User Reviews

My grandmother was a parent during the '50's and liked everything neat and clean and in its place. Heaven forbid if things get too out of hand; too "real". I have waited my entire life for Hollywood to tell Secretariat's story and after watching Disney's Secretariat my heart remains unsatisfied. It was a good, "feel good" movie, but "good" is the keyword. I felt like Grandma edited this movie. Again, it is a good movie with some interjections of great cinematography, yet Secretariat was a GREAT horse and deserved a GREAT movie. This was an Oscar winning story, with an Oscar winning cast, but the script was emotionally impotent. There were no risks and risk is what horse racing is all about. The movie is so safe and there wasn't anything safe about the facts that surround this horse and his rise to be the greatest race horse that ever lived.

Still today, when I watch Secretariat run on YouTube, I cry!!! I'm not sure why, but the tears flow from the depths of my being. Rationally, I try to tell myself that he is just a horse, but something overcomes me every time, no matter how many times I watch him run. That overwhelming surge of emotion is what this story deserved. If you've ever been in the presence of a great horse, you will know what I am talking about. They are strong and confident. You can feel their aura. There is a low rolling thunder of excitement when you are near them. Talk to the people who were there. Read the first hand accounts of their emotional state when they saw this horse run. He was mesmerizing, captivating, unexplainably breathtaking. The audience deserved to feel the thunder roll through them in every scene.

I expected so much more from director Randall Wallace. The power and emotion of Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, The Man in the Iron Mask, is what Secretariat deserves. Where was that? I'm not sure what research he did for this movie and how much his hands were tied by the real life characters or the studio, but the main character became the background and what was in the forefront was a "sugar coated" conflict of a woman with a driving passion and the place society and her family was trying to lock her into; however, even her passion didn't spill out onto the audience as it should have. I felt like the accomplishments of Penny Chenery and Secretariat have been shrunk down and placed into a nice, neat little box fit for a good little housewife and her sweet little horse. I felt as if I was the one being squelched, because I wanted so badly for everyone to share the emotion I feel at the sheer audaciousness when this horse ran. To accomplish what they accomplished, he and his owner had to be completely audacious to rise above the negativity and overwhelming odds surrounding them.

Diane Lane is one of my favorite actresses; however, her role left me doubting the character. For example, when a woman talks to her horse, she does more than look into his eye for a few seconds and say, "Well OK then". When a woman truly needs to know something from her horse she breathes him in, they breathe each other in, as their souls entwine and one knows the other. You will see it on his face and you will see it on her face, without human words being spoken. This is a rare and special event, but it happens, and it could have carried this movie. If you have seen Diane Lane in "Unfaithful" you will realize this is an actress that could translate this kind of communication and emotion to the screen.

The audience should have been allowed to feel the emotional range that surrounds all involved in preparing a horse for the greatest races any thoroughbred will ever run. Just watch horse racing on television and you will see real raw emotion that these people explode with at the end of the race. So much was on the line for everyone involved and yet throughout the movie everyone handled the stress with subdued emotion, never getting too far off the scale. Just when you thought someone was going to show some real feelings, they apologized for it. Real life is just as ugly as it is beautiful. Without the dark of night, the brightest stars would never beam their intense beauty upon us. Every masterpiece must have its extreme contrasts to fulfill the emotional needs of its audience.

I'm not blaming anyone. I am sure everyone involved did their best. I am simply sharing with the reader my disappointment in what I thought would be a thrilling tribute to a horse so deserving.

Ron Turcotte said the film captured the story "pretty well". I ask you, is "pretty well" good enough for the greatest race horse who ever ran on the track? Secretariat's heart was two and a half times the size of a normal horse's heart; I feel the portrayal of his story should have been two and a half times the size of any regular movie. He gave us everything he had when he ran the Belmont; thirty-one lengths ahead of Sham who was an amazing, record breaking horse in his own right. Don't we owe it to him, to give him everything we've got, to see that generations to come understand the events that transpired to make him who he is? Have we as a culture become so jaded that there can be no magic in the truth? Can the epic only be found in fiction? I don't believe it. I believe that purity of a moment of perfection forever locked in time is where magic can be found and that magic is why it brings inspiration and tears to the eyes of the soul who seeks it.

