Ruffian Movie is on

Riot · #1 06-09-2007, 08:15 PM

Hey, everyone on the list now, don't forget the Ruffian movie is playing now ....

Merlinsky · #2 06-09-2007, 08:17 PM

I'm sure there's a better spot for this thread but being the day it is and the horse it is and the network it's on, is anybody watching the Ruffian movie and if so, what do you think so far?

Her races are now on Youtube it looks like, from her maiden to the match race. You just get chills looking at the real thing and so far it seems like they're doing a good job on the movie. What do you think of her cinematic doppelgänger?

justindew · #3 06-09-2007, 08:17 PM

Who is playing the jockey?

Danzig · #4 06-09-2007, 08:18 PM

not watching. from what i've seen, the only good thing in the movie is sam shephard. supposed to be a poor production.

Riot · #5 06-09-2007, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

What do you think of her cinematic doppelgänger?

Small <g>

I got to watch one of the most spine-tingling, impressive races I'll ever have the pleasure to view today, and now I'm off, glass of wine in hand, to watch another great filly .... see y'all later!

Merlinsky · #6 06-09-2007, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig

not watching. from what i've seen, the only good thing in the movie is sam shephard. supposed to be a poor production.

Where'd you hear that from? Nobody I hear talk about it speaks in negative terms as far as the ESPN and Bloodhorse folks who've seen it goes. At least none that I've seen. The fake-Ruffian does seem smaller than you'd expect. She's supposed to be a great big fat filly when she gets to them, with a girth as a young horse that was bigger than Secretariat's at the same age.

Danzig · #7 06-09-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Where'd you hear that from? Nobody I hear talk about it speaks in negative terms as far as the ESPN and Bloodhorse folks who've seen it goes. At least none that I've seen. The fake-Ruffian does seem smaller than you'd expect. She's supposed to be a great big fat filly when she gets to them, with a girth as a young horse that was bigger than Secretariat's at the same age.

saw on a few on-line sites that it god bad reviews, some mention on here as well that others heard it wasn't very good.

yeah, ruffian was a big gal, a lot of people mistook her for a colt when they saw her...that was one of her problems, big horse with small feet. she was bigger than foolish pleasure, but wore smaller shoes.

Samarta · #8 06-09-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Where'd you hear that from? Nobody I hear talk about it speaks in negative terms as far as the ESPN and Bloodhorse folks who've seen it goes. At least none that I've seen. The fake-Ruffian does seem smaller than you'd expect. She's supposed to be a great big fat filly when she gets to them, with a girth as a young horse that was bigger than Secretariat's at the same age.

I'm exhausted from all the Barbaro stuff...oh and ABC's already wonderful horse production earlier...

Cannon Shell · #9 06-09-2007, 08:41 PM

There is no question in my mind that ABC fixed the Belmont so that they would have a natural lead in to the Ruffian movie..

Merlinsky · #10 06-09-2007, 09:33 PM

Holy crap, they did a close up of the breakdown on the leg as it happened. I think I'm gonna be sick.

Merlinsky · #11 06-09-2007, 09:37 PM

My mom didn't want to watch the movie and I tried to talk her into it. She won't even get a Barbaro Breyer or watch the Barbaro documentaries because of the memories of the Preakness...just thinking about the horse makes her sad, same with Ruffian. I try to spin it in terms of the greatness of their spirit and talk about how much good you can do by helping Barbaro's charity but things like that she just won't hear about.

I'm glad she didn't watch now. This would've made her queasy.

Lava · #12 06-09-2007, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

My mom didn't want to watch the movie and I tried to talk her into it. She won't even get a Barbaro Breyer or watch the Barbaro documentaries because of the memories of the Preakness...just thinking about the horse makes her sad, same with Ruffian. I try to spin it in terms of the greatness of their spirit and talk about how much good you can do by helping Barbaro's charity but things like that she just won't hear about.

I'm glad she didn't watch now. This would've made her queasy.

