The film was a box office failure, critical responses were mixed and Hidalgo was somewhat controversial due to debate over the accuracy of Hopkins's claims.
Held annually for centuries, the Ocean of Fire - a three thousand mile survival race across the Arabian desert - was a challenge restricted to the finest Arabian horses ever bred of the purest and noblest lines and owned by the greatest royal families. In 1897, a wealthy sheikh, Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif), invited an American, Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen), and his mustang horse to enter the race for the first time. During the course of his career, Hopkins had been a cowboy and dispatch rider for the United States of America (U.S.) government. In this capacity he had carried a message to the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, authorizing what became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. While working as a stunt rider in Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows, Hopkins is advertised as the greatest rider the West had ever known. The Sheikh puts this claim to the test, pitting the American cowboy and his mustang against the world's greatest Arabian horses and Bedouin riders, some of whom are determined to prevent a foreigner - and especially an "impure" horse - from finishing the race. For Hopkins, the Ocean of Fire becomes not only a matter of pride and honor, but a race for his very survival as he and his horse attempt the supposedly near-impossible desert crossing.
Throughout the story, there are many who attempt to kill Hopkins and Hidalgo. Chief adversaries include the wealthy, spoiled aristocrat Lady Anne Davenport, who owns a rival horse and is used to getting her own way, and the Sheikh's treacherous nephew, who wishes, contrary to his uncle's decree, to marry his cousin, the sheikh's daughter Jazirah (Zuleikha Robinson). A spirited girl and a horse-rider in her own right, who had been somewhat indulged by her father because his sons are deceased, she is rescued from raids by Hopkins and Hidalgo, whom she grows to trust. Eventually, Hopkins wins the race and travels home to America, later to buy many mustangs who had been sentenced to death by the Government. These he releases into the wild, allowing Hidalgo to go with them.A recurring theme in the film is the fact that Hopkins' father was White American and his mother a member of the Native American Lakota tribe. The tribespeople refer to him as "Blue Child" or "Far Rider". As a half-breed, he feels sympathy and pity for his mother's people, who are being driven to extinction by the settlers. However, he does not generally reveal his heritage, especially after the Wounded Knee massacre for which he feels partly responsible. Jazirah, who has become his friend, compares her desire not to wear a veil with Hopkins' heritage; that he mustn't "go through life hiding what God made you.... like me." In the end, he casts in his lot with the tribal ways, singing a Lakota prayer to revive the injured and fatigued Hidalgo, and rides bareback for the final length of the race.
Cast
* Viggo Mortensen, as Frank Hopkins, one of the greatest long-distance riders* Zuleikha Robinson, as Jazira, daughter of the Sheikh who is saved by Hopkins and Hidalgo in raid
* Omar Sharif, as Sheikh Riyadh, Sheikh who finds his daughter is strong and trusts Hopkins in the end
* Louise Lombard, as Lady Anne Davenport, British aristocrat who bets her horse against Hopkins
* Adam Alexi-Malle, as Aziz, betrayer of the Sheikh who is killed by Jaffa while rescuing Jazira
* Saïd Taghmaoui, as Prince Bin Al Reeh, prince who is to marry Jazira by force
* Silas Carson, as Katib
* Harsh Nayyar, as Yusef
* J.K. Simmons, as Buffalo Bill Cody
* Adoni Maropis, as Sakr
* Victor Talmadge, as Rau Rasmussen
* Peter Mensah, as Jaffa, guard of Jazira who while on rescue mission for Jazira kills many of her captors but is shot by Aziz but in turn kills him
* Joshua Wolf Coleman, as The Kurd
* Franky Mwangi, as Slave Boy
* Floyd Red Crow Westerman, as Chief Eagle Horn
* Elizabeth Berridge, as Annie Oakley
* C. Thomas Howell, as Preston Webb
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