The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 72

18 Friday October 31 2003 The Guardian The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Dir: Marcus Nispel With: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour 98 mins, cert 18 texaschainsawmovie.com lam Mm one's skull and out of the camper van. The movie finds tastily grotesque Diane Arbus locals to freak out our poor heroes and heroines. Everything is as unsubtle as you like, and let's face it, unsubtlety is the order of the day. It's horrible and explicitly violent, but never authentically scary. PB Seabiscuit Dir: Gary Ross With: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William Macy 141 mins, cert PG seabiscuitmovie.com If horses could talk, Gary Ross' Seabiscuit might get an interesting review.

Unfortunately they can't, and anyway, Seabiscuit, the equine in question, is long dead. Gone, but not forgotten, because this was the most fadored dirt-track racer in American history who went from being a dog (not literally) to a thoroughbred who could seemingly not be When Seabiscuit beat War Admiral, the champion of champions, one in three Americans listened to the race The cash registers have been playing sweet music in the US for this bullish revival of Tobe Hooper's classic horror creation. Old Leatherface is back with his growling chain-saw and his picturesque collection of body parts. This movie presents TCM as an early 1970s period piece thus obviating the usual oh-no-I-can't-get-a-sign al-on-my-cell-phone moments with some borrowings from Blair Witch. As with Jeepers Creepers, the best scenes come at the beginning with the cute teens in the car; there's real menace and foreboding.

With the first horrible act of violence, though, the camera takes us on a grossout visual journey through some This was all in the late 1930s, and the result was that more column inches were written about Seabiscuit than about Franklin Roosevelt, then the popular president, or Clark Gable, king of Hollywood at the time. Gary Ross has based his film on the truth, as told by Laura Hillebrand in her bestselling book and, while taking a few liberties, shoots the tough scramble of the racing better than I've seen it done before, and sums up the Depression years with some aplomb too. His thesis is that, at that time, America needed heroes and Seabiscuit, the failure who triumphed, became a legend because he was needed. When hebeat War Admiral, the champion of champions on his own home ground, one in three Americans, including Roosevelt, listened to the race. Thereafter, nothing could stop him.

The film, one of the few sports films to reach $100m at the US box office, has about a dozen horses playing our hero at one time or another, so there'll be no Oscars there. But Jeff Bridges as the Tucker-like owner, Tobey Maguire as jockey Red Pollard and Chris Cooper as Tom Smith, the trainer who says "almost nothing, constantly" are uniformly excellent. The film is too long it takes nearly an hour before we actually see the horse and has a screenplay which deposits upon us quite a few cornball lines. But it tells such a good story in such a cleverly old-fashioned way that you go along with practically everything. It may be manipulative.

But I don't think Seabiscuit, if he were alive today, would give too much of a horse laugh. Derek Malcolm beaten. It was a personality change almost unheard of, aided by an eccentric owner, trainer and jockey who sought to share his propensity to turn their ragged lives around. IBHB Orwell Observed Seminars and screenings To celebrate the centenary of George Orwell's birth the Newsroom: Guardian and Observer archive and visitor centre, in partnership with the UCL Orwell Archive, is hosting an exhibition on his life and work. Seminars, film screenings, an education programme and a new anthology Observer Years' complement the exhibition.

Seminars start at 7pm Orwell and Literature Tuesday 11 November 2003 Robert McDum with Peter Davison and Gordon Bowker Orwell and Culture Tuesday 16 November 2003 Peter Preston with DJ Taylor and Polly Toynbee OrweU and Politics Tuesday 25 November 2003 Timothy Garton Ash with Scott Lucas and Geoffrey Wheatcroft Screenings of Animal Farm (1955) start at 2pm Saturday 22 November 2003, Saturday 29 November 2003, Saturday 6 December 2003, Saturday 13 December 2003 All events are free but advance booking is essential. For further information and booking details please visit ohserver.co.uknewsroomArwell or telephone 020 788b 9898. Orwell Observed runs from 5 November 2003 to 9 January 2004. Seminars presented with support from Penguin Books. Newsroom: Guardian and Observer archive and visitor centre.

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