I am with your mom I cant watch that stuff the NBC thing on Barbaro was good till they showed the Preakness it still makes me cry

TheSpyder · #13 06-09-2007, 10:01 PM

I, for one, thought the movie was great. This life holds many good things as well as bad. Ruffian was both to the extreme and having lived those moments when it happened and now watching the movie, I know why I love horse racing so much. I just love the animals and the game, and everthing that goes into it. Horse racing is life, every part of it.

AeWingnut · #14 06-09-2007, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

There is no question in my mind that ABC fixed the Belmont so that they would have a natural lead in to the Ruffian movie..

lol.. the only reason she won is because I had her running 2nd in my tri

the whole day was bad.

AeWingnut · #15 06-09-2007, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Holy crap, they did a close up of the breakdown on the leg as it happened. I think I'm gonna be sick.

I left the room when the match race was coming up.

Suffolk Shippers · #16 06-09-2007, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

My mom didn't want to watch the movie and I tried to talk her into it. She won't even get a Barbaro Breyer or watch the Barbaro documentaries because of the memories of the Preakness...just thinking about the horse makes her sad, same with Ruffian. I try to spin it in terms of the greatness of their spirit and talk about how much good you can do by helping Barbaro's charity but things like that she just won't hear about.

I'm glad she didn't watch now. This would've made her queasy.

I watched the HBO Barbaro documentary this morning. Really sad, as expected, had me in a downer mood for a few hours.

As for the movie, I think Steve and others said it was terrible more than a few times, and thats how I viewed it going in. Was basically expecting a circus show of misproduction. I wasn't overly impressed, the story telling was mediocre, but Sam Shepard saved it.

mes5107 · #17 06-09-2007, 10:50 PM

Just got back from Belmont, so I missed it. Does anybody know if they will re-air the movie?

Riot · #18 06-09-2007, 10:51 PM

I thought it a typically marvelous Sam Shepard performance, showing how much Whitely loved this horse and the sport.

Whoever played Mike Bell was good - and the guy who plays Minnor the groom - hey, he was Seabiscuits groom, too! (seems this actor has found a niche role)

Yeah, it was technically amaterish regarding the racing and barn scenes, the vet hospital scenes, etc; and the horses they used were quite distracting as they were a bit ... common (they showed a closeup of "Ruffians" leg, the hairy horse leg had skin eruptions! <g> And showing the vet talking to Nack when he just walks up and asks about Ruffian - at the end of her 2-year-old year: "Yes, hairline fracture" - I about died!)

The horses were distracting to me, as TB's fit and on the muscle are just incredibly beautiful and awesomely powerful, people seeing them up close in a paddock for the first time are always amazed ... but I know I'm a hard audience to please in that respect.

I didn't think the closeup of a cannon bone collapsing through into the dirt of the track was needed, but they didn't dwell on it, and I think for the general public watching, having to know how irreversibly severely this filly was injured, it served it's brief, one-second purpose.

They avoided alot of the horribleness of that night - her shock, her lack of stabilization during surgery, the truely rough way she awoke from anesthesia and what happened then that caused her euthanasia, etc.

It was not sensationalized in the least. Very respectful to the filly and her connections.

I thought the nicest part of the film was at the end under closing credits, they showed film of the real Ruffian, winning her races, getting bathed, etc. That was lovely.

Horse racing needs every bit of "open" exposure it can get. I think this helped.

SilverRP · #19 06-09-2007, 10:58 PM

I don't know, maybe I'm off base here, but I actually thought it was pretty good. I knew going in it was going to be sad, but I had to watch anyway. They really didn't need to get as graphic as they did and there were parts where I just about turned it off, but I do think they showed a side of horse racing that many people don't see. That is the side of the connections (especially trainers and assistants) and how much they care for their horses.

onebadbeast · #20 06-09-2007, 11:31 PM

Thought The Ending Was Sad, But The First Part Of The Movie ; The Writing Was Very Unbelievable. Like It Was Written By A High School Kid.