Seabiscuit - reviews
07-28-03, 10:17 AM
#26
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Everyone I know has told me how great this movie is. Some have put it on their top 5 all time list, most claim it is best of the year. I skipped a sneak peak last week because I don't care for horses, horse racing, people who own race horses, people who ride race horses and prett much the whole equine scene.
My wife wants to see this but I can not decide if this is one I refuse to see or not(I still have not seen Titanic, and my wife owns this DVD). I am sure I would enjoy this and think it is a good film, but I have absolutely NO desire to watch this, and I especially do not want to pay for it as I gacve up a free pass to it.
My wife wants to see this but I can not decide if this is one I refuse to see or not(I still have not seen Titanic, and my wife owns this DVD). I am sure I would enjoy this and think it is a good film, but I have absolutely NO desire to watch this, and I especially do not want to pay for it as I gacve up a free pass to it.
07-28-03, 11:01 AM
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Originally posted by Cusm
Everyone I know has told me how great this movie is. Some have put it on their top 5 all time list, most claim it is best of the year. I skipped a sneak peak last week because I don't care for horses, horse racing, people who own race horses, people who ride race horses and prett much the whole equine scene.
My wife wants to see this but I can not decide if this is one I refuse to see or not(I still have not seen Titanic, and my wife owns this DVD). I am sure I would enjoy this and think it is a good film, but I have absolutely NO desire to watch this, and I especially do not want to pay for it as I gacve up a free pass to it.
Everyone I know has told me how great this movie is. Some have put it on their top 5 all time list, most claim it is best of the year. I skipped a sneak peak last week because I don't care for horses, horse racing, people who own race horses, people who ride race horses and prett much the whole equine scene.
My wife wants to see this but I can not decide if this is one I refuse to see or not(I still have not seen Titanic, and my wife owns this DVD). I am sure I would enjoy this and think it is a good film, but I have absolutely NO desire to watch this, and I especially do not want to pay for it as I gacve up a free pass to it.
07-28-03, 07:15 PM
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well, like i said in my review, Im not into horse racing at ALL. Having loved the movie, I still dont want to watch horse racing. What i do like though is GREAT films, and Sea Biscuit is certainly that. Go see it, its worth the trip and even if you dont like it, the misses will appreciate it. 
j
j
07-29-03, 04:42 AM
#30
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I enjoyed the first half of the film with the setting up the characters and plot more than I did the ending or second half.
It's a good film but I think Dreamworks made the same mistake here as they did last year with Perdition in releasing it
in July.
Enjoyable but nothing great.
It's a good film but I think Dreamworks made the same mistake here as they did last year with Perdition in releasing it
in July.
Enjoyable but nothing great.
07-29-03, 04:56 AM
#31
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I thought it was a great movie. I had heard all the stuff about it being slow and you know what? It was...but not in a bad way. Like others have said in this thread, there seems to be a total moving away from plotlines during the summer. Now I love action films and I went crazy over Matrix Reloaded and T3 this summer, but I also like a thoughtful, moving, plot-driven movie and this fits that bill.
Damn, I know I am going to sound like one of "those guys" and I hate "those guys," but while some reviewers and people thought this was slow and boring, I was never bored while I felt bored and unentertained several times in Bad Boys II last week. As quickly as that movie moved, it still left me not feeling much connection with anything at times and simply yawning as the next car chase began. (See I sounded just like "those guys" who are all smug and above any big-budget action films.)
I went to a Monday matinee showing before a night meeting I had for work. I walked into the theater around 3 p.m. and the place was about three-quarters full. That says something to me. A movie that nearly fills a theater on a beautiful, sunny summer Monday afternoon? Not to mention that the audience broke into spontaneous applause more than once and gave it another round of applause at the end of the movie. It moved me nearly to tears once or twice and the only negative was the guy a row back and a few seats over who kept chortling at weird times.
I would heartily recommend this film to anybody I know. I was thinking about buying the poster last week, but decided to hold off until I had seen the movie. Now that I've seen it, I will be adding that poster to my collection. Oh.....and I'll probably be going to the track this weekend now.
Damn, I know I am going to sound like one of "those guys" and I hate "those guys," but while some reviewers and people thought this was slow and boring, I was never bored while I felt bored and unentertained several times in Bad Boys II last week. As quickly as that movie moved, it still left me not feeling much connection with anything at times and simply yawning as the next car chase began. (See I sounded just like "those guys" who are all smug and above any big-budget action films.)
