Hidalgo

Plot synopsis:
The movie starts off with a Frank Hopkins and his horse, Hidalgo, running a long distance race; they catch up to a snooty 'gentleman', race him, and beat him. Frank is having a victory drink in the saloon when a young army officer gives him orders to take to a high officer who is watching an Indian reservation, Wounded Knee. Frank gets there, sees the Indians, but just takes the orders to the officer. The orders are to take the weapons away from the Indians and pretty much get them to fight so they can be shot. Hidalgo turns Frank back towards the reservation when he hears gunfire and when he gets there, every Indian is dead.Eight months pass and Frank and Hidalgo are apart of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Frank's a drunk who is introduced as the "Hero of Wounded Knee". At one point, Frank is asked by one of the Indians in the show to help him save the mustangs because the army wants to kill them all since they aren't pure bred and since they are wild.After one show an Arabian man named Aziz and a British gentleman talk to Bill about his claim that Hidalgo is the greatest horse alive. Aziz's boss (Omar Sharif), the sheik, wants this claim to not be used anymore as he thinks his horse is the greatest. They offer Frank a challenge to race across the Arabian dessert to prove that Hidalgo is better. After some words of wisdom from Annie Oakley, Frank and Hidalgo set off for the Middle East.On the ship they encounter Lady Anne Davenport, who says that her mare has to win the race so she can win breeding rights to the Sheik's stallion.They arrive in the Middle East and Frank gets a servant who's punishment for stealing milk is to serve the "cowboy" during the race. The race begins with everyone racing like a bat out of hell, then they all slow down to a walk, and they walk, and they walk. Everyone keeps telling Frank that he should drop out. At one point a rider and his horse fall down a dune and the rider is forced to stab his horse. The rider riding the sheik's horse tells Frank it's against the rules to help his fellow riders. The sheik's rider gets to the first stop in first place and pays the persons guarding the well to not give Frank any water. When Frank gets there he is told there is no water to which he makes a comment about a group of soldiers guarding a dry well. He steals the water after trapping the guards under their tent. Soon after, a sand storm hits so he and Hidalgo have to take shelter in a ruin city.Their water is now filled with sand. They finally reach the half way point, which entails a days rest. During this time, Lady Davenport offers 30% of the winnings if he pulls out of the race. He tells Hidalgo this and that's the end of that. Same night, Frank goes back to his tent to find the sheik's only daughter there; she tells Frank a few tips to keep him and his horse alive. While she's in there, her bodyguard named Jaffa and Aziz come in and think she's been naughty with Frank. As punishment he's cuffed to a pole and is told 'he'll have the same thing happen to him as what happens to stallions when they aren't useful for breeding'. Bout this time, raiders attack the camp and so Frank is trying to fend off the man who's trying to cut off his parts while everyone else minus Aziz is fighting. Aziz steals the sheik's book on how he breeds his horses. Frank finally is freed by the sheik's daughter who's eventually kidnapped while everyone is still fighting. The sheik and Frank figure out that Aziz knows where she and the book are so Frank beats it out of him. She's with the sheik's nephew who wants the sheik's horse. Frank, Aziz, and Jaffa take a horse to the nephew's city. After the trade is made, the nephew sees black on his hands after he pets the horse, wrong horse. They flee, but not before Jaffa is shot by Aziz who then is shot by Jaffa before he can kill her. Back at camp, the sheik thanks Frank. The race continues.Lady Davenport and her group are traveling when they are "attacked" by the nephew. She tells the nephew to steal the sheik's horse, kill Hidalgo, and leave Frank to die in the desert so her mare can win the race. The nephew and his group chase Hidalgo and the sheik's horse. The sheik's horse gets away from them, but Hidalgo and Frank fall into a pit where Hidalgo gets a spear to the top of the leg, Frank cuts it out. He's then saved by a rider, who helps him get Hidalgo up. The nephew has a pair of cheetahs released and they attack. Hidalgo and the other rider's horse try to stomp them out of the way; Hidalgo succeeds. The other rider is then killed by the nephew, who turns his attention to Frank. They fight and it ends up with the nephew standing on one of his own traps. Frank gets his lasso out and ropes one of the spears that sticks up causing the nephew to fall in and be speared.Hidalgo is about dead and Frank's about to shoot him when 'ghost warriors' appear. The sheik's rider mocks him, then Hidalgo gets all better. Lady Davenport's horse is well in the lead; the sheik's horse gains, with Frank in the back. He soon passes the mare and heads for the sheik's horse. Frank and Hidalgo win and literally head for the beach which is a few yards away.The sheik's daughter and Frank talk, Frank and the sheik talk.Some time later...The army has a bunch of mustangs in a corral where they will be shot. Frank shows up and hands the officer an order that says to release all the horses cause they've been paid for. Frank used his winnings to buy them and set them free, keeping his promise to help his Indian friend from the beginning of the movie. Frank lets Hidalgo go free to run with the wild mustangs.

