Just saw Seabiscuit - eh

I've been looking forward to it for awhile. I loved the book.

The movie was just... sorta... eh. Good, but a letdown from the book. They took a great historical book and turned it into a sappy story.

Anyone else read the book and LIKE the movie?

and it was super. I liked the movie but it wasn't as fab as I had hoped. Still, the hosre wasn't an android from the future, so it had some redeeming qualities.

I would've liked it.

When I heard David McCollough doing the voice-over at the beginning of the movie, my hopes were raised that it WOULD tend more toward a documentary-style. But it didn't.

I have not seen the documentary, but heard it is excellent, including a much better depiction of the match race against War Admiral than was presented in the movie.

The book was wonderfully detailed. In the movie, Seabiscuit's owner selects a new wife, a trainer and a jockey within maybe 7 minutes. Then 'Biscuit wins about five major California stakes in a one minute flash sequence. That was critical and they glossed over it completely. Seabiscuit lost plenty of races, and wasn't exactly Native Dancer for consistency. The perfectly timed winning streak that captured the imagination of the country and put the pressure on Triple Crown winner War Admiral for a match race was actually much more unlikely than beating the Admiral itself.

Plus all the scenes involving the track and racing fans were remarkably flawed. The applause is not appropriate to what is happening, or what would ge going on during an actual race. Several of us were laughing about that one Saturday at Saratoga, during an afternoon Empire Maker was upset at 1-5 odds in the Jim Dandy. As a gag, we kept screaming long after the race, as per the movie. Everyone looked at us like we were wacko.

I read an article in the Daily Racing Form regarding the horses who portrayed Seabiscuit. There were several, not just one. They were purchased for $2000 or less by scouts for the movie, who were looking for specific traits. One could accelerate very rapidly, and was used for the scenes in which Seabiscuit overcame a deficit. But the primary "Seabiscuit" was a horse who had recently retired, with one cheap win in about 16 starts. But he was very calm and could handle all the crowds and screaming, without a flinch. The director had two young daughters, and that horse is going to be retired to his farm and used as a riding pony once the daughters are older.

but they had to put a hokey prostitutes-in-Mexico scene in to get an R rating. Quite a dissappointment, but I like all the actors who were in it. Wished they had a chance to show what they could do.