I went to a Monday matinee showing before a night meeting I had for work. I walked into the theater around 3 p.m. and the place was about three-quarters full. That says something to me. A movie that nearly fills a theater on a beautiful, sunny summer Monday afternoon? Not to mention that the audience broke into spontaneous applause more than once and gave it another round of applause at the end of the movie. It moved me nearly to tears once or twice and the only negative was the guy a row back and a few seats over who kept chortling at weird times.
Spoiler:
I would heartily recommend this film to anybody I know. I was thinking about buying the poster last week, but decided to hold off until I had seen the movie. Now that I've seen it, I will be adding that poster to my collection. Oh.....and I'll probably be going to the track this weekend now.
07-29-03, 09:53 AM
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Originally posted by badger1997
It moved me nearly to tears once or twice and the only negative was the guy a row back and a few seats over who kept chortling at weird times.
It moved me nearly to tears once or twice and the only negative was the guy a row back and a few seats over who kept chortling at weird times.
j
07-29-03, 11:02 AM
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I’m on the fence about seeing it. The trailers have a melodramatic, “Hallmark,” movie-of-the-week quality that I find off-putting. Yet, the movie has received very strong reviews. For those who have seen it, is the tone of the movie anything like the trailer?
07-29-03, 11:23 AM
#34
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I thought it played slower than the trailers, but the slow pace was good for the foundation it laid for the story. I don't think I was bored at any point in the film, and that's a rarity for me.
07-29-03, 12:16 PM
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Spike Lee opens his mouth again:
ARMOUR & CO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE
EXCERPT
Published July 27, 2003
A horse is a horse
It's been a hectic summer for filmmaker SPIKE LEE, who popped into the Windy City this weekend for "The Movie Music of Spike Lee and TERENCE BLANCHARD" at the Chicago Symphony Center. He just wrapped shooting the two-hour pilot for "Sucker-Free City," a gritty drama for Showtime focusing on life in three San Francisco neighborhoods.
Showtime is owned by Viacom, which earlier this month settled a lawsuit from the 46-year-old director contending that it was changing the name of its TNN channel to Spike TV to associate itself with Lee's image. All Lee would tell us is that the suit wasn't about his name. "People were making it out that I was trying to monopolize the word `Spike,'" he told Armour & Co. "That wasn't it at all. It was `Spike' and `TV' together."
Lee says he's now trying, to no avail, to get financial backing for two proposed big-screen projects -- one chronicling the life of JACKIE ROBINSON and the other studying the second JOE LOUIS-MAX SCHMELING heavyweight fight in 1938. "It's very hard for me to digest that Hollywood would rather make a movie about a . . . horse ["Seabiscuit"] before Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis," Lee (right) said. "Those were two of the most important Americans that had a great effect on the landscape of this whole country and Hollywood would rather do a movie about a horse."
Movie was great..heavy handed but I needed a movie to make me feel good at the time...this was perfect. The only thing that felt Hollywood was when
tidbit: War Admiral and Hard Tack (seabiscuit's father) were sired by Manowar.
ARMOUR & CO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE
EXCERPT
Published July 27, 2003
A horse is a horse
It's been a hectic summer for filmmaker SPIKE LEE, who popped into the Windy City this weekend for "The Movie Music of Spike Lee and TERENCE BLANCHARD" at the Chicago Symphony Center. He just wrapped shooting the two-hour pilot for "Sucker-Free City," a gritty drama for Showtime focusing on life in three San Francisco neighborhoods.
Showtime is owned by Viacom, which earlier this month settled a lawsuit from the 46-year-old director contending that it was changing the name of its TNN channel to Spike TV to associate itself with Lee's image. All Lee would tell us is that the suit wasn't about his name. "People were making it out that I was trying to monopolize the word `Spike,'" he told Armour & Co. "That wasn't it at all. It was `Spike' and `TV' together."
Lee says he's now trying, to no avail, to get financial backing for two proposed big-screen projects -- one chronicling the life of JACKIE ROBINSON and the other studying the second JOE LOUIS-MAX SCHMELING heavyweight fight in 1938. "It's very hard for me to digest that Hollywood would rather make a movie about a . . . horse ["Seabiscuit"] before Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis," Lee (right) said. "Those were two of the most important Americans that had a great effect on the landscape of this whole country and Hollywood would rather do a movie about a horse."