Tags: murder

Review:
The music was very moving and beautiful.Perhaps some people have become so jaded that a movie simply isn't complete unless there's a helicopter chase, an exploding car or two (or in this case, a wagon), a trip to the nearby strip club with the flashing lights(where all characters in search of answers seem to end up at), gratuitous sex scenes, oh yeah, don't forget to use the 'F' word and while we're at it: let take God's name in vain a few times for the sake of 'realism'.Hollywood needs to make more movies like this..
If you like horses, adventure, and epic films, this is a movie for you.
The picture talks upon Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) a real cowboy who participated with his horse called ¨Hidalgo¨ in an extraordinary racehorse : ¨ Oceans of fire¨, a 3.000 mile survival race across the risky Arabian desert .
The film is based on historic deeds and famous people , thus : the ¨Wounded Knee slaughter¨ (1890) ; besides , there appears : Buffalo Bill Cody (J.K.Simmons) , Annie Oakley (Elizabeth Berridge) and Indian chiefs: Eagle Horn (Floyd Red Crow Westerman) , Sitting Bull , Crazy Horse and Big Foot .
Themes of prejudice, equality, sexism, and human perseverance quietly lay a foundation for the rousing action and adventure that is being advertised.Man and horse in a survival conflict with nature is what hits one on a visceral level, and Viggo Mortensen and his remarkable mount draw you in.
It has all the excitement you could wish for in a western-type movie, and it has subplots that are truly interesting.Viggo Mortensen is perfect in his role of a half Sioux/half American rider that is struggling with finding out who he really is inside.
Though I highly doubt all the things that happened in the movie happened in real life as claimed by the makers of the film, I think the guy this movie is based on was probably a good story teller.
Viggo Mortensen of Lord of the Rings plays Frank Hopkins, a real-life cowboy, although probably much fictionalized in this movie.
The film also features good performances from Zuleikha Robinson, soon to be a star, I'm sure, Louise Lombard, and Adam Alexi-Malle, one of my favorite character actors (he was the guy who wrote Chubby Rain in the movie Bowfinger).
We were interested in the story and did a little research - the basic facts appear true (he did indeed take part in this race) although there is a liberal amount of poetic license, of course.Thought Omar Shariff played a very good part and the rest of the cast gave good support.All in all, a good movie to curl up and enjoy with your chosen loved one !.
I have no doubt that something like the race could have happened in which Hidalgo ran, but that is where the reality ends.Ignore the claim, and you can enjoy a good story, find yourself thinking this actually happened, and you might not like it too much..
As an admirer of wild horses and a female who happens to love westerns it was great to have a movie with those qualities.Not having to worry about the language or subject matter was awesome just hearing some of the children in the theater comment on things happening on the screen was incredible they were actually watching the movie not up running around.
Also newspaper interviews in Philadelphia Public Ledger in 1926 of Frank Hopkins which was made before Iraq existed made no single mention of the great Arab horse race.
Also the promotion of any particular horse sounds very suspicious, in this case a single breed that Mustang is good for long distance race is not true, in fact other breeds can also cross the country, such as the Pinto.
High points include some lovely scenery; Omar Sharif as a powerful Bedouin sheik; and, to some extent, Viggo Mortensen as Frank Hopkins, the half-Indian long distance rider who brings his Mustang, Hidalgo, to "Arabia" for a 3,000-mile race.
When _was_ then?If you are prepared to ignore the "based on a real..." horse dung, you will enjoy this rollicking adventure, cast much in the same genre as the ripsnorting and politically incorrect cowboy and indian movies of the 50's .
For "Hidalgo", what annoyed me was Viggo Mortensen's blue eyes in the head of Frank Hopkins, supposedly the son of an Indian chief's daughter.
Read Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance and you'll get the general idea.It's also a horse-lovers' film in a big way, from the mutually supportive working relationship between Frank and his paint horse, Hidalgo, to his use of the prize money from the race to save the Dakota mustangs from U.S. government extermination.
As a mixed breed himself, Frank has a personal perspective on the issue of "breeding," whether in horses or humans, and the film demonstrates in many ways, without ever making an issue of it, how irrelevant race, parentage or culture are to the value of an individual.
Frank and Hidalgo overcome the initial hostility of Arabs to his cultural "strangeness" with integrity, fortitude, and a love of horses that transcends cultural barriers and touches their human commonality.Take the kids to see this one, a thought provoking story with minimal violence and an excellent, overall non-sentimental respect for the natural world as well as the humans and animals that inhabit it.
I said "touching" in the meaning that something in it - humour, breathtaking adventures, worth of respect friendship of man and horse, magic of arabian desert and idea of will, both human and animal, that is the reason for success - all these are mixed in unique brew, called "Hidalgo".