Suzette Howard

In a change of pace, I decided to watch this inspirational true-life story of a woman's deciding to keep the title character horse in ownership instead of selling to the highest bidder because of the animal's potential and not the usual comedy films I view with my movie theatre working friend. We both enjoyed those race scenes that involved Secretariat that showcased both his struggles and triumphs. On the drama front, while there are some compellingly played scenes of quiet desperation and of occasional conflict, it's the uplifting parts that really gets to the heart of the matter. Only thing I really have a quibble with is some of the lines betray the time period like that character played by Fred Dalton Thompson wouldn't compare something to Super Fly since that movie came out in 1972 and his scene takes place in 1969. And how about the kids not noticeably aging during the four-year setting. Otherwise, Secretariat is a quality feel-good movie that one always expects from The Disney Company and is recommended.

Greetings again from the darkness. The story of Secretariat is legendary in the world of thoroughbred racing. Being a sports fan, it is always fascinating to witness domination by a singular athlete - Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer. Secretariat was the Michael Jordan of racing. In 1973, Big Red dominated racing like no other.

What makes this even more amazing is that Secretariat is actually the second most interesting story ... his owner, Penny Chenery Tweedy (played here by Diane Lane), was his match in competitive spirit. This Disney movie actually spends as much time on Ms. Tweedy as it does the fabulous horse.

Disney does what Disney does best. This is an all out feel-good, rah-rah movie in the vein of "Seabiscuit", "The Rookie", "Rudy" and even "Hoosiers". Don't expect in-depth analysis of the racing world or horse training or even horse farm operations. This movie is made to deliver a warm fuzzy via the perseverance of a strong-willed lady and an incredibly majestic animal.

Expect some over-the-top touches such as John Malkovich's portrayal of trainer Lucen Laurin, horse-whispering by Ms. Lane, and plenty of heart-string tugging as is customary from the fine folks at Disney. Expect historical facts to be treated a bit lax in some scenes (no mention of 1972 Derby winner Riva Ridge, also from the Chenery stables). Expect none of that to matter as this is a crowd-pleaser, not a documentary.

In addition to Mr. Malkovich and Ms. Lane, there is some fine support work from Fred Thompson, James Cromwell and Nelsan Ellis (so great as Lafayette in True Blood). Directed by Randall Wallace, whose most recent directorial effort was 2002's "We Were Soldiers", this is entertainment for all ages and an easy introduction to the champion that was Secretariat.

I really enjoyed this movie and Secretariat is my hero because he is a horse just like me. I really like watching racing and he is my favourite racer. When I grow up I want to be a race horse just like him and I really think I'm on the right track.

Get it? Track, because horses run on tracks, and Secretariat is a horse and I am horse.

Do you get it? Do you get my joke about the track? Because Secretariat is a horse just like me and horses run on tracks? Do you get the joke?

Anyway how do you not be sad?

"It is beautiful to watch a fine horse gallop, the long stride, the rush of the wind as he passes—my heart beats quicker to the thud of the hoofs and I feel his strength." Richard Jefferies

Secretariat is no exception. It's the story of the fastest horse in history, first known as Big Red, who went on to win horse racing's triple crown on 1973, a feat not accomplished in 25 years. After that he sired 600 foals, much to the delight of his investors, the first to invest solely in a stud future.

But then I love Seabiscuit (2003) for it depression-era cheerleading. This is what American filmmakers do well--a rouser with messages, big–screen chases, and sentimentality for the little guy. Seabiscuit is Rocky for horses, a suspenseful crowd pleaser with characters such as the whisperer played by Chris Cooper, who said, "You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little." The thought resonates for almost everyone in the film, a tribute to unity of theme and expression of actor.

