This film is based on a book by Laura Hillenbrand published in 2003. The setting of this film is during the Depression. This was during the late 1920's and into the late 1930's. Times are hard for everyone and car maker Charles Howard is trying to rebuild his life. His only child tragically died and this ended his first marriage. Now he is married to his second wife Marcela. Charles has decided he wants to get into horse racing and he lands in a team of underdogs chasing their own dream. The trainer is Tom Smith and he has a natural instinct to spot the capabilities of horses. Tom selects Seabiscuit and this is an unconventional choice. This house has a pedigreed lineage but he is small at fifteen and a half hands real with a slight limp?? Tom sees something in Seabiscuit’s nature that will make him a winner. He needs to be retrained from his inbred losing ways. They decide to hire Johnny “Red” Pollard as the jockey. He has this nickname because of his red hair. Red also has a natural way with horses.
The jockey, Red is sent to someone who owns a stable and who and offer to put Red up as a jockey. His parents are forced to do this because of their reduced income and abilities due to the Depression. Red doesn’t understand why this has happened because he is not old enough. Red also tries to make some money by amateur boxing. He has significant injuries from a fight. Red also has another sports-related injury to his leg. There is an off-screen car crash with a young child being killed. There is drinking during Prohibition, a radio announcer is drunk a lot of times and cigarette smoking. It wasn’t until 1963 that smoking was found to be a harmful practice. There are good themes of perseverance, kindness, struggles and self-reliance. This is beautifully shot and well-acted. There isn’t any way you can’t be rooting for Seabiscuit and Red!!! 5* (I really liked this movie)
140 min, Drama directed by Gary Ross with David McCullough, Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Vincent O’Connor, Chris Cooper, Michael Ensign, James Keane, Valerie Mahaffey, David Doty, Carl M. Craig, Michael O’Neill, Annie Corley, Michael Angarano, Cameron Bowen, Noah Luke, Mariah Bess.
Note: Imdb 7.3 out of 10 with 64,533 views, Roger Ebert 4 1/2*, Rotten Tomatoes 78% with 205 critics 76% audience with 118,381 ratings, Common Sense Media Nell Minow, age 13+, 4* out of 5*, 2* positive, 3* violence, 3* sex, 3* language, 3* drinking, drugs, smoking, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Derek Malcolm, empireonline.com 4* out of 5* Angie Errigo, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 1,754 reviews, Letterboxd 3.1* out of 5*, Metacritic 72 out of 100 with 43 critics (38 positive 4 mixed 1 negative), 7.3 out of 10 with 53 ratings (41 positive 7 mixed 5 negative), Goodreads gives the book 4.22* out of 5* with 137,748 ratings and 4,261 reviews.
Special Note: Filmed in Hemet, Santa Anita Park & Racetrack, Arcadia, Filmore, Pasadena, Pomona, Tjon Ranch, Ontario, Universal City, Los Angeles, California;, Saratoga Race Track, New York; Keeneland Racetrack (Pimlico), Paris, Kentucky Laura Hillenbrand is also the author of Unbroken 2014 and Unbroken: Path to Redemption 2018. She was born May 15, 1967 in Fairfax, Virginia and she won an Eclipse Award in 1998 for her American Heritage magazine article on Seabiscuit entitled Four Good Legs Between Us. The budge was estimated to be $87,000,000, opening weekend gross $20,854,735, gross USA $120,277,854, worldwide $148,336,445. More than 5.5 million copies of DVD’s were sold.
Trivia: Trainer Tom Smith tries to bring a goat into Seabiscuit’s stall. Many horses feel better if they have the company of another animal. It’s a common practice to partner a horse with a goat. The saying,”to get one’s goat” came from the practice of stealing a goat from a rival race horse’s stall the night before a big race. This would upset the horse before the race. The horse War Admiral was played in the film by one is Seabiscuit’s descendants, a gelding named Verboom.
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