Hidalgo (2004)

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writer (WGA):

John Fusco (written by)

Release Date:

5 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure | Western

Tagline:

The True Story Of A Man Who Went Halfway Around The World To Find Himself.

Plot:

Set in 1890, this is the story of a Pony Express courier (Mortensen) who travels to Arabia to compete with his horse, Hidalgo, in a dangerous race for a massive contest prize, in an adventure that sends the pair around the world...

Plot Keywords:

Grasshopper | Moral | Spear Through Chest | Moral Choice | Horse

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Viggo Mortensen	...	Frank Hopkins
Zuleikha Robinson	...	Jazira
Omar Sharif	...	Sheikh Riyadh
Louise Lombard	...	Lady Anne Davenport
Adam Alexi-Malle	...	Aziz
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Prince Bin Al Reeh
Silas Carson	...	Katib
Harsh Nayyar	...	Yusef
J.K. Simmons	...	Buffalo Bill Cody
Adoni Maropis	...	Sakr
Victor Talmadge	...	Rau Rasmussen
Peter Mensah	...	Jaffa
Joshua Wolf Coleman	...	The Kurd
Franky Mwangi	...	Slave Boy
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman	...	Chief Eagle Horn (as Floyd Red Crow Westerman)

Also Known As:

Dash (Philippines: English title) (review title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and some mild innuendo.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic | Sioux

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40252) | Norway:15 | Malaysia:U | Sweden:11 | France:U | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIA | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

If you select the Spanish audio track on the DVD and Blu-ray Disc, you will hear Viggo Mortensen dubbing his own character's voice. He is fluent in the language.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Frank is in the sheik's tent for the first time, and the sheik's horse goes through the tent, it's night outside. When Frank leaves, the sheik wishes him a good night, but you can see the sunlight coming in through the tent flap the horse just went through.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Frank T. Hopkins: [to Hidalgo] C'mon little brother. Checkout time. Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Featured in America's First Horse: Hidalgo and the Spanish Mustang (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Gilmore's Triumphal March

Enjoy this one!

I've read some pretty disparaging comments about this movie that make me wonder what on earth was so bad? Let's see, there were objections over the predictability of the plot, the stereotyping, the music and on and on. People need to relax and enjoy this movie as entertainment only. I personally thought it was one of the nicest new releases I'd seen.

I know this was another movie about the underdog winning against all odds but I like this kind of movie. I thought the screenplay was admirable in it's restraint not having the main character even kiss the two women involved. The music was very moving and beautiful.

Perhaps some people have become so jaded that a movie simply isn't complete unless there's a helicopter chase, an exploding car or two (or in this case, a wagon), a trip to the nearby strip club with the flashing lights(where all characters in search of answers seem to end up at), gratuitous sex scenes, oh yeah, don't forget to use the 'F' word and while we're at it: let take God's name in vain a few times for the sake of 'realism'.

Hollywood needs to make more movies like this.