I consider myself a fairly big movie person, but somehow this one escaped me until now. It is of course dated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I'm a sucker for dog sled movies ie. Eight Below, Togo, Balto etc.
An against all odds adventure with a young inexperienced racer that inspires a nation. The only problem was... it's not really a true story as it claims to be. After watching the film, I of course wanted to look up the real scoop on the story as they always differ slightly than the film. However, the only thing accurate in this one was that there was indeed a dog sled race in 1917 from Winnipeg to St. Paul consisting of 522 miles. There was no Will Stoneman, and the race was won by 25 year old Canadian, Albert Campbell. Shame that he gets no recognition as the actual winner.
Other than that, like I said I did enjoy the film. I had no idea Kevin Spacey was in this until I saw him on screen, so that was a delightful surprise. I also liked, Rex Linn's performance as the seasoned American racer. Fairly decent depiction of cold climate conditions and perseverance.
An against all odds adventure with a young inexperienced racer that inspires a nation. The only problem was... it's not really a true story as it claims to be. After watching the film, I of course wanted to look up the real scoop on the story as they always differ slightly than the film. However, the only thing accurate in this one was that there was indeed a dog sled race in 1917 from Winnipeg to St. Paul consisting of 522 miles. There was no Will Stoneman, and the race was won by 25 year old Canadian, Albert Campbell. Shame that he gets no recognition as the actual winner.
Other than that, like I said I did enjoy the film. I had no idea Kevin Spacey was in this until I saw him on screen, so that was a delightful surprise. I also liked, Rex Linn's performance as the seasoned American racer. Fairly decent depiction of cold climate conditions and perseverance.