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The First Saturday in May
Directed by
Brad Hennegan
and
John Hennegan
2008
1h 36m
PG-13
Documentary
,
Sport
6.9
69%
86%
Add to Watchlist
Follow six diverse trainers as they jockey for position along the 2006 Kentucky Derby trail.
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Where to Watch The First Saturday in May
Apple TV
Buy $5.99
Rent $3.99
Cast of The First Saturday in May
Frank Amonte
Self
Barbaro
cast
Peter Brette
Self
Chuck Chambers
Self
Bob Holthus
Self
Bonnie Holthus
Self
Nina Kaiser
Self
Michael Matz
Self
John McKee
Self
Kiaran McLaughlin
Self
Paul Parrish
Self
Dale Romans
Self
Jake Romans
Self
Daniel Hendricks Simon
Self
The First Saturday in May Reviews
Boston Globe
Dennis Fisher
All-consuming passion and the ways in which it works positively and negatively in the lives of six horse trainers is brought to the screen brilliantly in the new documentary The First Saturday in May, an inside look at the run-up to the 2006 Derby.
Seattle Times
John Hartl
The movie has more heart than art, but it's unfailingly genuine.
San Francisco Chronicle
Leba Hertz
The story isn't just about the result, but rather a look at lives and hopes that are part of our American culture.
Chicago Tribune
Michael Esposito
The horses' quest for the Kentucky Derby is supposed to be the big-picture idea, but there isn't a whole lot of horse footage--too much standing around in stalls waiting.
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
For anyone with an interest in racing, First Saturday is a sure bet.
Detroit News
Tom Long
Horse-racing fans will likely just find fun and nobility here; others may find a too easy faade stripped bare and ugly. Fate intervened in this film. Perhaps it was trying to tell us something.
Entertainment Weekly
Sean Howe
The First Saturday in May digs in its heels with acute portraits of six trainers, including a paralyzed ex-cyclist in California and an MS-stricken Lexington native who works for the royal family of Dubai.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Michele Kenner
The filmmakers emphasize the disparate personalities of the trainers, who can taste victory with every stride of the beautiful animals with whom they work, groom and feed.
AV Club
Nathan Rabin
May takes its sweet time getting to the big day, but that eventually works in its favor, since the filmmakers are ultimately more concerned with the journey than the destination.
Los Angeles Times
Mark Olsen
Never [coalesces] into a greater portrait and tending to cancel each other out. Sometimes a story does need a star.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
It sure inspired me to make plans for Emerald Downs.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
As the filmmakers tell us at the beginning, 40,000 Thoroughbreds are born every year, but only 20 make it to the Kentucky Derby. Thus starts the movie's confusion about whether it is a documentary about the horses or their human competitors.
Slant Magazine
Bill Weber
Handicapped by an unavoidable postscript that even nonfans are apt to recall: the eventually fatal injury in the Preakness Stakes to Derby winner Barbaro.
Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
The film, a behind-the-scenes look at several trainers' efforts to get their horses into fighting shape for the brief contest, lacks the depth or context to make it compelling.
Chicago Reader
J. R. Jones
The video is dully and cheaply shot, but the Hennegans are lifelong racing fans with family ties to the sport, and their infatuation with the derby is infectious.
Variety
Variety Staff
Granted sweep and stature by the triumph of the legendary Derby winner Barbaro and the big shadow cast by his tragic destiny, pic successfully elaborates on the sorts of color pieces that traditionally precede the race on television.
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
It's pretty much for people who know the game well and want their perceptions massaged, not challenged.
Village Voice
Aaron Hillis
First Saturday isn't exactly a winner, but it places.
New York Magazine/Vulture
Sara Cardace
A generally upbeat film, it could easily work as a promotion for the sport-although it does offer some sad moments courtesy of the much-publicized tragedy of Barbaro.
Film Journal International
Lewis Beale
It's got its share of characters, plenty of triumphs, and a Shakespearean tragedy at its core. When it comes to drama, that's a hard combination to beat.
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