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Seabiscuit (2003)

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41 out of 50 people found the following comment useful :-
Triumphant conventionality, 29. Juli 2003
Author: Chris Knipp von Berkeley, California

Roger Ebert says he has a theory that `people more readily cry at movies not because of sadness, but because of goodness and courage.'

This is certainly a reason why Gary Ross's Seabiscuit tugs so effectively at the heartstrings. But the main one is the way the movie shows the triumph of the underdog spread fourfold among three men and a horse. And again the timing is right in the American release. Just as Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later was delightful because it was a low budget movie that could compete with a lot of loud and dubious blockbusters, Seabiscuit earns our gratitude by being a blockbuster without explosions or exhibitionism, an epic of restraint, modesty and -- yes -- `goodness and courage.' The loudest sound you hear is the starting bell for the races. There are those of us, mainstream folk, who've been starving for such fare. I saw people in the audience in the early matinee who plainly were alive in 1929 and 1938, and they wept and applauded throughout with awe and gratitude. We shall see how the younger generations respond.

An enthusiastic response is justified. There is nothing in Seabiscuit that's very original; it awakens involuntary flashbacks to many traditional Rocky-esque sports biopics as one watches. But Gray and his chief collaborators, the talented author Lauren Hillenbrand and the splendid cast headed by Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and co-producer Tobey McGuire, have nonetheless provided us with a quite wonderful movie, as much for its surefire writing and brilliant editing as for any of the acting.

Everyone must agree that the three men behind the most famous horse of his time are played by three of the best actors Hollywood now has to offer. Critics are in accord in saying Cooper's performance is the subtlest and the most real: he models the principle that Less is More. Tobey McGuire isn't given quite enough to do; his greatest accomplishment may be his lean look; he's barely recognizable, and as a former redhead myself I don't think the dye job is as bad as some have claimed. Bridges is, in his way, magnificent, but glossily iconic and therefore somewhat opaque. His resemblance to Franklin D. Roosevelt is pushed a bit too hard, as is the whole uplifting populist message - the `we didn't fix the horse. He fixed us - and we fixed each other,' and `sometimes all somebody needs is a second chance,' stuff. (It's pretty corny. But within the context of this beautifully made movie that believes in itself, we buy it.)

It's important, anyway - if young people do come to see Seabiscuit - for them to get the simplified, but nonetheless just portrait of the times provided with authentic stills and footage, and the voiceover narration by iconic historian David ("The Civil War") McCullough. The travelogue of the Depression and Prohibition years includes a quiet but heartfelt plug for FDR and that, too, is moving, especially in today's post-Yuppie mood of numbingly exploitive jingoism.

Indeed each of the three actors gives a powerfully understated performance - they're like thoroughbreds who're never given their head - whose litotes (a word schoolboys learned back then) enhances the movie's epic quality by never letting us forget that their triumphs were snatched from deprivation and adversity.

The long time devoted to the three men's backgrounds early in the movie isn't ill spent. It establishes the leisurely pace that is the essence of epic. But these back-stories aren't as necessary as the filmmakers may have thought. And despite the slow movement, there isn't deep detail. There's barely one scene to establish Red Pollard's (McGuire's) literate, close-knit family before he's cast (heartbreakingly) out of it. Charles Howard's (Bridge's) loss of his son is too telegraphic, though it's a fine touch to show him wailing with the boy's body but with his voice barely audible: it's one more example of the movie's sense of the period and of its restraint.

Right from the first the horse races are astonishing in the camera's closeness and vividness, the way we feel the danger and physicality of the jockeys' brutal competition with one another. Since we know Pollard is a failed prizefighter and general scrapper, we take in stride that fact that he's physically fighting with other jockeys during the early races. This is a movie about horse racing and the races had better be terrific, and they are. It's when we see the power of those sequences that we realize Seabiscuit has the makings of a popular classic.

