The Beast (also known as The Beast of War) is a 1988 American war film directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by William Mastrosimone. The plot concerns the crew (George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Don Harvey, Stephen Baldwin) of a Soviet T-55 tank lost during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A unique look at the Soviet ‘Vietnam’ experience sympathetically told for both sides. The Russians deal with death, survival, crazed commanders, and harsh conditions. The movie has enjoyed a cult-favorite status in spite of its low box office statistics. Several actual T-55 tanks were used in the film although the helicopter used in the film was not a real Mi-8, but an Aerospatiale SA.321 Super Frelon. The tank in question in the movie is actually an Israeli modification of a Soviet T-55 captured by the Israelis from the Arab armies, redesignated as the Ti-67 and fitted with a 105mm main gun in place of the original 100mm gun, leading some to mistake it for a T-62. Many of these conversions were used by the Israelis during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The Beast (The Beast of War)
