Madison (film)

Last updated
Madison
Madisonposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Bindley
Written by
  • William Bindley
  • Scott Bindley
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography James Glennon
Edited byWilliam Hoy
Music by Kevin Kiner
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • January 23, 2001 (2001-01-23)(Sundance)
  • April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22)(United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$517,262 [1]

Madison is a 2001 American sports drama film directed by William Bindley, about APBA hydroplane racing in the 1970s that is based on a true story. It stars Jim Caviezel as a driver who comes out of retirement to lead the Madison, Indiana, community-owned racing team.

Contents

Plot

“After an accident ends his career as a hydroplane pilot, Jim McCormick (Jim Caviezel) settles into life as an air-conditioner mechanic, husband and father in a Midwestern town. The population of Madison, Ind., is relatively small, but it has been a fixture of national powerboat racing for years -- although that's in danger of ending. With life in the town being bleak enough as is, Jim, with the blessing of his wife (Mary McCormack) and son (Jake Lloyd), enters the 1971 Gold Cup hydroplane race.” [2]

Cast

Production

Background

Madison, Indiana, on the Ohio River, has sponsored powerboat racing since 1911 and began holding an annual race called the Madison Regatta in 1929. Beginning in 1954, the race became affiliated with the American Power Boat Association, held annually in July. Though Madison has a population of only 12,000, the Regatta maintains its place in the Unlimited hydroplane American Boat Racing Association series, whose other races are in Seattle, Kennewick, Detroit, San Diego, and Doha.

The Regatta regularly draws about 70,000-100,000 people and is a tremendous source of pride for residents of the town. Also significant is that Madison has the world's only community owned unlimited hydroplane, Miss Madison . The boat was traditionally near the bottom of the circuit. In 40+ years of racing, U-6 (its number regardless of its name) had won just six races before 2005.

One of those was an upset in the 1971 Regatta, which is the basis for the movie. Making that victory even sweeter was that it was also for the APBA Gold Cup.

Caviezel's character, Jim McCormick, was a real-life veteran racer and boat owner who drove Miss Madison in 1966 and 1969–71, then raced his own boat until seriously injured some years later. Many of his actual seven-man pit crew, including Harry Volpi, Bobby Humphrey, and Tony Steinhardt, were also portrayed in the film, while Steinhardt himself appeared as a fan in a cameo.

With Jake Lloyd's retirement from acting in 2001 (he completed filming his scenes the previous year), Madison stands as his final film to date.

Delayed release

Filmed in 2000 and completing post-production in 2001, Madison was selected to be the opening film at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Playing to a standing ovation at Sundance, [3] it was picked up for distribution by a company that went out of business, stalling its release. On April 22, 2005, MGM released the film worldwide, making it the last film ever released by the studio as an independent company.[ citation needed ]

Reception

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 30% approval rating with an average rating of 4.50/10 based on 33 reviews. The website's consensus calls the film, "A predictable and heavy-handed sports drama." [4] Metacritic assigned a score of 43 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [5]

Related Research Articles

Madison, Indiana City in Indiana, United States

Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within 15 miles (24 km) of downtown Madison. Madison is the largest city along the Ohio River between Louisville and Cincinnati. Madison is one of the core cities of the Louisville-Elizabethtown-Madison metroplex, an area with a population of approximately 1.5 million. In 2006, the majority of Madison's downtown area was designated a National Historic Landmark—133 blocks of the downtown area is known as the Madison Historic Landmark District.

Hydroplane racing

Hydroplane racing is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries.

Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.

Motorboat Boat which is powered by an engine

A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.

Lee Edward "Chip" Hanauer is the third most successful Unlimited Hydroplane racer in history. He has won the APBA Gold Cup a record 11 times and was the driver of one of the most famous boats in APBA history, the Miss Budweiser, in the early to mid-1990s. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1995 as their youngest inductee. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Motorized Vehicles Hall of Fame. In 1991, he temporarily left the waters for auto racing only to return a season later.

Bernie Little was the most successful owner in Unlimited Hydroplane racing history. His Miss Budweiser team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races they entered. They won the high points championship 22 years in 40 years of competition, and the Gold Cup 14 times. His first victory came on the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington in 1966 for the Columbia Cup. The winning driver, Bill Brow, won in the Miss Budweiser with a winning speed greater than 98 mph.

Miss Madison

Miss Madison is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane team. It is the only community-owned unlimited hydroplane in the world. It is based out of Madison, Indiana, a small town of 12,000 residents on the Ohio River which annually hosts the Madison Regatta. The story of the boat and city are the subject of the 2001 film Madison.

Tom D’Eath is an American hydroplane and racecar driver from Michigan.

H1 Unlimited Hydroplane racing league

H1 Unlimited is an American Unlimited Hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. The H1 Unlimited season typically runs from July through September, consisting of five races.

Madison Regatta

The Indiana Governor's Cup is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held annually on Independence Day weekend on the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana. Madison has hosted the Madison Regatta annually since 1951, although the race was also contested in the 1930s. The race inspired a Hollywood motion picture released in 2005, titled Madison which starred actor Jim Caviezel.The Regatta was part of the APBA Gold Cup in 1979, 1980. 2019, & will be contested in 2021.

The Detroit Hydrofest is a H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held in August on the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan.

Seafair Cup Hydroplane boat race on Lake Washington in Seattle

The Seafair Cup, is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held annually in late July and early August on Lake Washington in Seattle, Washington. The race is the main attraction of the annual Seafair festival. Seattle has hosted the Seafair Cup consecutively since 1951. The event was part of the APBA Gold Cup for the following years: 1951 to 1955, 1957 to 1959, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1974, 1981, and 1985.

The 2009 H1 Unlimited season is the fifty fourth running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplane, jointly sanctioned by APBA, its governing body in North America and UIM, its international body. It is the first season to run under its new name.

The 2011 H1 Unlimited season was the fifty sixth running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplane, jointly sanctioned by APBA, its governing body in North America and UIM, its international body.

The 2012 H1 Unlimited season is the fifty seventh running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplane, jointly sanctioned by APBA, its governing body in North America and UIM, its international body.

The 2015 H1 Unlimited season is the sixtieth running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplanes, sanctioned by the APBA. It will be the first time since 2009 that the series will have no sanctioning from the UIM.

The APBA Gold Cup is an American hydroplane boat race, named for the American Power Boat Association. It is now run as part of the H1 Unlimited season.

The 2016 H1 Unlimited season is the sixty-first running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplanes, sanctioned by the APBA.

The 2021 H1 Unlimited season is the sixty-fifth running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplanes, sanctioned by the APBA. The 2020 season would have been the sixty-fifth running but that season was cancelled because of COVID-19.

The 2017 H1 Unlimited season is the sixty-second running of the H1 Unlimited series for unlimited hydroplanes, sanctioned by the APBA.

References

  1. ↑ "Madison".
  2. ↑ "Madison (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Jim Caviezel, finally in the driver's seat for hydro film". The Seattle Times. April 14, 2005. Retrieved 2020-04-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ "Madison (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Madison". Metacritic . Retrieved September 27, 2019.
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