SURVEY: BURT MUNRO - OFFERINGS TO THE GOD OF SPEED

Roger Donaldson’s documentary about motorcyclist Burt Munro.

Based in Invercargill, Munro withdrew his life savings in 1920 to buy an Indian Scout motorcycle. He has since spent half of his life making the machine go faster and holds many world speed records.

This film shows glimpses of Munro’s life and features casual interviews with friends and family who describe him as ‘a real individual’, ‘colourful personality’, ‘clever’, ‘a character’, ‘a fanatic’, ‘a dirty old man’, ‘an enthusiast’, ‘a tenacious engineer.’ We see him attending speed trials in Salt Lake City and hear a dedication to him over the radio.

Burt tells stories of events throughout his life including driving into the Edwards Air Base in 1953 to look at the X15, the fastest plane in the world. The title comes from words painted on an old wooden shelf in his workshop.

Burt Munro died in 1978 and his bike is now displayed at the Queenstown Motor Museum.

Donaldson would later make a feature length film about Munro THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN (2006).