Rush (2013 film)

Rush

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ron Howard
Produced by
Written by Peter Morgan
Starring
Narrated by Daniel Brühl
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography Anthony Dod Mantle
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 2, 2013 (2013-09-02) (London)
  • September 13, 2013 (2013-09-13) (United Kingdom)
  • September 27, 2013 (2013-09-27) (United States)
  • October 3, 2013 (2013-10-03) (Germany)
Running time
 122 minutes[1]
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • United States[nb 1]
Language English
Budget $38 million[8]
Box office $90.2 million[9]

Rush is a 2013 biographical sports drama film centred on the rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One motor-racing season. It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film premiered in London on 2 September 2013 and was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival[10][11] before its United Kingdom release on 13 September 2013.[12]

Plot

James Hunt and Niki Lauda are two highly skilled racing car drivers who first develop a fierce rivalry in 1970 at a Formula Three race at the Crystal Palace circuit in Britain, when both their cars spin out and Hunt eventually wins the race. Hunt is a brash, young Englishman with a tendency to vomit before every race, while Lauda is a cool, calculating Austrian technical genius who relies on precision. After a falling out with his father, Lauda takes a large bank loan and buys his way into the British Racing Motors Formula One team, meeting teammate Clay Regazzoni for the first time. Meanwhile, Hesketh Racing, the fledgling racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula One as well. Lauda then joins Scuderia Ferrari with Regazzoni and wins his first championship in 1975. Hesketh closes shop after failing to secure a sponsor, but Hunt joins McLaren when Emerson Fittipaldi leaves the team. During this time, Hunt marries supermodel Suzy Miller, while Lauda develops a relationship with German socialite Marlene Knaus.

The 1976 Formula One season starts with Lauda dominating the first two races while Hunt struggles to catch up. Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix, but is disqualified after a post-race inspection rules that his car is too wide. Struggling to comply with F1 rules, McLaren suffers a series of setbacks on the next few races, and Hunt's situation is further exacerbated when Suzy is discovered to have a relationship with actor Richard Burton. Following his divorce, he regains his competitive spirit and his disqualification in Spain is overturned, which reinstates the points he lost and puts him back into championship contention. Meanwhile, Lauda marries Marlene in a private ceremony but begins to have concerns about the effects of his marriage on his racing career.

At the German Grand Prix, Lauda urges the F1 committee to cancel the race due to heavy rain on the already notoriously dangerous Nürburgring. At the drivers' meeting, Hunt argues that Lauda would benefit by having one fewer race in the season. The drivers vote to go ahead with the race. Both Hunt and Lauda start the race with wet weather tyres, which becomes a costly tactic due to most of the track quickly drying up. They both pit to change tyres during the second lap, but halfway through the third lap, a suspension arm in Lauda's Ferrari breaks, sending the car flying into an embankment before it bursts into flames and is further hit by other cars on the track. After being pulled out of the flaming wreckage, he is airlifted to the hospital with third-degree burns to his head and face and dangerous internal burns to his lungs. For the next six weeks, Lauda is treated for his injuries while he watches his rival dominate the races in his absence. Despite his doctor's orders, he decides to drive his Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix to finish fourth while Hunt fails to finish the race.

The 1976 season comes to a climax at the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix. Hunt's late rally in Lauda's absence has pulled him within three points of Lauda. At the end of the second lap, Lauda returns to the pits and retires from the race, opting to stay with Marlene instead of risking his life again on the track. This opens the door for Hunt to win the championship if he can notch a podium finish (third or better). After facing stiff competition under gruelling conditions and overcoming tyre problems and injuring his hand due to the gear shifter knob breaking, Hunt finishes third, giving him enough points to win the championship by one point over Lauda. He spends the rest of the year with fame, sex and drugs, while Lauda takes an interest in flying private planes. At a private airfield in Bologna, Lauda suggests to Hunt that he focus on the next racing season, but later on realises that Hunt no longer has anything to prove. Hunt continues to race until his retirement in 1979, and becomes a motorsport broadcast commentator until his death in 1993 at the age of 45.

