Customer Reviews

Seabiscuit [VHS]

5 star:		(243)
4 star:		(83)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

The term "feel-good movie" is, like "popcorn flick" and "chick flick," one of those sweeping and usually inaccurate generalizations that are used to color any number of superficially similar films. If the definition is stretched broadly enough, "feel-good" can be used to describe anything from Chariots of Fire to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In the summer of 2003, however, there were two movies for which "feel-good" was both accurate and complimentary. One was Bend it Like Beckham. The other was Seabiscuit.

For those not familiar with the story, Seabiscuit was a famous racehorse of the Depression era, competing between 1936 and 1940. His career is chronicled in the marvelous book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand's lengthy, detail-rich narrative is, like many great books, too complex to transfer note for note to film, but writer-director Gary Ross takes on the formidable challenge of bringing Seabiscuit's tale to life on the big screen. Ross wisely chooses to follow Hillenbrand's lead, building the story around the three men who respectively owned, trained, and raced the horse: wealthy auto salesman Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), cowboy Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), and jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire). Ross makes shrewd choices about which details and characters to delete, which events to compress or eliminate altogether, and which aspects of the story to highlight. The result is a wonderful character-driven drama, a story about the power of friendship, love, hope, courage, and never giving up.

Ross takes his leisurely time introducing the three men. Seabiscuit himself doesn't even make an appearance until about an hour into the movie, and when he does, he's the catalyst that brings the trio together; the trials and triumphs they experience are all the more satisfying because the viewer understands each character's history. In the process of rebuilding this broken-down racehorse and making him a champion, the three men, each wounded in his own way, also heal each other and mend their broken lives. Inadvertently, they provide millions of Americans with an unlikely cultural icon, an underdog hero who gives ordinary people a badly-needed dose of hope.

The story, with its ups, downs, and amazing comeback, might seem mere Hollywood contrivance were it not based on actual events. Even the most casual moviegoer pretty much knows how the tale will end, but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment of it in the least. The tone of the film helps sell its credibility: warmly sentimental without being saccharine or manipulative, funny without being crude or cynical, beautiful without being artsy or pretentious. The tragic moments are doubly powerful because they're filmed with an eloquent understatement. Ross employs a wonderful visual shorthand, conveying just as much in images--if not more so--than he does in dialogue. He delivers a lot of the film's humor with the same technique: abundant one-liners and quick reaction shots produce any number of genuinely laugh-out-loud moments.

The cast is uniformly outstanding. Bridges gives a terrific performance; he makes Howard warm and charming and fatherly and likeable, a great guy with a big heart. Cooper's role as Smith is smaller, but he hits exactly the right notes as a survivor of America's vanishing frontier, a man more comfortable with horses than with people. But the undisputed star of the show is Maguire, who is simply luminous as Pollard--as well he should be; the jockey's role was written specifically for him. Pollard has been wounded more deeply and more often then the other two leads, and perhaps for this reason, the viewer's heart goes out to him the most strongly: he's angry and vulnerable, scarred physically and psychologically, but funny and likable and literate, all at the same time. Maguire develops the character beautifully as the movie progresses; the viewer sees Pollard slowly let down his barriers and make connections with his new surrogate family.

As wonderful as each performances is, the chemistry that the actors have together is even more notable. It's true ensemble acting; the cast as a whole adds up to more than the sum of its individual players. The supporting folks are also terrific. Elizabeth Banks gives a strong turn as Howard's warm and supportive second wife, Marcela; real-life jockey Gary Stevens makes a confident acting debut as legendary rider George Woolf; and William H. Macy is hilarious as fictional radio personality "Tick Tock" McGlaughlin, who provides much of the movie's humor.

Of course, this is also a movie about horse racing, and Ross doesn't disappoint. The races are filmed with an intimate excitement that conveys the beauty, pulse-pounding exhilaration, and sometimes brutality of thoroughbred racing. However, unlike many action movies, the racing sequences never take over the story; they are all the more breathtaking because the viewer knows and cares about the characters who are pouring their lives into these glorious animals.

Visually, the movie is a feast. The 1930s are re-created fabulously, from the cars and towns and trains to the characters' smart suits and hats to the wonderful old racetracks. The widescreen cinematography is magnificent, and the lovely score by Randy Newman infuses the movie with equal measures of beauty, humor, and nostalgia.

