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The Beast (1988 Film)
''The Beast'' (also known as ''The Beast of War'') is a 1988 American war film directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by William Mastrosimone, based on his play '' Nənawā́te''. The film starred Jason Patric, George Dzundza, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin, Don Harvey and Erick Avari. The film follows the crew of a Soviet T-55 tank who became lost during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The film has enjoyed a cult-favorite status in spite of its low box office statistics. Plot In 1981 Afghanistan, a Soviet tank unit viciously attacks a Pashtun village harboring a group of mujahideen fighters. Following the assault, one of the tanks—commanded by ruthless commander Daskal ( George Dzundza)—takes a wrong turn through a mountain pass and enters a blind valley. Taj (Steven Bauer) returns to discover the village destroyed, and his father and brother killed—the latter by having been crushed under Daskal's tank. As the new khan following his brother's death, Taj is spurre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Reynolds (director)
Kevin Hal Reynolds (born January 17, 1952) is an American film director and screenwriter. He directed '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', ''Waterworld'', ''The Count of Monte Cristo'', ''Fandango'', and the 2016 film '' Risen''. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the History miniseries '' Hatfields & McCoys''. Early life Reynolds was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of former Baylor University President Herbert H. Reynolds. Career Reynolds enjoyed initial successes co-writing the Cold War hit '' Red Dawn'' in 1984 and writing and directing the Steven Spielberg-produced ''Fandango'' in 1985. He began a long friendship with Kevin Costner after hiring him for ''Fandango'', when Costner was a little-known actor. Reynolds later advised Costner behind the scenes for the epic western '' Dances with Wolves'' (1990), in particular with the buffalo hunting scenes, on which Reynolds was also an uncredited second unit director. Costner would again be his leading man in '' Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by area, extending across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and sharing Geography of the Soviet Union#Borders and neighbors, borders with twelve countries, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of Republics of the Soviet Union, national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, Government of the Soviet Union, its government and Economy of the Soviet Union, economy were Soviet-type economic planning, highly centralized. As a one-party state go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booby-trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may be set to act upon trespassers that enter restricted areas, and it can be triggered when the victim performs an action (e.g., opening a door, picking something up, or switching something on). It can also be triggered by vehicles driving along a road, as in the case of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Booby traps should not be confused with mantraps which are designed to catch a person. Lethal booby traps are often used in warfare, particularly guerrilla warfare, and traps designed to cause injury or pain are also sometimes used by criminals wanting to protect drugs or other illicit property, and by some owners of legal property who wish to protect it from theft. Booby traps which merely cause discomfort or embarrassment are a popular f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a safe place for people, such as a political sanctuary; and non-human sanctuary, such as an animal or plant sanctuary. Religious sanctuary ''Sanctuary'' is a word derived from the Latin , which is, like most words ending in , a container for keeping something in—in this case holy things or perhaps cherished people (/). The meaning was extended to places of holiness or safety. Its origin is the principle of independence and immunity of religious orders from "temporal" powers. In many Place of worship, religious buildings ''sanctuary'' has a specific meaning, covering part of the interior. Sanctuary as area around the altar In many Western Christianity, Western Christian traditions in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanawatai
Nənawā́te (, "sanctuary") is a tenet of the Pashtunwali code of the Pashtun people. It allows a beleaguered person to enter the house of any other person and make a request of him which cannot be refused, even at the cost of the host's own life or fortune. A similar code of conduct is used by the neighbouring Baluch people. Traditionally it is used to refer to a request for sanctuary, whereby the host must be willing to fight or die for the sake of anyone who comes knocking at his door seeking refuge, even if it is a sworn enemy. As the burden of sanctuary and protection extends even to fighting against government troops on behalf of the person seeking refuge, some have suggested that Mullah Omar's refusal to turn in Osama bin Laden was due only to his having availed himself of ''Nənawā́te''. Usage By invoking Nənawā́te one is said to "seize the skirt" (''lamә́n niwә́l'') of