The Beast of War (1988)

Pretty Good

Best movie ever!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"War is hell", as the old saying goes, and as long as has been possible, Hollywood has tried to show what war's really like, sometimes succeeding, other times not so. It's probably fair to say that only a select few war pictures really achieve the grittiness and ugly realism of war, and if you know your films, you probably know which ones ("Full Metal Jacket", Apocalypse Now", "Platoon" , etc.). Yet there is another picture that deserves to be included in this list, a film that although American made, tells a war story that is probably one of the most unlikely ones to be told on the American screen. The film is called "The Beast of War". Made in 1988, it tells the seemly simple story of a Soviet tank crew who gets lost in the middle of the unforgiving wilderness of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and bloody war that occurred there. Cut off from the rest of their forces, they are mercilessly pursued by a group of Mujahadeen fighters, or Afghan guerrillas, in revenge for a massacre carried out by the crew in their village, all shown in horrific, graphic detail that grabs the viewer in the opening. Leading the pack of the crew is the tyrannical and hard charging officer Daskal (George Dzundza in a terrific performance) a veteran who fought at Stalingrad and who is determined to maintain the honor of "the motherland". The soldiers below him, though, are far more likely thinking a question most soldiers in wars through out the ages have probably asked: Just what the hell are doing here? That's certainly the question being asked by the young soldier Konstantin (Jason Patric in another great performance), who slowly begins to become a thorn in Daskal's side with all his questioning, especially as Daskal grows more paranoid and unjustly distrustful of the crew's Afghan liaison officer Samad (wonderful character actor Erick Avari). Eventually, Konstantin is tied to a rock and left to the mercy of the savages by the increasingly unstable Daskal but unbeknownst to him, fate has other plans. But the movie doesn't just show the workings of the tank crew, it also intimately shows the Afghans who are following them, showcasing the conflicts of interest and power dynamics within their group, and their hunt for "the beast", as they call the tank. Leading them is their newly minted village chief, or Kahn, Taj (played by Steven Bauer of "Scarface" fame in a most convincing performance) who, like the Russians, is under pressure to uphold the values and expectations of his people. "The Beast" is probably one of the most unique war films ever made, in that here you have an American made movie that deals with a foreign war that we were not fighting in at the time - though we were giving significant support to various groups within the Afghan Mujahadeen - and one that was being fought by our arc rival at the time, the Russians or Soviets. And yet, somehow, the film transcends these barriers and under the superb direction of Kevin Reynolds, creates characters and a story that somehow seem universal from time to time or conflict to conflict. Even though the soldiers are Russian, the films is able to show them as soldiers that can be found in any army, be it here in the good old, US of A or anywhere else for that matter. Granted, part of this is due to the fact the guys speak American English rather than English with a Russian accent. But it somehow, it all just works. As for the actors playing the Afghans, everyone of them must be congratulated, not only acting wise for their individual characters but also for convincingly speaking the Pashto language, something that must have had its own challenges involved. "The Beast" truly is one of those rare films that manages to not only show the ugly reality of war and dark side of man but also something universal about humanity, human connections, and culture, all of it enhanced by Mark Isham's majestic and hauntingly beautiful music score. The Afghans fight for what their culture holds dear, as do the Russians. But the funny thing is, if race, ethnicity, or ideology didn't separate them, many of these characters might have made good friends. Sadly, though, "The Beast of War" is a movie that managed to fall through the cracks, perhaps because of the unique subject matter of the film, which is a shame, for as the United States tries to bend Afghanistan to its will and bring it into the modern age, "The Beast" is able to fully show the hopeless situation the Soviet Union found itself in, and why we, my fellow Americans, probably won't have much luck there either, when all is said and done. Funny how man fails to learn from the past, isn't it folks? For this and other reasons that I simply cannot put into words at the moment, "Beast of War" is a film that should be seen at least once in your life, not only because of its story but stellar acting, be it Patric, Don Harvey, or Steven Baldwin of the Baldwin brothers! Watch and observe, and ask yourselves was there ever a war that wasn't rotten? For my money, hell no!

A Soviet tank unit destroys an Afghan village and the crew of five of the sole surviving tank attempt to rendezvous with the rest of their division, but get lost along the way, trapped in a desolate desert valley while Mujahadeen guerrillas keep hunting them. Stress and tension keeps rising between the tank crew.Very little-known anti-war movie. Well acted, nice cinematography. Nothing too cliché, nothing too over the top action, very entertaining and still holds up well today. The title may fool you that it is some 80's b-movie but it's definitely not.Better tank movie than Fury (2014).

... as do its origins as a play. William Mastrosimone's a good enough playwright but doesn't have a good grasp of screenplays. The potential's there in the idea but he makes his political points too clumsily and there are far too many convenient coincidences that would have been (were?) overlooked on a stage. Even so, the biggest problem is the miscasting of the tank commander. He's never credible, despite his acting abilities, which are considerable. He's just miscast. He's the overweight sidekick or the comic relief, not a driven, battle-hardened Soviet commander. The other mistake was filming it in Israel. While parts of Afghanistan are barren, using Israel as a stand in flattens the film and lessens the impact of the Soviet presence. Hard to explain but it's clear when you see the film that the backdrop is wrong. Not a bad film but it could have been so much better.

It's a surprise to find that this movie was no blockbuster, and even some hardcore cinema addicts have'not seen it. Its such a rare gem. Anyone who loves war movies, and even who doesn't should watch this movie . Rather make a point to see this movie if you have not seen it already. It's equally good and rather totally different experience from full metal jacket,saving private Ryan, apocalypse now, and i would say it one of the most unique films.The casting is small and main story focuses around a Tank , yes a single stranded Russian tank, which becomes a symbol of a beast which is then chased by a group of mujaheedins and women whose husband has been rolled over by the tank . And they too are almost less than 10 people. The background score is the best score you could hear. This movie just takes you into their shoes like no other movie. Miss it and i guarantee you , you missed a whole new experience.