The main complaint critics have leveled at the film center around the use of voice-over narration (handled ably by historian David McCullough) and archival photographs to provide some historical context for the story. This was a risky choice artistically, but it enables Ross to convey the social forces at work in Seabiscuit's world without taking awkward detours in plot and character development. For the most part, the narration is used sparingly and in the right places. A couple of the later sequences could probably have been trimmed out, but they hardly ruin the movie.

Probably the only mis-step Ross makes is drawing too many overt parallels between the rebuilding of the racehorse and the rebuilding of the nation via Roosevelt's New Deal. Ross makes it fully clear in the story that Seabiscuit had become a symbol of hope; he didn't need to use the narrative sequences to hammer this point in quite so strongly. Sixty thousand people pouring into a racetrack to watch a horse run for two minutes is testament enough to the affection that Seabiscuit inspired. But even here, Ross isn't too far off the mark: the New Deal may have provided jobs, but Seabiscuit gave people something intangible: the belief that they, too, could overcome the odds and triumph over adversity.

Although best seen on a big screen, the DVD will no doubt be chock-full of extra goodies. In the theater or at home, viewers can be assured their money will be well-spent: Seabiscuit is a movie that satisfies on pretty much every level.

In the middle of a summer of bad sequels "Seabiscuit" came along as a bit of fresh air. No other film this year thus far has been filled with such emotion, beauty, and heart. "Seabiscuit" is a rare gem of a film. It does not rely on special-effects, explosions, or cheap romances. The beauty of this film is that it is simply about the pure heart of a horse and the people around him.

Writer/Director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Big) adapted Laura Hillenbrand's painstakingly researched bestseller into an amazing script. The story itself is so extraordinary that, if it hadn't happened, wouldn't have been remotely plausible as a film. If Seabiscuit wasn't a real horse, I would have taken one look at this film and said "Ridiculous! Like that could really happen!" The fact that the story is true makes "Seabiscuit" an even more beautiful and emotional journey.

Tobey Maguire plays Red Pollard, a half-blind, oversized jockey who was abandoned by his family as a child and now rides the worst horses at the worst races. Chris Cooper plays Tom Smith, an old fashioned horse trainer who prefers the company of a horse to that of a person who one day finds a barbed wire fence and cars in the middle of his wilderness homeland. Jeff Bridges plays Charles Howard, a self-invented millionaire dealing with the loss of his only son. These three "broken" men and a banged up little racehorse unite together and beat incredible odds to become an inspiration to a nation that isn't in the best shape itself.

Everything in this film is amazing. From the remarkable racing scenes to Randy Newman's haunting score, "Seabiscuit" is one film you won't want to miss. Please excuse my vagueness, I can't put into words how astounding this film is (as you can probably tell from this dismal review). I am just so in awe that words escape me!

I never read the Laura Hillebrand book by the same name, but I did see the Seabiscuit movie and let me tell you - it was phenominal! I know some say it was cliche - but the story is TRUE! It's not just some Hollywood writer trying to come up with the latest feel good animal movie, it's actually true.

The acting was amazing in the movie. Tobey Macguire did a great job as alcholic jockey Red Pollard, and Chris Cooper was outstanding as the horse-whisperer-like trainer Tom Smith. Jeff Bridges (who is not one of my favorite actors) did a decent job in his role as well. One of the funniest characters was William H. Macy's announcer during the races, he cracked me up! Another surprisingly good performance was real life pro jockey Gary Stevens playing Red Pollard's friend and rival, jockey George Woolf.

The story is wonderful, taking place during the 1930's when the country is reeling from the Great Depression. Jeff Bridges character, Charles Howard, is a business man whose wife leaves him after their child is killed. He suffers from depression and ends up at a horse track where he meets a new girl and ends up buying the unruly Seabiscuit. He meets up with outcast horse trainer Tom Smith and the unpredictable Red Pollard and the three of them take America by storm with the amazing Seabiscuit.

The film is beautifully done. The locations are gorgeous and the race scenes are phenominal. Seabiscuit is a hero and an inspiration in his own right, not only because he won races - but also because he gave hope to so many people at a time when they really needed it.

This review rating is not for the content of the movie itself, but for the quality of the HD DVD transfer.

This is one of the best titles for picture quality to come out so far in the HD DVD format. The standard DVD release was great for picture quality, so I was excited to see what this one is like in the HD DVD format. Picture quality is very impressive. The textures of the period clothing in the film really stand out. Blacks are very dark, and the movie has great shadow detail.