Cast

Daniel Brühl, Niki Lauda and Peter Morgan at the premiere of Rush in Vienna, Austria.

Hunt and Lauda appear as themselves at the end of the film in archive footage, and Lauda has a cameo at the climax of the film.

Production

The film was shot on location in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria.[14] Filming took place at the former Second World War airfield of Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, the Snetterton (Norfolk), Cadwell Park (Lincolnshire), the former Crystal Palace[15] and Brands Hatch (Kent)[16] motor racing circuits in Britain, and at the Nürburgring in Germany.[17] Both vintage racing cars and replicas were used in the filming.

The financiers include Hürth-based action concept Film- und Stuntproduktion, Egoli Tossell Film, Revolution Films (GB) and Cross Creek Pictures (US). The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW funded the film with €1.35 million, additional funding was provided by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).[18]

Director Ron Howard originally intended for Russell Crowe to make a cameo appearance as Richard Burton for a brief scene where he confronts James Hunt on his affair with Suzy.[19][20]

Historical accuracy

Some things in the film are exaggerated (like the Hunt–Lauda rivalry; in reality they had shared a flat early in their careers and were good friends), others downplayed (like Lauda's wife's shock at his disfigurement), and others invented (like Hunt beating up a reporter or the Nürburgring nickname being "the graveyard"; in fact Jackie Stewart had nicknamed it "the Green Hell").[21][22][23] Other inaccuracies include the British F3 battle at Crystal Palace, which in reality was between Hunt and Dave Morgan, and Hunt's overtake on Regazzoni for 3rd place in the Japanese Grand Prix when in the actual race he passed Alan Jones. Another error in the Japanese Grand Prix is that Regazzoni and Laffite finished fourth and fifth, while in the actual race its Jones and Regazzoni who finished fourth and fifth.

Soundtrack

The film's orchestral score was composed by Hans Zimmer.[24] The soundtrack includes 1970s rock music by Dave Edmunds, the Spencer Davis Group (incorrectly credited solely to Steve Winwood, its lead singer), Mud, Thin Lizzy and David Bowie.[25]

Marketing

BBC Two aired the documentary Hunt vs. Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals, on 14 July 2013. The documentary provides an extensive look at the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda, featuring interviews with Lauda and former crew members of the McLaren and Ferrari teams.[26][27]

The Ferrari & the Cinema Society jointly organised a screening of the film at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas in New York on 18 September 2013. Chris Hemsworth attended the screening.[28]

Reception

Box office

Rush earned a worldwide gross of $97 million against a budget of $38 million.[9]

Critical reception

Rush has received positive reviews. As of 23 September 2013, it holds a rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 210 reviews with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10, and a rating of 92% based on 39 Top Critics reviews, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Its consensus reads "A sleek, slick, well-oiled machine, Rush is a finely crafted sports drama with exhilarating race sequences and strong performances from Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl."[29] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 75 based on 43 reviews, thus indicating "generally favourable reviews".[30]

Niki Lauda was pleased with the overall look of the film. He was quoted as saying: "When I saw it the first time I was impressed. There was no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively."[19]

Home media

Rush was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28 January 2014. A Sainsbury's exclusive edition complete with a Bonus Disc of new special features was released for a limited time. The Australian Blu-ray release is bundled with the 2013 documentary 1.[31]

