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True Blue

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
418
YOUR RATING
True Blue (1996)
DramaSport
The story of the year the Oxford and Cambridge boat race changed from a gentleman's race to one where winning was everything.The story of the year the Oxford and Cambridge boat race changed from a gentleman's race to one where winning was everything.The story of the year the Oxford and Cambridge boat race changed from a gentleman's race to one where winning was everything.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
418
YOUR RATING
    • Ferdinand Fairfax
    • Rupert Walters(screenplay)
    • Daniel Topolski(book)
    • Patrick Robinson(book)
  • Stars
    • Johan Leysen
    • Dominic West
    • Dylan Baker
    • Ferdinand Fairfax
    • Rupert Walters(screenplay)
    • Daniel Topolski(book)
    • Patrick Robinson(book)
  • Stars
    • Johan Leysen
    • Dominic West
    • Dylan Baker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos10

    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)
    True Blue (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Johan Leysen
    Johan Leysen
    • Daniel Topolski
    Dominic West
    Dominic West
    • Donald MacDonald
    Dylan Baker
    Dylan Baker
    • Michael Suarez, S.J.
    Geraldine Somerville
    Geraldine Somerville
    • Ruth MacDonald
    Josh Lucas
    Josh Lucas
    • Dan Warren
    Brian McGovern
    Brian McGovern
    • Rick Ross
    Noah Huntley
    Noah Huntley
    • Nick Bonham
    Edward Atterton
    Edward Atterton
    • Freddy Prideaux-Jones
    Ryan Bollman
    Ryan Bollman
    • Morrison Black
    Andrew Clover
    • Rob Atkins
    Jonathan Cake
    Jonathan Cake
    • Patrick Conner
    Tom Hollander
    Tom Hollander
    • Sam Peterson
    Nicholas Rowe
    Nicholas Rowe
    • David Ball
    Patrick Malone
    • Mike Johnson
    Alexis Denisof
    Alexis Denisof
    • Ed Fox
    Andrew Tees
    • John Smythson
    Robert T. Bogue
    Robert T. Bogue
    • Jeff Chambers
    • (as Robert Bogue)
    Clive Merrison
    Clive Merrison
    • Jack Garnet
      • Ferdinand Fairfax
      • Rupert Walters(screenplay)
      • Daniel Topolski(book)
      • Patrick Robinson(book)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Cambridge crew in this film were played by members of the rowing squad from Imperial College, London, including several members of the British international squad.
    • Goofs
      The opening sequence depicts the end of the 1986 boat race and shows the event as being sponsored by Beefeater Gin as the crews cross the finish line. The film makers must have used actual footage from a different year, as Beefeater didn't actually take over sponsorship of the Boat Race from Ladbrokes until 1987, the year when the final race is supposed to take place.
    • Quotes

      Morrison Black: So tell me something - what is it that makes Topolski such a hot shot?

      Nick Bonham: I don't know, I've never understood it... Maybe he's hung like a horse?

    • Soundtracks
      Two Tribes
      Written by Holly Johnson, Mark O'Toole and Peter Gill

      Performed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

      Published by Perfect Songs Ltd

      Courtesy of ZTT Records and Warner Music UK Ltd

    User reviews10

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Pretty to look at, but that's all.
    "Aawks-furrd". According to the introductory voice-over, this is where True Blue is set. It seems this was a token attempt not to completely alienate an American audience. For this is a story where poor misguided Oxford rowers draft in wicked Americans to help beat the apparently unstoppable Force Of Nature that is Cambridge University, which has been so unsporting as to actually win the last Boat Race. We are thus drawn into a picturesque but insane world where the motto is "six months' torture for a lifetime's pride". Unfortunately, we have to take part in some of the torture as rowers and coaches bitch at each other about training too much.

    If the film could impart some of the ambition and dedication of top athletes to an ideal of winning (as does the book True Blue), then it would be exciting and disturbing. Similarly, if it could give an impression of their personal sacrifices it would remind us of how remarkable the Boat Race actually is in the sport of rowing. Unfortunately, the film falls between the two stools. It fails to show the personal lives of the squad beyond caricatures where bitterness and childish pranks are the norm, and therefore fails to create any sympathy with the characters; yet it also fails to do justice to the sport, showing us actors desperately trying to row as they bat up and down the boat, failing to make any impression on the boat speed except throwing up a lot of water at the camera. Rowing should be a sport that is smooth and beautiful, not rushed and convulsive.

    It is only when the film stops using actors and hires real rowers, drops the clunky script (who could forget such lines as "That's unconscionable!"?) and shows us an actual race that the director's skill can come through. He has been spending the rest of the film showing us beautiful but pointless shots of the sun rising over the dreaming spires of Oxford. In this way, the portrayal of the Boat Race itself almost makes up for the excruciating moroseness of the Blue Boat squad that has been flung at us for the last hour.

    In the end, if you want to see some nice shots of Oxford, see some well-built rowers in Lycra and hear a pseudo-"Chariots of Fire" soundtrack, you could watch this film. Or you could do a ten-thousand metre work session on a rowing machine, which would be shorter and less painful.
    helpful•4
    6
    • praemius
    • Apr 7, 1999

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 15, 1996 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Booker Entertainment
      • Channel Four Films
      • Film and General Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 58 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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