An old movie, but a fascinating true story. As Secretariat comes out, I go back to this film that isn't about a horse who dominated the Triple Crown and was a horse that was mostly unstoppable. This goes back to the depths of the Great Depression, when unemployment was at 20-30% and people had nothing to look to or look forward to. Seabiscuit was born I think in 1933, one of the deepest and darkest days of American history. He started racing in 1935. A horse, who at two years old, had an astounding and grueling 45 races where he only won fifteen of them. At the time, he caught the interest of a horse whisperer called "Silent Tom" a man who suffered for years in the old west when the new west was rapidly taking over. His employer, Charles Howard, was the opposite, a man who didn't introduce the automobile industry to the west, but fine-tuned it to make it a booming industry. A massive millionaire who had everything going for him except his son's death, a massive hole in his heart that haunts him through the rest of his life. When Tom and Howard get Seabiscuit, Tom sees something no one else has. And rapidly over time, people start to see it, too. If nothing else, they see exactly what they're going through in this horse. Watching a beat-up wreck of a horse rise from infamy to challenge the best horse of that time. From a book called the same title of the movie, Lauren Hillenbrand's book comes from the pages to show what the era was like. Not only for the horse, but for the trainer, owner and jockey also. It describes in detail what life is like for each individual without hammering it home to the point where you don't want to hear it anymore. The story of tragedy to triumph to tragedy again is amazing. I won't say what happens with the horse and jockey after the last tragedy, it's something to watch with your own eyes. The clothing and commentary is accurate and even in one case, they use the actual commentary from one of the races heard by millions of people over the radio. It's a great movie, and I recommend it to anyone.