The sound quality is also a dramatic improvement over the standard DVD. While there is no Dolby True HD sound, the Dolby Digital plus soundtrack is great.

I don't like "feel good" movies. I don't like horses. I'd heard this was a good film, but was uninterested. I wouldn't have watched it, had it not been for my wife, who does like "feel good" movies.

So, like a good husband, I popped the DVD into the machine and then started playing with my palm pilot while the film booted up . . .

By the end of the film I was sitting on the edge of my seat and involved with the story line. The film actually touched me emotionally. Granted, the next time through won't have the same effect because I know what is going to happen. Still, I am impressed.

I had extremely high expectations for "Seabiscuit" when I walked into the theater. I had been waiting for it for a while, seen several video clips and trailers, read the novel to prepare myself, and was convinced that it was going to be a fine piece of work. And it was. But it didn't meet my expectations.
Why?, you ask. I am sure the reason for my slight disappointment was the fact that I had read the book beforehand. For the first half of the film, my mind told me that something was missing. This missing link is not the result of any of the filmmakers' mistakes...it is simply difficult to capture the feel of a 339-page novel in a film that is less than 3 hours long.
Despite this, the movie is completely enjoyable. Overflowing with humor and drama, no one should leave insatiated. Tobey Maguire is absolutely brilliant as Red Pollard! Don't get me wrong, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper give fine performances, but Maguire is just marvelous. This man is undeniably one of the most talented actors to ever live. Performances like his make me wish that I was able to act.
Fans of the book might be frustrated. A lot of the novel's content is cut out, obviously due to time constraints. However, most of what needs to be shown is shown.
Despite what critics say, "Seabiscuit" is not a family movie. There is a fair amount of profanity, and one scene is set in a brothel. This content is simply inappropriate for children, and I cannot understand why people are promoting it as if it isn't.
If you want to experience a touching story of triumph that captures the spirit of America, see this movie. You'll be glad you did.

Seabiscuit

1-liner: The lives of three men intersect as they take a huge chance on a broken horse, destined for victory, fated to fix all of them.

The nature of the film can be summed up by one phrase: you win some, and you lose some--and yes, bathos and tears are mandatory. It starts in the decades before the Great Crash to precede the 1930s, when one could go from 21 cents to riches. Everyone seems to be winning. Charles Howard goes from rags to riches, the Pollard family is affluent and is blessed with well-educated children, the farrier Tom Smith still has free land and wild horses to run with. The onslaught of the 1930s changes things for everyone, stealing the precious.

Charles Howard is shown working at a factory as a manual laborer fixing spokes, and then he decides to start his own bike shop. The film shows his first encountering of an automobile, his realization that it's cars that's the future. He becomes a star salesperson and eventually the owner (or one in charge of lay-off's) of Buick. He wrestles happily with his baby son, as his wife reads the latest Buick press release in the paper.

Mr. and Mrs. Pollard, Red Pollard's parents, are shown admiring their son on a horse. "He looks so perfect on it--that's the poetry of it," Mr. Pollard epithets his son while he rides. They are reasonably affluent and their children are well-educated, quoting Dickinson off memory.

Tom Smith, the farrier, rides in the vast open space, unclaimed land, and rounds up the fastest wild horse. He has it in him to tame a crazy horse. A horse, which anyone else would have given up on and shot.

The Great Crash comes along, and the narrator admits that the suicides are myths history would later spin up. The effects are gradual, and they take hold differently for all, but there is a common element to each tragedy. Howard's son dies in a freak accident, which his wife blames him for. The Pollards decide it is better to leave their son -- Red Pollard -- to a man affiliated with the local racetracks. The boy is sixteen.

Six years later, Red races. However, he is fouled--distracted by the cheating racer who attempts to push him off the horse--and he loses on his sponsor's best horse. He loses his job and ego, and he becomes a drifter, like the millions of others.

The farrier Tom Smith is seen to be a crazy man who puts hope and care on crazy horses.

Charles' wife has abandoned him, and he goes to TJ--at the time, the only place where alcohol and gambling are allowed.

The three men are lost. But, losing always comes with winning.

Charles meets Tom, and he decides to invest in him as a farrier--despite his age and crazy reputation according to the other farriers. Charles asks Tom why he puts in so much care into the wounded white horse with the fractured leg he had saved from the bullet. Tom claims although the horse can't race, he's good for other things. "You don't throw a whole life away, just because he's banged up a little."

