The cinematography is breathtaking, the story is riveting, gut clenching, and all, together beautiful. Take a time capsule to the early 1900's and follow the pain of the great depression. Interwoven masterfully are several stories along with the pain, the hopes, and the dreams of an entire nation. So much of the beauty of the movie is what is left unsaid. 10 stars. GO SEABISCUIT GO!

I don't buy movies I haven't seen before I buy things that I will watch over and over periodically

There's THE STORY OF SEABISCUIT and then there's SEABISCUIT, and sorry to Shirley Temple but her version turns out the lesser film. If you've read Laura Hillenbrand's best-seller book but haven't seen the movie, go see the movie - and, vice versy, if you've seen the movie but haven't read the book, read the book. Either way, the Biscuit's story is ridiculously entertaining. That it's also a true-to-life account makes it that much more compelling. Who would've thunk it that one of my favorite athletes of all time would turn out to be a horse?

There was a time when Seabiscuit was America's most celebrated personality, getting even more pub than F.D.R. Seabiscuit lived and raced during the Great Depression, the course of his storied life running parallel with the ups and downs of that era. He was the son of Hard Tack, grandson of Man-O-War, and growing up he was abused and so became bitter and incorrigible. Standing barely 15 hands, the Biscuit was certainly never tapped to be a champion racehorse. His mean upbringing is mentioned, except that the film's first 44 minutes devote themselves to a leisurely introduction of the three damaged men who would shape the Biscuit's career, shape him into a legend. One after another, we meet the visionary entrepreneur (who is a bit of a huckster), the peculiar horse whisperer quietly mourning a vanishing way of life, and the half-blind, overeducated jockey who boxed and quoted Shakespeare.

The casting choices are spot-on. There's no bad egg in this bunch, from the principal actors - and how many crazy pounds did Tobey Maguire lose for the part? - down to ancillary characters like George "the Iceman" Woolf as played by real life jockey Gary Stevens (in his debut role) and the fun, fast-talking radio announcer Tick Tock McGlaughlin, marvelously brought to life by William H. Macy.

The races are rousing, pulse-pounding stuff, yeah. The story builds up to the historic match race with War Admiral and later the Santa Anita Hundred Grander, and I couldn't believe how intense my sense of anticipation was leading into these races. And when you bring up that list of best sports cinema, SEABISCUIT is up there with ROCKY and HOOSIERS, because how do you not root for this gutsy ugly little horse? Narrated with quiet assurance by David McCullough, this is something lyrical, a period film that looks authentic and packs an emotional punch. It's also a dynamite history lesson concerning a time when the country was tested severely, and phrases like "pick themselves up by their bootstraps" and "never say die attitude" circulated like a mother, became rallying cries. Beaten down but never bowed was the Biscuit, and he never quit. You can see why he became the common guy's hero. See this movie. Read the book.

The DVD's special features include: audio commentary by director Gary Ross and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (in which the two pause the movie several times to go even more in depth about certain scenes); "Bringing the Legend to Life": the Making of SEABISCUIT (00:15:04 minutes); "Anatomy of a Movie Moment" - Gary Ross shares his step-by-step filmmaking process of one sequence from script to screen; "Seabiscuit: Racing thru History" explores more of Seabiscuit's stunning rise to celebrity status thru historic newsreel footage of actual races (including clips of his match race with War Admiral) and numerous interviews, including interviews with Gary Ross and author Laura Hillenbrand (00:14:53); "Photo Finish" - Jeff Bridges' On the Set photographs; "The Longshot" - a special message from Buick, set in a faux newsreel format and which goes into the origins of the Buick auto and also of Charles Howard's involvement (00:03:19); promotional material; cast & filmmakers bios and film highlights; production notes; and DVD-ROM features.

Liked .

I liked the movie but it left out a few details that were in the book about the horse and the close relationship they had with the horse the movie was very good though

...I suppose because six horses were used, including one cast especially to lie flat out and sleep. The horse used in the racing sequences was Popcorn Deelights, a thoroughbred gelding who raced mainly in sprints of six furlongs. He was chosen for his speed and his break from the start. He was about five when the movie was made. He ran claiming races in Colorado, and then went on to a horse retirement center for the rest of his days He died January 20, 2022 at the age of 23. Not a bad life.

As someone who is not interested in horses or horse racing this movie was a pleasant surprise. Jeff Bridges was great as usual but Toby Maguire was outstanding as a young depression era jockey. Chris Cooper as the horse whisperer who trained Seabiscuit was also a standout. As a movie about a sport that was bigger than baseball, during the great depression, I learned something about race horses and enjoyed an uplifting story about people overcoming adversity.

Wonderful story of three men from disparate backgrounds meet and form a bond greater than the sum of the three. A wealthy man who has lost his son and wife, a “horse whisperer” who feels that modern horse training has passed him by, and a young red headed boy scratching out an existence in the depression from bare knuckled boxing to being a jockey in the wild races below the border in Mexico where Americans go to drink liquor and watch horse racing. (Prohibition)

Oh yeah and the magic that brings them together is a small horse (only 14 1/2 hands high-58” at the shoulders) who inherited great speed and had a soul that REFUSED to be beaten by the thoroughbreds from the East Coast that were up to 18 hands high!-72”-6 feet tall at the shoulder!)

The horse was Seabiscuit son of Hardtack. Both names refer to hard crackers taken on long sea voyages. His sire Hardtack was a rambunctious horse who even refused to leave the starting gate in one race. But his son Seabiscuit had his daddy’s speed and these three men loved this horse and worked together to make this horse a sign of the Depression. 25% of able bodied Americans had lost employment with the crash of the Stock Market in 1929. There was no welfare, or workman’s comp. No food stamps. Families lost EVERYTHING and took to the road in the one thing they did own--a Model T Ford built by Henry Ford. These down and out workers looked to Seabiscuit as their savior. If this little horse could beat the big guys well maybe things weren’t so bad and there WAS a future! (FDR!)

The racing sequences are magnificent. You feel that you are in the irons (stirrups) on the backs of these 1500# thoroughbreds. It’s amazing how they were able to show a horse “shifting gears” to top speed.

Look for Gary Stevens a real jockey who played the “Iceman” George Woolf. Gary had retired as a full time jockey and became a trainer and a TV analyst. He agreed to play Iceman and what a superb job he did! This film was made in 2003 and Gary returned to racing winning his NINTH Triple Crown race in 2013 in the Preakness at the age of 50. Pound for pound, jockeys are the most fit athletes in the world.

Before Tobey became Spiderman, he was “Red” Pollard the famed jockey of Seabiscuit. Jeff Daniels, Chris Cooper--wow what a movie!

(BTW--the book this movie was based on is by Lauren Hillenbrand. Her writing is magnificent! You ARE on that horse as it rounds the final turn and heads for the finish line!--Both book and movie are superb.)

My two dreams since I was a little girl was to be an astronaut and ride a thoroughbred. Became a scientist and have ridden anything with four legs from Shetlands to Tennessee Walkers, Arabians, quarter horses, and even “breezed” some polo ponies helping to exercise them after injury. Just never strong enough to ride in the irons, clutching the mane and reins of a Grade 1 thoroughbred!