The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, Dylan Walsh, Nelsan Ellis
Behind every legend lies an impossible dream. Witness the spectacular journey of an incredible horse named Secretariat and the moving story of his unlikely owner, a housewife who risked everything to make him a champion.
As the film opens Penny Chenery, her husband and kids receive bad news that her mother has passed away. Upon arriving at the funeral at the family-owned horse ranch she begins to see suspect that some people were starting to take advantage of the family business wise ever since her father began having Symptoms of dementia. Everyone around her including her husband tells her to sell the ranch and move on but she decides to stick it out and begins by firing the trainer and hiring one who has a good reputation and decides at first anyway to at least pay close attention till the ranch is back on it's feet again and the rest is history. If you're old enough to remember 1973 then you know the Impact this amazing horse had not only on the racing front but also on an entire nation that was taken in by this wonder known as Secretariat. When it comes to family entertainment "Disney" stands alone in providing the best films for the genre and this film is just another example of that. To go into any kind of lengthy detail on what happens in the film would only ruin the enjoyment for those waiting to see when it comes to DVD and Blu-ray on Jan. 25th so I will avoid those and talk more about the film itself. The film is not just the story of Secretariat, it is also the story of this woman, Penny who challenges a male dominated sport and comes out on top. This is a woman who is strong, determined and charismatic and one who would fight for what she believed in regardless of the cost, a role model to everyone including her kids. Her and her prize horse shared a certain bond with each other and the horse responded to her in a very positive way. Secretariat was a fast horse that many felt could never win the triple crown because even though he was fast he did more have the stamina it required to run in these three championship races because they were much longer than anything he ran in before. But he seemed to have many of the same characteristics as his owner, he was strong, proud and seemed to have a fire burning inside him to simply show everyone that ever doubted him that he was indeed the best. The cast is perfect here, Diane Lane is wonderful as Penny and John Malkovich is his terrific self as the newly hired trainer, Lucien Laurin. The rest of the cast including Dylan Walsh as Penny's husband, Jack and Margo Martindale as Miss Ham, an assistant are both great in their roles as well. In fact the entire supporting cast was brilliant from top to bottom. Like all movies I am sure there were some liberties taken with the story to make it more family friendly and the story also avoids going into details about what it takes to run such a ranch and the horse racing business in general but I was fine with that because it focused on the two main characters in Penny and Secretariat which is what the movie is about after all. There has been many great athletes in our time including the likes of Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth but Secretariat stands right there beside them, he was like not other that came before or after and we will most likely never see another like him again. The film has to be considered for several Oscars including Diane Lane who gives the best performance of her career here. I also loved the way the filmmakers used the latest technologies at hand to recreate the triple crown races instead of using stock footage, it really puts you there in the grand stands. Feel good movie of the year comes to mind and so does inspirational and exciting. "Secretariat" is a film the entire family can enjoy together over and over again, most movies are watch now buy if you really enjoy them but I think this is one to own.
The film will be available on DVD and DVD/Bluray Combo pack and both will come loaded with Special Features that include:
BD
Heart of A Champion
Choreographing the Races
A Director's Inspiration: A Conversation with The Real Penny Chenery
Audio commentary by director Randall Wallace
7 Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Randall Wallace
Secretariat multi-angle simulation
Music video - AJ Michalka "It's Who You Are"
DVD
Heart of A Champion
3 Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Randall Wallace
Music video - AJ Michalka "It's Who You Are"
You can order the DVD HERE and the Combo Pack HERE.
Released by Walt Disney Studios
**** Out Of *****