Hell on Wheels

Not a reference to my dismal bike handling abilities, but to the movie that Woodcock is showing this Monday at IMAX. Hell on Wheels is a behind the scenes look at the 2003 Tour de France. See the summary below. For the polyglots among us, more info is available in German at the official site. Hal and myself are going. Feel free to join us. Tickets are $10 and are available at Woodcock. Showtime is 7pm.

The Movie: Hell on Wheels

This Film follows Team Telekom/T-Mobile in it’s quest for victory in the Tour de France.

The Tour de France – the toughest bicycle race of all, celebrated its 100th birthday and Academy Award winning German based director Pepe Danquart was there to produce a terrific film on the T-Mobile Team. Danquart tells about the torture and the pain, the fear and the weaknesses of the men. Hell on Wheels offers a true insight into the Tour and stars the Telekom/T-Mobile team. We see the tears of those who are out of the race and the joy of those, who suffered but fulfilled their biggest dream, to reach the finish line....The film follows two German stars, Rolf Aldag and Erik Zabel, six-time winner of the sprinters jersey as he battles out every stage with his Aussie rivals. Danquart picked a great year to document the race, as this year provided the most dramatic and exciting race for many decades. At 123 minutes, there’s plenty of time for history, for racing and for gorgeous French landscapes. But ultimately, it’s the rider portraits that make the film unique and rewarding.

The film gives a review of the genesis and history of the tour in its hundred years of existence, and shows the gigantic organization of the tour, the fanatic crowds along the route and in front of televisions worldwide. Hell on Wheels presents an outstanding inner view of one of the world's biggest sports events.

Principal Cast Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Andreas Kloeden, Alexander Vinokurow, Steve Zampieri, Mario Kummer, Serge Laget, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich.