Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Secretariat
Secretariat Image
See the trailer
Metascore
61 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 58 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Diane Lane, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn
  • Summary: Based on the remarkable true story, "Secretariat" chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery--with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin--manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time. (Walt Disney Pictures) … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It is a great film about greatness, the story of the horse and the no less brave woman who had faith in him.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    Wallace layers on some era-specific meaning to Chenery, who seems to be simply following her lineage, thanks to Lane's quietly dignified performance. Malkovich is more fun, though Laurin isn't as outrageous as the movie thinks he is.
  3. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    30
    Secretariat stumbles along beneath the weight of leaden life lessons. They're dispensed at frequent intervals by Diane Lane, who does better than anyone had a right to expect, since she is saddled with dialogue of exceptional dreadfulness.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 3 out of 21
  1. DVR
    8
    I liked the movie but was very interested in fantasy's review. Sounds like you were there. The movie piqued my interest in Secretariat. I saw John Maklovich on Charlie Rose and he said that Secretariat had a heart double the size of a normal horse.. Fascinating. So for a movie to get you thinking, it was good. Disappointing that it was not more truthful of the events surrounding this great horse.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. Dalem
    4
    A little too squeaky clean. If you've ever worked with horses, you know that horse barns smell, that there is often mud and worse, and that there are flies and bugs. If horse racing were as pristine as presented, it just wouldn't be the same. Much of the dialogue of this movie is contrived and artificial. I also didn't buy into the idea of the millionaire woman having to struggle to save the farm. There was actually very little to create much dramatic tension in this movie, and Diane Lane seemed rather stiff in her role. The Secretariat I remember was a bigger horse than the horse in the movie. There was something almost monstrous about him. The horse in this movie is Disneyfied down to a pretty thing. At one point they show some hippies, and even they are clean and odor-free. The best thing about the movie is a quote from the Book of Job about the pure god-made monstrous energy of the horse, but the movie fails to present us with anything like this energy.… Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  3. mamafenix
    3
    Correction: Sorry, big mistake, Riva won the Derby and Belmont. Had it not been for poor track conditions for the Preakness, Mrs. Tweedy and Mr. Lucien might well have had back to back triple crown winners.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 21 User Reviews

Trailers