Hidalgo (2004)

In 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writer:

John Fusco

Stars:

Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Viggo Mortensen	...	Frank Hopkins
Zuleikha Robinson	...	Jazira
Omar Sharif	...	Sheikh Riyadh
Louise Lombard	...	Lady Anne Davenport
Adam Alexi-Malle	...	Aziz
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Prince Bin Al Reeh
Silas Carson	...	Katib
Harsh Nayyar	...	Yusef
J.K. Simmons	...	Buffalo Bill Cody
Adoni Maropis	...	Sakr
Victor Talmadge	...	Rau Rasmussen
Peter Mensah	...	Jaffa
Joshua Wolf Coleman	...	The Kurd
Franky Mwangi	...	Slave Boy
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman	...	Chief Eagle Horn (as Floyd Red Crow Westerman)

Storyline

Held yearly for centuries, the Ocean of Fire--a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian desert--was a challenge restricted to the finest Arabian horses ever bred, the purest and noblest lines, owned by the greatest royal families. In 1890, a wealthy sheik invited an American, Frank T. Hopkins, and his horse to enter the race for the first time. During the course of his career, Hopkins was a cowboy and dispatch rider for the U.S. cavalry--and had once been billed as the greatest rider the West had ever known. The Sheik puts his claim to the test, pitting the American cowboy and his mustang, Hidalgo, against the world's greatest Arabian horses and Bedouin riders--some of whom are determined to prevent a foreigner from finishing the race. For Frank, the Ocean of Fire becomes not only a matter of pride and honor, but a race for his very survival as he and his horse attempt the impossible.

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Plot Keywords:

horse | race | cowboy | sheik | arab | 

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Taglines:

Experience the incredible true story of a man who left behind the world he knew, and found the courage to do the impossible

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Sport | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and some mild innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Terra [Spain]

Country:

USA Morocco

Language:

English Arabic Sioux

Release Date:

5 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hidalgo

Filming Locations:

Sierra Railroad, Jamestown, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$18,829,435 (USA) (7 March 2004)

Gross:

$67,286,731 (USA) (18 July 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Casey Silver Productions, Dune Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Halfway through the film's original theatrical trailer, "Going The Distance", a Bill Conti composition from Rocky (1976) is used. It appears to be a new orchestration.

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Goofs

When "Cowboy" has a rope around Hidalgo's neck, pulling him out of the trap in the trap in the desert, you can see the horse climbing up a wooden plank

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank T. Hopkins: [to Hidalgo] C'mon little brother. Checkout time. Yeah.

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Connections

Featured in America's First Horse: Hidalgo and the Spanish Mustang (2004)

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Soundtracks

Buffalo Bill's Equestrian March
Written by William Paris Chambers (uncredited)
Performed by The Americus Brass Band

User Reviews

A good action western.

I usually do not go for westerns, but this one looked rather good on the trailers so I gave it a try. It exceeded expectations and was a good movie to me. I thought it could have cut a few scenes here and there, but all in all it was very entertaining. Though I highly doubt all the things that happened in the movie happened in real life as claimed by the makers of the film, I think the guy this movie is based on was probably a good story teller. This one has a cowboy whose specialty is long distance races going to the Middle East to race there because they do not like the claim that he is the best long distance racer there is. Which is fair enough considering it does not look like there is all that much desert terrain in the United States. This race is very dangerous and it makes you thirsty just to watch it. Of course there are many trials and obstacles along the way including his fellow racers who hate the idea of a Mustang horse competing in the race. Though you know a Mustang has to be a rather fast and strong horse because they named a rather good car after it. All in all a very good action movie that the entire family can enjoy.