23 May 2012

Not only for horse lovers

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) Secretariat - Great opening: God's sharing with Job with reprise in running of Belmont Stakes.A Family Story of love and commitment beautifully presented by Diane Lane and cast.Remarkable story of the "greatest racehorse" at birth and in three amazing races.The charm of seeing owner Penny C Tweedy's 1973 picture inserted into the 1973 action.Yeah I loved it! Over 13 - yes, I remember those 1973 races; now to borrow a phrase, delighted to see and hear the "rest of the story."P.S. Don't miss the bonus "The Making of a Race Horse" on DVD.Actually I bought this DVD from Amazon.com - preordered and got 2 of them.

Bob Bloom

23 May 2012

Even though the outcomes of the races run by Secretariat are history, you still will cheer this magnificent animal and his extraordinary owner.

20 May 2012

Enjoyed with my grand daughter

It's hard to find a movie I enjoy equally as well with my grand daughter, but this is one. This is an adult movie that kids will like, rather than the other way around.

19 May 2012

Unbelievable

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) The movie in its self was excellent,BUT,the song they chose for the end of the race was terrible and in my opinion,ruined the ending of the picture.they could have had a much better song like seabiscuit..I don't know what they were thinking..but that's my opinion..I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.its great.. Starlite

ccthemovieman-1

19 May 2012

Feels Good Is Nice Looking, But........

This was a nice movie, a feel-good film, even if you knew everythingabout what the great race horse did back in 1973. Having read severalbooks on Secretariat, I was well familiar with owner, trainer, jockeyand horse but I was curious how Disney was going to portray them onfilm. They made a pretty, but very flawed movie.Generally-speaking they did all of the major players favors by makingthem all - Penny Tweedy, Lucien Laurin, Ron Turcotte and Secretariat -look very good. Laurin and Turcotte, by the way, sounded and actedtotally different in real life. The worst hatchet job was on "PanchoMartin," the owner of "Sham," Secretariat's Triple Crown rival. In reallife, Pancho was nowhere near as arrogant and nasty as portrayed onfilm.Although Diane Lane is fine as Penny Tweedy, I thought John Malkovichas the most interesting. (Malkovich has a habit of getting ourattention no matter what role he plays on screen.) As with most horsestories (i.e.Seabiscuit, Dreamer, etc.) these stories arebeautifully-filmed, as this Disney effort is no exception.The only thing that bothered me was making the story primarily aboutMrs. Tweedy, instead of the horse. Calling Mrs. Tweedy a "hero," forsticking to her guns and keeping faith that Secretariat would turn outto be a champion is wrong, too. Excuse me, but a mother who stays awayfrom her three kids and husband for long stretches to tend to a horse,is not admirable, much less a hero. Her family is what she should havebeen concerned with first, not a horse. I'm not surprised Disney turnedthe story into feminist propaganda.Yet, in all, being a horse racing and Secretariat fan, I enjoyed it.

Jim Lane

19 May 2012

... you will believe a horse can act.

Kevin McCarthy

18 May 2012

The film's formulaic nature was ultimately saved by Randall Wallace's stunning horse racing sequences. Even though we know the ending, I still found myself cheering.

17 May 2012

A movie that makes you feel good

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) Secretariat is one of those movies that just makes you feel good. If you think that it is just a rehash of Seabiscuit you owe it to yourself to give it a try. This film is like Seabiscuit in that it is encouraging and uplifting but Disney Studios ran their own approach and the result is a movie that is both entertaining and uplifting without being "preachy".

budoinst@aol.com

17 May 2012

Nice movie

I know somewhat of Secretariat in reality. I was at the Preakness thatyear and saw the great horse run. I saw on TV the Derby and Belmontwins. I saw the great horse at Claiborne Farms after he was retired. Isaw his grave just after he was put down with laminitis.So much can be stated about this incredible and beautiful creature. Heknew he was a star! We may well never see anything like him again. I amfortunate that I did many times.To the movie. There is nothing ever quite correct in film. The premiseof selling him was skewed for the movie, but in the long term theshares and monies were correct. The story about the Chenery's is alsoquite true. Hollis, the brother, was a professor and intellectual andwas not at all into horses. He wanted to get rid of Meadow, the farm,and take the money. Penny's husband was a straightforward guy and wastotally against the farm and wanted it sold. Only by Riva Ridge winningof two of three Triple Crown races the year prior to Secretariat'ssaved the Meadow and Chenery. Eddie Sweat was the closest toSecretariat all his life. He was with him every step of the way untilboarding the plane to calm down the horse on his final trip toKentucky. There is a famous picture of him crying after handingSecretariat over in the wonderful book "The Horse God Created".In the end, there were many things correct about the movie and a fewnot so much. The racing scenes were sometimes good but the majorBelmont race could have been more exciting. I thought it over all verygood and reasonably concise for a two hour film. I would see again forsure.

