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Post by Claire on Jun 24, 2013 14:03:09 GMT 1
Just been given this DVD and was wondering if anyone wanted to watch this as a film club movie. Its an Aussie film about the Melbourne Cup and was directed by the same person who directed Phar Lap, one of the best racing films IMHO. Also stars Irish actor Brendon Gleeson who is always great. The movie is free to watch if you have NowTV (a streaming service run by Sky - you can actually have a month's free trial which is worth it) it may also be available on other streaming services. Or I can pass a copy round for people to watch - just let me know.
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Post by darenc1 on Jun 24, 2013 14:30:46 GMT 1
Might be an interesting watch!
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Post by darkhorse on Jun 24, 2013 21:46:52 GMT 1
We've been thinking of trying Now TV. If we do, I will join in with this one. Is it good quality streaming?
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Post by Claire on Jun 25, 2013 19:40:07 GMT 1
Darkhorse - I find it pretty good at streaming in terms of it hardly ever buffers or sticks. Certainly better than love film instant. I suppose some of it depends on your ISP. Quality is not perfect but I mainly watch on the laptop in which its OK. If you connect to the TV its not quite as good.
A rather interesting factoid about the film - actor Tom Burlinson appears as an assistant trainer: he was the hero in The Man From Snowy River (and in the later sequel), and also starred in Phar Lap. He certainly likes his horsy films!
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Post by rallycairn on Jun 25, 2013 20:26:52 GMT 1
I always thought Nicole Kidman went with the wrong Tom! Burlinson much hotter than Cruise.
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Post by susanb on Jun 25, 2013 21:29:59 GMT 1
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Post by darenc1 on Jun 25, 2013 21:49:52 GMT 1
If you feel like splashing out, it's on Amazon as well....
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Post by Claire on Jun 25, 2013 23:23:25 GMT 1
Well it looks like we have a few people interested in this one, shall we give it a week and then come back and see who has managed to watch it before discussion. I might watch it tonight or tomorrow night but I'll hold off saying anything to let other people get sorted. In the meantime let me know if you want to watch it but can't get hold of it.
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Post by Claire on Jun 28, 2013 12:51:08 GMT 1
Not to give anything away but its probably worth a watch unless you don't like racing. Very slow to start but stick with it as it gets better. Its not a spectacular film more of a quiet made for DVD type but certainly the characters are much more likeable than those of Secretariat. Also there's quite an interesting dilemma in the film which would make for a good discussion point. Yes there is a sad bit but nothing too traumatic so don't let it put anyone off.
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Post by susanb on Jul 1, 2013 15:08:43 GMT 1
Watched this yesterday....it is very slow (glacial) to start (well, for about 1/3 of the picture, really), but the characters are good.
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Post by darenc1 on Jul 1, 2013 21:52:11 GMT 1
Fingers crossed my copy arrives this week...
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Post by Claire on Jul 2, 2013 1:29:59 GMT 1
Added poll
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Post by darenc1 on Jul 3, 2013 15:06:26 GMT 1
My copy arrived today, so will give you all a verdict later.
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Post by rallycairn on Jul 3, 2013 16:06:53 GMT 1
Put it in my Netflix queue; thanks for the alert, Susan, as I was kind of assuming it wasn't available in NTSC format.
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Post by darenc1 on Jul 3, 2013 17:16:58 GMT 1
As well as Tom Burlinson appearing in The Man from Snowy River, Brendan Gleeson was also in Into the West - the Irish movie about two young boys and their white stallion (which is a good movie itself!)
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Post by Claire on Jul 3, 2013 23:19:00 GMT 1
Thanks for that snippet of info Daren - another horsy link: the director of this also directed The Young Black Stallion, altho not sure that is a great advertisement! SPOILERS BELOW! Please don't read further if you haven't watched the film! (Or you know what happened to the real life characters the film is about) Here's my more in depth take on the film. The main problem with the film is, like susan said too, it is very slow to begin with. I think this is because it introduces too many characters in short bursts and does not have any real focus. But when the Irish lot get to Australia and connect up with the Aussies, it seems to find its stride, and gets into the real story. I like that it doesn't really glam up the racing side of things too much and also focuses on the day to day world of racing with the workaday jockey brother's less highflying rides. There's a good contrast between these 2 worlds. It was also a good emotional mix with some amusing bits such as when jockey Damien ignores the Irish trainer's (Gleeson) riding instructions and poor Tom Burlinson is stuck in the middle on the phone. Also of course the shocking and then sad parts when the brother has the riding accident. The acting was mostly pretty good, Gleeson is as good as ever, as was Burlinson and the bloke who played Damien (forgot his name). The bloke who played the trainer Damien usually rode for was a bit hammy tho. Of course the main plot/dilemma is the death of the brother and the decision Damien must make whether to keep on riding or not. I was wondering what people thought about that. Personally I thought for the sake of his mother he should have given up, at least after the Melbourne Cup. It would have been horrific for her if he had been killed after both his brother and father. Do others agree or was he right to stay true to his vocation? It must have been a very hard decision to make. It was interesting that his girlfriend was actually encouraging him to keep on riding rather than the stereotypical over-protective/discouraging partner/spouse. Not as good as Phar Lap but I preferred this to the more glossy and better put-together, but less emotional or realistic Secretariat.
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Post by susanb on Jul 4, 2013 0:29:58 GMT 1
I'd agree that this one is better than Secretariat/worse than Phar Lap (or Seabiscuit for that matter).
Re giving up riding, no I wouldn't have asked it, and I was really impressed and pleased to see that neither the mother nor the girlfriend did. I don't see it as being true to a vocation, it's being true to YOURSELF that matters. How do you ask someone to be less than he is? To give up on what is essential in your life (as riding clearly is in his) is just to be walking around dead anyway...what's the point?
If you're going to love someone who has a dangerous profession (riders, police, firefighters, fisherman, soldiers etc), you'd better have courage, because it really isn't fair for someone to say "stop being who you are, because I'm too much of a coward to take it". You can ask to share someone's life, but you can't ask that they live it for you.
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Post by Claire on Jul 4, 2013 15:20:26 GMT 1
Yes i agree it would have been very cliched if the mother or girlfriend had been the one asking him to give up, I thought it was much more interesting that it was his own personal moral dilemma. Not sure if this is how it actually went down in RL or it was just in the screenplay but it did add some emotional depth to the film.
If it was me I think I would have given up riding, as I put my family, friends and animals far above everything else in life. I just couldn't have put my mother through the worry and stress. But then again I have never had an all consuming vocation like that either so who knows! It's thought provoking stuff.
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Post by darenc1 on Jul 4, 2013 22:04:55 GMT 1
I quite enjoyed it. A bit like Champions, it was very realistic in terms of portrayals, and not at all glamorous like many other racing films seem to be. The racing scenes themselves were quite well done - although the accident sequence genuinely made me jump!
It wasn't overly sentimental (like Seabiscuit), but it had likeable characters (definitely unlike Secretariat!) and got its story across with minimal fuss, even if it was a bit slow out of the gate.
A solid 6/10
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Post by Claire on Jul 5, 2013 11:27:06 GMT 1
Don't forget to vote folks
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