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Hero + horse = Hidalgo!(Now Playing)(Movie Review)
Paul Bunyan. Johnny Appleseed. Annie Oakley. John Henry. Davy Crockett. America has a rich tradition of folk heroes--one that Walt Disney Pictures, portrayer of many of this country's folk heroes on film, adds to with Hidalgo, a live-action adventure movie based on the legend of Frank T. Hopkins.
The worst part of the film is found at the very beginning, when a misleading placard claims the movie is "based on the life of Frank T. Hopkins." In truth, the facts of Hopkins's life are suspect at best. Though Hopkins claimed to be a sort of Forrest Gump of the Old West--surviving Wounded Knee and performing in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, both of which the movie briefly touches on--contemporary scholars have suggested it's all bunk.
Disney turns those myths, however dishonestly, into a rousing living legend. The movie focuses on a 3,000-mile horse race across the sands of the Arabian Desert. Hopkins, played by Viggo Mortensen of the Lord of the Rings films, enters the contest as the infidel challenger and rider of a mutt mustang (Hidalgo) in a land of purebred stallions. A portion of the Hopkins legend is that he was part Native American, making horse and master half-breed brothers of sorts, emblems of the American melting pot.
Like most folk tales, Hidalgo's narrative operates on the level of a children's story. If not for the harsh bursts of violence, this would be a wonderful kids movie, full of grand adventures and heroic deeds. The central contest is less a race than a survival test, with Hopkins facing down lethal thirst, brutal heat, swarming sandstorms, and other forces of nature. Then there are the conniving competitors--led by a British femme fatale (Louise Lombard) who is desperate to beat the rough hewn upstart with her own horse.
Mortensen was one of the most valuable human anchors in the fantasy-laden Rings films, and here he is called on to personalize another mythic character. As a folk hero, Hopkins is less a specific individual than an amalgam of all we want an American to be. Mortensen has the common-man charm down pat--the ...
- Fellows expose fraud.(Frank Hopkins of Hidalgo)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: Geographical Amodeo, Christian May 1, 2004 700+ words
...latest cinema epic, Hidalgo. Fellows Basha and CuChullaine...self-publicist Frank Hopkins--including his winning...spare, the focus of Hidalgo--are entirely false...have written a book, Hidalgo and Other Stories, that...opinion and features all of Hopkins' known writings...
- `Hidalgo'.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Tarlach, Gemma March 4, 2004 700+ words
...endurance rider Frank T. Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo racing in a fabled...Viggo Mortensen as Hopkins. "Hidalgo" is Mortensen's...actor T.J., as Hidalgo, gives an unusually...American Indian, Hopkins is horrified when...
- A REAL HORSE TALE 'RINGS' KING MORTENSEN BACK IN THE SADDLE FOR 'HIDALGO'.(U)
- Newspaper article from: Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) March 4, 2004 700+ words
...half-Indian cowboy, Frank T. Hopkins. It's focused on Hopkins' claim that he and his mustang pony Hidalgo competed in (and won) the Ocean...efforts are driven by fear of Hopkins' claim that Hidalgo mated with a purebred Arabian...
- `Hidalgo' star Viggo Mortenson: The man who wouldn't be king.(Knight Ridder...
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Lawson, Terry March 4, 2004 700+ words
...m living this chapter." This chapter, "Hidalgo," is based on the true story of Frank T. Hopkins, a onetime Army dispatch rider who traveled...Rasmussen bankrolled Hopkins and his mustang, Hidalgo, to Saudi Arabia to compete in a 3,000...
- Movies: Why the long race?; HIDALGO (12A).(Features)
- Newspaper article from: Sunday Mirror (London, England) April 18, 2004 700+ words
...Express rider Frank T. Hopkins (Mortensen) and his trusty mustang Hidalgo take part in the...Indiana Jones, as Hopkins has to tackle rival...are also five other Hidalgo doubles to take on...DUST TRY HARDER: Hopkins has a will to win
- Mortensen's 'Hidalgo' an empty epic; Tale of legendary Western rider gives...
- Newspaper article from: The Washington Times March 5, 2004 700+ words
...fluke) and his horse, Hidalgo, are wasting away their...Wild West Show. Mr. Hopkins formerly served in the...145 minutes WEB SITE: hidalgo.movies.go.com...CAPTION(S): Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen, center) and his horse, Hidalgo, race 3,000 miles...
- Hidalgo.(Movie Review)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: Interview Beck, Henry Cabot March 1, 2004 700+ words
...horseman-turned-circus rider Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) and his trusty steed, Hidalgo, kick sand in the faces of their hosts when...and-tired boy-and-horse formula, but Hidalgo's still likely to cross the box-office...
- `Hidalgo' will take you on the ride of your life.(Arts and Lifestyle)
- Newspaper article from: The Boston Herald Verniere, James March 5, 2004 700+ words
...and dispatch rider Frank T. Hopkins. In scenes set in 1890 during the Indian wars, Hopkins, together with his fast and stouthearted mustang Hidalgo, works for the U.S. Cavalry...Cavalry doesn't know is Hopkins is also American Indian on...
Source: HighBeam Research, Hero + horse = Hidalgo!(Now Playing)(Movie Review)