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Seabiscuit
2003
Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling nonfiction novel comes to life with this spectacular big-screen adaptation. Set in the 1930s, SEABISCUIT weaves its story around three men who turned a seemingly untamable horse into a bona fide champion. Jeff Bridges is Charles Howard, a thriving entrepreneur who gives horse racing a shot when .. Read more
| Starring | Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy |
|---|---|
| Director | Gary Ross |
| Genres | Audio Descriptive, Drama |
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Seabiscuit
Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling nonfiction novel comes to life with this spectacular big-screen adaptation. Set in the 1930s, SEABISCUIT weaves its story around three men who turned a seemingly untamable horse into a bona fide champion. Jeff Bridges is Charles Howard, a thriving entrepreneur who gives horse racing a shot when his wife leaves him after the death of their son. Chris Cooper is Tom Smith, a mumbling, sensitive horse trainer who sees the untapped potential of Seabiscuit hiding under his flawed outer shell. Tobey Maguire is Red Pollard, a stubborn, oversized jockey who is determined to prove to the world that he has what it takes to be a champion. Together, these men use their individual gifts to mold Seabiscuit into a national icon, culminating in a showdown with Triple Crown winner War Admiral. But when Red breaks his leg riding another horse, Howard must call in George Woolf (played by real life jockey Gary Stevens) to keep the dream alive.
In adapting Hillenbrand's celebrated novel, writer-director Gary Ross condensed many of the book's characters and events yet his film retains the inspirational spirit of the source material, resulting in a crowd-pleasing, feel-good drama that will have audiences cheering all the while.
| Starring | Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens |
|---|---|
| Director | Gary Ross |
| Studio | TOUCHSTONE HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 15 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Audio Descriptive, Drama |
| Language | English, English Audio Description |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Released | DVD: 20 Feb 2004 Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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The incredible but (mostly) true story of a racehorse that won against all the odds is told in this overly sentimental yet thoroughly absorbing, nostalgia-friendly drama. Three broken men came together to own (Jeff Bridges), train (Chris Cooper) and jockey (Tobey Maguire) a no-hoper racehorse named Seabiscuit, turning him into an inspirational winner that lifted the spirits of Depression-era America. Gary Ross (Pleasantville) may be unsubtle in his direction at times — the obvious parallels between injured Maguire and the lame Seabiscuit are overplayed — but the emotional core of this heart-warming story nonetheless remains true and the actual races are grippingly executed. The three leads give superb performances, as does William H Macy, who, as the track announcer, provides some much-needed comic relief along the predictable path to glory.
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"...I adored it...a singularly successful piece of film making. I'll take bets you'll adore it..." (Jonathan Ross)
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Most helpful member's review
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19 out of 26 people found this review helpful
A Definite Winner
What a tearjerker! Unless you knew that this was a true story, you would have thought that this was just Hollywood throwing in all the cliches. An old timer, a businessman down on his luck, a boy with a disability and a mistreated horse. But, it's all true. And you don't have to be into racing to enjoy it. This is a real feel good movie, that avoids being overly-sentimental, and captures the inter-war period of America perfectly.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Not About Horses
The specific considered ways in which the director chose to shoot the scenes of this film all worked unnoticeably together to present a film with a very powerful emotional effect. While the screen is generally peopled by horses, jockeys, stables, and racetracks, the film is fundamentally about people and human behaviour. I hope no other reviewer here has spilt the beans as to the central message because that is its heart, not anything particularly horsey. However, horse-lovers will love this film for its outward facets. But those who aren't particularly interested in horses but who are into daily creativity and achievement in any sphere will find much 'spiritual' sustenance and encouragement here.
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News and features
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Sinise sparks Seabiscuit translation for Iraqi kids
- 22 Mar 2009
Forrest Gump star Gary Sinise has funded a reprint of beloved horse racing book Seabiscuit in Arabic, so Iraqi schoolchildren can read it. The actor teamed up with the book's author, Laura Hillenbrand, after learning that kids in Baghdad had become big fans of her tale of a heroic racehorse - after a U.S. colonel had attempted to translate segments for them. Sinise tells WENN, "Laura wanted to get it translated to Arabic because one of the colonels was reading the book and the Iraqi kids... Read more
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Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling nonfiction novel comes to life with this spectacular big-screen adaptation. Set in the 1930s, SEABISCUIT weaves its story around three men who turned a seemingly ... -