For anyone that loves horses, a good old-fashioned Western, the Lakota people, the mystique of the Arabian culture or has a fear of the Muslim from ignorance, they will find this film to be a broadening and enlightening experience.
That, however, is also partially responsible for the film's downfall.Hidalgo is based on the supposed true story of Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen), a courier who carried the orders that led to the massacre of Wounded Knee, the same people who were part of his ancestral Native American family on his mother's side.
Hopkins accepts, but is unprepared for the brutal elements, the weather, the harsh geographical conditions, and the treachery of his fellow competitors.Hidalgo represents Viggo Mortensen's first leading role in a big-budget Hollywood production (true, he could be argued as the main character of the Lord of the Rings series, but that was more of an ensemble), which is probably one of the main reasons I looked forward to the film.
As expected, Mortensen delivers a decent performance, nothing particularly outstanding and certainly not near the level of his work as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, but a suitable turn that shows he has the chops to be a leading man (word of advice, though, he should probably speak up a bit, much of his dialogue is uttered in mumbles).But even though Mortensen makes a fairly dashing hero, virtually every other performance is bland or unmemorable, save for maybe the title horse himself, who is actually fairly endearing.
Thick accents from the majority of the cast also do little to clear up much of the movie's expository dialogue.The film moves at an often very slow pace, probably no surprise for a story that details a 3000 mile race in the desert, but what's most surprising is the utter lack of oomph and energy to the proceedings.
This ultimately results in little more than Hopkins and his horse trudging along the desert sands for over an hour of the film's running time, and this gets boring quickly.To be fair, there are a few decent to solid action sequences, particularly the rescue that leads to an exciting swordfight/shootout and a later climactic encounter with a treacherous prince and his henchmen in the desert, but the action also boasts its share of clunkers as well, namely the poorly choreographed raid in which the Sheikh's daughter is kidnapped.
However this movie exceeded my expectations on some departments and let them down in others.The major problem was the length because even though you don't really get bored you realise after the film that not really much happened in this film in so much time.A nagging problem was the casting of vigo mortesen as lead, he is a great actor and fits the role perfectly IF you ignore the fact that he is half red Indian.Also as he is a person who is so confused as to his roots,we could have definitely had more character building in such a long film.The locations and sets are breath taking and even though we have a whole lot of stereotypes it is carried of with panache.Other than that this movie has feel good and rustic factor about it, and the only thing i could have asked for more is a shorter film.Good movie worth watching once more of a 6.5/10..
Viggo Mortensen stars in the action packed film, Based on a true story Hidalgo revolves around the life of Frank T.
Hopkins who with his trusty Mustang horse Hidalgo entered a grueling test of courage in a 3,000 mile Arabic race "Ocean Of Fire" along with many other fine riders.Mortensen plays the role perfectly as Hopkins and fresh from his The Lord Of The Rings Character (Aragon) he still has the skills with horses, In this case Hidalgo.
When an Arabian sultan hears of this he feels that the title of "Fastest" needs to be approved and Hopkins is asked to enter the Ocean Of Fire race to prove his horses title.Directed by Joe Johnston (Jurrasic Park 3) and also including a strong cast, He brings the story to life along with really impressive special effects and some beautiful camera shots with the horses Hidalgo is a film worthy to your collection..
Having become a fan of Viggo Mortensen due to the lord of the rings trilogy, i set out to see this film with high expectations, and was a bit let down.Being a "horsey" person, I did find the film entertaining, but the plot did get lost in the middle and it was quiet slow to get started, However the main race sequences were enjoyable, and the connection between horse and rider was clear, making the film moving when Hidalgo has a brush with death.
Do cowboys ever do anything but feel guilty, get drunk and become hucksters?But it's when we get to Arabia that the film really loses it for me because all of the Arabs are portrayed at best as cliches (yes, even Omar Sharif's character), and at worst as racist caricatures, including the puerile attitude toward Islam.Sadly, with very little effort the film could have just as easily developed real characters and then the horse would have had something to work with..
The fact that it's based on a true story makes it even better, there is some interesting history that I learned about that if I had not seen this movie, would have never known.
Suddenly a lot of the unbelievable things in the film made sense.The action scenes are pretty good, but it's confusing to follow who's winning and losing the race.
It is difficult to imagine that Disney would fund such a film and display it as "Based on a True Story" Such movies should never be made.
Only if you go with some knowledge of what the truth may have been.The story, as was recorded in Frank Hopkins' unpublished memoirs, tells of a man who, despite overwhelming odds, wins one of the greatest horse races of all time and becomes an American legend.
For years Frank Hopkins had claimed to be one of the greatest horse riders the world had ever seen  now it was time to put his foot his mouth was and compete in a race that not only test his endurance, but his sense of pride and honor as well.