Similarly there's more than just a racing film in Secretariat; after all National Velvet has a more interesting story and a younger heroine in Elizabeth Taylor, but that was decades ago. This true story is about the grit of Penny Chenery, who took over Virginia's Meadow Stables from her father and beat the male-dominated odds.

This quintessential Disney movie depicts her as tough and loving, a mother and a businesswoman, who can serve as a model for young women aspiring to reach great goals even in this liberated 21st century, which still has a ways to go before it expunges fully the sexism scourge.

The photography is bracing, often putting the camera right by the prancing hoofs or mid-level close to the steed's haunches. Although nothing new here, it is still exciting fare. Because we all know going in that our horse will win the crown, director Randall Wallace is especially successful in keeping us interested and worried for Secretariat.

Disclosure: I like most Hollywood horse-racing stories.

Secretariat is directed by Randall Wallace and written by Mike Rich and Sheldon Turner. It stars Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, Amanda Michalka, Dylan Walsh, Scott Glenn, Kevin Connolly, Dylan Baker, James Cromwell and Drew Roy. Music is by Nick Glennie-Smith and cinematography by Dean Semler.

With the success and quality of production that came with 2003's Seabiscuit, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would turn their hand to making a film about a horse that many agree is the greatest American horse of all time. With Disney funding the cash flow and an "A" list cast assembled, Secretariat the movie is every inch the professional production you would expect. However, thematically it's surprising that the horse is very much secondary to the story of his owner, Penny Chenery (Lane).

Chenery's story as written on the film version page, is a worthy one to tell, for sure. After suffering family bereavements, she stood firm after winning the horse on a coin toss to guide the horse to the greatest of American horse racing triumphs. This in a male dominated sport dominated by chauvinists. Further more, Chenery had to hold her own family together whilst running the Chenery ranch. Inspirational woman for sure, and Lane is naturally steely in the role, but there just isn't great human interest drama crafted by director Wallace to warrant the film being primarily about the good lady.

Naturally, when the horse racing takes centre stage it's gripping and exciting, the race segments very well filmed, but we already knew that Secretariat was an awesome horse, how he got to be that way isn't known to us. Malkovich plays trainer Lucien Laurin with moody flamboyance, but we see next to nothing of his training of the horse! It's one of the many oversights that stop the film competing with Seabiscuit. It may seem unfair to compare the two, but the makers of Seabiscuit got the blend right whilst cleaving close to the facts to tell their story.

There's also the controversy factor, the fudging of the facts to suit the makers ends, where some characterisations have been pointedly argued to be incorrect and a deviation from truths to the point we don't have the real story of what made Secretariat so great. Whilst it spins a rags to riches story when in reality it wasn't, Riva Ridge anyone? Where's the Preakness clocking controversy? These facts would have boosted the film no end, but I guess this is the price we pay for having Disney funding the film supposedly about the magnificent beast in the title.

Come the home straight the music does swirl and the cheers go loud, and undeniably the uplift factor takes a hand, but there's too much wrong all told to make this a great picture. I have to say it, go watch Seabiscuit instead. 6.5/10

Secretariat is not only the first film in many years where both old and young can share the same theater; it contains the elements that make you both laugh and cry as most good movies should. From peaceful mornings at sunrise we experience exhilarating horse racing that brings pensive waiting for results of a race already in the history books.

I agree with the Movieguide comments: "SECRETARIAT is a very uplifting, inspiring, exciting movie about a true story, the story of a determined woman who raises one of the most successful, dynamic racehorses of all time. SECRETARIAT is stirring and joyful, with many references to God, Jesus Christ and the Bible and a pro-capitalist message celebrating American values…" Now, what's wrong with this picture? It is refreshingly entertaining.

