# The World's Fastest Indian
**The World's Fastest Indian** is a 2005 biographical drama film written and directed by [Roger Donaldson](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-donaldson), starring [Anthony Hopkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-hopkins) as the New Zealand motorcyclist [Burt Munro](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-munro), who set a land-speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967 on a heavily modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.[1](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/filming-commences-worlds-fastest-indian) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/02/03/fastest-indian-stalls-out/cf9e1705-e3c0-410e-a1c7-359939427ade/) The title refers to the motorcycle itself, the souped-up classic Indian Scout that carried Munro to his record.[3](https://fest.afi.com/2005/galas-2005/the-worlds-fastest-indian/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 2005; premiered in Invercargill, New Zealand, on 7 December 2005[4](https://www.ehayes.co.nz/assets/E-Hayes-History-Timeline_26021_1.pdf) |
| Director and writer | Roger Donaldson, who first filmed Munro in his 1971 documentary *Offerings to the God of Speed*[3](https://fest.afi.com/2005/galas-2005/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) |
| Lead actor | Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro[1](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/filming-commences-worlds-fastest-indian) |
| Historical event | Munro's 1967 Bonneville run on his 1920 Indian Scout: 184.037 mph, the fastest Indian and quickest motorcycle under 1,000cc[5](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/motoring/at-the-bonneville-salt-flats-the-only-currency-is-speed) |
| Runtime and rating | 127 minutes; PG-13[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian) |
| Reception | 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (141 reviews); Metascore 68 based on 32 critic reviews[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) |
| Awards | Seven wins at the NZ Film Awards 2006, including Best Film, Screenplay, Actor, and Director[8](https://www.flicks.us/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and cast
The film follows Munro, getting on in years and living alone in a small New Zealand town, as he tunes his motorcycle and finally decides to travel to Utah to challenge the world land-speed record. The journey, and the characters, obstacles, and opportunities he encounters along the way, occupy much of the film.[3](https://fest.afi.com/2005/galas-2005/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) Hopkins plays Munro, with [Diane Ladd](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-ladd) as Ada, Paul Rodriguez as the used-car salesman Fernando, Bruce Greenwood as Jerry, and [Christopher Lawford](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-lawford) as Jim Moffett.[3](https://fest.afi.com/2005/galas-2005/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian)
## The historical record behind the film
Burt Munro came from [Invercargill](https://www.edgepedia.org/invercargill), New Zealand, and in the 1960s set world speed records on an Indian motorcycle.[1](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/filming-commences-worlds-fastest-indian) In 1967, at the age of 68, he rode his 1920 Indian Scout to 184.037 mph at the [Bonneville Salt Flats](https://www.edgepedia.org/bonneville-salt-flats), making it the fastest Indian motorcycle and the quickest motorcycle under 1,000cc; sources describing the flats report that this record still stands.[5](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/motoring/at-the-bonneville-salt-flats-the-only-currency-is-speed) • [8](https://www.flicks.us/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) Munro had spent years rebuilding and modifying the bike, and the film's press materials describe his lifelong dream of making his 1920 Indian Twin Scout the fastest bike on earth.[9](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/assets/resources/TWFI_Press_Kit_FINAL.pdf)
The Bonneville Salt Flats, about 100 miles west of [Salt Lake City](https://www.edgepedia.org/salt-lake-city), have hosted land-speed racing since a first record attempt in 1914, and the flats later served as a filming backdrop for the movie alongside films such as *Independence Day*.[10](https://apnews.com/article/98cc4c9235e141fb45a12be694ede1b5) • [11](https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/07/29/speedweek-bonneville-salt-flats-first-speed-record)
## Production
**A long-gestating project.** Roger Donaldson, a New Zealand-born filmmaker whose Hollywood credits include *[The Recruit](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-recruit-film)*, *Thirteen Days*, *Dante's Peak*, and *[No Way Out](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-way-out-1987-film)*, first met Munro in Invercargill in 1971 while making the documentary *Offerings to the God of Speed*, only his second film.[9](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/assets/resources/TWFI_Press_Kit_FINAL.pdf) • [12](https://outnow.ch/en/News/2006/02/13/The-Worlds-Fastest-Indian-Interview-with-Roger-Donaldson) After Munro died in 1978, Donaldson decided to try to make a feature film based on his exploits; he wrote a first draft of the script in 1979, and the project went on hold when his career moved to Hollywood.[9](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/assets/resources/TWFI_Press_Kit_FINAL.pdf) • [13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-worlds-fastest-indian-2006) • [14](https://www.nzonscreen.com/m/background/1a2c6792-e12b-4c85-84ca-e99b545464f1/videos/the-worlds-fastest-indian-2005/) In interviews Donaldson said he turned down offers to rewrite the script into what funders considered a more marketable story, waiting until he could make the film as he intended.