The Black Stallion

Beautiful cinematography can't save this film. The rather simplistic story unfolds as a young boy washes up on an island off the North African coast, after the ship on which he and his father were passengers sunk and the boy was thrown into the waves. Miracles abound. To name just one, when the boy wakes up on the beach after his ordeal he finds, right next to him in the shallow water, his pocket knife, blade already open. Highly unlikely, to put it mildly. By spoon-feeding the viewers with easy answers the film underestimates the intelligence of the movie loving public. The characters are poorly develop, even that of the protagonist, young Alec Ramsey, played without distinction by Kelly Reno. Other actors are equally mediocre. The award for best 'actor' goes to the black stallion. A large part of the first half of the film is taken up by vividly colored and picturesque sunsets, with the boy trying to befriend the horse, but after a while it just gets boring. The second half of the film builds up to the horse race, and for a change some real dialogue takes place. The ending is unfortunately rather predictable. Undiscerning young kids may perhaps unconditionally enjoy the film, but many thinking youngsters will find it a bore, not to mention adults.

The Black Stallion feels like an extraordinary high-quality film school PhD project. I found it hard to categorize. The cinematography, lighting, and editing were beautiful -- more like a moving painting than a film. Production values were superb all the way around; you feel as though the director knows exactly what he is doing with every scene. Unfortunately, I find it hard to stare a single painting for an hour. Between the beginning of the shipwreck and the point where Mickey Rooney enters the film, there is almost an hour with no dialog. I was relieved when Alec's mother said her one line, but she spoke to the horse. This might work as a book, because narration uses language. But a film that runs an hour with no dialog or character development is interminably boring, unless you are watching just for the visuals. Then there is the weak story you can discern between the frames: Alec loses his father, almost drowns, survives a shipwreck alone. He must be traumatized. Yet he manages to break a ferocious stallion with sugar cubes, leaves, and a knife to cut ropes when required in what must be only a few days. Not to mention that he and the horse would be dead, since we never see any fresh water on the island. Oh yeah, and his skin would peel off in the blistering sun since he abandons clothes in typical Hollywood desert-island fashion, written by someone who has never spent two days in the wilderness. And he does not even talk to the horse. He gets home, and still never talks. Even 70 years ago he would have ended up in an institution. And why doesn't his mother talk to him. If you like the karaoke (no speech) version of films, you will enjoy this. But if you want a conventional story with sane characters, skip it. We got fed up and switched off in the middle, so we missed Mickey Rooney's performance (always worthwhile).

Highly overpraised old-fashioned (even slightly reactionary) kiddie yarn with lots of glossy picture postcard photography and an almost fetishistic attitude towards its beastly hero. Of course, the production values and technical credits are first-rate and you have to admire the pics lean, unharried narrative, but the humans are constantly overshadowed and remain bland, while the episodic and formulaic story too often depends on easy solutions, culminating in an unexciting horse race. Quite eye-catching, but too superficial and arty to count as a genre classic. 5 out of 10 sugar-stealing Arabs

I was so afraid to see this movie. The Black Stallion books defined my life until I was about 14 years old, if not longer (they have always continued in my memory). I read every single book that Mr. Farley wrote, most of them many times over, and I knew every character intimately - how they looked, how they talked, everything about them. And The Black - I know exactly how The Black looked and acted. So - when this movie was announced, 23 years ago, I refused to see it. I could not risk having all of my childhood memories shattered in the course of a 2 hour movie. But recently, in a discussion of favorite movies, a friend mentioned this movie as her favorite. Immediately, I was interested. So, nervously, I rented the movie, and settled in to watch it. My heart started pounding as the opening credits rolled - I was almost breathless waiting for it to start. All I can say is, now that I have seen it, I hate myself for waiting so long. Every detail of the book is captured perfectly, as if Mr. Copolla, Ms. Mathason, et al managed to film all of the images in my head and pour them onto the screen. The cinematography is astonishing, the score is beyond compare as to how well it fits with what is happening on screen. These are the technical details of the film - what is impossible to describe is just how closely this work captures the original book. There is no whiz-bang gadgetry, or special effects, although some young ones may find the shipwreck sequence to be frightening. It is a beautiful story, told masterfully.

source: The Black Stallion

Trailer—The Black Stallion

The Black Stallion

This is my all time favorite movie along with Abel Gantz' Napoleon. Every frame of this movie is picture postcard perfect. The musical score is soaring with perfect beats in tune with the images on film. My favorite: the water dance with six legs, white sand and crystal blue water. Cinematography married to music just doesn't get any better than that. I've watched this movie countless times and it NEVER fails to move me. I sigh every time the Black is lifted into the boat knowing that we're leaving paradise and returning to the "real" world. Yet, the real world has it's beauty as well. Lush landscapes, true friends, thrilling escapades, horse races and ageless wisdom. "It's his soul, Alec." What's not to like in this movie? The performances are enough to maintain the fairy tale. The horse is magnificent. The boy is a boy. And the world is a beautiful place. Thank you, everyone involved in this movie, for bringing this beauty to life.

I watched it few times many years ago.Freedom movies i like the most.That riding on the beach is one of more beautiful in the history of film.What makes it so great is your own experience of the feeling of limitations diminishing.Scenes like these lift you up so you can go for more.It is only pity that the sequence is not longer and has not slightly more inspirational melody.Two beings connected with their similarity which is love of independence,harmony.Overcoming the obstacles on the way to the ideal.Mutual help without interest if other needs it finishing in triumph.No wonder that "The Black Stallion" is the movie of which Mickey Rooney is most proud of.

I re-viewed the movie, on video, after not having seen it for many years. The cinematography is fantastic, and I believe it won an Oscar - and deservedly so. The lovely score fills in a script of few words. Even Mickey Rooney, who's had his ups and downs in his acting career, gives a wonderful performance as the former jockey who trains Alec. Treat your kids to a showing of this great film, then give them the book to read...