Anthony Hopkins stars as Burt Munro, a man who never let the dreams of youth fade.
After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt set off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all the odds against him, he set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Burt Munro's 1967 world record remains unbroken and his legend lives on today.
Burt Munro was the quintessential New Zealander. Born and raised in Invercargill, New Zealand, he dreamed of making his 1920 Indian Twin Scout the fastest bike on earth.
Roger Donaldson (whose credits include The Recruit, Thirteen Days, Dante’s Peak, Species, The Getaway, White Sands, Cadillac Man, Cocktail, No Way Out, The Bounty, Smash Palace), himself from Australia and New Zealand, is a local boy made good in the world of Hollywood. Anthony Hopkins is one of the world’s great actors (who first worked with Donaldson 20 years ago, starring in The Bounty, opposite Mel Gibson).
Earlier this year, the paths of these three men crossed on the white sands of Bonneville, Utah and the wind swept shores of Oreti Beach in Invercargill, New Zealand.
For Donaldson this was to be the culmination of a dream he has held for more than 30 years. As a young filmmaker (working on the documentary, Offerings to the God of Speed), Donaldson met a local Invercargill man with a remarkable story.
THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN is a script based on Burt Munro’s journeys to Bonneville during the 1960’s. It follows the road to fulfilling a dream – and the magic in the true story of a man who believed, “If it’s hard, work harder; if it’s impossible, work harder still. Give it whatever it takes, but do it.”
Playing this eccentric and lovable character is Academy Award Winner Anthony Hopkins. THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN captures Munro with all his power, his determination, his creativity, his charm, his eccentricity -- told through the eyes of a director who knew the man personally, and has never wavered from his own dream of making Munro’s story.
“Festival/Awards: Air New Zealand Screen Awards, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound; Toronto.” - New Zealand Film Commission; www.nzfilm.co.nz/film/the-worlds-fastest-indian; 22/01/2014.