''8 Seconds'' is a 1994 American

contemporary Western Contemporary Western is a subgenre of the Western genre that includes contemporary settings and uses Old West themes, archetypes, and motifs, such as a rebellious antihero, open plains and desert landscapes, or gunfights. This sub-genre inclu ...

biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. Its title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored. The film stars Luke Perry as American

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

legend Lane Frost and focuses on his life and career as a

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

champion. It also features

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July (film), Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse (1993 film), Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome (1994 ...

as Tuff Hedeman, and Red Mitchell as Cody Lambert. The film was completed and premiered shortly after what would have been Frost's 30th birthday, in late 1993.

Plot

While growing up in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Lane Frost learns the tricks of the

trade at the hand of his father Clyde, an accomplished bronc rider himself. As he grows older, Lane travels the professional rodeo circuit with his best friends Tuff Hedeman and Cody Lambert. He meets and falls in love with a barrel racer, Kellie Kyle, and they eventually marry in 1984. As Lane's legend and fame increase, so does the amount of pressure he puts on himself, to be what everyone wants him to be, and he wants to show that he is as good as they say he is. His ascent to the 1987

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

bull riding world championship is marred by a cheating incident, questions about Kellie's devotion, and a nearly-broken neck. The film also follows him through the true life series between himself and Red Rock, a bull that no cowboy had ever been able to stay on for eight seconds. It cuts the series down to three rides. In 1989, Lane is the second-to-last bull rider during the last day of that year's Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. He successfully rides the bull named Takin' Care of Business and dismounts, but the bull turns back and hits him in the side with a horn, breaking some ribs and severing a main artery. As a result of excessive internal bleeding, Lane dies on the arena floor before he can be transported to the hospital. The final scene shows Hedeman later that same year at the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier championship rodeo of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the f ...

riding for the world championship. After the eight-second bell sounds, he continues to ride and stays on an additional eight seconds as a tribute to his fallen best friend, who will never be forgotten.

Cast

Production

Filming took place mainly in Boerne, Texas,

Del Rio, Texas Del Rio (in Spanish language, Spanish, ''Del Río'', "from the river") is a city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020, Del Rio had a popul ...

, Tucson Rodeo Grounds,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city in and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are ...

and a handful of other minor locations.

Release

''8 Seconds'' was released in the United States on February 25, 1994. In the Philippines, the film was released on September 8, 1994, with free "Luke Perry handkerchiefs" handed out to moviegoers who present the film's newspaper ad at the lobby of any theater; the film was promoted as being the first American film to be given by the

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion p ...

's (MTRCB) an "Excellent" rating.

Critical response

The film gained a mixed reception. The ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' praised Perry's acting but criticized the performance of Cynthia Geary, who played Kellie Frost. It holds a 31% rating from

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 13 reviews.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:8 Seconds 1994 films 1990s biographical drama films American biographical drama films Biographical films about sportspeople Country music films 1990s English-language films Films directed by John G. Avildsen Films produced by Danny DeVito Films scored by Bill Conti Films shot in Oregon Films shot in San Antonio New Line Cinema films Rodeo in film 1994 drama films 1990s American films English-language biographical drama films