Movie was great..heavy handed but I needed a movie to make me feel good at the time...this was perfect. The only thing that felt Hollywood was when
Spoiler:
tidbit: War Admiral and Hard Tack (seabiscuit's father) were sired by Manowar.
Last edited by Hannibal; 07-29-03 at 12:18 PM.
07-29-03, 04:18 PM
#36
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I found the movie better than the trailer... but then again I was atleast intrigued by the trailer too. Seabiscuits pacing, IMO is juuuust right. There is not only plenty of time to get to know/care about the main characters, but it helps with immersion as well. It may not be accurate, but people generally tend to think of the "old days" as being slow-paced while the here/now is going a mila a minute. I found the pacing really refreashing myself... and I generally am an action-movie guy.
j
j
07-29-03, 05:51 PM
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Originally posted by Hannibal
[B]Lee says he's now trying, to no avail, to get financial backing for two proposed big-screen projects -- one chronicling the life of JACKIE ROBINSON and the other studying the second JOE LOUIS-MAX SCHMELING heavyweight fight in 1938. "It's very hard for me to digest that Hollywood would rather make a movie about a . . . horse ["Seabiscuit"] before Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis," Lee (right) said. "Those were two of the most important Americans that had a great effect on the landscape of this whole country and Hollywood would rather do a movie about a horse."
[B]Lee says he's now trying, to no avail, to get financial backing for two proposed big-screen projects -- one chronicling the life of JACKIE ROBINSON and the other studying the second JOE LOUIS-MAX SCHMELING heavyweight fight in 1938. "It's very hard for me to digest that Hollywood would rather make a movie about a . . . horse ["Seabiscuit"] before Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis," Lee (right) said. "Those were two of the most important Americans that had a great effect on the landscape of this whole country and Hollywood would rather do a movie about a horse."
Now, I would be interested in seeing a movie about the Louis-Schmeling fight, but I don't think the general public would share my enthusiasm. I read something about Schmeling in Sports Illustrated a year or so ago that got my interest up. But I think the studios would think that would be a hard sell and a tough investment and I think they would probably be right.
08-01-03, 07:44 PM
#39
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Saw it. Thought it was a very good movie and hope it sticks around.
Interesting note: Jeff Bridges wife was played by Elizabeth Banks, who was/is Betty Brant in the Spider-Man movies. Good thing she isn't well known, or the studio might have tried to pitch it as Spider-Man on horseback.
Interesting note: Jeff Bridges wife was played by Elizabeth Banks, who was/is Betty Brant in the Spider-Man movies. Good thing she isn't well known, or the studio might have tried to pitch it as Spider-Man on horseback.
08-02-03, 12:23 AM
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I was really looking forward to this movie. I thought it looked like Road to Perdition was last year. A summer movie with Oscar potential. The trailers made it look very good. So I was slightly disappointed with it. The movie was pretty predictable. The outcome of the race was always clear. I also thought Chris Cooper's performance was not that good. It was almost like he was reading from the page. Anyone else think that? I like a lot of his previous performances too so I was surprised to not see a better effort here. I also was expecting them to play up on blindness angle a lot more. It was barely mentioned. The scene in the trailer where Red says "I can't......see out there" made me want to see the movie. But the movie looks great, and although it was slow at times I still didn't feel like I wasted my money. Its a good change of pace from the action movies this summer.
08-02-03, 11:44 AM
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Matters of opinion I guess... I thought Cooper was great, maybe not quite as good as Bridges (who really should get his oscar out of this) but still very good. He sounded/acted like what I imagine a broken down old cowboy guy would sound/act like. I dunno, maybe I just havent hung around cowboys enough to know the difference.