Accolades

Awards
Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
AACTA International Awards[32] Best Film Nominated
British Academy Film Awards[33][34] Outstanding British Film Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Daniel Brühl Nominated
Best Editing Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill Won
Best Sound Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Film Editing Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill Won
Empire Awards[35] Best British Film Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Daniel Brühl Nominated
Golden Globe Awards[36][37] Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Daniel Brühl Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Film Editing Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Daniel Brühl Nominated
Best Score Hans Zimmer Nominated
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Daniel Brühl Won
Satellite Awards Best Director Ron Howard Nominated
Best Cinematography Anthony Dod Mantle Nominated
Best Visual Effects Antoine Moulineau, Jody Johnson, Mark Hodgkins Nominated
Best Editing Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill Nominated
Best Sound Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler Nominated
Best Art Direction and Production Design Mark Digby, Patrick Rolfe Nominated
Best Costume Design Julian Day Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Daniel Brühl Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Daniel Brühl Nominated
Best Editing Dan Hanley, Mike Hill Nominated

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ There is some disagreement regarding the country of origin of Rush and this is a weighted listing of the sources. Andrew Eaton one of the film's producers calls it a British film, but also indicates it is an "Anglo-German co-production,"[2] while another source lists only Germany.[3] Another source lists both Great Britain and the US,[4][5] while others list all three countries.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Rush". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
  2. ↑ Andrew Eaton (16 December 2013). "Why being British is no longer a handicap when it comes to films". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Rush (2013)". TCM. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rush". AFI. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Rush (2013)". AllMovie. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Rush (2013)". BFI. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Rush". LUMIERE: Data base on admissions of films released in Europe. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Rush (2013) (2013) - Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com.
  9. 1 2 "Rush". Box Office Mojo/IMDb. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  11. ↑ Evans, Ian (2013), "Rush TIFF premiere photos", DigitalHit.com
  12. ↑ "Rush Movie Official UK Site for the Rush Film In Cinemas 13th September". Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Interview: Cineworld talks to Rush actor Stephen Mangan". cineworld. UK. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "Rush - Official Movie Site - 2013". Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Film London". filmlondon.org.uk.
  16. ↑ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Rush Film Focus".
  17. ↑ "Hollywood director gets a real Rush filming at Cadwell". Horncastle News. Johnston Publishing. May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Premiere on Saturday in Cologne: "Rush"". Film und Media Stiftung NRW. 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  19. 1 2 "Rush True Story vs. Movie". History vs. Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  20. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2011-10-04). "Olivia Wilde Lands 'Rush' Role Of Suzy Miller; Russell Crowe For Richard Burton Cameo?". Deadline. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  21. ↑ von Tunzelmann, Alex (18 September 2013). "Rush: a thrilling but untrusty ride". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  22. ↑ WYBREW, ALLY. "Rush Vs. Real Life: Where Fact Meets Fiction". www.empireonline.com. Empire. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  23. ↑ Williams, Richard (6 September 2013). "Rush's soap washes away subtleties of James Hunt and Niki Lauda". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  24. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (2013-09-16). "Hans Zimmer On His 'Rush' Soundtrack, Oscar Nominations & 'Man Of Steel 2'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  25. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (2013-08-28). "Watch: New Clip From 'Rush' Plus Details On The Soundtrack Which Includes David Bowie, Thin Lizzy & Hans Zimmer". IndieWire. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  26. ↑ "Hunt vs. Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals". BBC. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  27. ↑ Davies, Serena (2013-07-14). "Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals, BBC Two, review". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  28. ↑ Smarp. "'Chris Hemsworth in Chelsea Clearview Cinema, New York, NY, USA'". Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  29. ↑ "Rush Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Rush Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Rush / 1: Double Pack Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  32. ↑ Kemp, Stuart (13 December 2013). "'American Hustle' Dominates Australian Academy's International Award Noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  33. ↑ Reynolds, Simon; Harris, Jamie (January 8, 2014). "BAFTA Film Awards 2014 - nominations in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Bafta Film Awards 2014: Full list of winners". BBC. February 16, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  35. ↑ "movie news: 19th Jameson Empire Awards Nominations Announced". average film reviews. February 24, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Golden Globes Nominations: The Full List". Variety. January 11, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Golden Globe Awards Winners". Variety. January 12, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
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