Hidalgo

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="06dd8c02dduajq.jpg"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">       <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><IMG SRC="0660b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="a57b8110.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="273" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Judy & Lutz Perschon</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judy Lutz Perschon"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >back to</FONT>  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><B>At The Movies With Lutz</B></U></A></div> <div> Hidalgo</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="779" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 210 WIDTH="767"><div> This is one of those "Based on a True Story" stories that one really has to wonder what is fact and what is fiction.  I suspect without a lot of research, that there was a  cowboy named Frank T. Hopkins and that he entered the race - and maybe won.  So what if it's not all true.  This is just a great bit of entertainment and good plain fun.   This is a Disney flick for crying out loud.  And the hero is played by Viggo Mortensen, who is now immortalized as a result of playing Aragorn, in Lord of the Rings.   There are parts of this movie that you'll say are unbelievable, and they are, but you just love this guy and his horse so much you don't care.  I really like the way Roger Ebert sums it all up: <I>"</I><I>But if you do not have some secret place in your soul that still responds even a little to brave cowboys, beautiful princesses, and noble horses, then you are way too grown up and need to cut back on cable news.".  </I>I didn't care for the opening scenes with the wholesale slaughter of Indians and I'm not sure it was necessary to the movie.  But overall this is a good movie and we liked watching it.   Probably best seen on the big screen.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 51 WIDTH="767"><div> Lutz's Rating <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Judy's Rating - <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 164 WIDTH="767"><div> Storyline From Yahoo:  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" >Based on the true story of the greatest long-distance horse race ever run, “Hidalgo” is an epic action-adventure and one man’s journey of personal redemption. Held yearly for centuries, the Ocean of Fire — a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian Desert — was a challenge restricted to the finest Arabian horses ever bred, the purest and noblest lines, owned by the greatest royal families. In 1890, a wealthy Sheik invited an American and his horse to enter the race for the first time. Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) was a cowboy and dispatch rider for the US cavalry who had once been billed as the greatest rider the West had ever known. The Sheik (Omar Sharif) would put this claim to the test, pitting the American cowboy and his mustang, Hidalgo, against the world’s greatest Arabian horses and Bedouin riders—some of whom were determined to prevent the foreigner from finishing the race. For Frank, the Ocean of Fire becomes not only a matter of pride and honor, but a race for his very survival as he and his horse, Hidalgo, attempt the impossible. </FONT></div> <div> <B>Ratings: Critics C+     Users B+</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>