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The Beast (aka The Beast of War) is a Columbia Pictures movie about a Soviet T-62 tank lost in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1981. The movie was released in 1988.
It was based on a William Mastrosimone play entitled Nanawatai.
It was directed by Kevin Reynolds, who later directed Waterworld.
It starred George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, and Stephen Baldwin.
Plot summary
A Soviet tank unit in Afghanistan helps "clear out" a village, completely destroying it. One of the tanks, led by the especially ruthless Commander Daskal, crushes a captured prisoner under their treads. Leaving the village, Daskal's tank gets separated from its unit and is soon lost.
Mujahadeen warriors, led by the murdered prisoner's brother Taj, discover the lost tank and see an opportunity to take revenge. Knowing that the tank is in a valley with only one exit, they begin following its tracks, intending to use a captured RPG to attack it. Some women from the village also follow along with captured grenades in hand.
The tank crew is made up of four Soviets and one Afghani. As night falls and the crew sets up camp, the Afghan tank crewman Samad teaches the tank driver, Konstantin Koverchenko, about the fundamental principles of Pashtunwali, the Pashtun people's code of honour: melmastia (hospitality), badal (revenge), and nanawatai, which requires even an enemy to be given sanctuary if he asks (see Primary concepts in Pashtunwali).
We soon see that Commander Daskal, called "Tank Boy" during the Great Patriotic War for destroying a number of German tanks in the Battle of Stalingrad, is not ruthless only to the enemy, but also to his men. He despises Samad and kills him on the pretext of suspecting him a traitor.
After Konstantin threatens to report Daskal for the killing, Daskal orders the other two crewmen to tie Konstantin to a rock, with a grenade to serve as booby-trap for the Mujahadeen. Some wild dogs come upon him and as Konstantin tries to kick at them, the grenade rolls down the rock and explodes, killing a dog but leaving Konstantin unhurt.
The sound, however, draws the group of Afghani women. They begin to stone him and are soon joined by the mujahadeen. Konstantin is saved when he remembers Samad's lesson about "nanawatai," sanctuary. He calls out the word and the mujahadeen are obligated to take him with them. Camping out in a cave, they feed him and ask him to fix the broken RPG. The rebels have so far been unable to fire it properly, and Taj insists that Konstantin should, as he knows how to use it and they have only one round left. Seeing an opportunity for revenge against Daskal, he agrees.
Just as the tank crew begins to realize its hopeless situation, a Soviet helicopter appears and offers to rescue them. Daskal, caring more for his tank than his men, refuses. They get their bearings from the helicopter pilot and head back into a narrow mountain pass, looking for the way out of the valley. The mujahadeen and Konstantin catch up with them and fire their last RPG round, but hit only the main gun. Just as it seems the tank will escape, an explosion in the cliffs above the tank sets boulders rolling onto it, disabling it at last. The explosion was set off by the village women with their grenades.
The tank crew is forced out and Konstantin pleads nanawatai on their behalf. Taj reluctantly agrees. Konstantin tells Daskal that he wants him to live to see the Soviets lose the war, which he believes to be a bad war. The men flee on foot, but Daskal meets up with the women, who carry out their revenge by stoning him. Meanwhile, a rescue helicopter appears and despite the comraderie which has developed between him and Taj, Konstantin goes with the helicopter. Taj orders his men not to fire on him as he is being hoisted up into the helicopter.
Notable details
- Several actual T-55 tanks were used in the film although the helicopter used in the film was not a real Mi-8. The tank in question in the movie is actually an Israeli modification of a captured Soviet T-55, redesignated as the Ti-67. Many of these conversions were used by the Israelis during the 1973 war against Egypt. The film's military advisor, Dale Dye, has written that he negotiated the purchase of the tanks over drinks with Israel Defence Force officers in a Tel Aviv hotel.*
- Throughout the entire movie, the only Russian accents were the ones heard on the music radio.
- The language spoken by the native Afghani was Pashtu.
- The character Moustafa wore Soviet medals, including the Order of Lenin, the Soviet Army 20 year service medal, the Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, and a couple of others, all of which were scavenged from dead Soviet troops.
- Although thought by some to be a T-62, the tank used obviously had a T-54/T-55 chasis, as can be seen from the gap between the front two, of five wheels. Israel captured a number of T-55s and modified the turret, allowing for a 105 mm gun. (This looks similar to the 115 mm gun of the T-62 with a bore extractor 2/3 down the barrel.) The standard 100 mm T-55 gun had the bore extractor at the muzzle. The tank used in The Beast was clearly a modified T-55. Israel renamed this unusual configuration the Ti-67.
External links
"The Beast of War"