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As the British empire had discovered 100 years before, the
Russians found that despite a military advantage, their troops
were slaughtered by Mudjahadeen guerrillas conducting hit-and-run
raids.
Even with air support the Soviets found themselves struggling
to keep the enemy at bay and a flood of modern US weapons
gave the Mudjahadeen some chance.
The Beast is an interesting movie in that - other
than a Rambo episode - it is the only film I can think of
that is based in Afghanistan.
It is low budget - a few tanks, a helicopter, and one destroyed
village - but it is a good tale of vengeful tribesmen relentlessly
pursuing a cut-off Soviet tank and its crew.
Led by tank commander Daskai (George Dzundza) the crew obliterate
a rebel village - including one scene where the local Khan
is squished slowly under the tank's tracks - and then head
off back to their base.
The problem arises when Daskai turns right instead of left
and the Soviets find themselves in a valley where there is
only one way in and one way out.
The hero of the yarn is Koverchenko (Jason Patric), the
tank's driver who doesn't believe in the hideous things that
his army is doing in Afghanistan. He's continually rubs Daskai
up the wrong way stating his opinions. This leads to a great
deal of conflict and disunity among the crew, which includes
Stephen Baldwin.
On the side of the Afghans is Steven Bauer who leads the
pursuit of the tank.
You'll recognise the faces of the main actors and all do
a good job.
The Beast is pretty grim viewing and has moments of
high action, although it does tend to understate just how
horrific the battles between the Soviets and Mudjahadeen were.
If captured, prisoners on either side died horribly and the
Soviets were known to booby trap kids' toys.
The video transfer is very good with only a small number
of film speckles to worry about. Everything is dusty and camouflaged
so colour hues are muted. The sound is also very good, sometimes
with excellent use of the rear speakers but, with all the
bulleting and rockets flying around, they could have been
used more.
The dialogue is easy to pick up.
A good human drama set during a very nasty war.
Conclusion: Movie 75%, Extras 30%
Continued: DVD
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