Jeff Bridges' performance in particular seems etched in stone. There are touches of Jimmy Stewart, Joseph Cotton, even Orson Welles in his role and his looks. The chameleon Bridges comes carrying traces of Coppola's Tucker, but he has entered into the period and the tradition with utter conviction. Cooper's austere minimalism, because it is the essential spirit of the movie, its understatement (litotes), is the central performance. He is a man who communicates better with horses than with men. McGuire's performance is the noisiest, but he too reflects the social restraints of the period, and his wings are clipped before the final triumph can take place. This was a time when people had superiors and recognized it by calling them Sir and Mister. Everyone male wore a suit and tie, even jockeys off duty.

Seabiscuit's ability to tug at the heartstrings first appears when Red Pollard is let go by his destitute father so he can be a jockey. The moment is deeply sad because what seems an act of heroic renunciation by a loving parent is in fact abandonment, and it feeds the young man's rage thenceforth. And it's more complex than that because it grows out of the enormous pressures of the Depression, a time when millions in America wandered westward deprived of everything but their cars and a few possessions.

Not only Bridges' performance but whole sequences of Seabiscuit seem etched in stone and contain examples of textbook-perfect editing that possesses sweep and complexity and advances the story while keeping our focus on the prevailing mood.

This is, of course, the classic American story of triumph out of defeat and resolution out of conflict. As is a little too clearly pointed out, all three men, Charles Howard, Tom Smith, and Red Pollard, have had great devastation and loss in their lives (echoed by the whole country's economic devastation, failure, and loss of nerve; and it's implied -- with some failure of restraint -- that Seabiscuit's underdog triumphs were as needed as the New Deal). Their horse was rescued by Smith (Chris Cooper) when it was going to be shot because it seemed unruly and untrainable. Out of all this failure and tragedy the men forge their victories: Seabiscuit, the horse that lacked breeding, was untrainable, and was `too small'; Pollard, abandoned by his parents, beaten in many prize fights, secretly blind in one eye and `too big' to be a top jockey; Smith, a gifted horse tamer and trainer reduced to riding the rails and hoboing; Bridges, the self-made millionaire devastated by the destruction of all his hopes in a ruined economy and the sudden death of his young only son. They bond together to make Seabiscuit into one of the greatest racehorses in history. Who wouldn't be moved by this? Only the conventional fat man who's War Admiral's snobbish Maryland owner. It's all about heart, and Seabiscuit's got it.

William H. Macy's caricatured portrait of an alcoholic radio announcer is a highlight, in the sense of a bright spot on a painting. It's a shrill and brittle performace that we tolerate because of the moments of relief Macy's little comic vignettes provide. Subtlety is sacrificed to provide an effect, and to brush in a bit of humor amid all the earnestness. One only wishes there were more of a progression; that the character didn't sip from the same bottle in every scene but got drunker, or soberer, as things went along.

We have to allow for the exigencies of filmmaking that required ten horses to be used for Seabiscuit, leading to the irony that this unique horse is a composite.

If you accept its conventionality, Seabiscuit is not just a good movie but a great one.

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35 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
An old-fashioned winner all the way, 13. August 2003

Author: filmbuff-36 von Houston, TX

It's fitting that a film about underdogs giving it all they've got has been released among the standard summer action fare. No other movie this summer has capitalized upon the David vs. Goliath theme so thoroughly and effectively as `Seabiscuit' has.

The story of `Seabiscuit' is actually the tale of four long shots: Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), a wealthy self-made man and natural salesmen who's suffered both personal and financial loss through the Depression, Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), an aging horse trainer unsure of his place in the world with the ending of the frontier, Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), a short-tempered jockey with various handicaps against him, and Seabiscuit, an undersized mustang whose been mistreated his whole life.

It's the Depression, and times are hard on everyone. The assembly line philosophy of business is starting to squelch independent spirit and people are looking for anything to help escape the dreary day-to-day of life. During this maelstrom of hopelessness, horse racing quickly gathers favoritism among those wishing to witness a spectacle in otherwise bleak times. It's under these circumstances that the film's four main parties come together. Howard, seeking a new business venture in horse racing, hires Smith as his horse trainer and Pollard as his jockey, and upon Smith's insistence, purchases the ill-tempered Seabiscuit.

