La grande corsa

Got nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon before going out for the night then catch Big Spender.

Casper Van Dien gives a subtle but powerful performance as the convict trying to make a new life for himself and son beyond prison through rehabilitating horses that people have given up on, just as many people have given up on him. Van Dien shows not only his strong acting talents but his skill with horses and that he is more than capable of carrying a tune when his character has to sing. You will have to watch the movie to find out why!

A perfect film for all the family as it appeals to people of all ages and reinforces the message of being kind to animals, as well as people.

I loved this movie!! It is a perfect movie to watch with family of all ages. I think Casper did a wonderful job in this movie working with the horses as well as making his role very believable. I especially enjoyed seeing him sing even if it was for a small part of the movie. :)

i caught this film last week on sky and i have to say it brought a tear to my eye, Casper was brilliant. the film is set basically on a racehorse retirement farm, and its the story of a racehorse called big spender, it shows the dedication of the local prison inmates to care for these horses and Eddie (Casper) and the horse named big spender have a special kind of relationship where each relies on the other to survive and survive they do.Eddie gets his life sorted and in doing so gets his parole so that he can care for his son and also a job in the bargain at a horse stables. Big spender the horse may be a failed racehorse but he reemerges as a quality show jumping horse. its brilliant and i think could bring a tear to the hardest of hearts.

This is one of the best films I've ever seen.

I was flicking thru the channels at 6am and Big Spender was just starting on the Hall Mark channel (190 on SKY in the UK)... anywho... i stayed up from 6am till 8 just to watch it.

IT WAS AMAZING, I love horses and the film was just brilliant.

Casper Van Dian was great in it, as were the horses playing Big Spender.

The injuries on the horses looked really real. lol (Duh... course they did) anywho Really good film, watch it with your family or on your own.... go buy it now!! Robert

Eddie Burton (Casper Van Dien) is a troubled city guy from Queens. His mother is caring for his son while he's in prison. He gets into a fight. The superintendent wants to reform him. He hears about a horse farm from another prisoner and convinces her to send him on work duty. It's a retirement farm for race horses run by Jake Cotter (Graham Greene). He befriends newly-arrived, abandoned horse named Big Spender. He saves the abused horse from being euthanize with the same candy that its former jockey Mel Tennant (Tara Spencer-Nairn) used to give it.

This Animal Planet film is sincere but lacks any drama or tension. Everything is telegraphed. The horse jumping is probably the only surprise. Casper plays the jerk with a golden heart for the horse inside his outer hardened shell. Tara is too big to be a jockey. Graham is the wise man. The production is weak but otherwise, there is nothing terribly wrong. It is a TV movie of the week for horse lovers.