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Film Title: Secretariat

 Best for ages: 7 & Up

Movie Website:  Click Here

Year Released: 2010

Rated: PG (US)

The Review

   Disney has put out a fair share of great films.  Then, but very few are called classics. Most of their classics are animated films, but there are some live-action films under the Disney banner that  are considered the top-notch classics. The next great Disney classic is a film that was released in theaters in 2010, and hits stores on Blu-ray and DVD on January 25^th.

   Secretariat is the amazing true story of a race horse, his owner and the people who helped make him a horse-racing legend. A mother of four, Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), who has lost her mother.  At her mother's wake, she has a talk with her father (Scott Glen) who is dying.  Penny agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge.  In an agreement that her father has made with a wealthy millionaire, Ogden Phipps (James Cromwell), who buys race horses.  They flip a coin to see who will get the right to pick first out of two horses born on the farm. Ogden wins, but in the end, picks the other horse. Penny gets Secretariat, whom they had called Big Red. She hires one of the best known trainers, Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich), and jockey Ronnie Turcotte (Otto Thorwarth) to train Big Red and get him ready for the races. With the help of ranch hand Eddie Sweat (Nelsan Ellis) and the Chenery family assistant, Miss Hamm (Margo Martindale) together they help create the dream and legend that is Secretariat.

   This is one of the rare occasions where I’m going to say that a film is perfect in every way. Secretariat is a film that blew me away both from a emotional and filmmaking perspective. The script is a truly touching heartwarming story. I felt emotion with every scene, I was happy when there were happy moments and sad during the sad ones. I even cried at some of the most dramatic scenes. This is a film that really hits you in the heart and is perfect in every sense of the word.

    The acting is led by an unbelievable cast. This is by far the best performance of Diane Lane's career. She was brilliant and really captures the character of Penny Chenery. John Malkovich is great, and brings great life to as wacky horse trainer Lucien Laurin. I also can’t forget to mention two members of the supporting cast who are also outstanding: Otto Thorwarth and Nelsan Ellis are great. A supporting actress who I think is worthy of an Academy Award is Margo Martindale. Her Miss Hamm is the voice of reason the film needs. She is absolutely wonderful in this role. The rest of the great cast includes actors Scott Glen, James Cromwell, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dylan Walsh, Dylan Baker, Drew Roy, Nestor Serrano, Eric Lange and (Long Island's own and my former hockey teammate when we were younger), Kevin Connolly.

   The Blu-ray and DVD combo pack has many features. The DVD contains the featurette Heart Of A Champion – An inside look at Secretariat: One of the Most Famous Thoroughbred Horses Even Known, Three Deleted Scenes, and AJ Michalka’s music video for the song “It’s Who You Are”.  The Blu-ray disc features all that is on the DVD, plus two more featurettes on the making of the film, Audio Commentary with Director Randall Wallace, a Secretariat multi-angle Simulation in which you can relive the 1973 run from different perspectives, as well as four additional deleted scenes.

   Secretariat is a rare gem of a film. It’s very rare that I praise a film as being perfect, but this film truly is. The story is historic, the horse is historic it’s a story that just truly touches you. I will be awfully disappointed if this film does not get nominated for a multiply Academy Awards this year. Everything from the acting, directing, sound design, cinematography and the editing are to notch. The film is also very family-friendly, although it may be a bit slow for younger kids, but it is a film for everyone. This is a must-see film which every critic in the world has praised, and I couldn’t agree more. Disney always out does itself when it comes to making high quality films, with Secretariat they have produced a true gem.   

BUY THIS MOVIE.