Written by: Lee Hall and Richard Curtis from the novel by Michael Morpurgo
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup and Jeremy Irvine
Special Features: Featurettes - War Horse: The Journey Home, An Extra's Point of View, A Filmmaking Journey, Editing & Scoring, The Sounds of War Horse, Through The Producer's Lens, War Hourse: The Look, and a Digital Copy of the film.
From the box:
From legendary director Steven Spielberg comes the epic adventure War Horse, a tale of incredible loyalty, hope and tenacity. Based on the Tony award-winning Broadway play, and set against the sweeping canvas of World War I, this deeply heartfelt story begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and his young trainer Albert. When they're forced apart by war, we follow Joey's extraordinary journey as he changes and inspires the lives of everyone he meets. Filled with spectacularly rich visuals - and complete with Steven Spielberg's exclusive bonus documentary - War Horse is a "Genuine Movie Masterpiece" (Rex Reed - The New York Observer) and one of the most powerful and moving stories of friendship ever told.
I am a huge Spielberg fan, loyal readers and listeners of SHOW know this. I have to admit I was a little weary of War Horse. I can't put my finger on exactly why though. For some reason, I just didn't know what to feel about it. I was worried that maybe my loyalty to who I consider one of the greatest directors of all time was floundering?
Whatever it was, it has been put to rest (or to pasture as might be more appropriate) by War Horse. Any doubts, gone because Steven Spielberg hasn't missed a step. War Horse is a beautifully crafted, emotional and soaring film that I am extremely sorry for missing in the theaters.
I can't say how it compares to the Broadway version, but the film version is a tense, emotional journey of a horse that makes his way through the horrors and madness of World War 1. At times intense and heart-wrenching, Spielberg has delivered a gorgeous film, both visually and emotionally, with a flawless cast and perfect directing.
The story follows Joey, a horse who is commandeered (is that an accurate word?) by the British army, as he makes his way from caretaker to caretaker, touching and changing lives along the way. This is the only drawback to the film for me. We don't get enough time with all of the characters. Some of them we get enough to get a strong connection with so that we feel just what we're supposed to, but others (the brothers especially) we get precious little time with. Despite this, every character makes an impact and through Joey we share their fears and pains and at times their joy.
The film is directed wonderfully, of course. The shots are just beautiful. I've heard some chatter of shots lifted from other films and for this I can't comment. My film vocabulary might not be large enough to be able to point out certain shots and say that it's from another movie. What I can say is that War Horse is beautiful to behold.
The blu-ray looks spectacular. The last shot alone is worth the price of admission. The colors are gorgeous and the sound is thick and enveloping. Every thump of cannons and whip of gunfire is felt.
The disc is jammed with featurettes, as well as the Spielberg documentary which I have not yet seen. I do wish there was a little more variety to the bonus features but you do get all the info you can ask for about the film from the featurettes.
Overall, War Horse is a wonderful film that I can't recommend enough. It's wonderfully acted, perfectly directed and again proves that Steven Spielberg is a master of his craft.
I can't help but think that had I saw this movie in time, War Horse would have had a spot on my Top 10 of 2011.
War Horse is available now.
Pop Culture Beast Rating
9/10
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