Seabiscuit

"The hopes of a nation rode on a long shot."

2003 2h 21m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 965

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.

“The hopes of a nation rode on a long shot.”

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Cast

Tobey Maguire
Red Pollard
David McCullough
Narrator
Jeff Bridges
Charles Howard
Chris Cooper
Tom Smith
Elizabeth Banks
Marcela Howard
Gary L. Stevens
George Woolf
Eddie Jones
Samuel D. Riddle
William H. Macy
Tick Tock McGlaughlin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Gary Ross
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $87M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gary Ross, shot by John Schwartzman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Randy Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Goldenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tobey Maguire and David McCullough and Jeff Bridges carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The hopes of a nation rode on a long shot.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0329575 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gary Ross directs. John Schwartzman behind the camera. Randy Newman scores. William Goldenberg cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $87M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 23 years ago.
3Directed by Gary Ross, shot by John Schwartzman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Randy Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor William Goldenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Tobey Maguire and David McCullough and Jeff Bridges carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The hopes of a nation rode on a long shot.".
8IMDB entry: tt0329575 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "based on novel or book", "horse race", "american dream", "horse".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Schwartzman
Original score: Randy Newman
Editing: William Goldenberg
Production design: Jeannine Oppewall
Costume design: Judianna Makovsky
Makeup / hair: Carolyn Elias
VFX supervisor: Richard R. Hoover
Stunt coordinator: Silvio Wolf Busch
Runtime: 141 min · 2h 21m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $87,000,000
Box office: $148,300,000
Return: 170% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Seabiscuit (2003)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Gary Ross

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-01-31
★ 7/10
Hope for the broken via a quirky, forsaken race horse During the Depression, an undersized, “lazy” horse named Seabiscuit becomes a champion, lifting the spirits of both its team and that of the nation. Jeff Bridges plays the owner, Tobey Maguire the jockey and Chris Cooper the trainer. Valerie Mahaffey is on hand as the owner’s wife. Based on the real story, “Seabiscuit” (2003) is reminiscent in tone of another timeless historical drama starring Bridges, “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988) by Francis Ford Coppola. I prefer the underrated “Tucker” because it’s snappier and less vague, but “Seabiscuit” ain’t no slouch. Like the historically-based “Jeremiah Johnson” (1972) the manner of storytelling respects the intelligence of the viewer to sometimes read between the lines. One of the best parts is the build-up to the race with War Admiral and the thrilling race itself. Not knowing the real-life events, a couple of the twists were surprising. The first act, however, seems bogged down by extraneous details about the owner. The film runs 2 hour, 19 minutes and was shot in California, New York and Kentucky. GRADE: B
John Chard2019-05-26
★ 9/10
It wears its sentimental heart firmly on its fetlock. As the depression era kicks in, Americans were grasping for any sort of inspiration they could get, enter equine supreme, Seabiscuit. Considered broken down, too small and untrainable, Seabiscuit went on to become a bastion of great racehorses and in the process bringing solace to those closest to it. Back in 2003 upon its initial release, critics were very divided as to the merits of Seabiscuit as a picture. Some were concerned that this adaptation from Laura Hillenbrand's highly thought of novel missed too many crucial elements, others were merely touting the tired old charge of the film purely baiting Oscar (something that is levelled at every film in history about hope and second chances), the more astute critics of the time however lauded it as the delightful and inspiring piece that it is. It would be churlish of me to not agree that Seabiscuit is laced with sentiment, rookie director Gary Ross barely wastes a chance to tug the heart strings and paint an evocative sequence, but if you have got it in you to accept this true story for its base emotional point, then it is one hell of a wonderful experience. Seabiscuit is not just about the equine beauty of the picture, it's also a fusion of three men's personal wavering, who for one reason or another need the horse for far more important crutches than those provided by financial gain, make no bones about it, Seabiscuit is a very human drama. Knowing how the picture will end never once becomes a problem, because the historical accuracy in the story makes one yearn for that grandiose ending, one to gladden the heart in the way it must have done to thousands upon thousands of Americans back in the depression era day. Ross wisely chooses to filter in as much realism as he possibly can, archive stills and narration serve as exceptional points of worth to the narrative structure. Then there is the first rate cast to fully form the emotional complexities that Seabiscuit provides. Jeff Bridges, Tobey Maguire (waif like), Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, top American jockey Gary Stevens and a splendidly jaunty William H Macy, all can rightly feel proud of their respective work on this picture. Yet it's with the thundering race sequences that Seabiscuit really triumphs best, magnificent beasts hurtling around the race track are excellently handled by Ross and his cinematographer, John Schwartzman, whilst a nod of approval must go to the sound department's efforts, for this is definitely one to give your sub-woofer a work out. Seabiscuit was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning none, perhaps the Academy also felt like those critics who thought it was trying too hard for a Golden Statue? But now after the dust has settled some years later, it pays to revisit Seabiscuit and judge it on its own emotional terms, for it's a tremendously well crafted picture that is of course as inspirational as it most assuredly is tender, a fine fine picture indeed. 9/10