Rush | the m0vie blog

134. Rush (#206)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Grace Duffy, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, Ron Howard’s Rush.

In the early seventies, the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda was the stuff of legend among Formula 1 enthusiasts. Two very different men competing for every different reasons, Hunt and Lauda formed an unlikely bond that sustained and motivated both of them to push themselves further than their limits.

At time of recording, it was ranked 206th on the Internet Movie Database‘s list of the best movies of all-time.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: cars, chris hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, film, formula 1, grace duffy, James Hunt, Movie, Niki Lauda, racing, ron howard, Rush | 2 Comments »

My 12 for ’13: Rush & Picking Sides

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Darren

This is my annual countdown of the 12 movies that really stuck with me this year. It only counts the movies released in Ireland in 2013, so quite a few of this year’s Oscar contenders aren’t eligible, though some of last year’s are.

This is number 3…

Rush is something of a companion piece to Frost/Nixon. Writer Peter Morgan re-teamed with director Ron Howard to offer a definitive take on another contest of wills, documenting the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda across the 1976 Formula One season. An account of a rather famous piece of sporting history, you could accuse Rush of being a bit formulaic, but the key is the skill with which Morgan and Lauda manage to execute that formula.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Daniel Brühl, david bowie, Formula One, frank langella, Hunt, Ireland, James Hunt, Lauda, Niki Lauda, peter morgan, ron howard, Rush | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Rush

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Darren

In many ways, Rush quite resembles the last collaboration between director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan. Both are built around contests between two larger-than-life personalities. One is old-fashioned and conservative, averse to risk and obsessed with victory; the other is young and impetuous, arrogant and self-assured without the experience to back that up. However, while Rush lacks the screen presence of performers Michael Sheen and Frank Langella, it benefits greatly from the fact that it refuses to choose a side.

As much as Frost/Nixon might have offered a slightly more sympathetic-than-usual Nixon, it was clear that the audience was intended to root against the corrupt former president, and champion the ascension of young up-and-comer David Frost. Rush manages a more delicate balance, firmly refusing to favour one protagonist over the other. Both the reckless young go-getter and the safety-conscious number-cruncher are portrayed as sympathetic and well-developed characters.

This makes Rush that rarest of sports movies: the one where the audience is rooting for both contenders.