Hidalgo
Dir: Joe Johnston, 2004 (8.9*)
This is based on the true story of the greatest long-distance horse racer of all time. By the film’s beginning, Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) had won over 500 races in North America without a loss, but of course his horse Hidalgo was the real winner. Arab shiek Omar Sharif hears of this legend, and convinces him to come to Arabia and participate in a 3000-mile desert race in which half the teams don’t survive. Though technically not a western, it looks like one, and does feature a horseman in the wilderness. One of the best horse racing stories ever filmed, also a great adventure film.
