RUSH movie: 5 mistakes the movie makers made

RUSH, the movie based on the epic rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, has been receiving rave reviews. But as is always the case with art, the movie took a few liberties with regards to the facts. Here we have a look at the 5 most significant errors in the movie.

5. The Graveyard

In the very first scene of the movie, when the rivalry was being introduced to the audience, one of the reporters says that Nurburgring was known as “The Graveyard”. This isn’t true at all as the circuit was actually known as the “Green Hell”. This nickname was coined by Sir Jackie Stewart after he broke his wrist despite winning the 1968 race held there.

4. Differing lifestyles

In the movie, James Hunt is shown as a binge drinker, who liked to party before and after the race, whereas Niki Lauda is portrayed as a serious type who stayed away from drinking. In Lauda’s own words, while he did stay away from alcohol before the race, he had to have a drink after it. In fact, while Lauda is shown to pointedly avoid his rival’s garage at the circuit, in reality, they actually had quite a few drinks together after the race.

3. Friends/Enemies

In the same vein as above, RUSH portrays both rivals hating each other on the track as well as off it. While it is true that they shared an intense rivalry on the track, they did not take their rivalry beyond it, unlike what the movie suggests. In fact, for a short period of time, the rivals shared a flat as well!

2. First Meeting

According to the movie, Lauda and Hunt first came across each other in the Formula 3 race at Crystal Palace in 1970. But the fact is that Lauda did not attend the race while Hunt actually did not finish the race, after getting involved in a crash with another driver.

1. Reporter’s Question

Perhaps the most important point on which the makers of RUSH chose to take liberty was during the scene where the reporter asks Niki Lauda if his marriage was on the rocks because of the accident. While the question was really asked by the reporter, the part where James Hunt hits the reporter is not true.

But these are mistakes that the makers of RUSH chose to take considering they were more interested in making a good movie, which had all the elements of drama, action, explosiveness, etc. It is, in fact, a credit to them that they still managed to remain true to the real story for a majority of the movie.

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Edited by Staff Editor