[9](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/assets/resources/TWFI_Press_Kit_FINAL.pdf)
Filming began at the [Bonneville](https://www.edgepedia.org/bonneville) site of Munro's record run and then moved to New Zealand to complete an 11-week shoot. The film was financed by the New Zealand Film Production Fund, the New Zealand Film Commission, and Tokyo-based OLC/Rights Entertainment, and it was Donaldson's first film made in New Zealand after a roughly 20-year Hollywood career.[1](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/filming-commences-worlds-fastest-indian) To create replicas of the motorcycle for the film, Donaldson was given access to Munro's memorabilia and the 1920 Indian Scout itself by Norman Hayes of the Invercargill firm E Hayes and Sons.[4](https://www.ehayes.co.nz/assets/E-Hayes-History-Timeline_26021_1.pdf)
## Reception
Critics responded warmly to Hopkins's performance. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus says the film "overcomes its formulaic storyline thanks to Anthony Hopkins' warm and endearing portrayal of an age-defying thrill seeker," and the Tomatometer stood at 83 percent from 141 reviews with an audience score of 89 percent.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 68 from 32 reviews, in the "generally favorable" range.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) The film won seven awards at the NZ Film Awards 2006, including Best Film, Screenplay, Actor, and Director.[8](https://www.flicks.us/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/) Its gross in the United States was $5.1 million.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian)
**Fictionalization.** Not all coverage accepted the film's characterization of its hero. A Washington Post review by film critic [Stephen Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-hunter) called the story "a considerably fictionalized biography," arguing that the real Munro was an experienced, capable man who understood the American speed-trial system and had traveled before, while the film portrays him as naive and repeatedly rescued by the kindness of strangers.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/02/03/fastest-indian-stalls-out/cf9e1705-e3c0-410e-a1c7-359939427ade/)
## Legacy
The film remains closely tied to Munro's standing in motorcycle culture: his 1967 mark of 184.037 mph for motorcycles under 1,000cc is still cited as unbroken, and the movie itself is remembered as a fixture of motorcycle film lists.[5](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/motoring/at-the-bonneville-salt-flats-the-only-currency-is-speed) • [15](https://news.bkscot2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KR-SPRING-2020.pdf) A replica of Munro's motorcycle used in the film has been displayed in New Zealand.[16](https://www.nzfwda.org.nz/?fileId=165&func=download&module=uploads)
## References
1. [Filming Commences on World's Fastest Indian, Beehive.govt.nz (20 October 2004)](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/filming-commences-worlds-fastest-indian)
2. [Stephen Hunter, "'Fastest Indian' Stalls Out," The Washington Post (3 February 2006)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/02/03/fastest-indian-stalls-out/cf9e1705-e3c0-410e-a1c7-359939427ade/)
3. [The World's Fastest Indian, AFI FEST 2005](https://fest.afi.com/2005/galas-2005/the-worlds-fastest-indian/)
4. [E Hayes and Sons history timeline](https://www.ehayes.co.nz/assets/E-Hayes-History-Timeline_26021_1.pdf)
5. [At the Bonneville Salt Flats, the only currency is speed, Country Life (2025)](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/motoring/at-the-bonneville-salt-flats-the-only-currency-is-speed)
6. [The World's Fastest Indian, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/worlds_fastest_indian)
7. [The World's Fastest Indian, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/)
8. [The World's Fastest Indian, Flicks](https://www.flicks.us/movie/the-worlds-fastest-indian/)
9. [The World's Fastest Indian press kit, NZ Film Commission](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/assets/resources/TWFI_Press_Kit_FINAL.pdf)
10. [Driver attempting to set a record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats dies, AP News (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/98cc4c9235e141fb45a12be694ede1b5)
11. [110 years of speed records at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, Axios (2024)](https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/07/29/speedweek-bonneville-salt-flats-first-speed-record)
12. [Interview with Roger Donaldson, OutNow (2006)](https://outnow.ch/en/News/2006/02/13/The-Worlds-Fastest-Indian-Interview-with-Roger-Donaldson)
13. [Roger Ebert, review of The World's Fastest Indian (2006)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-worlds-fastest-indian-2006)
14. [The World's Fastest Indian, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/m/background/1a2c6792-e12b-4c85-84ca-e99b545464f1/videos/the-worlds-fastest-indian-2005/)
15. [Knight Review, Spring 2020](https://news.bkscot2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KR-SPRING-2020.pdf)
16. [New Zealand FWDA, replica Burt Munro motorcycle](https://www.nzfwda.org.nz/?fileId=165&func=download&module=uploads)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Road transport › Motorcycle racing*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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