It's not long before Seabiscuit becomes the `little horse who could,' gaining favor among the sporting fans on the West Coast. But despite the popularity the mustang and his team gains, they are seen as just a cheap novelty by the East Coast horse racing elite, led by Samuel Riddle, owner of the 1937 Triple Crown Winner War Admiral. This mushrooms into a media circus as Howard tries to gain public favor in order to force Riddle to put his money where his mouth is.

The story should have felt cliched and by-the-numbers, but a funny thing happened: the film makers took a nearly forgotten moment in time and managed to invest it with immediacy and suspense. The near mythic meeting of Seabiscuit and War Admiral on November 1, 1938 at Pimlico is an extension of the movie's overall theme; Seabiscuit, the representative of underdog hopes and pioneering dreams, and War Admiral, the recipient of champion breeding and training, a product of assembly line thinking.

Bridges and Maguire give spirited performances, with their characters forming a father and son bond that both men desperately needed. Cooper, who won this year's Best Supporter Actor Oscar, can give this kind of performance in his sleep, bringing a quiet, stoic depth to the Smith character. The supporting cast is top drawer as well, especially William H. Macy as `Tick Tock' McGlaughlin, the initially skeptical radio sports commentor who becomes a full blown Seabiscuit supporter.

Director Gary Ross captures the time period marvelously, with broken human beings slowly recapturing their dignity and pride against a landscape of barren ruin. The conflicts are fought not on traditional battlefields, but atop magnificent beasts along a circular track, and Ross wisely utilizes this metaphor to full effect.

Many film goers this season will most certainly pass on `Seabiscuit,' choosing instead to see standard fare like `American Wedding' and `Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.' Others will undoubtedly avoid it because it looks to artsy to be entertaining. For whatever reason, it will be a shame that this film will not do well financially; the horse race scenes are some of the most intense I've ever seen, and the animals are pure poetry in motion.

9 out of 10 stars. A nearly flawless motion picture.

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46 out of 70 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best movies of all time, 6. Dezember 2004

Author: toolapcfan von Omaha, NE

I can't say a bad thing about this movie. There wasn't a single moment that I didn't like. Everyone who acted in this movie did no less than perfection. The movie has so much depth, has so much feeling and emotion and none of it feels forced, phoney or corny/ham handed. The development of the characters and the plot feels very natural and real and the movie flows at a comfortable pace. It's a movie you can cry tears of joy about and not feel weird about it. And to think I was so naive and close minded that I didn't see it in the theater because I told myself, "Who wants to see a movie about a racehorse?" If only I'd known how ignorant that statement was. I'd pay several times the admittance to have seen this in the theater, just to have had that added experience of seeing it there. This movie easily makes my top 5 of all time and is probably the best movie I've ever seen, and although I've seen it a few times now I still have a strong emotional response to it every time I watch it and feel my appreciation of it not waning, but only enriching. This movie is truly a "Must See." I hope you like it as much as I do.

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22 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A very fine film!, 10. Juni 2004
Author: jsfmt99 von Pennsylvania

A wonderful story of the underdog who rises above adversity to become a champion.

A very good wholesome movie for the entire family. Good period settings and costumes and interesting plot of a broken down horse who brought three broken down people together who all ended up happy. A simple, believable concept. Good scenery throughout also.

I have read a lot of negative comments about this movie by those who called it boring and tiresome but that simply isn't true. Does a movie have to have profanity and lots of CGI imagery in it to be considered good ? I don't think so.

Acting was very good but I thought the most believable scene was when Red's parents gave up their son because they couldn't afford to keep him anymore.

That scene was very sad and based on fact where parents were placed in the terrible position to give up their children like that during the depression.

What struck me funny is that Red Pollard never reunited with his family after he became one of the most famous jockeys in the country but I guess thats the way it was back in those days.

Wonderful cast and exciting horse racing scenes that brought the viewer into the race and projected the energy and danger involved. It is interesting to note that horse racing was a bigger sport in its heyday than football or baseball. Bill Macy was also memorable as the funny and witty radio announcer

A good movie for the entire family.

