Phar Lap

Interesting true story, the story of Australia's greatest racehorse. Gives and insight into the history of the horse and its rise to fame. Also shows the impact on the humans involved - the owner, trainers, racing authorities and, quite importantly, the general Australian population. Some very heart-warming moments.

Maybe a bit too join-the-dots as far as plot goes, but this does not detract too much from the entertainment.

Great performance by Martin Vaughan as Phar Lap's curmudgeony trainer, Harry Telford. Good work too from Tom Burlinson, in only his second cinema movie.

This is a fantastic movie! The best part about it is that it's based on the true story of a horse named Phar Lap, which means lightning in Chinese. This story tells you about the life of this horse, who was laughed at as a yearling, because of his skinny and scraggly appearance and ugly head and his inability to really "move". He was purchased to be a racehorse, and he was from good bloodlines, but he was bought for a mere pittance compared to what a typically good horse would cost. His trainer Harry Telford was about to give up on him and sell him at the owners request, an American named Dave Davis . Harry's assistant and strapper, Tommy Woodcock, begged for them to give HIM a chance with the horse. He had developed a strong bond with Phar Lap and really was attached to him. Given a chance with the horse, Tommy would show them all, as he took over the training. He worked the horse gently and steadfastly. The horse soon grew into a massive, muscular and handsome horse, worthy of anyone's attention. Phar Lap loved Tommy so much that he would do anything Tommy put forward for him to do. He started training and running at lighting speed and before long and was taken to the tracks to race against the two top horses in Australia.....where he won by a landslide! He raced and won the Melbourne Cup as well as many other famous races. He lived only 3 short years but won 30 races in that period. He ran against the best, and had many fans but many foes as well, since he was the fastest horse around. There were threats placed on his life if he were to continue racing. This is how awesome this horse was. He had intimidated the world of racing with his ability to out race all others, even with the heavy handicaps they tried to bring him down with. He proved to be unbeatable, even with the record breaking weight the Australian Horse Racing Association made him run with. He was so good that he was interfering with the odds at the races as no one could beat him. This did not make the bookmakers happy. He mysteriously died after a Huge race in America called the "Agua Caliente". He became one of the worlds most famous horses of all time. If you love horses, or you even like them a little, then see this movie and it will change your perspective on horses forever! TWO THUMBS UP, AAA+, and 5 STARS!

I saw the movie PharLap when it was originally released and several times since .I have also read a number of books on his story. It is a very entertaining and moving film..but it rather annoys me that the makers of the picture imply heavily that if it was not for Tommy Woodcock PharLap would not have been the champion that he turned out to be. This is a slight on the real trainer,Harry Telford and to a lesser extent on PharLap himself. The truth is that PharLap would have achieved greatness with any competent trainer and would have done so with or without Tommy Woodcock. PharLap is a good movie.It is a pity that the makers sacrifice the facts for the sake of the story itself and to the detriment of the character of Telford.

I enjoyed this film, especially being a horse racing fan myself. The one possible flaw of this film is the beginning. It begins the film with Phar Lap's death, and looks back at the events that transpired before it. However even though every Australian knows the complete story, for any foreign viewer the whole story has been given away! This spoils a possible strong and shocking end to the story.

The story line of Phar Lap is strong, he was a freak racehorse who came from rags to riches to win the hearts of all Australians during the great depression. After winning the biggest race in the world, his life tragically ends in suspicious circumstances, which forces a nation into mourning. Sub-plots however, including a romance featuring Tommy Woodcock, and Telford's money problems don't hold up. This doesn't spoil the movie as the story of Phar Lap can stand on its own.

Tom Burlinson does a good job of Tommy Woodcock, Rob Leibman practically walks away with the movie as the American Dave Davis. However, Martin Vaughan's performance is average as Phar Lap's trainer, Harry Telford.

Even with the tragic ending it is still light entertaining movie about a great Australian Icon.

This movie is the "Rocky" of animal pictures. Based on a true story, it made me want to go and do a little research on the real Phar Lap. Your emotions will span the scale while you watch this movie. It doesn't have an all star cast...or even a recognizable one, but this movie is worth a rental fee or purchase.