Search - Seabiscuit (PBS American Experience) on DVD

An Outstanding Documentary

John F. Rooney | 05/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Seabiscuit," the American Experience, PBS DVD Video, 60 minutes in length, is an extremely well-done and comprehensive story of the horse that became America's great celebrity during the Depression when horseracing was the number one spectator sport. Dubbed affectionately the Biscuit by her admirers, this documentary traces the rise of a broken-down gawky looking racehorse and her accident-prone, down and out jockey, John "Red" Pollard.

The people in the Depression needed come-from-behind losers to give them hope. Seabiscuit did not have an unbroken string of victories. She was an also-ran in several big races. It was only at the end of his career that the Biscuit on the third try won the Santa Anita Handicap in 1940. Her greatest triumph was winning a match race against the triple-crown winner, War Admiral.

The documentary has very good footage of the races and it brings back memories hearing Clem McCarthy, the legendary NBC racetrack announcer, calling the races. Radio was in its early days, and it became more of a media force because millions of people listened to the races over the airwaves.

The narrative is well-done, and the film hits the highlights in the careers of horse and jockey in a concise and absorbing fashion. It looks and feel authentic. Many docus plod along and are an effort to watch--not this one. It helps to bring the thirties to life: an era that needed heroes and found them in a ungainly horse and a unlucky jockey who evolved into winners and national heroes. This DVD will provide a complementary experience for viewers of the Toby Maguire flick.



"

Better than the movie

L. Lancaster | 07/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's extremely difficult for us in this day and age to conceive of how a broken-down animal could possibly lift America out of the Great Depression, but that's exactly what Seabiscuit did. This documentary conveys that in a beautiful way, revealing facts about the horse and jockey not addressed in the movie.



Seabiscuit was an angry horse when Tom Smith first saw him on the track. He'd been trained to lose and was considered lazy with a lopsided 'eggbeater' gait caused by a lack of calcium in his feed. Tom immediately put him on a diet of Timothy hay, far more expensive than alfalfa and fairly rare in California. He was tired and depressed. There is footage in this film showing the horse kicking out in a mean-spirited way as he was getting a bath and he really hated people at the beginning.



This is a rich documentary that's well-done. In case you're interested, Seabiscuit has a few descendants still living at the American Legend Horse Farm in Northern California."

The story of Seabiscuit

Gerald I. Goldlist | Toronto, Ont., Canada | 02/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary was wonderful to see after watching the recent motion picture.



It is in black and white and I think I saw it as a newsreel in the 1950's."

Wonderful ! ! !

Dusty Roads | Seattle | 10/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ranks along with other PBS productions that I own: Huey Long, Coney Island, Empire of The Air, Mark Twain, Baseball, The West, New York, ..."