The movie is great for families, as there were a number of children in the theater who really enjoyed the film. There isn't any off-color language or scenes, and it is well acted and well made. My main complaint is that it really seemed to be the Penny Tweedy story, and not that much about Secretariat. If you want to take your children to a well made movie with horses, this is a good film. If you want to learn about the greatest racehorse of the 20th century, go to you tube and watch old clips of the actual horse itself. If you're looking for a good movie about a horse, buy or rent Seabiscuit. That movie tells much more of the story about the horse.

SECRETARIAT is not just a great great sports movie it is just a great movie full-stop. EVery about this film is spot on. The story is wonderfully crafted and well told. The photography is beautiful and classy. The acting is phenomenal. DIANE LANE is in Oscar form as Penny Chenery the owner of Secretariat. She owns the film and gives a very powerful and realistic portrayal. JOHN MALKOVICH is also superb in support. The racing scenes are simply stunning. You are there in the race. It is very well done (and doesn't resort to cheap "shaky-cam" stuff. A very moving and enjoyable movie. It's one of the best sports related movies EVER and comes very highly recommended!

¨This is not about going back. This is about life being ahead of you and you run at it. Because you never know how far you can run unless you run.¨

Secretariat is one of those rare sports movies that manages to hook your attention and maintain the suspense despite knowing how it will turn out at the end. It's impossible not to fall in love with this horse and his story. Disney was the right choice for the production of this film considering their success with other family friendly sport films like Remember the Titans. Secretariat was voted as one of the best athletes of the century (number one on the list if we don't count human performances), and several of his records still stand to this very day nearly 40 years later. His story had to be told in film as Secretariat is considered to be the best racehorse of all time. The story involving his owner, Penny Chenery, and how she saved her ailing father's stable risking everything (including her marriage) and betting it on the horse just adds to the overall dramatic effect of the plot. Secretariat reminded me a lot of another good racehorse film: Seabiscuit. I wouldn't say this is a better movie, it's different, but I can say that Secretariat was a better racehorse that won the most important races, including the Triple Crown in 1973 (a feat that hadn't been accomplished in 25 years). Randall Wallace (writer of Braveheart and director of We Were Soldiers) did a good job with the direction of this film, despite being better known as a screenplay writer. The screenplay for Secretariat was written by Mike Rick, which was adapted from William Nack's book about the large chestnut colt nicknamed ¨Big Red.¨

Diane Lane is Penny Chenery, a mother of four and housewife who's life changes after her mother's death and a visit to their stable based in Virginia. Penny's father used to be the brains of the entire operation in Meadow Stables, but with the death of his wife and his illness things are going downhill at the stable. Penny decides to change things around in order to save the stable and begins by firing their trainer who seems to be making some unfavorable deals with other owners by trying to sell their horses at a much lower value. Penny with the help of the family's trustworthy secretary, Miss Ham (played humorously by Margo Martindale) begins managing the place. The first smart move she makes is breeding one of her horses: Somethingroyal with a famous Thoroughbred racehorse named Bold Ruler. The result was the birth of the large chestnut colt nicknamed ¨Big Red¨, but better known in the horse-racing world as Secretariat. Penny hires Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) as the trainer and Ron Turcotte (Otto Thorwarth) as the jockey, and along with the groom, Eddie Sweet (Nelsan Ellis) together they form a great team and foster the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Of course the movie can't be successful if it doesn't have some drama in it, and so some problems surface back home with Penny's husband, Jack Tweedy (Dylan Walsh), because running a stable back in Virginia has affected Penny with her housewife duties. Somehow Penny has to manage saving the stable in a macho dominated society and maintain her family together, while risking everything on one horse: Secretariat.