AFA the blindness goes, it seemed relatively significant, considering the film is about a horse and details about red are sorta side-plot elements. I guess it coulda been played up more, but the director prolly figured that it was simply another factor that added to SeaBiscuits under-dog status, and in that sense was established enough in the theatrical cut. Who knows though, maybe we'll get a directors cut and we'll see Tobey being blind more and a few races that sea biscuit lost.
j
AFA the blindness goes, it seemed relatively significant, considering the film is about a horse and details about red are sorta side-plot elements. I guess it coulda been played up more, but the director prolly figured that it was simply another factor that added to SeaBiscuits under-dog status, and in that sense was established enough in the theatrical cut. Who knows though, maybe we'll get a directors cut and we'll see Tobey being blind more and a few races that sea biscuit lost.
j
08-02-03, 06:11 PM
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Just saw it. It's a good movie, which would be ample praise if it weren't based on an truly exceptional book. If you saw the movie and liked it, give the book a try. The full story is far more moving, more complex, and more fascinating than what the movie can suggest. (Particularly when it comes to the harsh life of a jockey.)
Two things I couldn't figure out. One was the use of the narrated "documentary" moments. They were totally unneeded and sucked all the momentum out of the movie whenever they showed up. (I never thought I'd say it, but Robert McKee is right!)
The other was the fact that they didn't make use of much of the Seabiscuit legend. There was no mention of the weight handicaps he had to carry. They barely mentioned his odd gait. There was no emphasis on his advanced age. And they only showed his trademark leg bandages once, and that in a highly misleading context. It's a bit like making a movie about Groucho Marx and never showing him with a cigar.
Two things I couldn't figure out. One was the use of the narrated "documentary" moments. They were totally unneeded and sucked all the momentum out of the movie whenever they showed up. (I never thought I'd say it, but Robert McKee is right!)
The other was the fact that they didn't make use of much of the Seabiscuit legend. There was no mention of the weight handicaps he had to carry. They barely mentioned his odd gait. There was no emphasis on his advanced age. And they only showed his trademark leg bandages once, and that in a highly misleading context. It's a bit like making a movie about Groucho Marx and never showing him with a cigar.
08-02-03, 06:39 PM
#43
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Originally posted by audrey
Grrrr. If Spike feels so strongly about those two projects, he s/d put up his own money and quit bitching.
Grrrr. If Spike feels so strongly about those two projects, he s/d put up his own money and quit bitching.
08-02-03, 07:40 PM
#44
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Originally posted by Supreme Sean
The only flaws I could find is this unnecessary cut from the beginning of the War Admiral race, to various old photos of people gathered around their radio sets, listening to the race. We miss the first 1/4th of the race, looking at these photos.
The only flaws I could find is this unnecessary cut from the beginning of the War Admiral race, to various old photos of people gathered around their radio sets, listening to the race. We miss the first 1/4th of the race, looking at these photos.
Originally posted by Supreme Sean The other flaw is a forced, and out of place voice over from Maguire's character at the end. He hadn't given a voice over throughout the whole movie, and it seemed out of place.
i saw this this afternoon and it had maybe the oldest audience i have ever seen in a movie before. there was probably 100-125 people there and maybe 25 were under 30. the majority were probably over 50.
08-02-03, 07:48 PM
#45
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Originally posted by kevin75
i saw this this afternoon and it had maybe the oldest audience i have ever seen in a movie before. there was probably 100-125 people there and maybe 25 were under 30. the majority were probably over 50.
i saw this this afternoon and it had maybe the oldest audience i have ever seen in a movie before. there was probably 100-125 people there and maybe 25 were under 30. the majority were probably over 50.
08-06-03, 06:47 AM
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We went to see "Bend it Like Beckham" but there were these kids who were all hopped up for the film. I mean it seemed like it was gonna ba a Midnite showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show...so we left and saw Seabiscuit.
I loved it!!!
Chris Cooper was great
and UNLIKE "THE HULK"...the long character development was done RIGHT in this film. Nothing confusing or stupid. The 2 and half hours flew by. We got out at 1am.
I loved it!!!
Chris Cooper was great
and UNLIKE "THE HULK"...the long character development was done RIGHT in this film. Nothing confusing or stupid. The 2 and half hours flew by. We got out at 1am.
08-09-03, 02:51 PM
#48
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Excellent movie. I went to a 4:45 showing yesterday and the theater was 3/4 full. Definitely the best movie of the year so far IMO. I thought the racing scenes looked fantastic. It was cool to see legendary jockey Gary Stevens play the role of George Woolf. For a non-actor, he did a very good job.
I was already somewhat familiar with the story of Seabiscuit. Being from Baltimore, my grandfather told me about him and the match race with War Admiral in the 1938 Pimlico Special. They did take a few liberties with history (such as when Red got hurt and George took over), but this is to be expected. My only real complaint is the lack of an epilogue.
