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DVD The Black Stallion/The Black Stallion Returns
The Black Stallion Adapted from the beloved novel by Walter Farley, the 1979 family classic The Black Stallion was hailed by no less than hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael, who wrote that "it may be the greatest children's movie ever made." A visual feast from start to finish, the timeless tale plays out on almost mythic terms. A young boy survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a deserted island with a graceful black stallion, with whom the boy develops an almost empathic friendship. After being rescued and returning home, the two make a winning team as jockey and lightning-fast racehorse under the tutelage of a passionate trainer, played by Mickey Rooney in an Oscar-nominated role. From its serenely hypnotic island sequence to the breathtaking race scenes, this delightful film is guaranteed to enthrall any viewer, regardless of age. The Black Stallion is a genuine masterpiece of family entertainment. --Jeff Shannon
The Black Stallion Returns A rare sequel that can stand alone, 1983's The Black Stallion Returns is both a fun follow-up and a fine adventure in its own right. Kelly Reno returns as the now adolescent, deceptively ordinary Alec Ramsay, who stows away on a plane for Casablanca after the titular horse is kidnapped by Arabs. Getting him back pitches Alec into the middle of tribal rivalries and all sorts of complicated, dangerous intrigue. The cast includes Teri Garr, Vincent Spano, and Woody Strode, but the real star here may be cinematographer Carlo Di Palma, a veteran of several Woody Allen films and a master of color, light, and framing. Director Robert Dalva edited the previous film and happily executes countless ideas he appears to have stored up from his first stallion outing. But it's Reno's resourceful hero--with his anti-Harry Potter normalcy--that finally takes hold of viewers. --Tom Keogh
Review(s): DVD The Black Stallion/The Black Stallion Returns
Charming boy-horse relationship
The beauty of friendship and the power of love between a boy and a horse is shown in these adventure films where the gallant black horse and the sympathy of the boy make you love the films.
Besides the surrounding atmosphere and the other actors contribute to the making of these very charming films which can be seen with all the family.
Superb Gift Set
I own both these movies but bought them seperately. I am happy to see they have now been released as a set. I have written a seperate review for "The Black Stallion" but wanted to reiterate, for this gift set, and to address some of the odd claims in the other reviews.
I am an avid horseperson, and an Arabian horse enthusiast. As such, I can pick out at a glance the errors in horse handling and/or acting that permeate most movies dealing with them. I am happy to say that, hands down, "The Black Stallion" is the best movie ever made dealing with horses.
As a book adaptation, it is superb. Those who expect slavish adherence to the book will be disappointed; as with any good movie adaptation, changes should and have been made to adapt it to film. These changes translate onto screen absolutely perfectly, giving one of those rarest of the rare phenonmenons - a movie as good as, if not surpassing, its literary source.
Even better, as a movie by itself, "The Black Stallion" is a masterpiece. The actors, the casting, the sound, the directing and most especially, the cinematography, are of the highest quality. At the time of its release, "The Black Stallion" was highly acclaimed and nominated for several Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor. It won in its category for film editing, and it is a widely held opinion that Caleb Deschanel's cinematography was one of the best of the decade.
Its sequel is not as magical or masterful, but it is still a well done movie, much more action packed than its predecessor, with excellent actors and cinematography. The plot and script were not as tight, but the horse action lived up to its high standard, and there were some exceptional moments. The ending of "The Black Stallion Returns" should be given special mention, as it is a deeply poignant and bittersweet one. It should really be seen as the final moment to the saga of both movies.
There are some downsides, however, to the DVDs. The transfer quality was not good, especially on the first; one can discern scratch marks and fuzziness and the films badly need to be remastered (the cinematography still manages to shine through though). There are virtually no "extras" for fans to see. Both DVDs contain the original trailers (which are nothing to shout about) and "The Black Stallion" has a small booklet giving details on the production. That is it.
Still, I am happy to say these films are not just for children and can be watched and appreciated by anyone. They are truely exceptional pieces of work.
Trivia and Notes:
Where some ideas come from, I simply do not know. Dear readers - Cass Ole was the main horse used for the film, but the names of all the horse doubles are the very last item on the end credits of the first movie. There were more than four of them. The small booklet with the first movie and the official "Black Stallion" website can give you more details.
The second movie, unforunately, does not list its horse actor "doubles" but for those interested, it is well known among Arabian horse enthusiasts that the arabian stallions El Mokhtar and Diamond Night were both involved. A quick internet search on "El Mokhtar" can confirm his involvment, as well as a picture or two.
Cass Ole was a true black Arabian stallion, with 4 white socks and a star, who was dyed for the movie. If you are careful, you may pick out some scenes when Cass Ole's white star can still be seen through the dye. To see pictures of Cass Ole without his "make-up," please visit http://www.geocities.com/thymes75/theblack.html. Sadly, no pictures of Fae Jur (the Arabian horse was was Cass Ole's main double in the first film) nor Diamond Night may be found on the web.
Yes - black horses do exist and are not "brown" in color. Unfortunately, true blacks often fade in the sun and acquire a brown cast. Also, all horses have black skin, NOT just Arabian horses. Pink skin only occurs under white markings or on horses with certain color mutations.
The black color is quite rare in the Arabian breed of horse, a fact which most Arabian horse breeders can easily confirm, and which Walter Farley himself talks of in one of the series books - "The Black Stallion's Mystery." For those interested in finding out these things for themselves and not relying on odd internet rumors, I recommend starting with www.equinecolor.com, which is an excellent horse color genetics site, and with www.awhitehorse.com, which has a number of very popular Arabian horse forums.
Pure, Stunning, Poetic. . .
Being an avid horselover, I'm probably pretty prejudiced in the eyes of some. However, I know many horse stories/movies which I found to be cheesy and outright moronic. The Black Stallion and its sequel are, however, indescribably superb. I won't repeat other reviews by writing a synopsis, but the black stallion isn't just a simple kids movie at all. It is a spiritual journey. The acting is so excellent that it doesn't even seem to be acting at all. The visuals are stunning and the soundtrack gorgeous. And the story itself, well, it speaks for itself. Watch these two movies if you have a trace of soul left in you from a silly world-you will be reminded.
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