Secretariat succeeds as a film because the story is just so powerful and uplifting. The movie deals with overcoming difficult odds and following one's dream. Penny had a good life as a housewife, but all this had led her far away from her early goal of following her father's footsteps and managing the Meadow Stables. Once the opportunity presents itself to her she quickly takes on the difficult task and decides to follow her long life dream. Secretariat teaches us that it's never too late to follow one's dreams and overcome difficult situations. Disney has always been good at reminding us how important it is to fight for our dreams. Life is a race and if we don't wake up in time our dreams and goals might just end in that: only dreams and we will never achieve anything if we don't take risks in order to live out our dreams. Penny took the risk and bet it all on Secretariat who didn't fail her. The story of this colt is just amazing and inspiring. The final scene where he is racing at the Belmont Stakes is just mesmerizing and left me full of goose bumps. Secretariat was such an amazing horse, and his story is done justice in this family friendly film. It is a strong, memorable movie that teaches us some important lessons while at the same time never ceases to entertain it's audience. The performances in this movie are also great. Diane Lane as Penny and John Malkovich as Lucien give memorable and fun performances. Secretariat is a movie for the entire family to enjoy.

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Secretariat isn't about a horse. Or a jockey. Or a trainer. It's about a horse owner, an upper-class housewife, with only her father's farm to lose. There's not much in jeopardy even if the film will relentlessly strive to assure you everything is under threat. Any number of animated Disney films do better at paying tribute to the animal. And Babe, Seabiscuit, My Dog Skip. This one venerates the person who owned it. Secretariat was a Time cover story. You don't sense that watching this. Rather than showcasing the greatest racehorse ever, they opted the rich owner could be the underdog. Merely a handful of times did it appear the filmmakers were truly fascinating by the beauty or nobility of the animal.

Instead, the entire film's overflowing with Diane Lane giving campaign speeches, beginning with her voice-over quoting the Bible. It continues with lines like, "You never know how far you can go unless you run!" She believes in Secretariat. Why? Because. I'm not saying belief's a bad thing, but there's insufficient elucidation for her determination.

An extraordinarily successful racehorse has been Disney-fied for escapist distraction. It's when reality's substituted and in its place the writer of Pearl Harbor and that of Radio and The Nativity Story exceed the boundary, enter melodrama. The imperious, domineering soundtrack distracts, oversweetens rather than keeping us absorbed or authentically uplifted. As near as I can distinguish there was no considerable tension between her and rival horseman Pancho Martin, owner of Secretariat's foremost challenger. He's a sexist blowhard. There's no background, so it just comes off as a performance. It'd seem it was felt the movie needed a bad guy.

The other non-white speaking role's Eddie, a black thoroughbred groom who's a member of a much more dangerous movie stereotype. He dances, sings, loves Jesus and that mighty ole horse. He's immediately deferential to "Miss Penny," induces soul and gospel music into her bothered life. The movie wants us to "believe" something? I believe that Eddie should've been the human character at the center. He spends more actual time, makes more physical contact with Secretariat than anyone else, knows him most deeply. If there's an underdog in this film at all, it's absolutely him. And he should've been given a three-dimensional characterization.

Like her horse, Penny's lucked out in life's sweepstakes. She's a wealthy Denver housewife with four children. After her mother dies, she returns to her parents' Virginia horsefarm to aid her senile father. Upon losing a toss with another owner, she wins the rights to the stable's least-valuable foal, the offspring of a stallion with speed but no stamina. Except in some way, Penny knows this massive, tenacious colt can turn into history's greatest racehorse. During the plodding exposition, the film jogs out a roll call of guest stars---James Cromwell, Dylan Baker…Fred Thompson…Jesus---to notify Penny of what she can and cannot do before she ignores them and prevails.

The script works hard to encumber her with some hardship to prevail over: The farm may have to be sold, leaving her with just her own manse back in Denver! She really misses her kids when she's out on the circuit! The country club doesn't allow women! Nevertheless the outcome's predetermined anyway, so what's the difference? The key to making that difference would've been focusing either on the horse or the human who had the closest relationship with the horse, not the human who wanted to make money off the horse.

