Customer Reviews

Rank

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This IFC documentary portrays the life of professional bull riders by focusing on three of the best - Justin McBride, Adriano Moraes, and Mike Lee - all competing in the 2004 Professional Bull Riders final in Las Vegas. The film does not glamorize these men; nor does it find particular fault with them. But it does heighten the viewer's awareness of the sport's risk of physical injury and the riders' almost incomprehensible disregard of it. The camera follows McBride as he hobbles everywhere on an ankle held together with pins. Moraes strips down to shorts to show the scars of all his injuries, and the camera captures his winces of pain after rides that tear further at the damaged bicep of his left arm. A long, jagged scar shows along the right side of Lee's head from surgery following a concussion.

There is little talk of the million-dollar prize money, for these men are driven by a love of the sport that defies logic. Meanwhile, we learn something of their personal lives. Two are married - one of them has two children - and we get to meet the women in their lives. One of the men is a born-again Christian, with a fatalistic belief in a God who has given him athletic gifts and may one day take his life in the arena. Another represents a beer-drinking, cussing cowboy stereotype at a considerable distance from anything resembling piety. The film also takes some time to introduce viewers to the professional bullfighters whose job is to keep the bulls distracted after riders have been thrown or have dismounted. The film begins and ends with the Oklahoma stock growers who provide the bulls for the events. For anyone with even the remotest curiosity about this death-defying sport, this well-made film is illuminating and riveting. Also recommended: a fictional film about bull riding, "Cowboy Up."

John Hyams has done it again. This is a wonderful documentary that is beautifully photographed. It follows three champion bull riders all going for the same victory, all if them very different people. The documentary also covers the life of a rodeo clown as well as many other interviews. All in all this is a worthy follow up to his previous film "The Smashing Machine." I'm so glad this film is finally getting a proper release. So even if you're not interested in bull riding i think most people will find this doc fascinating.

Fascinating world of the PBR brought to life through the eyes of three top contenders for the million dollar Championship held yearly.

I am a fan of bullriding and watch PBR each week when it is on television. I had vaguely heard of "Rank", and after reading some reviews, I wanted to watch it. It is not available to rent in my area, so decided to buy it through Amazon. I was not disappointed. The movie is presented documentary style and focuses on 3 riders pursuing the PBR World Championship as well as a father & son who hope to earn the honor of stock contractor of the year. There are many facets of the sport of bullriding, and the director manages to give the viewer a glimpse of most of them. I felt some of the segments on the featured riders were a little skimpy at times and would have liked to have seen more detail about each of them, and for that reason I rated this movie 4 stars. The cinemaphotography is very good, and the viewer is kind of taken on a journey while watching it, (I know that may sound corny), but the documentary does shift gears throughout - calm and peaceful ranch life in the opening sequence, roaring crowds and loud buzzers during the tournament, camaraderie amongst the riders, the agony of injuries, endearing moments with riders and their families - I was pleasantly surprised. It is worth the purchase.

Why this movie rocks:
+This movie follows the three contenders for the 2004 championship of the PBR, allowing each one to speak from their heart about things; family, religion, bull riding, drinking, anything. There is no spin put upon us from the director. There is no feeling of "You should like this. You shouldn't like this."
+The bulls are focused. A lot of things rodeo leave out the animals. That is a complete disservice to the sport. Without the dedication, time, love and sweat (and lots of money) these people put into raising animals, rodeo would be nowhere. Also, the viewer is allowed to make up their mind on animal welfare as it's presented by the bull owners.
+Every aspect is covered. The film focuses on the danger by talking to Dr. Tandy Freeman (the traveling MD with the PBR). Rider protection is covered. Family members are interviewed and allowed to express what it's like to watch a loved one get on the back of a bull.
+The music is unbelievable. It is absolutely not what I would have chosen, but that's what makes it work so well.
+The cinematography is tremendous. The film makers spent a lot of time getting things right.

The negative:
-There are a few shots where the bull is different than the one in the chute. To some this might not be a big deal, but when Adriano starts on one bull and ends on Big Bucks, it's somewhat of a big deal.

Howdy folks,
I am an ex-rodeo cowboy for the PRCA back in 1990-92.I did three events and even won an title.When I seen this flick,I was thinking, "this is going to put butterflies in my tummy." and i was wrong, yeah it was good for as the bulls go but the riders, well, this flick made me ashame of how they presented themselves on here.In the PRCA there is a set of rules we have to live by and we have to be professional at all times. there is no room for mistakes, either you make it or you dont.Over the years rodeos have gotten easy, i guess now you can say, City Fi Rodeos now. They have helmets and vest and so many other items as for the bullfighters they have new pads on and new uniforms, in the PRCA we still wear the old ways of bullfighting and other events, seen here in the PBR, it seems to be more Glam Crap and no brainers in this sport.There is only a few who is up the the PRCA code of life.The rest is pretty much a fith grade mind of bullriders.I was hurt when i seen this doc and when some of the cowboys spoke, they had no respect for their Organazations and live up to the code.When the file was letting the cowboys speak on their own terms away from the rodeos and at home, the subjects they spoke of, they spoke like they did not know what the heck to say and their ideals on certain subjects were very little info. like for example, "why people like to hunt? well i think people like to hunt just cause, well they like to hunt." we could bring a caveman to this sport and ask the same question about hunting and i am sure the caveman would give more details on why they hunt and a better ideal in philosophy in hunting. the way the cowboy said this on the film makes us true hard core hard working cowboys look dumb and no brains. People if you see this dont judge all cowboys by what these few men act and say. many of us is wise to life, i guess rodeo is getting men with no brainers in the sport and it is very sad. I miss ty and tuff and jim sharp and cody custer, men like them is top of the line men and cowboys and back in them days, we were damn good at what we did and what we know of the sport and in life. now days, it looks like the modern day cowboy is killing the old west codes and soonthere will be just DQ cowboys left in this nation which is sad to see and know. god help us cowboys if this is going on.one more thing i did not like about this flick, they cut the sound offf from the real cowboys when riden', when you see some of the special features they show that there were stunt men maken' the noise maken' you think you really hear the hits and poundings from the cowboys and it is not real, it was special effects who made the sounds of the rodeo and not the real sounds of a real fall or sound when hit hard by the bull or ground.this made me really think this is a rip off from what is real and not real. so if your a fan of the PBR and you dont care about if the sound of a cowboy falling is not them and was made by special effects sounds then you will be happy, but if you want to real thing 100% then you wont be happy but if you like to collect rodeo films then go ahead and get this just to collect but dont judge us by this film thanks.

This was a very interesting movie and at the same it was funny in parts. It is neat to see how the bull riders are in person and in the arena!