War Horse

( 6 )

Overview

Director Steven Spielberg's epic World War I drama details the remarkable bond between a man named Albert Jeremy Irvine and his loyal horse, Joey. Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse follows the growing friendship between man and beast as Albert trains Joey, and then follows Joey on an incredible journey across the English countryside after the pair are forcibly separated. Along the way, Joey touches the lives of everyone he comes into contact with, including British and German soldiers, as well...
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Overview

Director Steven Spielberg's epic World War I drama details the remarkable bond between a man named Albert Jeremy Irvine and his loyal horse, Joey. Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse follows the growing friendship between man and beast as Albert trains Joey, and then follows Joey on an incredible journey across the English countryside after the pair are forcibly separated. Along the way, Joey touches the lives of everyone he comes into contact with, including British and German soldiers, as well as a kindly French farmer and his impressionable granddaughter. Later, in no man's land, Joey's extraordinary saga winds to a poignant and deeply affecting climax.
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Special Features

War Horse: The Look
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan
For an established director who has delivered some of the biggest hits in Hollywood history, you have to admire Steven Spielberg's versatility: The very same year he releases The Adventures of Tintin -- an epic animated adventure that pushes the boundaries of current technology -- he also turns out War Horse -- a visually sumptuous homage to legendary filmmaker John Ford and an affecting World War I drama that examines the human condition though the experiences of a valiant horse that touches countless lives. Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo which was also made into a Tony-winning play, War Horse details the unbreakable bond that forms between a horse named Joey and his young owner and trainer Albert Jeremy Irvine, the headstrong son of a hard-luck farmer Peter Mullan. Along the way, Joey touches the lives of everyone he comes into contact with, including British and German soldiers, as well as a kindly French farmer and his ailing granddaughter. Later, in no-man's-land, Joey's extraordinary saga comes to a poignant and deeply touching climax. Subtlety has never been Steven Spielberg's strong suit, but despite shameless, repeated attempts to get a rein on our heartstrings, there's a genuine sense of beauty to War Horse -- both aesthetically and thematically -- that makes it a difficult film to be overly cynical about. In adapting Morpurgo's novel to the screen, writers Lee Hall Billy Elliot and Richard Curtis Bridget Jones's Diary, Black Adder take great pains to offer a thorough setup before the film hits its stride with a series of masterful vignettes that manage to be at once emotionally intimate yet sweeping in scale. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, such ambitious material could have easily come off as clumsy, pretentious, or cloying. But Spielberg's acute understanding of the language of film affords him the unique luxury of portraying archetypal characters so that they come across as genuinely human, and he never makes the mistake of portraying Joey's experiences in an anthropomorphic manner. We tend to project onto animals -- both in movies and in real life -- but by avoiding overtly cutesy cutaway shots of Joey during the setup or heartrending close-ups when things begin to look dire later on, Spielberg allows the horse's experiences to accumulate in a manner that doesn't feel manipulative. But the director's efforts to maintain a sense of emotional honesty are continually undercut by Hall and Curtis, who display a distracting tendency to offset any tragedy with urgent levity. As a result, scenes that should resonate, such as a sudden execution, are often rendered slightly less powerful than they may have been otherwise without the unnecessary diversion. Although his wide-eyed mugging teeters on the brink of parody early on, young newcomer Irvine gradually finds his footing as the plot opens up and his character starts to mature, while earnest performances by Mullan and Emily Watson as his parents not to mention a moustache-twirling turn by David Thewlis as their evil landlord help to keep the extended setup sequence from growing stagnant. Meanwhile, out on the battlefield, David Kross carries considerable dramatic weight as a young German soldier determined to keep his younger sibling from harm, and Niels Arestrup is unforgettable as a kindly grandfather attempting to shelter his beloved granddaughter from the horrors of war. Sadly, talented Brits Toby Kebbell and Eddie Marsan in a rare role in which he isn't positively despicable are essentially lost in the shuffle. But while the human actors in War Horse are genuinely impressive, it's the equine that truly carries the weight of the story, and Spielberg does a phenomenal job at making Joey a believable character that convincingly grows and evolves during his incredible adventure. His unbreakable spirit is the main reason we remain saddled to our seats throughout the film, and it serves as a reminder of how our lives are always interconnected, even in the darkest of times.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 4/3/2012
  • UPC: 786936812817
  • Original Release: 2011

    • Rating:

  • Source: Touchstone / Disney
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Wide Screen
  • Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
  • Language: Français
  • Time: 2:26:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 3,026