Malkovich's presence single-handedly can make you find appeal in something otherwise unexciting. Then again, why don't we get to see his ordeal? This character's turned into a comic-relief second-banana. He's the trainer, though we seldom see that. There's one moment that illustrates him best, when we see he hoards the newspaper clippings from his defeats. Otherwise it's merely about looking at his loud wardrobe.

This is audaciously, obviously calculating fantasyland stuff, passing itself off as a "true story," when, in effect, it's what's called "fact-based." And that's not quite the same thing. Trouble can arise from the strength of such movies being taken at face value as fact. Secretariat disregards this inevitable verity. Yes, the characters—well, most of them—are drawn from real life, reinterpreted for highest effect. Yes, there certainly was a Secretariat who did these extraordinary things. But what's staged is not the special journey of those things, but a sugar-rich castle-in-the-sky of the American precedent as born-agains and traditionalists would like to envision, laden with slushy grandeur, washed spotless of social conflict or more than one ethnic culture.

In this film's world, self-sufficient, strong-minded women like Penny ensures that conforming to "lady-like" standards of behavior take precedence, liberal activism's a naive puppy period your kids experience until they discover the harsh realities of estate taxes, and all faultless Americans are unified in their worship of a miraculous object of vague optimistic abstractions like hope and fighting for this and that. The movie's portrayal of its late '60s, '70s era is a gilded utopia of all things, notwithstanding the truth that the year Secretariat evidently won was the year the Vietnam War ended and the Watergate hearings commenced. A movie so desperate for sources of drama in complete denial of the magnitude of drama in which it takes place?! You almost couldn't pick an era in 20th century America more overwhelmed by divide and broad-spectrum pandemonium. Busing desegregation, the Pentagon Papers, the Chicago Seven, the Weather Underground, Kent State, Stonewall. Regardless of finding ourselves in an infuriated, perilously divided culture, the film wants us to have faith that the real America has been here the whole time, and we can take it back. If we just believe in…a nonexistent past?

The Disney brand lives on in "Secretariat", a come-from-behind almost-all-true story of the famous Triple Crown Winner. The two leads are great: Secretariat's owner and trainer Diane Lane and John Malkovich respectively; James Cromwell is decent and Nelsan Ellis and Otto Thorwarth credible as the stable boy and jockey, but the rest of them - particularly the family and friends - you can put in a tub and sail away.

The story, of course, is well known; Secretariat turns out to be the greatest race horse ever (he even makes ESPN's "Top 50 athletes of all time" the only non-human to do so.) The true-to-the-story twist is that Secretariat turns out to be the consolation prize of a lost bet, but still triumphs over all obstacles and odds.

Actually, the story is as much about Secretariat's owner, Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) and how she, well, triumphs over all obstacles and odds. Funny, that. While there are some empty moments while the actors are on screen (the anti-war protests are just dreadful), there aren't when the horses take over, and the POV filmography at the horses' hooves is pretty darn good. The festivities at the actual Kentucky Derby last a week and the race is over in two minutes. I wish there was more screen time for the horses here, but at least it's a better balance than that.

Disney stays true to Disney rather than conduct fealty to actual history, however the changes are not earth shattering, and you will come away with a fair semblance of the real story, if not a perfectly accurate one. A nice tear jerker, very typical for the House of the Mouse, but worth the afternoon if you have an interest in a great sports story, a horse flick, or just like seeing more of John Malkovich's quirky side in an otherwise straightforward role.

The details, music, storyline, reality, everything is perfect. The movie is little slow sometimes but it was needful. Cinematography, music, storyline is perfect. Loved the movie.

I'm not a fan of horse racing, but you'd be hard put to find anyone who loved the horse Secretariat as much I did. "Big Red," as he was known, seemed to be able to fly, and when he was autopsied, it was learned that his heart was twice the size of normal horses. He was an amazing champion.

