*** Official SEABISCUIT Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

The audience I was with also applauded during the conclusion of one of the races, and there was a smattering of applause at the end. That shows me that audiences were engaged in the film's story.

 

[Greg Br]

Saw it last night!

I am a horse racing aficianodo so I was very critical from the movie buff and the race enthusiast.

Film did really well at delivering the feel good story it was looking for. It came up a bit short on historical accuracy but thats a seperate subject.

Come Acadamy Award time you will see this up for cinemaphotography, it was well done with little from the c/g department, a rareity today.

I thought Cris Cooper was excellent again, and while it was a tough role for TM he pulled it off. Bridges played a role similiar to Tucker, trying to be the salesmen, but in the movie it helped the story quit a bit. I actually thought Elizebeth Banks was solid, it was surprising from her limited experience.

Theater was jam packed sunday night, several applauses and a bunch of teary eyed movie goer, and these were all adults.

Word of mouth will spread on this film, think 100 million is realistic.

On per screen capital it was second to spy kids and well ahead of Tomb Raider.

I give it 4 stars out of 5. Best movie "experience" of the summer.

 

[Christopher Bosley]

It's per screen average was actually better than Spy Kids (over $10k per screen to SK's $9k and change).

Hard to say if that would have held up if it had opened on 3500 screens as opposed to 1987, but that was never Universal's marketing plan in the first place.

It will add several hundred more this weekend, which should counter the minimal % drop.

 

[BryanZ]

Seabiscuit will have legs. The movie was simply fantastic! It is worth seeing a couple of times. Initially I was lost when they went from showing one family to the other during the introduction of characters but everything clicked in the end. My guess is it will play out more like Forrest Gump for the theatrical run. It will not be a movie that does well in the beginning (relatively speaking) but will end up being #1 in the box office for several weeks when it reaches that summit. This movie is now my must see movie for the summer.

 

[Matt Pasant]

Theater was jam packed sunday night, several applauses and a bunch of teary eyed movie goer, and these were all adults.

I was one of those. I think I actually cried 3 times in the film.

- When Seabiscuit and Pollard just run till he is tired
- The race at Pimlico
- The very end

BEAUTIFUL movie. I absolutely loved it.

-- Matt

 

[Christopher Bosley]

"So long Charley!" Best line of the year.

 

[Bill J]

Come Acadamy Award time you will see this up for cinemaphotography, it was well done with little from the c/g department, a rareity today.

I didn't think the cinematography was that great. I think it would have been better with some wider shots, especially during the racing scenes.

Is it me or was the large crowd at the very end of the film CGI? I could be wrong, but the people looked very two dimensional (like the Romans in Gladiator).

 

[Evan S]

"So long Charley!" Best line of the year.

If you read the book, Hillenbrand explains that this is exactly what Iceman Woofe exclaimed during the race and this is how the phrase got it's place in history. It's not made up for the movie.

 

[Karl_Luph]

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie with the family this weekend. Hopefully it will be playing in more theatres and won't be sold out like last weekend.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I went and saw this with my family at the Senator today. Impeccable presentation as always, and they had an awesome added bonus: an actual, never-before-seen Movie-Tone (or something I forget the name) newsreel concerning Seabiscuit from the 1940's!!! Try getting that kind of treat at a chain theater!! How cool is that? Damn I love the Senator.
Anyway the theater was pretty crowded, mostly with elderly folks, a group I think this film will really appeal to because it will remind a lot of them of times they've actually lived through. I think this one, both literally and figuratively, has legs. 100 mil should be well within the realm of possibility.

 

[Matt Pasant]

Does anybody know the cut of music that was playing when David McCullough was narrorating a segment on how FDRs New Deal was spreading, and optimism was growning.

I had heard it once before, in Any Given Sunday. It was mostly piano, I believe.

Any help is appreciated.

I definitly do not think it was part of Newmans score.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I've seen this film twice now, and still can't figure out the answer to this question:

What was really going on when Red asked Howard to borrow some money? I get the distinct feeling that something was cut from that scene, leaving me with no idea as to why he really needed the money.

 

[Bill J]

I had heard it once before, in Any Given Sunday. It was mostly piano, I believe.

I also remember hearing that music in Any Given Sunday at the beginning of the end credits, but I don't know its name.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

What was really going on when Red asked Howard to borrow some money? I get the distinct feeling that something was cut from that scene, leaving me with no idea as to why he really needed the money

Most jockeys lived from day to day, or race to race. They had no medical plans and when injured, which was quite frequently, were abandoned by the horse owners for whom they raced.

Pollard was generous to a fault to other jockeys and never had much money. Before his ride on Seabiscuit, he was a rather poor jockey and an even poorer prize fighter.

Howard recognized that Red Pollard had a special ability with Seabiscuit and also was a surrogate son for the one Howard lost. He was loyal and generous to Red, much more than the average owner would have been.

The one short scene condensed several pages from the book about Pollard's financial profligacy, and Howards loyalty.

 

[Hunter P]

Finally saw the movie and the theater was still packed. Lots of grey hairs present as everyone noted. They also applauded during some of the same key moments. Good flick.

What is up with the late appearance of Seabiscuit? He's the star of the movie that is named after him but he doesn't even have his first scene until almost an hour into the film? (just kidding of course.)

Serious question: Did Red's parents keep in touch with him like they promised to do? They seemed like such a close knit family that it would seem out of character to completely abandon him.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I saw this earlier tonight and thought it was terrible. Aside from the (well-done) racing scenes and anything with William H. Macy, every single remaining part of the film was trite and insulting to my intelligence. Every line of dialogue, every music cue, every anvil-over-your-head telegraphed-from-a-mile-away moment (e.g., Red and Seabiscuit with leg casts on in the same frame over...and over), every time the portable pinball game came out, every thing...was just a huge insult. Were I not to have a personal rule against it (and had I not been with others), I was ready to walk out of the theatre when the Pollard family was reciting memorized poetry at the dinner table. My instinct at that early moment, sadly, was borne out in spades.

My father dug it, though, which is why I went to see it with him the first place, so it certainly delivered on that front. Then again, he also loved the last film I saw with him, which was Jurassic Park III.

DJ

 

[Denward]

Is it me or was the large crowd at the very end of the film CGI? I could be wrong, but the people looked very two dimensional (like the Romans in Gladiator).

FYI, the crowd at "Pimlico" was heavily CGI. It was filmed at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, KY because it was easier to make Keeneland look old. There was a big casting call for extras to fill the crowd, and lots of people showed up for the audition. However, on the day of filming, the weather was unseasonably very cold and a lot of people didn't show up. The local news gave the whole thing a fair amount of coverage.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The people were blow-up dolls in many of the scenes of the crowds at the racetracks.

 

[Bambi M]

I finally was successful in dragging my boyfriend to go see this movie with me and he ended up enjoying it. That in itself made me like it even more. A bit long, but I didn't really notice.

 

[Holadem]

Is it just me or did the other Jokey look freakishly like Henry Fonda?! He even had much of his charisma!

--
H