt mold who seem almost to accidentally succeed hiding a much deeper understanding alongside their talent. Yet people I know with no interest in the sport and no driving experience enjoyed this movie too. Probably because the characters are well drawn enough. Because we all see those contrasts in driven people we have met. There is sufficient racing here and enough history is recreated to mean that this is a Formula 1 film and yet it does not become a slave to that action. Including, I am grateful to add, not overusing the CGI - a pothole that so many action films fall into. You will cringe at Lauda's marriage proposal but you will have cringed at Hunt's too. In the end this is a great film about the flawed people that make winners in this arena and an insight into why being flawed is probably a necessary part of success.One additional point - I loved the echos of Murray Walker an homage which I know some have not reacted well to.