Great movie

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2006)

I grew up in the New York metropolitan area in the 1950s and even after 20 years, Seabiscuit remained a legend (horse racing was and remains a rather big deal on the East Coast and it is one thing I miss living on the West Coast). My grandfather saw the November 1 match race at Pimlico and he spoke of it often. George Woolf's "So Long Charley" comment was a commonly used cliché among the children my age. I'd like to clarify an important point: Seabiscuit was not a mustang. I own two mustangs and they are wonderful horses and make great friends but racing is not their strength (endurance, agility, quickness, heart, bravery, and intelligence are their greatest strengths). Seabisuit was a thoroughbred race horse but never looked it.
This movie is a horse lovers movie but the story is also compelling and should gain and hold the interest of anyone who enjoys historical narratives. The movie is based on the book "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand (a wonderful book by the way) and although it frequently uses poetic license with facts it generally follows the threads of the book and historical reality. A few deviations from the book are worth noting: Howard was in San Francisco by 1906 and made a name for himself rescuing people using motor vehicles during the Great Earthquake. Red Pollard's family did not leave him with a horse owner but let him travel to race with a friend of the family. Pollard lost the sight in his right eye during a training race not a prize fight. There are other inconsistencies but none of them affect the quality and enjoyability of the movie, which focuses on the difficult times of the 1930s and how Seabiuscuit helped resurrect the self esteem and fortunes of those with whom he comes into contact. The elimination of the details is however unfortunate for anyone who enjoys such information but its inclusion certainly would have bogged down the movie and made for a less compelling plot line.
Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and Tobey McGuire give what are arguably the finest performances of their careers. The movie runs for 141 minutes but it never loses its pace. I challenge anyone to watch the final two races of this movie (the November 1 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral and the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap and not be moved. Could the match race been made even more compelling? Some think it could have but I have watched hundreds of races and considering how brief they are, I cannot imagine how the director might have created greater excitement.
The movie ends abruptly after the Santa Anita "Hundred Grander." Seabiscuit lived out the rest of his relatively short life and Ridgewood Ranch just south of Willits off State Route 101 (the place remains open to the public and is sort a museum devoted to Seabiscuit). The horse died in 1947 at age 14 and his owner Charles died a few years later, many saw of a broken heart over the loss of his great horse. Blood-Horse magazine ranked Seabiscuit 25 out of the top 100 thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century (his grandsire, Man O' War, was #1 and War Admiral #13, Phar Lap 22, and Secretariat #2). I have am unfamiliar with award selection criteria but undoubtedly any list of this type represents arbitrary opinion.