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DUST TO GLORY

Russian roulette, a 24-hour plane crash, a lifetime's worth of close calls in one day -- those are some of the analogies participants in the Baja 1000 use to explain the dangers of the marathon for off-road warriors. They also speak of love, mysticism, family and community. In "Dust to Glory," documaker Dana Brown and a team of 90 cameramen chronicle the 2003 edition of the world's longest nonstop race. The film is an admiring survey of that rare breed of adventurer who's driven to take on nature in a kind of spiritual bond with a set of wheels. It's an adrenaline rush of a film, the closest anyone not inside a power-engine dune buggy will get to the love-hate experience of the unpredictable course. 'Glory,' which had its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, should lure fans of extreme sports and daring filmmaking to check it out. Drawing 200,000 spectators and giving all-terrain new meaning, the Baja 1000 began in 1967, after a few daredevils on motorcycles ventured south from Tijuana to La Paz, at the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. One of the original Zen masters of speed, Sal Fish, now heads Score International, the group that organizes the race and helped produce the film. Helmer Brown, who wrote, co-edited and narrated the documentary, provides character-defining moments amid the heart-stopping action. Although wives and daughters are staking their competitive claim, 'Glory' is, to a large extent, about fathers and sons: 16-year-old Andy McMillin is the third generation of his clan to enter the event; 62-year-old JN Roberts, winner of the inaugural race, returns after 30 years to team up with son Jimmy. The most compelling contestant is motorcyclist Mike 'Mouse' McCoy, who produced the film along with co-editor Scott Waugh. Eschewing the usual relay approach, he's riding the course solo. It's an astounding -- some would say insane -- test of endurance. As was the making of the film, as evidenced by HD footage that allows the audience to ride shotgun in 800-horsepower trophy trucks.Nathan Furst's music ups the throttle, at times lending a bombastic feel to the proceedings, but at its best jelling perfectly with visual evidence of a transcendent thrill ride. Get this one today!