True Blue (1996)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Ferdinand Fairfax

Writers:

Rupert Walters (screenplay)
Daniel Topolski (book) ...

Release Date:

15 November 1996 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

To be second is to be last.

Plot:

The story of the year the Oxford and Cambridge boat race changed from a gentleman's race to one where winning was everything. |

Plot Keywords:

Oxford | Boat | Boat Race | University | Rival

Cast

Johan Leysen	...	Daniel Topolski
Dominic West	...	Donald MacDonald
Dylan Baker	...	Michael Suarez, S.J.
Geraldine Somerville	...	Ruth MacDonald
Josh Lucas	...	Dan Warren
Brian McGovern	...	Rick Ross
Noah Huntley	...	Nick Bonham
Edward Atterton	...	Freddy Prideaux-Jones
Ryan Bollman	...	Morrison Black
Andrew Clover	...	Rob Atkins
Jonathan Cake	...	Patrick Conner
Tom Hollander	...	Sam Peterson
Nicholas Rowe	...	David Ball
Patrick Malone	...	Mike Johnson
Alexis Denisof	...	Ed Fox

Also Known As:

Miracle at Oxford (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Norway:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Booker Entertainment

Trivia:

The Cambridge crew in this film were played by members of the rowing squad from Imperial College, London, including several members of the British international squad.

Goofs:

Continuity: The depiction of the race includes real footage of the Boat Race in 1997 - the problem being that the crews are the wrong way round. This can be seen during one of the cuts between actor crew and actual Boat Race footage.

Quotes:

Morrison Black: So tell me something - what is it that makes Topolski such a hot shot?
Nick Bonham: I don't know, I've never understood it... Maybe he's hung like a horse?

Soundtrack:

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Not as bad as it could be - but lacking a certain something all the same.

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!