his new protector, and the other party is obligated to extend peace and acquiesce to grant sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali (), also known as Pakhtunwali and Afghaniyat, is the traditional lifestyle or a code of honour and tribal code of the Pashtuns, Pashtun people, from Afghanistan and Pakistan, by which they live. Many scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Pashtuns" or "the code of life". Pashtunwali is widely practised by Pashtuns in the Pashtunistan, Pashtun-dominated regions. Pashtunwali dates back to ancient pre-Islamic times. Overview The Indigenous peoples, native Pashtun tribes, often described as fiercely independent people, who inhabit the Pashtunistan region (southeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan) follow this traditional code of conduct that governs the social behaviour and values of the Pashtuns, which is called Pashtunwali, and it is described as being Ancient history, ancient, which the Pashtuns follow and predates Islam. Because of that, much of their mountainous territory has remained outside government rule or control. Pashtun resistanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has the GRAU index (Russian armed forces index) 6G3. The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon; it is manufactured in several variants by nine countries. It is popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. Widely produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D (десантник – ''desantnik'' – paratrooper) model, which can be broken into two parts for easier carrying; and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG. DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K style pistol grips, and a commando variant. The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khan (title)
Khan (, , ) is a historic Turkic peoples, Turkic and Proto-Mongols, Mongolic title originating among nomadic tribes in the Eurasian Steppe#Divisions, Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe to refer to a king. It first appears among the Rouran and then the Göktürks as a variant of khagan (sovereign, emperor) and implied a subordinate ruler. In the Seljuk Empire, Seljük Empire, it was the highest noble title, ranking above malik (king) and emir (prince). In the Mongol Empire it signified the ruler of a Orda (organization), horde (''ulus''), while the ruler of all the Mongols was the khagan or great khan. It is a title commonly used to signify the head of a Pashtun Pashtun tribes, tribe or clan. The title subsequently declined in importance. During the Safavid Iran, Safavid and Qajar Iran, Qajar dynasty it was the title of an army general high noble rank who was ruling a province, and in Mughal Empire, Mughal India it was a high noble rank restricted to courtiers. After the downfal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Valley
A steephead valley, steephead or blind valley is a deep, narrow, flat bottomed valley with an abrupt ending. Such closed valleys may arise in limestone or karst landscapes, where a layer of permeable rock lies above an impermeable substrate such as marl. Water flowing through a steephead valley leaves via one or more ponors or sinkholes. Blind valleys are typically dry at their lower ends. If the ponor cannot contain the high runoff during a flood event an intermittent flow may continue through the valley beyond the sink. Such a landform is called a semi-blind or half-blind valley. Development They are created by a stream flowing within the permeable rock and eroding it from within, until the rock above collapses opening up a steep narrow valley which is then further eroded by the stream running across the impermeable valley floor. At the head of the valley the stream emerges from the rock as a spring. Notable examples can be found in the Jura region of France, for example ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (''ummah''). The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries. Early history In its roots, the Arabic word ''mujahideen'' refers to any person performing ''jihad''. In its post-classical meaning, ''jihad'' refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as simple as sharing a considerable amount of one's income with the poor. Modern Western definition The term continued to be used throughout India for Muslim resistance to British colonial rule. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pashtun People
Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the term's meaning had become a demonym for all citizens of Afghanistan regardless of their ethnic group. The Pashtuns speak the Pashto language, which belongs to the Eastern Iranian branch of the Iranian language family. Additionally, Dari serves as the second language of Pashtuns in Afghanistan, while those in Pakistan speak Urdu and English. In India, the majority of those of Pashtun descent have lost the ability to speak Pashto and instead speak Hindi and other regional languages. There are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans with a variety of origin theories. In 2021, Shahid Javed Burki estimated the total Pashtun population to be situated between 60 and 70 million, with 15 million in Afghanistan. Others who accept the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
