Seabiscuit (Full Screen)

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!

Wow. This is a truly great movie. On every level, it is what a movie can be. An amazing story based on real people and events. Great actors transcending any role they’ve played before or since. Cinematic grandeur and impeccable time period costumes and sets. It also has script/screenplay based on a book that really stands a series of news clippings and history lacking the character development of this movie.The story is wonderful as it shows how a group of very damaged human beings come together and are healed by rallying behind an equally damaged horse — Seabiscuit. It’s the stuff of legends and even better, it’s based on real people and events that are now legendary. The movie captures the power of belief and redemption like no other yet made. It’s umpossible to watch this film and not be profoundly moved.In all of our lives, we too have been damaged in some way. Hurt, given up on, underestimated, suffered loss, defeat and facing fears. The power of this film is that it shows that finding a friend, offering a helping hand, believing in something even when you can’t believe in yourself is the basis of redemption. My first reaction afyer viewing this movie was “thank you.” I’ve never been more impressed or inspired by the ability of people to rise above their problems and hurt. This film shows how that can happen.The cast is pure genius. Chris Cooper gives his role such wisdom and humor that you simply have to love him. Jeff Bridges takes his natural state offscreen of being a bit of a showman/huckster and gives it heart and kindness. And wow, Elizabeth Banks, playing a stunning looking brunette Hispanic is the woman of any man’s dreams. Smart, caring, loving and a partner in life. Wow, again on that one. It took me quite a while to realize she was that blonde B movie actress I’d seen times before. And finally, Toby McQuire. This film took him from his SpiderMan rut to being a actor showing unsurpas talent and depth. It’s an amazing performance and he stepped up to the challenge and won the race. Along with Elijah Wood in the final closeup in Return of the King, Toby’s last closeup riding Seabiscuit across the finish line is cinematic legend.This film has become my definition of a feel good movie. When I want to feel better for any reason, I turn to this film. I want to cross that finish line. I want to ride the Biscuit. And I want to have wife like Elizabeth Banks and inspire people like Jeff Bridges. I want the wisdom of Chris Cooper and I want everyone to believe in me the way they believe in Seabiscuit in this film.

A terrific movie. It is not really about horse racing, but about the spirit of an age. During the Great Depression, four characters come together: the un-winning, oversized jockey who was abandoned by his parents, the heartbroken owner who lost a wife and a son, the trainer who prefers to live alone with horses and is a sort of horse-whisper, and the horse itself, undersized, forced to run in endless claiming races where he is always for sale and never wins. Together though, they become the hope of the downtrodden, the most written about topic in the news despite the conflicts surrounding Hitler and Roosevelt. It is a story of an unlikely alliance that succeeds when it shouldn't and stirs the emotions of a nation desperately in need of hope, the story of triumph over despair.

Loved this movie when it first came out, bought a copy recently for my pandemic library, (still on DVD's) What I appreciate about this movie is the juxtaposition of the documentary narrative about Seabiscuit's time in history, when average hard working citizens suffered so much, against the usual Hollywood type narrative which was done very well in this movie. My father lived through the Great Depression as 1/10 children of a hard working Vaudeville based family. It was a terribly difficult time that so many good people just dug in and lived through. Seabiscuit's story reminds us of some very important ideas to keep in mind: perseverance, tenacity, wit, and a deep empathy for each other could lead our way, things my father exemplified in his own life. The book says, of course, so much more but the visuals and the casting in this were great. Loved Gary Stevens as George Woolf.

I received the dvd in a good amount of time and there was absolutely no issues with the quality of dvd received from the seller.The dvd story itself was very disappointing. In my opinion it was just a poor horse racing movie. Any kind of story was lost by the flicking back and forth in the storylines. In the attempt to make this film stand out, the producers added so much swearing, using God's name in vain, inappropriate brothel scene, kicking a goat...etc Seriously unhappy as I tried to watch this movie with the family and some of which were young. If your looking for a good family horse movie try Secretariat instead with fantastic.

A brilliant movie about a homeless boy, millionaire and a cowboy brought together by a horse that became famous, very moving and great to watch with their combination they succeed in the race circuit. The actors are fabulous so I rated this an A grade plus for the full on entertainment that goes with the story, the problems of training and the up and downs in their journey to glory. Highly recommended as this is a great movie and worth having and watching. Now time to relax with feet up and munchies by your side. Enjoy!

This is a wonderful film, based on the true story of the race horse Seabiscuit. I am not ashamed to say that I have watched this film at least 3 times and every time it has brought tears to my eyes - tears of joy for the determination of people, and horses, to overcome adversity and to recover from terrible sedbacks, and to go on to achieve the remarkable.Set around the period of the depression in the 1920's the movie relates the story of how 3 people- Seabiscuit's owner, trainer and jockey, overcame their personal losses and tragedies in pursuit of their dreams.Superbly recreated scenes which almost exactly match the original newsreel footage, and totally convincing acting from all the main players make this an entirely convincing and satisfying movie - one of my favourite films ever. You don't need to know anything much about horse racing to enjoy this film - try it - you'll love it!

dts 5.1 is great,the encode needs no enhancing..just play it through your home theatre kit on 'standard' to benefit from it.,just wonderful.Is over 2 hours,,not that it drags a bit,because it doesn't,but make sure you have a butty with you coz the movies sentiment will be too exhausting otherwise.Pause if the kettle beckons because this too will be a requirement-very exhausting,,BUT it is worth it.The transfer is remarkable on this '03 release-was on mine anyway.,looked & sounded like a bluray.(modern equipment is great)Strongly recommend watching through a 5.1 home theatre kit,dvd's are fantastic-and I think people forget that with the onset of high def.I recommend this dvd,the quality of the audio and video transfers are so that its not worth the extra for the bluray...unless you HAVE to own it.Wazza.

Extremely entertaining docudrama. Some deviation from true fact regarding a famous racehorse but that's not uncommon in film making. Excellent cast and acting. Highly recommended, especially for horse racing fans.