Secretariat movie, a dissapointment - Sorry but thats the way I feel

[katarine]

I am skeered to go b/c of the Disney element. I knew already it was not a ‘horse’ movie from the trailers. It’s too ‘pretty’, too dramatic. The real story is likely too multifaceted to tell in a Disney movie.

Calamber, color me lost on your socio-political ramblings. I’m in the camp of easy sell, chick flick, big red horse whom everyone knows by name. NO one outside of racing has a clue who Sham or Riva Ridge are, nobody,so the storytellers have no qualms about twisting them into something else, or leaving them out altogether. Their target demographic won’t know either way.

[Sing_Mia_Song]

[QUOTE=sk_pacer;5143226]
Aaaaaaah, Sing Mia Song, don’t you know ABC/Disney has a teleporter? Instant travel happens in many of their in house productions - you will see a character talking about going to some across country location or overseas, the next instant they are in the airport and the next settling into a hotel at the location. [/QUOTE]

The hilarious part is that they didn’t even do that much. Penny fires the trainer, turns to Miss Ham and says, “Where does Bull Hancock lunch?” Miss Ham replies, “In his private club.” [“in Kentucky and you’re in Virginia,” I added, out loud in a crowded theatre. :uhoh:].

Next thing you know, Penny’s waltzing into Bull’s gentlemen’s club in Lexington. Not an airport in sight.

Miss Ham has a teleporter as well, as she can apparently get from Doswell to Belmont in the blink of an eye!

[FreckleBeast]

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101006/REVIEWS/101009986

Roger Ebert gave it a good review, which surprised me. Oh well. Either way, I’ll see it. Even if it is Disney. (I know Roger Ebert isn’t horsey, so he wouldn’t know what’s accurate or not, but I enjoy his writing.)

[Hunter_s_Rest]

Repeat after me:
It.
Is.
Not.
A.
Documentary.

[system]

Movie was not that bad.
My this is because i love movies.

[Lori_T]

I saw it at a premier on Monday night. Sorry, I loved it! Yes, Hollywood glossed it over, as they usually do, but at least for once it was pretty accurate (although when I saw the groom bringing Secretariat a full bucket of oats the morning of the Derby, I did cringe!). But seeing the movie with a bunch of pony clubbers, several who had never seen the footage (I show the Secretariat documentary video every year at our pony club Christmas parties!), it was great to see them get so caught up in the movie, and we were all on the edges of our seats, cheering him on, even though we knew how it ends!
One of our kids remarked that the couple in front of them had no idea who Secretariat was! I was shocked when she told me about them…I mean, doesn’t EVERYONE know about Secretariat? So if this movie entertains and educates the general non-horsey person, then I consider this a great accomplishment!
I highly suggest getting the documentary, as it contains footage of his races.

[Laurierace]

Heck that’s nothing. I was in Nordstrom’s this spring and the sales woman was trying to help me shop and she wanted to know what the occasion was. I told her the Kentucky Derby and she had no idea what that was. This is in Baltimore, the home of the Preakness. You would think we would be a little more race savvy than cities without their very own jewel of the triple crown. She pointed me towards the prom dresses…

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;5142933]
Well if it makes you feel any better, they didn’t make this movie for “us.” Meaning people who already know the story. They made it for horse crazy kids and their moms who wouldn’t know a horse if it stepped on them.[/QUOTE]

their upper middle class subdivison mommies with delayed horse fantasies and their 9yo

I get this same feelings with cowboys movies, new or old…and movies from medieval times,
they are normally full of crap so far from the historical as to be humorous,

but a modern movies job is normally to reaffirm social standards of behavior thru morality messages in images that are familiar to the viewers…and to make money doing so

not to chronicle a great animal

Tamara in TN

[danceronice]

A movie’s job is to entertain and make money for the studio.

I can speak pretty safely to Disney’s motivation: money, money, gobs of money, and in conclusion, more money. We like money. We shareholders get VERY IRRITABLE when people stop making money for us (yes, I voted my shares to run Michael Eisner out of town on a rail back in the great Roy Disney Shareholder Revolt.) So I don’t care if it’s not a documentary. I care it’s entertaining and pretty and people go buy tickets.

[Sandy_M]

[QUOTE=Jumpin_Horses;5141213]
:lol::lol::lol:

AND “under worked”[/QUOTE]

One does wonder. Look how long Seattle Slew lived, and I understand he was exercised almost daily for most of his loong life. When I toured the Kentucky stud farms, I got the impression that the stallions hung out in the paddocks and bred mares. Period. Don’t know if that’s SOP, but it would seem the exercise Seattle Slew got obviously kept him in better shape than most.

[Sandy_M]

[QUOTE=Lori T;5145123]
I saw it at a premier on Monday night. Sorry, I loved it! Yes, Hollywood glossed it over, as they usually do, but at least for once it was pretty accurate (although when I saw the groom bringing Secretariat a full bucket of oats the morning of the Derby, I did cringe!). But seeing the movie with a bunch of pony clubbers, several who had never seen the footage (I show the Secretariat documentary video every year at our pony club Christmas parties!), it was great to see them get so caught up in the movie, and we were all on the edges of our seats, cheering him on, even though we knew how it ends!
One of our kids remarked that the couple in front of them had no idea who Secretariat was! I was shocked when she told me about them…I mean, doesn’t EVERYONE know about Secretariat? So if this movie entertains and educates the general non-horsey person, then I consider this a great accomplishment!
I highly suggest getting the documentary, as it contains footage of his races.[/QUOTE]

“pretty accurate?”

