Two Jews On Rush

‘Rush’ directed by two time Academy Award winner Ron Howard (‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Frost/Nixon’) is supposedly, based on a true story.

I say, supposedly because, like many ‘true stories’, there’s a great deal of ‘not so true’ stuff thrown into the mix.

‘Rush’ written by Peter Morgan (‘Frost/Nixon) depicts the intense rivalry between two Formula 1 race car drivers…

The flamboyant, English playboy, James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, ‘The Avengers, ‘Thor’) and his opponent, the overly controlled, Austrian, Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl, ‘Inglorious Bastards)

Hunt was the bad boy of racing. When he wasn’t behind the wheel of a car, he spent his time, drinking, making love and drinking some more. He was all about emotion and impulsive behavior…

Lauda, on the other hand, was disciplined, cold and methodically brilliant.

In the film, these two men are obsessed with beating one another on the track, no matter what the cost.

Apparently, that wasn’t the case. Hunt and Lauda were actually friends, who hung out together and at one time, were even roommates.

But hey, it’s a movie right?

‘Rush’ opens at the German Grand Prix in 1976, a few weeks past the half way point of the season.

This is the year that…SPOILER ALERT…Lauder had his near fatal accident and that’s all I’ll say about that.

From there, the film flashes back to the early 70’s, where we follow Hunt and Lauda, as they begin their career and how they clashed with one another, on and off the track, in their quest to be a Formula 1 champion.

‘Rush’ is all about the ‘rush’ these drivers get, as they push themselves to their physical and psychological breaking points.

Howard captures the excitement, the danger, the tension and the speed in Formula 1 racing. Those scenes are shot so well that, at times, I felt as if I were sitting along side Hunt and Lauda.

For those of you not into car racing, there’s some cool sex scenes and lots of romance.

Olivia Wilde plays a super model who eventually marries Hunt and Alexandra Maria Lara, is Lauda’s girlfriend, who becomes his wife.

I gave ‘Rush’ which opens in theatres, Friday September 20, 2013 four bagels out of 5.

Check out our video to see what John thought and his bagel score.

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Joan and John Schwartz

Joan and John Schwartz are ex New Yorkers, living in Los Angeles. They are married and see a lot of films. They usually disagree but always tell it like it is. John is most famous for creating the cult classic films Faces of Death. He has also written for various prime time series and has written movies for both Showtime and HBO. In the world of reality television John has produced, written and directed over 450 segments for various magazine shows He has also written and Executive Produced several Prime-Time Specials. Joan has appeared on the New York Stage on and off Broadway…and has been in several Los Angeles theater productions as well.. Joan has been in several low budget films and at present she is busy writing screenplays with her husband, John.

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