"Seabiscuit" Review

2003, Universal Pictures & Dreamworks

The true story of a small, knobby-kneed race horse named Seabiscuit, who overcame the odds to become Horse of the Year in 1938, with the help of his owner, trainer and jockey. Based on the book Seabiscuit: An American Legend, by Linda Hillenbrand.

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Garry Ross
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens

Running Time: 140 Minutes

Rated PG-13

NOTICE: Wait for actual sound clips of the races to load on each page.

Based on Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book, for the first hour of the film, we see their fortunes unfold in bold, telegraphic scenes. In time, they join forces as owner, jockey and trainer of a horse that just might be salvageable. There's something more than a sportsman's challenge in it - they want to rehabilitate Seabiscuit to prove something about life and about themselves.

The film takes unusual care to explain the phenomenon. From time to time John Schwartzman's glorious cinematography goes on hold as historian David McCullough offers narration over black-and-white photographs of the era.

Thus, the stage is set for us to see how the horse tapped a national yearning for good news. Charles Howard cannily seizes the opportunity and promotes Seabiscuit like a model car. Bridges gives a salesman's shrewdness to a character who otherwise might have seemed bland. By pitting him against an overfed, snobbish plutocrat whose thoroughbred faces Seabiscuit in the climactic race. Ross and Bridges manage the neat trick of turning a tycoon into an underdog.

It's precisely on that life-affirming, root-for-the-little-guy level that this film triumphs. Like "Rocky" and "National Velvet" and "Hoosiers," it engages your deepest emotions without requiring detailed knowledge of the game. Even if thundering hoofbeats don't automatically electrify you, you'll be tempted to cheer when the dark horse crosses the finish line first.

Outstanding performances by the entire cast, as well as for writing, photography and sound. We are particularly grateful for William Macy's hilarious and effervescent portrayal of rapid-fire radio reporter "Tick-Tock" McGlaughlin, which provides much-needed comic relief.

This movie is about people deserving a second chance. It's the quintessential metaphor for what America was going through in 1938 during the Great Depression. It's a story about the richest man in the Western United States, whose 15-year-old son is killed in a car crash on his own property, a horse who had been beaten into submission, and a jockey who lost everything. They help to heal each other.

But it's the film's prevailing sentiment - "You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause it's banged up a little" - that will stay with you long after you've left the theater.

I urge you not to miss this already classic in the theater, and sit close to the screen, as the sound will make you feel you are really there. One to own and watch over and over. Stupendous!

- More Information & Photos On This Site -

Red Pollard and Tom Smith Bios

Charles Howard Bio

Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral Audio & Graphics

Seabiscuit's Racing Stats

In the annals of filmdom, again Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks, can take great pride in being a part of creating another memorable work that will remain an awe inspiring tribute to a piece of American history, however, embellished it may be.

The first horse to top $400,000 in winnings, this grandson of Man o' War was a hard-luck hero for Depression-era America. An unlikely winner with short legs, perpetually-bent knees, and an oddball gait, Seabiscuit became a national celebrity. In six years of triumphs and disasters, while he compiled 33 wins, 15 second places, and 13 thirds in an incredible 89 races.

Fans, struggling to survive in their day-to-day lives, might have identified with the horse because of his underdog status. His stance was not regal. His body was rather low-slung. He had an awkward-looking gait. He had been mistreated as a young horse, raced and whipped too often, treatment which had turned him into an under-achiever and a steady loser. He had his greatest success at a relatively old age, another reason for fans to embrace him.

He also had, what many thought would be, a career-ending accident. Still, Seabiscuit came back to win the Santa Anita Handicap with his jockey Red Pollard, who had a matching hard-luck story. That race, and a glorious win, was his last, and it came in 1940, just as a trying decade was finally coming to a close. This is the story of every happy-ending fairytale that Mother read to us when we were in the nursery. And to a depression-ridden, anxious, frightened nation, it must have come like a great sunrise.