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24 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Decent Movie But Book Far Better, 5. Februar 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 von Lockport, NY, United States

Unlike most people, I haven't had that many cases in which I didn't particularly rave over a good movie because it couldn't live up to the book....but that was the case here.

This is a good movie. I realize that, but Laura Hillenbrand's book, from which this movie is taken, is hands-down the best sports book I have ever read. So, I eagerly anticipated the movie. I found out what so many other people discovered when their favorite was made into a film: it can't live up to it. In fairness, no two-hour film can do justice to a good book.

In this case, there were many things the jockey, owner and trainer went through that made the story so compelling, and they weren't in the movie. I won't detail them. Just read the book. But you can't appreciate what these men and that gutsy racehorse really accomplished just by the film. It only scratches the surface.

I can accept those omissions because of time constraints but I cannot accept Hollywood inserting offensive language into the movie that was not in the book, such as a dozen usages of the Lord's name in vain, NONE of which was in the book. That's inexcusable.

The movie's strength was its beauty, just magnificently filmed. Man, this is a gorgeous film, from the first shot to the last. Director Gary Ross and Director Of Photography John Schwartzman put a lot of loving care into this film and it shows. The actors were fine, too. No complaints there.

If this film appealed to you, I cannot recommended the book enough. Please check it out.

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22 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Seabiscuit is a winner..., 23. Juli 2003
Author: janyeap von Washington, DC

A fabulous movie! It offers credibility to the old saying that 'if there's a will, there's a way.' It's a great reminder that there had been people - of yesteryears - who had been brave and courageous to accept the underdogs with heartfelt benevolence.

As a film, revolving around the inspiring story of Seabiscuit, it works well. It connects the cultural icon with the life paths of three men of different social standings, leading me through a mixed journey of tragedies and jubilation, risks, disappointments and exuberance. It shows how these men and beast overcome incredible odds to achieve their goals. The bonding of the quartet is wonderfully captured in this film. Watching the horse transformed into a winner is as aesthetically beautiful as seeing 'Cinderella' transformed into a beauty by her three 'fairy godmothers.' This film has a compelling story that salutes the American dream.

This adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's book, unfortunately, does omit a great deal of the interesting biographical accounts of the trio's lives and the historical impressions of the nation's era between 1903-1940. But Director Gary Ross (watch out for his cameo appearance) does provide sufficient background to the lives of Charles Howard, Jim Smith and Red Pollard to justify how the trio becomes ultimately involved with the life of Seabiscuit. The small spirited bay is first introduced as a colt, and Red as a young kid, both ultimately separated from their parents, and both subjecting the viewers never to forget their crooked legs and their predisposition for indolence! Strangely, the film does show many similarities, in traits and circumstances, between Seabiscuit and Red. Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper and Toby Maguire are impressive in their roles. They are convincing sources to what is meant by perseverance and triumph. William H. Macy does 'tick-tock' through several scenes to provide the comic relief.

The film is filled with dramatically charming appeal and beauty, yet it has not failed to expose the brutality of horseracing. even if Seabiscuit's glory had distracted millions away from the political, social and economic woes of their times. The visuals for the story's historical era are wonderfully detailed, creating a sense of realism to the period, the characters and events. The choice of Randy Newman's music scores helps build up the viewers' emotions especially in the race scenes.

Seabiscuit is a winner!

A-

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16 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable, but not exactly Best Picture-material, 18. Juni 2005

Author: Travis_Bickle01

Excellent sports drama about the intense relationship between a jockey and his horse. I loved this movie, but the fact that it is based on a true story makes it even better. If "Seabiscuit" wasn't based on true events, this movie would have looked like another classic Disney-movie. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with these kinds of movies, but what usually disturbs me, is the fact that they are so unbelievable and predictable.

Tobey Maguire gives an excellent performance as Red Pollard, the young but very talented jockey. Many other great performances in this movie by the always enjoyable Jeff Bridges, the outstanding Chris Cooper (Adaptation.) and the beautiful Elizabeth Banks (Spiderman) who plays Bridges' second wife.