I definitely recommend watching the True Story A&E program that someone else referred to if they rebroadcast it.
Rypro - what the Senator Theatre did sounds awesome. I really miss that theater.
Here are some historical documents on the match race:
http://www.marylandracing.com/old/seabiscuit.html
I was already somewhat familiar with the story of Seabiscuit. Being from Baltimore, my grandfather told me about him and the match race with War Admiral in the 1938 Pimlico Special. They did take a few liberties with history (such as when Red got hurt and George took over), but this is to be expected. My only real complaint is the lack of an epilogue.
I definitely recommend watching the True Story A&E program that someone else referred to if they rebroadcast it.
Rypro - what the Senator Theatre did sounds awesome. I really miss that theater.
Here are some historical documents on the match race:
http://www.marylandracing.com/old/seabiscuit.html
Last edited by Red Dog; 08-09-03 at 02:58 PM.
08-09-03, 02:54 PM
#49
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yeah, they took liberties. Whats odd about this story is that seabiscuit was even more of an underdog than the movie portrays... usually they trump up "based on a true story" films, but this story is almost toned down. Maybe they though the real story was so fantastic no one would believe it. lol! at any rate, seabiscuit is great, i hope it has a shot at movie of the year,
j
j
08-09-03, 02:58 PM
#50
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Interesting article that was in the local paper yesterday
Pimlico not forgotten in movie
Kentucky track used in 'Seabiscuit' to create 1930s look
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Michael Sragow
Sun Movie Critic
Originally published August 8, 2003
According to Nick Nicholson, the president of Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., the 1938 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral at Pimlico is the equivalent in racehorse history of "Babe Ruth's 60th home run or Roger Maris' 61st."
So why did Gary Ross, who strove for exact detail when he directed the hit film Seabiscuit, restage that race at Keeneland instead of Pimlico?
As he said in an interview the week before the movie's opening, the answer is simple: "Pimlico has been modernized to an extent that made it impossible to use for period purposes."
Ross acknowledged that, in this case, he couldn't achieve absolute authenticity. "The Pimlico in the movie doesn't look like 'white period' Pimlico because we're shooting in Keeneland. But it looks very much like a period track of the 1930s."
Ross said he hoped that his movie would reflect the racing fervor he has always found in Maryland.
"I plan to come back to the Preakness next year - I think the Preakness is as exciting if not more exciting than the Kentucky Derby. Maryland has such an insane and amazing racing tradition. Chris McCarron, our technical adviser, comes out of Maryland, where he broke records as an apprentice jockey.
"It's one of the few places in the country where you find the full breadth of understanding for horse-racing. Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware - Delaware and Maryland being sort of cousins - and the enclaves of Saratoga and Del Mar, that's really where love of racing thrives. I think Maryland and Kentucky are unique in their appreciation of the sport."
Kentucky track used in 'Seabiscuit' to create 1930s look
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Michael Sragow
Sun Movie Critic
Originally published August 8, 2003
According to Nick Nicholson, the president of Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., the 1938 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral at Pimlico is the equivalent in racehorse history of "Babe Ruth's 60th home run or Roger Maris' 61st."
So why did Gary Ross, who strove for exact detail when he directed the hit film Seabiscuit, restage that race at Keeneland instead of Pimlico?
As he said in an interview the week before the movie's opening, the answer is simple: "Pimlico has been modernized to an extent that made it impossible to use for period purposes."
Ross acknowledged that, in this case, he couldn't achieve absolute authenticity. "The Pimlico in the movie doesn't look like 'white period' Pimlico because we're shooting in Keeneland. But it looks very much like a period track of the 1930s."
Ross said he hoped that his movie would reflect the racing fervor he has always found in Maryland.
"I plan to come back to the Preakness next year - I think the Preakness is as exciting if not more exciting than the Kentucky Derby. Maryland has such an insane and amazing racing tradition. Chris McCarron, our technical adviser, comes out of Maryland, where he broke records as an apprentice jockey.
"It's one of the few places in the country where you find the full breadth of understanding for horse-racing. Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware - Delaware and Maryland being sort of cousins - and the enclaves of Saratoga and Del Mar, that's really where love of racing thrives. I think Maryland and Kentucky are unique in their appreciation of the sport."