''Speed'' is a 1984

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film directed by

Greg MacGillivray Greg MacGillivray (born 1945) is an American film director and cinematographer. Career MacGillivray was first nominated for an Academy Award in 1995 for directing ''The Living Sea'' (Best Documentary Short Subject), and was nominated in the same c ...

that examines humanity's obsession with speed across various domains, including auto racing and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

. It features thrilling visuals and highlights the achievements of notable speed enthusiasts. The film presents an exploration of speed's impact on

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

Summary

The film begins with a primitive

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

attempting to kill a deer to no avail, and then being chased by a tiger; he then jumps to the sea. The narrator, historian James Burke, remarks that humans have always desired to move faster than the status quo, even at the risk of one's life; this film examines that desire. Henceforth, it is divided into five parts: "The Dawn of Original Thinking", "The Engine Revolution", "The Sky Has No Limit", "Faster than Man", and "We Have Just Begun to Crawl". In 1839, Kirkpatrick Macmillan modified the wheel and invented the first self-propelled bicycle using the principle of leverage, which could travel at approximately . Later improvements allow for bicycles to go up to , despite various factors like gravity, friction, and

wind resistance In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...

. The film then depicts the

velomobile A velomobile (); velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for Aerodynamics, aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. Velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and ...

, whose streamlined enclosure allows for less wind resistance, hence moving six times as fast as the bicycle. The 1900s saw the invention of the

Stanley Steamer The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving internal combustion engine vehicles. The cars made by t ...

, breaking a world record of . With the creation of the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

, cars began to travel at faster speeds, inadvertently increasing the risk of accidents, prevalent with

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

s. The film demonstrates this by depicting Billy Vukovich, who would win the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

and

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, before being killed in the 1955 race. The introduction of auto racing further increased the top speed of cars, culminating with

jet dragster A jet car is a car propelled by a jet engine. A jet dragster is a jet powered car used for drag racing. They are most commonly seen at race shows. Land speed record Jet powered cars are commonly used for land speed record attempts, after a ...

s at . Although airplanes are significant as vehicles free from ground constraints, attempts to break the

sound barrier The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...

failed fatally, until the invention of the rocket-powered

Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces– U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by B ...

in 1947, with

Chuck Yeager Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in his ...

flying it at . This launched a series of

supersonic aircraft A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach number, Mach 1). Supersonic speed, Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic ...

production, the fastest bring the

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. Its nicknames include " Blackbird" and ...

with a top speed of . The film then depicts the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...

, whose movements are equated to auto racing. In 1969, astronauts of the

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing (Apollo 11, two ...

were returning to Earth from the Moon, reaching up to . Burke reveals that humans travel more than a year. Speed becomes an important element in every aspect of human life, such as communications. While some opine that this fast-paced society only causes fatal stress, the film also highlights stress-relieving and recreational manifestations of speed, such as

ultralight aviation Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

, surfing, hiking in sailing, skiing, and roller coasters. While the top speed humans can achieve will increase dramatically in the near future, it will not compare to the fastest speed according to

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

, the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time i ...

. However, scientists have begun to wonder if the true achievable top speed are only limited by one's imagination. The film ends with a surreal visualization of the speed of light progressively going faster towards the Sun.

Reception

The

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

received positive reviews for its

stunning Stunning is the process of rendering animals immobile or unconscious, with or without killing the animal, when or immediately prior to slaughtering them for food. Rationale Within the European Union, most animals slaughtered for human consump ...

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

and engaging

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

, appealing to both

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

enthusiasts and general audiences.

Cast

* Monty Cox as Hunter * Shane McCamey as Kirkpatrick MacMillan * Linda Hoy as Scottish Lady *

Omri Katz Omri Katz is an American retired actor. His television and film credits include the television series ''Dallas'' and '' Eerie Indiana'', and the movies '' Matinee'', ''Adventures in Dinosaur City'', and '' Hocus Pocus''. Biography Katz is the ...

as Scottish Laddie * Andy Muxlow as Scottish Laddie * Lee S. Brock as Bill Vukovich (as Lee Brock) * Kathy Graber as Ellen * Leif Green as Danny

Legacy

''Speed'' remains an influential work in the

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

, often referenced in discussions about speed and innovation in

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

References

External links

* {{Greg MacGillivray American short documentary films 1984 films IMAX short films Short films directed by Greg MacGillivray 1984 short documentary films Documentary films about transport MacGillivray Freeman Films films IMAX documentary films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language short documentary films