Seabiscuit (2003)

True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.

Director:

Gary Ross

Writers:

Laura Hillenbrand (book), Gary Ross (screenplay)

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David McCullough	...	Narrator
Jeff Bridges	...	Charles Howard
Paul Vincent O'Connor	...	Bicycle Supervisor
Chris Cooper	...	Tom Smith
Michael Ensign	...	Steamer Owner
James Keane	...	Car Customer
Valerie Mahaffey	...	Annie Howard
David Doty	...	Land Broker
Carl M. Craig	...	Sam (as Kingston DuCoeur)
Michael O'Neill	...	Mr. Pollard
Annie Corley	...	Mrs. Pollard
Michael Angarano	...	Young Red Pollard
Cameron Bowen	...	Pollard Child
Noah Luke	...	Pollard Child
Mariah Bess	...	Pollard Child

Storyline

It's the Depression, and everyone needs to hold onto a dream to get them through the bad times. Car maker Charles Howard is no different, he who is trying to rebuild his life after the tragic death of his only child and the resulting end of his first marriage. With second wife Marcela at his side, Charles wants to get into horse racing and ends up with a team of underdogs who are also chasing their own dream. The first is trainer Tom Smith, who has a natural instinct to spot the capabilities of horses. The second is the horse Tom chooses for Charles, Seabiscuit, an unconventional choice as despite his pedigreed lineage, Seabiscuit is small at fifteen and a half hands tall with a slight limp. But Tom can see something in Seabiscuit's nature to make him a winner, if only Seabiscuit can be retrained from his inbred losing ways. And third is the jockey they decide to hire, Johnny "Red" Pollard, so nicknamed because of his hair color. Like Tom, Red has always shown a natural way with ...

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Plot Keywords:

horse movie | seabiscuit | horse | jockey | horse racing | 

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Taglines:

A long shot becomes a legend.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual situations and violent sports-related images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alma de héroes

Filming Locations:

Lacy Street Production Center - 2630 Lacy Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$87,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,854,735, 27 July 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$120,277,854, 5 February 2004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$148,336,445

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,DreamWorks,Spyglass Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ex-racing driver Allan Padelford specially designed the MTV insert cars - a Mobile Technocrane Vehicle to allow filmmakers to shoot insert shots for horse race sequences. It runs up to 45 mph and weighs 28 thousand pounds. The car can fit a 30ft Technocrane dolly at the back and Wescam XR head at front. Another one was designed specifically to fit in two animatronic horses.

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Goofs

In the third race, when Tick-Tock beats Crow Segment and they sell out the infield, Seabiscuit's number is 4, except for one quick segment as they parade to the track. Then, Seabiscuit's number is 5.

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Quotes

[in a restaurant, reacting to Riddle's refusal]
Charles Howard: Shit!
Marcela Howard: Charles!
Charles Howard: [quietly] Shit!
Marcela Howard: Yeah, I know what you mean.

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Connections

Referenced in Film '72: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Joy in the Salvation Army
Written by William B. Bradbury (as William Bradbury)
Performed by The Salvation Army Southern California Ensemble

User Reviews

One of the best movies of all time

I can't say a bad thing about this movie. There wasn't a single moment that I didn't like. Everyone who acted in this movie did no less than perfection. The movie has so much depth, has so much feeling and emotion and none of it feels forced, phoney or corny/ham handed. The development of the characters and the plot feels very natural and real and the movie flows at a comfortable pace. It's a movie you can cry tears of joy about and not feel weird about it. And to think I was so naive and close minded that I didn't see it in the theater because I told myself, "Who wants to see a movie about a racehorse?" If only I'd known how ignorant that statement was. I'd pay several times the admittance to have seen this in the theater, just to have had that added experience of seeing it there. This movie easily makes my top 5 of all time and is probably the best movie I've ever seen, and although I've seen it a few times now I still have a strong emotional response to it every time I watch it and feel my appreciation of it not waning, but only enriching. This movie is truly a "Must See." I hope you like it as much as I do.