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:

The true story of a long shot who became 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

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

The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper; and two Oscar nominees: William H. Macy and Gary Ross.

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Goofs

War Admiral is repeatedly referred to as being 18 hands vs. Seabiscuit's 15 hands. The horses were actually the same height, with some sources listing Seabiscuit as the heavier of the two.

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Quotes

Tom Smith: [Charles has given away all of his horseshoes; shouts] SAM! WHERE ARE MY GODDAM HORSESHOES?

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Connections

Referenced in How I Met Your Mother: Rebound Bro (2008)

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Soundtracks

If I Had a Million Dollars
Written by Johnny Mercer, Matty Malneck (as Matt Malneck)
Performed by Robin Bissell

User Reviews

Decent Movie But Book Far Better

Unlike most people, I haven't had that many cases in which I didn't particularly rave over a good movie because it couldn't live up to the book....but that was the case here.

This is a good movie. I realize that, but Laura Hillenbrand's book, from which this movie is taken, is hands-down the best sports book I have ever read. So, I eagerly anticipated the movie. I found out what so many other people discovered when their favorite was made into a film: it can't live up to it. In fairness, no two-hour film can do justice to a good book.

In this case, there were many things the jockey, owner and trainer went through that made the story so compelling, and they weren't in the movie. I won't detail them. Just read the book. But you can't appreciate what these men and that gutsy racehorse really accomplished just by the film. It only scratches the surface.

I can accept those omissions because of time constraints but I cannot accept Hollywood inserting offensive language into the movie that was not in the book, such as a dozen usages of the Lord's name in vain, NONE of which was in the book. That's inexcusable.

The movie's strength was its beauty, just magnificently filmed. Man, this is a gorgeous film, from the first shot to the last. Director Gary Ross and Director Of Photography John Schwartzman put a lot of loving care into this film and it shows. The actors were fine, too. No complaints there.

If this film appealed to you, I cannot recommended the book enough. Please check it out.