But you also feel confidence that in the end their strong will and endurance will succeed over prestigious bloodlines, heritage, and even Providence.With breathtaking shots of the landscape (the movie was predominantly shot in Morocco), endless desert, dunes, and sunsets director Joe Johnston created a fantastical and authentic fairytale alike that beautifully breaks with the usual stereotypical adventure story 'almost immortal and flawless hero wins, kills the evil, rescues the good, gets the girl, kiss, the end'.I would absolutely recommend this movie to everybody who likes action-filled yet subtle entertainment.
This film purports to be the adventures of a man named Frank Hopkins, a mixed race cowboy who lived during the late 19th century through much of the 20th century.
But the story about Hidalgo, how it was born, how it was trained, the same story filmed with a different view point, focus in the horse, when it is about the cowboy, Frank Hopkins and an adventure in the middle of Arabia.
Anyway, fate intervenes - an Arab Sheikh (Omar Sharif) has taken an interest in long-distance horseman Hopkins and his wild mustang, Hidalgo, and soon the two are crossing "the great water" to compete in a prestigious horse race across the Arabian desert, against a different breed of horse – and horseman – altogether.In "Hidalgo" breeding is everything.
A 3,000 mile race across the Arabian desert between the fastest and finest horses is the story line of this beautiful picture.
There truly are some spectacular moments in this movie!Viggo Mortensen probably wasn't the best choice for Frank Hopkins.
Whilst the cast probably played more to the females in the audience - Mortensen for my age group and Omar Sharif for my Mum - the real driver in this movie was the horses.
As someone who is just coming to terms with liking horses after about 30 odd years of being afraid of them, this was a one way ticket to Pony Heaven.The sequences of the race, the wild horses and particularly the closing moments of the race had me in tears (which blew my chances with the cute girl I was sitting next to) and I wanted to get up and shout that horses ROCK!The last moments of the film and the release of the wild horses would have seen me ripping up my seat and running up and down the aisle but the way was blocked by serial toilet goers.Go see the movie, enjoy it, don't think about it.
What a nice change to see a movie with a great story line and fantastic (real) actors such as Omar Shariff.
It riffs off a similar premise as "The Last Samurai" in the lead character's disillusionment (not Hidalgo, that's the horse - Viggo plays Frank Hopkins) over the Indian Wars and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show,  but uses that more effectively for self-discovery as his mother was a Native American.
And then there's the 3,000 mile desert race.Don't worry the good guy triumphs, end of story.I think the true value of this movie is that it contains a portrayal of Arabic people as honorable (except for a few bad apples).
It includes an interesting parallel implied between the Arabic tribes and Native American ones at times.Overall I would say this movie met my expectations...a nice family film with light moments and inspirational ones.
Even the special effects featuring a dust storm and a locust swarm look as if they were cut and pasted straight from The Mummy series.Had the movie been simplified as an elemental struggle with a man and his horse against impossible odds it may have worked better, but by throwing in sub plots like rescuing the daughter of the Sheikh before sundown to avoid castration was flat out ridiculous.As the Sheikh, Omar Shariff is very charming and eats up the screen every moment he's on it.
Its importance as a film is chiefly in giving Viggo Mortensen the experience of playing a cowboy -- experience that he would later put to good use in Appaloosa.Mortensen plays Frank Hopkins, a former Pony Express courier, turned Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show actor, turned long distance horse racer in the Ocean of Fire--a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian desert.
An excruciatingly awful start gives way to a highly enjoyable little picture as real-life pony express rider Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy fame) enters a race with the titled horse in 1890 Arabia.
Give this film a pass and try a good horse movie like Seabiscuit, Phar Lap, or My Friend Flicka..
The best actor in the movie was the horse.The producers of this film must think the audience are fools.
Hopkins and his mustang, Hidalgo that competed on a long distance Middle Eastern race called itself "Ocean of Fire", against the best pure- blooded Arabian horses.
The film was inspired by the American legend Frank Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo.
Though the film was more about Frank Hopkins and the horse had a good influence on the story as the film title suggests.
I also enjoy Omar Sharif as the Arab leader with mixed feelings about Viggo in this tale of an American cowboy with a painted mustang engaged in a long distance horse race across Saudi Arabia.
I don't like the "based on a true story" line unless the movie is essentially grounded in the real deal.
Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) is a long distance rider on his mustang Hidalgo.
Viggo Mortensen plays the lead character (although the movie is named after the horse), however, his performanace is too dry.
All the parts in Hidalgo were well cast and performances were very good, but the reasons to see this movies are Viggo and the horse.Hidalgo is suitable for all ages.
Viggo Mortensen alone makes the movie worth seeing, but stellar performances by the likes of Malcolm McDowell and Omar Sharif just add to the pleasure of the film.
And Mortensen's obvious real life affection for the horse makes Frank Hopkins dedication to Hidalgo ring true and feel real.