"Secretariat" isn't really the story of Secretariat as much as it is the story of his owner, Peggy Chenery Tweedy, very well played here by Diane Lane. I'm sure it's a somewhat romanticized version, but it's certainly true that Chenery loved and believed in Secretariat. John Malkovich plays his trainer, Lucien Laurin, and he's wonderful.

The film has an unnecessary good guy-bad guy set-up for the races, with an evil owner sure that Secretariat will lose. There's the sentimentality that goes along with a Disney story, and the idea of the little guy coming from behind.

I liked this movie, but I don't feel it does the great Secretariat justice. One of the races, the one shown on television, was an actual race. If you want to cry, check out Big Red's races on Youtube. In one of the races (I can't remember which one) the CBS clock said that Secretariat had broken a record, but the official clock did not. As Mrs. Tweedy said in an interview, the official clock time had to be used. I'm sure she feels (as I do) that Secretariat had indeed broken another record.

Secretariat died too young from laminitis, the same illness that killed Barbaro. He will always be one of the greatest horses in history. There is a wonderful documentary about him which I recommend, as well as the documentary "The First Saturday in May." Just think about Ron Turcotte, wondering why it was so quiet as he raced Big Red, why he couldn't hear the other horses. When he turned around to look, the other horses were way, way behind. That was Secretariat. A frontrunner. Pegasus.

I dont no why but I just love this movie. I dont follow racing let alone know much about the history. But this movie is so well written and directed its hard not to love it. Acting is perfect and for once Disney really did a great job from start to finish. If you haven't seen this, its one the entire family can enjoy. Such a good story...

Secretariat / Rated PG for a couple of bad words and funny looking hats. Secretariat, the horse, is considered the greatest race horse of all time. He ran really, really fast. He lived from 1970 to 1989 and lives again in a new movie named in his honor. I love horsey movies. I hate spoilers in reviews. In case you don't know it I have to tell you something. Not exactly a secret. But, if you don't want to know then look away count to ten then continue reading. Secretariat won the Triple Crown. Okay that's it. It's safe to continue reading. Knowing this, there is not much suspense that can be portrayed as the Big Guy is foaled then begins to run. Really, really fast. The movie tells the story of Secretariat and his owner. The owner was Penny Chenery Tweedy and family. Diane Ladd plays the strong willed woman out to save her family finances and root the Big Guy to victory. She is excellent in the role. Along for the ride, so to speak, are John Malkovich as the trainer and funny hat wearer, and a group of fine character actors which include Scott Glenn, Fred Thompson and James Cromwell. Margo Martindale provides laughs and inspiration as the wise family secretary and horse namer. Secretariat was directed by Randall Wallace. He also helmed two fine films including "We Were Soldiers" (2002) and the first film I ever reviewed, the most excellent "Man in the Iron Mask" (1998). Nick Glennie-Smith provides a beautiful and evocative score. The horse race scenes are exciting and well filmed even if, for the most part, we know the results. Especially in the Triple Crown contests. In the Kentucky Derby he ran every quarter mile faster than the one preceding it and he was still accelerating when he crossed the finish line. Did I mention he ran really fast? The last of the three races, The Belmont Stakes, is an especially long and grueling contest which spells the end for most Triple Crown contenders. I remember watching this race live in 1973. Secretariat almost looked like he might lap the 4 other horses in the contest. That's how commanding his lead was. Disney has offered up good family fare. The personal financial issues sometimes get in the way of seeing the Big Guy run which is the core of the story. A story everyone, not just horsey film lovers, like me should see. A great story of a superior athlete. And he knew it. Watch and see. Rated 3.5 out of 4.0 lengths. Secretariat won by 31 lengths. Seabiscuit beware. Bamboo Harvester, who died in 1970, would have been proud if he had lived to see Secretariat run. And he would have spoke up about it. If you want to know how…..Google his name.