Customer Rating:      Summary: Excellent movie............very accurate and compelling. Comment: This video very closely folows Jane Schwartz's book, Ruffian, Burning from the Start. The characters are perfect for their roles, the story is very well-developed, and I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Anyone who has read about this beautiful horse will be moved to tears at the end. After reading the book, the visual images enhanced my understanding of the horse, the trainer, and the untimely death of a magnificant animal. I would highly recommend it to anyone............as I would highly recommend reading the book.........first!
Customer Rating:      Summary: Ruffian Comment: This movie is a great horse movie. The first time I saw it, I cried a lot. I mean A LOT! It is a moving movie and a historical one too. A true story of an amazing horse. I don't necessarily approve of horse racing, I think it's kind of cruel. I don't cry when I watch it now, because I know what's coming. It's well worth watching for the historical value.
Customer Rating:      Summary: A Worthy Portrayal of Racing's Greatest Filly Comment: This movie is tremendous! Its very well done and the acting is awesome! I knew the story even before I saw the show, but It didn't make the traumatic and heart breaking final race of Ruffian any easier. I nearly cried , it was so sad. I think this film has done a worthy job of portraying the glorious career of the greatest filly racing had ever seen.
The music and amazing media effects add to the brilliance. This is a must see.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Worth it for the extras Comment: I'm like many other reviewers in that I remember watching Ruffian's match race. The beauty of watching her race and the horror of watching her not only breakdown during a race but also refuse to stop racing are indescribable. Did the movie capture that emotion? No.
I found the movie to be too melodramatic and overly sentimental. As some other reviewers have no doubt mentioned, they didn't get horse racing exactly right, but I am always willing to forgive them that. What I regret is that they never seemed to manage to capture the spirit of Ruffian - her fire, her drive, her incandescence. That was the essence of Ruffian and why she was not just another fast horse but a legend, even before her death.
But if you have any fondness for horses or horse racing, you should buy this CD any way for two reasons. One, it includes a Sports Century Flashback of the match race, including interviews with Whiteley, Vasquez, Janney's son, and exercise riders who were around Ruffian. The Sports Century show hits all the notes that the movie some how misses.
Second, if the pain of losing Ruffian leaves you in tears, you can ease the pain by watching the video of her races and appreciating just how special she really was.
If you want to read more about her, I strongly recommend Schwarz's excellent book Ruffian: Burning From the Start
Customer Rating:      Summary: The Unfinished Symphony...... Comment: I was fortunate enough to watch the broadcast premiere of this film. That very same day, a Thoroughbred contemporary named Rags To Riches won The Belmont. The third and final jewel of The Triple Crown. I remember hearing of Ruffian's story when I was a child, but was never well informed of her story from its humble beginning, to its tragic ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and purchased it when was first released on DVD. It is a film that I continue to enjoy every time I watch it, and Ruffian is a horse that I grow more fondly of as a result. My grandfather loved horse racing, and if he were alive today, I am confident that he would have enjoyed the film the same way I have. Though Ruffian has long since passed, her beauty, as spoken of in the film, will never fade. She did make a lasting impression on not only the sport, but upon all of the hearts and minds of the people who love and adore these creatures just as I do. Her career was as Mr. Nack stated, "An Unfinished Symphony" I know that he spoke of "The Great Match Race" as the unfinished symphony of horse racing. However, I feel that Ruffian's breakdown and subsequent passing transcended the sport. It was the loss of one of the sports greatest thoroughbreds, and the loss of a life incomplete in its form, substance and overall composition. Hence, her life, was The Unfinished Symphony.....
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