Rush, a feature film based on the battle for the 1976 Formula 1 World Championship between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, will enjoy its official Australian premiere in Melbourne this Sunday.
Directed by American Ron Howard, the movie features Australian Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and German Daniel Bruhl as Lauda.
Bruhl will be on hand for the Australian premiere, which will be preceded by the 30-year-old taking laps in the Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s two-seater Minardi around Albert Park.
Viewed by Speedcafe.com at a pre-launch media screening on Friday, the movie provides a balanced contrast between the legendary playboy character of Hunt and the calculated commitment of Lauda.
The storyline sticks largely to that of the 1976 season battle between the pair, which featured Lauda’s dramatic Nurburgring crash and subsequent return to the cockpit.
Shortcuts in the amazing tale, including the brushing over of the red flag controversy in that year’s British Grand Prix, are inevitably taken in the clear pursuit of mass-market brevity.
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Such is the two-man focus of the film, those expecting to see more than just Hunt, Lauda and the Austrian’s Ferrari team-mate Clay Regazzoni will be disappointed.
The inclusion of journalist and period BBC commentator Simon Taylor, however, adds greatly to the on-track scenes which only occasionally fall into the usual Hollywood trap of incessant focus on gear changes and questionable accident physics.
Many of the scenes are gloriously recreated, although keen motorsport enthusiast will no doubt enjoy spotting the various British circuits – Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Crystal Palace and Donington Park – that were used as substitutes for the likes of Fiorano (Italy), Fuji (Japan) and Paul Ricard (France).
The movie will be released nationally in cinemas on Thursday 3 October, 2013.