Penny C. was not present at Secretariat’s birth.
While Meadow Stables had some financial issues due to estate complications from PC’s father’s death, they were NOT on the edge of disaster.
They’d won two Triple Crown races with Riva Ridge when Secretariat was 2.
There was NO performance clause in the syndication contract, just the thought that his over-all value would diminish somewhat if he DID lose.
Sham and his connections were not “evil.”
There was no chicanery with regard to the coin flip that gave Chenery Secretariat.

But, heck! It’s a Disney movie. Accuracy? Tell me how you do the next time you try to pull a two horse steel trailer with a Morgan sports car (Horse in the Grey Flannel suit). ROFLOL

I’ll pass. At least Seabiscuit was for the most part believeable (aside from War Admiral becoming 17 hands when in reality he was only slightly bigger than Seabiscuit)

[wireweiners]

The reviewer on NPR Morning Edition gave it a good review. He said Diane Lane’s performance was terrific and that the movie was “an old fashioned, gentle, feel good movie”. Is it 100% historically accurate, of course not. Is it a movie you can take your kids to and have an enjoyable afternoon, absolutely. I nitpick the courtroom scenes in Law and Order all the time for fun, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the basic story line.

My 13 yo daughter’s boyfriend is suppose to meet us at the movie and sit with her. He didn’t know who Secretariat was either. I told DD that I didn’t know if she should have a boyfriend that ignorant. lol

I have a question for those of you who really know racing. I read William Nack’s book to prepare for the movie. I couldn’t help but wonder why Jimmy Sweat didn’t tell anybody about the abcess in Secretariat’s mouth prior to the Wood Memorial. Isn’t that something important enough to be reported to the trainer or assistant trainer? Seems like it would have saved everybody considerable stress and embarrassment if they would have scratched him from the Wood because of the abcess.

[Jumpin_Horses]

but, why not “chronicle a great horse”???

seriously, this was what I was expecting

after all the movie is called “Secretariat”… right?

as stated above in several other posts, they just totally missed the truth in SO many areas. so, I wont repeat all that.

Secretariat alone was VERY interesting. Disney could have put in fluff. i have no problem with that. but, why not the truth? the truth was BIG time fluffy.

there are way more interesting things about Secretariat then what Penny’s daughter was doing during those times.

did you know that Ronnie rarely had to use a whip on him? he let that horse run his own races.

did you know that Secretariat actually ran FASTER and faster with each furlong? (unheard of) :eek:

did you know Riva Ridge and Sham were some of the most amazing horses too?

heck even “Black Beauty” was about a “horse” (who didnt even really exist) and wasnt near as interesting of a horse as Secretariat. Dreamer (Mariah’s Storm) even got more justice to her story

why NOT do a story about him? after all, the name of the movie suggests just that… and, thats what I expected. and I guess thats why im so disappointed.

Secretariat is my lifelong hero. justice was NOT served to him in that movie.

I hope “dreamworks” gets a hold of the Ruffian story. hopefully, at least, THAT wonderful horse will get a honorable story

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=Jumpin_Horses;5145653]
but, why not “chronicle a great horse”???

because the average American movie ticket buying public could care less;)

which is why we have Indy films :lol:!!

Tamara in TN

[Elly_Mae_II]

Can anyone tell me why it is rated PG? Is there stuff in there inappropraite for little kids? 4-5 year olds shouldn’t go?

[Mags]

Strong language in bad French?

I liked the movie. Secretariat was a favorite of mine. Of course I wasn’t expecting much more than pretty horses galloping around a track. As this is a Disney film.

The French was very bad.

[katarine]

yeah ummm Disney is NOT in the biz of ‘telling the truth’. they are here to tell stories.

Come on, guys. You had to be living under a rock to expect any different. Yall do know Spirit is not a real horse, right?

[Jumpin_Horses]

[QUOTE=katarine;5145921]
yeah ummm Disney is NOT in the biz of ‘telling the truth’. they are here to tell stories.

Come on, guys. You had to be living under a rock to expect any different. Yall do know Spirit is not a real horse, right?[/QUOTE]

I dont get your point… of course Spirit wasnt a real horse (although he was based on the Kieger Mustang) but, SECRETARIAT WAS… so, whats your point… even given that… even Spirit (not being a real horse) got to tell HIS story… Secretariat did NOT…

come on! blaring gospel music instead of showing the greatest run of ALL TIME in all its splendor! you’ve got to be kidding…

Ive already contacted “Dreamworks” proposing that they do a “good Secretariat movie” and asking them to “pick up Ruffian too” while they are at it, cause if Disney does it, they will obviously screw it up.

[katarine]

It wuz a joke

[Jumpin_Horses]

[QUOTE=katarine;5146046]
It wuz a joke ;)[/QUOTE]

he he - :lol::lol::lol: