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Movies / On DVD / Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit

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Seabiscuit (2003)

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Reviews Counted:197

Fresh:152

Rotten:45

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: A life-affirming, if saccharine, epic treatment of a spirit-lifting figure in sports history.

Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause it's banged up a little. It is a story that inspired a nation…and one that almost didn't happen. It is the story of a country whose dreams had... You don't throw a whole life away just 'cause it's banged up a little. It is a story that inspired a nation…and one that almost didn't happen. It is the story of a country whose dreams had been shattered…and the people who found a hero in an average horse that could achieve the unthinkable. It is the story of three lost men-Johnny "Red" Pollard (TOBEY MAGUIRE), a young man whose spirit had been broken; Charles Howard (four-time Oscar® nominee JEFF BRIDGES), a millionaire who lost everything; and Tom Smith (Academy Award® winner CHRIS COOPER), a cowboy whose world was vanishing-who found each other and discovered hope in an unlikely place. The odds were incredible. The dream was impossible… And somehow, it actually happened. From Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker GARY ROSS (Pleasantville, Dave) comes the motion picture adaptation of the story that transfixed a nation from one of the most beloved and widely-read non-fiction books of the past decade: Seabiscuit. To film the tale of the down-and-out racehorse that took the entire nation on the ride of a lifetime, screenwriter/director/producer Ross has assembled an impressive list of seasoned and accomplished filmmaking talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Joining Maguire, Bridges and Cooper in the cast are ELIZABETH BANKS (Catch Me If You Can, Spider-Man) as Marcela Howard, Charles Howard's wife; Hall of Fame Jockey GARY STEVENS (in his motion picture debut) as George "The Iceman" Woolf; and Academy Award® nominee WILLIAM H. MACY (Fargo, Boogie Nights) as reporter "Tick-Tock" McGlaughlin. Producing, along with Gary Ross, are prolific and Oscar®-nominated filmmakers KATHLEEN KENNEDY (A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Sixth Sense) and FRANK MARSHALL (Signs, The Bourne Identity), and JANE SINDELL. The film is based on the best-selling book by LAURA HILLENBRAND. GARY BARBER (Bruce Almighty, Shanghai Knights), ROGER BIRNBAUM (Bruce Almighty, The Recruit), the film's Tobey Maguire, ALLISON THOMAS (Pleasantville) and ROBIN BISSELL (Pleasantville) serve as executive producers. Collaborating with Ross to re-create the world of the first decades of the 20th Century are director of photography JOHN SCHWARTZMAN, A.S.C. (The Rookie, Armageddon); two-time Oscar®-nominated production designer JEANNINE OPPEWALL (L.A. Confidential, Pleasantville); Academy Award®-nominated film editor WILLIAM GOLDENBERG, A.C.E. (Ali, The Insider); double Oscar®-nominated costume designer JUDIANNA MAKOVSKY (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Pleasantville); and Academy Award®-winning composer RANDY NEWMAN (Monsters, Inc., Toy Story). [More]

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks

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

Director: Gary Ross

Director: Gary Ross
Screenwriter: Gary Ross
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Gary Ross, Jane Sindell
Composer: Randy Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Reviews for Seabiscuit

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141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

An engaging and emotionally satisfying film despite its shortcoming.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
07/25/03
Jean Oppenheimer
Jean Oppenheimer
Dallas Observer

A well-crafted assemblage of pathos and rousing moments, solidly acted and handsomely shot -- but it's far from champion material.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
07/25/03
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

We've finally got our first real summer blockbuster, one that doesn't have explosions, special effects, or an adorable talking fish.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
07/25/03
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

The combination of these actors is amazing.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
07/25/03
Shirley Klass
Shirley Klass
Fantastica Daily

The film comes up a winner, wonderfully evoking the pleasures of the horse-race genre while breaking its mold.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/25/03
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

One of the best sports films of the past 10 years.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
07/25/03
E! Online

In a summer film season filled with plotless star vehicles and exploding sequels, Seabiscuit easily rides to the front of the pack.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/25/03
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

It offers up those lovely, exhilarating races. At these moments, it feels most like it's about horses, and their particular poetry.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/25/03
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

While fans of feel-good movies may make it a rousing hit, it won't satisfy anyone who values the surprise and suspense of real sporting events in the world we actually live in.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
07/25/03
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Bright, uplifting adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's runaway bestseller.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/25/03
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Seabiscuit may be a bit of cinematic comfort food, but it's elevated by an abundant sincerity.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
07/25/03
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Seabiscuit will satisfy those who have read the book, and I imagine it will satisfy those like myself, who have not.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/25/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Generally, Seabiscuit is a winner.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/25/03
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

After stumbling out of the gate, the film finally emerges as a moving feel-good story -- and captures the thrill and pounding clamor of horse racing in beautiful ways.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
07/25/03
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

Crosses the finish line as a convincing winner with its story of an underdog horse and three nobodies who join him in a quest that becomes an adventure for the whole country.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/25/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Seabiscuit canters handsomely around the track less like a scrappy race horse than a slightly overfed show horse, playing to the crowd, confident that there's no real competition breathing down its neck. It is right.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
07/25/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

Seabiscuit tells the true story of the horse that ended the great depression, cured blindness and revived a man’s dead son. Or, at least that’s the metaphor the film hopes to portray.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
07/25/03
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

Every time [William H. Macy] appears on screen, and only when he appears on screen, 'Seabiscuit' comes genuinely and delightfully alive.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
07/24/03
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

Seabiscuit is a godsend, an oasis in a summer of mindless spectacle. Here is a human story, an inspirational tale about real people -- and one special horse -- who conquer adversity without so much as a light saber.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
07/24/03
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

With a cast, a fillmaker and a story as inspirational as this, Seabiscuit should have either flown out of the gate or come charging late in the stretch rather than constantly waiting to make its move in the middle of the pack.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/24/03
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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