Although this second Gary Ross-movie is less my kind of movie than "Pleasentville" was, I truly enjoyed watching it. He is an excellent director and outstanding screenwriter. I certainly would like seeing more of his work. Recommendable and enjoyable sports movie. Not exactly an intense and gripping drama, but worth a watch! 7,5/10

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Sea of emotion!, 28. März 2005

Author: what3v3r

"Sea Biscuit" is a story about a long shot horse and a man who discover each other on the road to equestrian glory. An extremely rewarding journey though the lives of man and beast. Every aspect of human emotion, bonding and courage is explored with an "equine" tinge. Set in a time when horse racing is more passion than business, Seabiscuit glorifies the positive appeal of horse racing. Every derby event is an emotional doorway which lifts your spirits. Be it the Santa Anita or the Pimilco, you are just just hanging on the edge of your seat praying , vying and hoping for a Seabiscuit win. Such is the emotional grasp and visual brilliance of Gary Ross's direction and Scwartzman's cinematography. Being a thoroughbred race horse by birth, Seabiscuit treads the race track under the watchful eyes of trainer Tom smith( played by Chris Cooper ) and jockey Red Poddard( played by Tobey Mcguire ). What follows is a sequence of predictable vicissitudes. Why ! This movie wasn't advertised in the mystery genre either!

A frail looking (really) Tobey manages to deeply bond with the horse at least on screen, kudos indeed. Nobody else could have possibly fit into his role as well as he did, physically too. Chris Cooper is the silent marvel. There is a completely subtle tinge to his acting which lays low, yet beautifully exuberates class. Seabiscuit is simply one of those "silent' movies which just hurtles you beyond imaginable frontiers. Sit back and relax and let the long shot consume you.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
When Losers Have a Second Chance to Become Winners, 25. Dezember 2004

Author: Claudio Carvalho von Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After the American Depression, the millionaire Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) gets married again with Marcela (Elizabeth Banks) and decides to invest in a race horse. He gathers the old couch Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), the problematic jockey Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) and the horse Seabiscuit, all of them losers, and he believes on them, giving a second chance to them. Seabiscuit becomes a winner and legend in a difficult period of the American life. "Seabiscuit" is a beautiful film with positive and wonderful messages. Charles Howard has the best lines, such as: "When the little guy doesn't know that he is little, he is capable of big things"; or, "Sometimes all somebody needs is a second chance". The excellent and underrated actor Chris Cooper has probably his best performance along his career. Although having 141 minutes running time, the viewer does not feel time passing. I particularly liked not only the direction, performances, locations and reconstitution of a period, but mainly the never corny and very positive messages in the excellent lines and screenplay. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Seabiscuit – Alma de Herói" ("Seabiscuit – Soul of Hero")

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Definitely a (WAR) "ADMIRAL"-ble film!, 29. August 2003
Author: fargonaut von Trenton, Michigan

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I read the book last year. I didn't think I would like a book about "horse racing." But I did! In fact, I LOVED it! It's more about the triumph of the spirit than just horse racing.

I was worried that they would screw it up when I heard they were making it into a movie. But when I heard Tobey McGuire was to star, I relaxed. And when I also heard that Jeff Bridges was in it, my cup indeed runneth over!

I thought they could have tightened up the first hour. I was anxious for the main characters to meet, so I was impatient. For having read the book, I knew what was coming.

And then at the end, they have two major events coming right on top of one another. They could have tightened up the beginning, and focused on the TWO major accidents that Tom Pollard suffered. The movie compressed them into one, for time's sake. And the real life love story between Pollard and his nurse is never even mentioned.

BUT these are only observations, not criticisms. I thought the movie worked better in individual scenes, than as an overall whole.

In an outstanding cast, Chris Cooper stands out, with his mostly wordless performance. The scene where he encounters barbed wire, knowing that his way of life will soon be gone forever, is magnificent. If he doesn't win an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor, then there truly is no justice in this world.

And what can you say about a contemporary film where the audience APPLAUDED at the end? That usually happens only at repertory theatres!

*********SPOILER**********

I'm surprised that they didn't use Pollard's line, when Seabiscuit eventually beat War Admiral: "Woolf made a 'rear Admiral' out of War Admiral."

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