Seabiscuit

Making a genuinely stirring, unabashedly all-American feel-good movie has to be one of the most difficult, precision tasks in modern cinema. But writer-director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) beautifully sidesteps contemporary cynicism in this high-minded, stand-up-and-cheer crowd-pleaser based on the bestselling book by Laura Hillenbrand, magically invoking the warm, gratifying, can-do spirit of those uplifting films that once helped moviegoers briefly forget the Great Depression. The miracle success story of a scrappy, too-small steed and his even scrappier, too-large jockey (Red Pollard, played with warmth and tenacity by Tobey Maguire) who together came to dominate and popularize horse racing in the late 1930s, the film is a metaphor for the underdog hope of the era that it captures. From its rambling, History Channel-like prologue through its gorgeous, extraordinary, close-up race footage, to its genuinely earnest performances (Maguire is joined by Jeff Bridges as the horse's risk-taking owner and Chris Cooper as his earthy trainer), Seabiscuit may take place in a romanticized, simplified world (Pollard's drinking and the fact that horseracing revolves around gambling have been whitewashed), but that's just because as a spiritual homage to old-fashioned Hollywood, that kind of modern biopic nitty-gritty isn't needed--or welcome. Highly recommended. [Note: Available in both widescreen and full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Gary Ross and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, the 15-minute making-of featurette “Bringing the Legend to Life,” the 15-minute “Seabiscuit: Racing Through History” featurette with archival newsreel footage and interviews, a five-minute “Anatomy of a Movie Moment” step-by-step script-to-screen process overview, a five-minute “Photo Finish: Jeff Bridges' On the Set Photographs” slideshow-style featurette, promo materials (including a soundtrack spot), production notes, cast/filmmaker bios, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid biopic.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—May 26, 2009—Universal, 141 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2003's Seabiscuit boasts a great transfer and includes DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to the standard DVD release, including audio commentary with director Gary Ross and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, the A&E-aired “The True Story of Seabiscuit” (45 min.), “Winners Circle: The Heroes Behind the Legend” cast featurette (20 min.), “Seabiscuit: Racing Through History” (15 min.), a 15-minute “making-of” featurette, an “HBO First Look” segment on the film (13 min.), “Photo Finish: Jeff Bridges' On-Set Photographs” montage (6 min.), “Anatomy of a Movie Moment” (5 min.), “The Longshot” special message from Buick (3 min.), “Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral: The 1938 Match Race” archival footage (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a winning Blu-ray debut for this fine biopic of—to semantically mix breeds—an underdog horse.]