Cheap Hidalgo (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) (Joe Johnston) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hidalgo (Full Screen Edition)

A Very Good Horse Race Movie
In this movie that was supposedly inspired by the true story of Frank T. Hopkins, Viggo Mortenson does an excellent job of portraying the character. Whether there actually was the race as described in the movie and whether Frank T. Hopkins actually existed is irrelevant. What is important is that the movie is enjoyable and the race is nicely plotted. <
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>Frank T. Hopkins is an accomplished rider. He has been a dispatch rider for the U.S. Army, a Pony Express rider, and he has been in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Frank appears well on his way to alcoholic oblivion when he is asked to race in the 3000 mile Ocean of Fire, a race that has been held for one thousand years. After the obligatory refusal (all movies of this type must have the humble hero refuse to be a hero) he travels by sea to the Middle East. <
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>A side note. The movie begins with the infamous Wounded Knee massacre. The memory of that horrific even supposedly haunts Frank. I will discuss these distractions more later in this review. <
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>This movie finally comes into its own when the Ocean of Fire race begins. Several of the sponsors of the race have their own agendas for winning the race. Numerous attempts are made to kill Frank during the race. Of course, Frank manages to survive all these attempts. He also manages to rescue a kidnapped princess, and to save his horse from spikes, big cats, and bullets, not to mention heat, thirst and hunger. Nearly every part of the movie that deals with the race is quite good and entertaining. <
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>The title of the movie comes from the mustang named Hidalgo. Hidalgo has a lot of heart and a lot of character. Hidalgo was smarter than many of the characters in this movie. Sales of horses will go up as a result of this movie. <
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>The only issue I had with this movie was the distractions. I thought the Wounded Knee massacre, while a horrible incident and one worthy of a separate movie, to be a distraction from the race. Even though Frank later saw his ancestors in a hallucination in the desert, we did not need the massacre to recognize who they were. I also thought the release of the wild mustangs by Frank could have been handled more succinctly, though I admit that seeing mustangs running across the plains of the Midwest was inspiring. Throwing in all the details about Jazira, the daughter of Sheikh Riyadh (played by the great Omar Sharif) were further distractions. The result is a movie that is bloated in places and begins too slowly. <
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>I thought Viggo Mortenson was great as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies. He does an equally good job as Frank T. Hopkins. Enjoy the race; enjoy the rescue of the princess; fast forward through the rest. <
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A really well done film
I have to say that I really enjoyed this film. It is well done and not to mention beautifully shot. It has become one of my favorite films and is much better than most of the drivel that comes out of Hollywood these days. Most times films are so overhyped that once you sit down to see them you are most often times disappointed. This film did not receive that much hype and it does not disappoint. If you love horses, adventure, beautiful scenery and a film about the spirit of man and his horse, then please do see it. And lets face it (ladies) Viggo Mortensen is just as beautiful as the scenery around him. He is a very good actor and an underated one at that. So sit back, pop some corn and enjoy a good adventure. And admire one of God's most majestic creations...........the horse.

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Old-Fashioned Adventure Tale
Here's an "epic" movie that reminded me of those that were made in the mid 1960s such as Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence Of Arabia. Interesting to note that Omar Sharif was in this modern-day movie and Dr. Zhivago. Several younger friends that saw this film told me they were very disappointed because, thanks to the previews, they thought it would be an action-packed adventure story such as "The Mummy." Well, it wasn't and it was way too slow for them. <
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>Frankly, I thought the "slow" parts were the best and overall, thought the film had just the right amount of action, instead of overdoing it as the recent Mummy pictures did. Another big plus was the cinematography. This is a beautifully filmed movie, stunning in some parts. Another good point is the language: hardly a swear word. <
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>On the negative side, there was the usual political correctness, a la Dances With Wolves in which viewers are reminded several times of the massacre at Wounded Knee and soldiers are portrayed as the bad guys. The horse race had some credibility problems, too, as "Hidalgo" came back from the dead not once but twice to race like Secretariat! <
>Anyway, if you are looking for a modern-day adventure story with old-fashioned storytelling and no language problems, this film is for you and the rest of the family.