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Jeremy Irvine Albert Narracott
Peter Mullan Ted Narracott
Emily Watson Rosie Narracott
Niels Arestrup Grandfather
David Thewlis Lyons
Tom Hiddleston Captain Nicholls
Benedict Cumberbatch Major Jamie Stewart
Celine Buckens Emilie
Toby Kebbell Geordie Soldier
Patrick Kennedy Lt. Charlie Waverly
David Kross Gunther
Matt Milne Andrew Easton
Robert Emms David Lyons
Eddie Marsan Sgt. Fry
Nicolas Bro Friedrich
Rainer Bock Brandt
Hinnerk Schönemann German Soldier in No Man's Land
Gary Lydon Si Easton
Geoff Bell Sgt. Sam Perkins
Liam Cunningham Army Doctor
Sebastian Hülk German Officer at Farm
Gerard McSorley Market Auctioneer
Tony Pitts Sgt. Martin
Ifran Hussain Sgt. Maj. Singh
Philippe Nahon French Auctioneer
Jean-Claude Lecas Butcher
Justin Brett Motorbike Rider
Seamus O'Neill Devon Farmer #1
Pat Laffan Devon Farmer #2
Michael Ryan British Trench Soldier #1
Peter McNeil O'Connor British Trench Soldier #2
Gunnar Atli Cauthery German Trench Soldier #1
Julian Wadham Trench Captain
Anian Zollner Senior German Officer
Michael Kranz Junior German Officer
Hannes Wegener German Officer
David Dencik Base Camp Officer
Edward Bennett Cavalry Recuiting Officer
Johnny Harris Infantry Recruiting Officer
Philip Hill-Pearson Wounded Soldier
Tam Dean Burn Medic in Trench
Alan Williams Hospital Orderly
Thomas Arnold Shouting German Soldier
Maximiilian Brueckner German Artillery Officer
Markus Tomczyk German Artillery Soldier
Peter Benedict German Officer on Bridge
Callum Armstrong Bagpiper
Roy Holder Fred Goddard
Paul Alexander Dave Hill
Maggie Ollerenshaw Narracott's Neighbour
Beth Ogden David Lyons's Girlfriend
Martin D. Dew Lyons' Cronie
Technical Credits
Steven Spielberg Director, Producer
Neil Corbould Special Effects Supervisor
Patrick Crane Associate Producer
Richard Curtis Screenwriter
Audrey Doyle Makeup
Revel Guest Executive Producer
Lee Hall Screenwriter
Jennifer Hegarty Makeup
Molly Hughes Art Director
Jina Jay Casting
Joanna Johnston Costumes/Costume Designer
Michael Kahn Editor
Janusz Kaminski Cinematographer
Kathleen Kennedy Producer
Nicholas Laws Production Manager
Kristie Marcosko-Krieger Associate Producer
Frank Marshall Executive Producer
John Marzano Camera Operator
Gary Rydstrom Sound/Sound Designer
Adam Somner Asst. Director, Co-producer
Harriet Storey Art Director
Gary Tomkins Art Director
John Williams [composer] Score Composer
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- War Horse
1. Joey is Born [4:30]
2. "He's Something Else..." [5:00]
3. Albert and Joey [4:25]
4. Whistle [3:48]
5. The Importance of the Flow [4:43]
6. "Our Big Day" [6:47]
7. Work in the Rain [4:59]
8. The Pennant [3:32]
9. Flood [3:40]
10. War [5:48]
11. Topthorn [4:29]
12. Preparing For the Charge [4:14]
13. Be Brave [5:15]
14. Teaching Topthorn [2:44]
15. Sketches and News [1:46]
16. A Promise [8:13]
17. The Windmill/Emilie [3:56]
18. Hiding [5:12]
19. The Germans Return [2:20]
20. The Cannon Pull [4:13]
21. No Man's Land [5:41]
22. Escape [9:53]
23. Freed [5:43]
24. A Miraculous Kind of Horse [8:59]
25. A Return to Auction [7:31]
26. Homecoming [7:33]
27. Credits [2:58]
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Menu

Disc #1 -- War Horse
   Play
   War Horse: The Look
   Scene Selection
   Set Up
      Languages
         English 5.1 Dolby Digital
         English Audio Descriptive 2.0 Dolby Digital
         Français 5.1 Dolby Digital
         Español 5.1 Dolby Digital
      Subtitles
         None
         English (For the Hearing Impaired)
         Français
         Español
      Register Your DVD
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 6 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(4)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 6 Customer Reviews

  • Posted April 3, 2012

    Future Classic

    Wonderful, wonderful movie. Great story, first-rate acting by everyone, including the horse, gorgeous photography, soaring music. War Horse is as near to a perfect movie as I've ever seen. Not a dull, wasted moment. No cynicism. Marvelous.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 31, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Man And Beast

    War horse is a poignant story about a horse-Joey-and a son of a poor farmer in England. The farmer's son has taught the horse to plough the turnip field, in which he was successful. The two characters are entwined in a tension called the first world war, in which they were forcibly separated. The horse affter being bought by his father was trained by his son to plough the field in order to plant turnips in a farmland that was barren and dry. Whenn they parted many events happened to the horse who was in custody from one person to the other in the war. The beast has touched the lives of these people including soldiers of two opposing forces. Towards the end of war, the horse and real owner find themselves together again. Spielberg wants to portray the explicit relation of man and beast in this movie and he is successful. The movie is artically done and tensions fall into place in the plot!!! This movie is recommended for animal lovers and war movie fans alike.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 5, 2012

    GREAT movie! A heartwarming story of love and friendship between

    GREAT movie! A heartwarming story of love and friendship between man and beast! Keeps the viewer at their edge as to whether Joey and Albert will ever meet each other again!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 19, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 2, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 11, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 6 Customer Reviews