Btexxamar
I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Munki Impius
I just caught this on DVD (2005) , and wish I'd seen it on release. I know little of the inner workings of the Blue Universities , or rowing , but of course being an Englishman always watch the boat race , and have since childhood. It was quite revealing how involved Americans are at Oxford , and the on board filming , and location shots were excellent. The first scenes showed a threat to takeover by the yanks , but slowly throughout the film the real metal of men was tested until the best comment in the movie summed it all up "It isn't great oarsman that win the boat race but great men" or words to that effect , which left the yank speechless. The whole film slowly revealed what type of man makes a good eights rower , and what is lacking in American character . A brilliant education in what it means to be British , and why we will always be superior to Americans. The one thing missing was some basic background in rowing rules , like the seat tests ? and stations ? etc.
rogierr
Rowing is a lot harder and satisfactory than running, and not only because of the physics, but also because of the team building style that can pre-eminently make or break a winning team. 'True Blue' is not a 'Chariots of fire' with it's David Watkin (Catch-22) cinematography and Vangelis (Blade Runner) score, but as I like rowing a lot better than running, this was a good film for me, especially because I started rowing in 1996. The film is not only appealing for the English or Americans, but also for the Dutch. The reason for that might be the Dutch victory in the 1996 Olympic Boat Race (and remember: no points for second place). These 'Holland Acht' guys must have seen this film the day before.Another good point of this movie is the absence of religious interference with the urge to perform, and the presence of struggle for influence between coaches and rowers. Apart from the infighting that's what is concerning rowers most. 'War is not about who's right, but about who's left (in the boat)'. 'True blue' is definitely more than a simple tv-movie for rowers. Credit to cinematographer Brian Tufano (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Quadrophenia, Lords of discipline).Accordingly, I have to rate both movies 8/10
AlexV-4
The real problem with this is that the full story--or whatever the book of "True Blue" purports to be--is already mind-bendingly complicated. There's no way this story was ever going to make it to film without being seriously mangled, and sadly, that's what happened. The script is plain awful, and the editing doesn't help.
lowfield
Based on the true story of an American at Oxford swearing to overcome defeat in the 1986 Boat Race (Oxford's first defeat to Cambridge in 11 years) by returning the following year with some international colleagues and the resultant "mutiny" when they refuse to follow the coach's training schedules.The film is a fictionalised account and comes down firmly (as did the book on which it is based) on the side of chief coach Dan Topolski and OUBC President Donald MacDonald. It's not a half bad attempt at telling a story with a good bash at both trying to underline the importance in the old universities of the boat race and the physical demands the race makes.The rowing is reasonably portrayed too, using real oarsmen as their opposition and with the actors having been taught to row by Topolski, but sometimes the continuity is lost and there are mistakes aplenty if you really try to go looking for them!It's not a film that challenges, but it does entertain - although how much it entertains a dry-bob is the big question!