16 May 2012

Good Story...But Mostly Fiction

As a young sports writer, I remember watching Secretariat win the Kentucky Derby in 1973 from the Churchill Downs pressbox. I'd also seen Riva Ridge -- owned by Meadow Stable, trained by Lucien Lauren and ridden by Ron Turcotte -- win the Derby the previous year. Meadow Stable had a lot of big-name horses. After Secretariat lost the Wood Memorial, Mrs. Tweedy was quoted as saying she should have entered Upper Case (a speed horse from Meadow Stable) in the race instead of or along with Secretariat. If the stable was in such a corner financially as portrayed in the movie, it would have been entering horses in high-paying stakes races left and right rather than thinking the only option was selling its bellcow. But even knowing all this, I enjoyed the movie as fictional entertainment with some facts thrown in. And Secretariat certainly changed the sports scene in America by becoming the first triple crown winner in a quarter century, returning horse racing to the headlines, at least for a while, with Seattle Slew following up with another triple crown win the following year and the Foolish Pleasure/Ruffian match race a couple of years later keeping the Sport of Kings on the cover pages of sports sections nationwide.

11 May 2012

Exhilarating!

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) Secretariat was a wonderful movie! It is inspiring on many levels. First, the events were essentially true! Second, the marvelous power of her performance! Third, the breaking of the all male place in this sport. Fourth, the unbelievable power and heart of this wonderful horse! I can go on forever, suffice to say it's one of the best movies I've ever seen!

10 May 2012

Secretariat

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) After looking at the dvd of Secretariat several times i enjoy it more & moreI actually saw Secretariat's races on TV as he won each race, i have never forgottenhis greatness! When he ran the Belmont, i thought he decided to just show the otherhorses in the race THIS IS HOW TO GOOOO! The movie captures all of the great momentsof his career as well as the people who so believed in him, the actors were perfect intheir roles. To me it is a great, happy, time which i for one, need to revisit! Whata Happy Day that was!

09 May 2012

Secretariat

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) The DVD of Secretariat I received from Amazon was defective.It was difficult to start and three quarters thru the pixelsstarted to appear on the screen and finally the screen froze.If this technology is not reliable, it is not convenient for me tobuy this type of product online.

Emanuel Levy

09 May 2012

Based on the true story of a stubbornly committed housewife and her race horse, Secretariat is an overly explicit, extremely old-fashioned inspirational tale, elevated from the routine by Diane Lane's compelling lead and Malkovich's eccentric turn.

09 May 2012

Excellent Movie

This review is from: Secretariat (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) Everything about this movie is absolutely perfect: cooperation and inclusion of the family, cinematography, soundtrack etc. The end result is a movie that draws you in and keeps you spellbound even though the end result is a well-known part of history. I am not ashamed to say that I have watched this movie numerous times and it doesn't get old!

09 May 2012

The People Around the Horse

This review is from: Secretariat (DVD) While this movie is named "Secretariat", it really does not have that much to do with the actual horse Secretariat but mostly about the people around him. As a native Virginian who watched this horse's career with avid interest, I found mistakes and controversies that should have been brought out, i.e., the fact that the Preakness record was actually bested by Secretariat (all those stop watches could not have been wrong) but the stewards' faulty clock was accepted as the official time. Only the Triple Crown was presented and not the remainder of his racing career. All in all, however, it was an "all right" movie.

Moira MacDonald

08 May 2012

This one's all about the horse -- and he's a winner.

Amy Biancolli

07 May 2012

Just how much you enjoy Secretariat, Disney's glossy-coated biopic of the celebrated racehorse, depends in large part on how much you know of his career. If you know zilch, you'll be thrilled.

Mike Russell

05 May 2012

The actors and the film's genial nature help it go down fairly easy. The racing scenes are well-shot and surprisingly thrilling, given the preordained outcome.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

05 May 2012

A wonderful family film about the greatest race horse who ever lived that gets out of the gate quickly and impresses with its big heart and idiosyncratic characters.