Friday 13 September 2013

RUSH





It is with great excitement that we await the cinema  release of Ron Howard's new epic film, RUSH. Anyone growing up in 70's will remember when BBC's Grand Prix programme on Sunday nights was the ultimate Television event. A topic of discussion on Monday mornings as we made our way to school on grey damp days; Grand Prix was more than just a race programme. With the familiar bass progression lines of Fleetwood Macs' Chain the viewer was transported to a world of glamour, fast cars, beautiful women, French cigarettes, Martinis,danger and fierce rivalries.
It was a real life soap opera and it's subjects were as far removed from suburban Ireland as the later Dallas and Dynasties of the 80's. Except this was real.




Central to the drama was the rivalry between two champions; Britain's James Hunt and Austria's Nkki Lauda. This is the inspiration and central theme for RUSH and with a decent line up of actors the film has already received excellent reviews.


James Hunt played by Chris Hemsworth and Niki Lauda played by  Daniel BrĂ¼h
Certainly, nostalgia plays a part in making these times look more exciting than the present day but there are other factors.
There were terrible accidents, fatalities and pile ups. The absence of video recorders, Internet, etc. made BBC Grand Prix an event which if missed, was missed for good. There was real racing, lead changes and eccentric behaviour. Hunt punched a Marshall on one occasion for helping him from his crashed car. However nostalgia aside, there can be little doubt that for some years F1 lost it's way. It became almost predictable, boring and uncompetitive
As we have written on here before, with the improvement of tyre strategy in partnership with Pirelli, F1 is well and truly back in business as an exciting event.



Senna was a Documentary film which provided an insight into F1 in the 80's and 90's , RUSH is a dramatisation of F1 in the 70's. Howard has used excellent cinematography to bring the excitement of F1 to life. If there was an extra sense or feature to be brought to the film, it would be to add the smell of burning rubber to the cinema. It opens in Ireland today Friday 13th September. Enjoy!