Thus goes the prevalent motif in the story - that of second chances.

Charles hires Tom to find a good race horse for him to invest in. Seabiscuit just happens to trot by, as Red takes on the cheapest paying lowest job ever, warming-up the horse. Tom sees it in his eyes, the spirit of the horse--he claims the secret to a winning horse isn't in his heart, but that it is in-grained in its soul.

Seabiscuit, however, is a horse no one wants. Although he comes from good breeding, he is too gentle, too small. The odds are against him. Moreover, the trainers who took him broke him, using him as a losing horse to train the other horse ego. When Tom finds him, Seabiscuit is something of a crazy horse, taking several men just to partially handle him. Tom knows that there is winning engraved in that horse's destiny, but he just had to find the man to settle him.

Beautiful deux ex machina: Meanwhile, across the street, Red just happens to be involved in a brawl--the parallel between Seabiscuit attempting to take on a whole team of farriers and Red attempting to take on a whole gang of antagonists is elegantly portrayed.

The boy and his horse--they win against all odds. A rider who is half blind and a horse abandoned. The common background shared by both boy and horse is subtle, but tear-rendingly elegant--both come from prided heritage, yet they are separated from their family (cute young Seabiscuit shown wrenched from his father), forced into the real world far too young, and then shattered and lost by the slings of life.

The second chance given and accepted. Seabiscuit and Red's victories are shown in conjunction with FDR's New Deal, how it up'ed the low of many men.

The film starts out as if a documentary with b/w photos; the "documentary feel" is interlaced throughout the story. While this may seem to distance the viewer, the scenes carrying the plot of the story are strikingly real, amazingly, tearfully heartful--such that one feels as if one is "living history." This effect is flaunted when a b/w photo is made real into a motion scene, the b/w fading into color gradually.

Casting: probably the most perfect cast ever. Charles looks kind of like the dopey sort of guy who would get lucky by his sheer faith in people--the way his mouth always does that. Tom looks old, yet haggard and wise and very sane, despite what the other farriers see of him prior to this discovery by Charles. And, Red... he just has to be Peter Parker--or Peter just has to be Red.

(I was actually a bit fazed the first time I watched it through, the screen was a bit blurry, and I actually thought that both fathers and the farrier were the same man--thus, I was a bit confused for a while. However, after re-watching the beginning, things made much more sense..)

I am a sucker for this type of movie and the HD presentation captures EVERYTHING in wonderful detail...moreso than the regular DVD presentation which was a pretty good looking DVD on its own. But this edition brings out all the finer details such as the manes blowing in the wind, the clothing fabrics, facial skin features...I could go on, but you get the idea. It tops all other video presentations of this fine movie...definitely the version to get if you own a HD-DVD machine.

Astounding! Breathtaking! Heartfelt! Inspiring! I can't say enough about this wonderful film.

Seabiscuit is the best movie I have seen in a long, long, time. The kind of movie that is destined to become a CLASSIC and the kind of wonderful film that Hollywood doesn't seem to make any more.

This is not only the story of a "little" horse with "heart" but it is also a story of the human spirit and the healing of men during the historical event of the American Great Depression.

The actors are ALL marvelous. Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Tobey Maquire, Elizabeth Banks, William H. Macy and I can't remember who plays George Wolf, one of the other jockeys, but he is great too. The tenderness and the spirit in which each plays their role should win some (or all) of them an Academy Award nomination--especially Jeff Bridges and Tobey Maguire. The casting director should be commended.

This is a wonderful, inspiring, and uplifting film--the best of the current CENTURY. It is also very revelent for our current economic times and will bring you a contentment you haven't felt in a long, long time. Take your kids, your teens and everyone to see it. This type of film genre won't come around again for a very long time. Don't miss it! This is one INCREDIBLE FILM!

An uncomplicated story of the great horse Seabiscuit, the loyalties of his connections, and of the time and culture that raised Seabiscuit to national fame. Themes of down but not out, and little guys winning against the odds are glowing in movie color that was missing in the 1930's era. Included in the cast are modern day, real life jockeys: Gary Stevens and Chris McCarron who blend in so well with the "actor" cast, or should we say that the actor cast blend well with the professional jocks. If only we could gift this movie to the generation that would love it not only for it's movie merits, but for it's tribute to a challenging sport that is today almost lost.