Black Beauty
by Caroline Thompson
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DVD details
Actor: Alan Cumming, David Thewlis, Docs Keepin Time, Jim Carter, Sean BeanDirector: Caroline Thompson
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Alex Thomson
Writer: Caroline Thompson
Editor: Claire Simpson
Producer: Peter Macgregor-Scott
Producer: Robert Shapiro
Writer: Anna Sewell
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-30
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Model: 14400
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Anna Sewell's timeless Victorian novel comes touchingly to life in this episodic big-screen adaptation. Lyrically recounted from the handsome stallion's perspective, the film traces his fortunes -- from his happy beginnings on a sprawling, verdant country manor to working-class London's sooty, teeming streets. As he passes from owner to owner during a two-decade span, the ever-faithful steed encou
DVD Reviews of Black Beauty
DVD Review: Oats. Wonderful Oats.
Summary: 1 Stars
For those of you who have not read the story, basically we follow the life of a black stallion named "Black Beauty" and "Blackjack" when he has his name changed near the center of the film. We watch as Black Beauty goes through all the emotions and feelings of a human through his life. He learns of love from his mother at birth, and later through another horse named Ginger. He learns of friendship through his first family, through a boy named Joe, and even through a archaic taxi driver. Through the course of an hour and a half, we see the highs and lows of life through the eyes of this beautiful stallion.
I feel that the initial response that I will get from this review is that if I do give it a poor review, it means that I agree with the cruel treatment of animals. First of all that is not the case. I am a vegetarian, not that it has anything to do with animals, but it is fun to say. There is something I need to get off my chest about this film. For an hour and a half I sat and watched the cruel treatment of this fine horse by humans. I watched as the director attempted to show that humans are capable of both love and hate. A theme used in almost every film today. My biggest gripe about this film is not with the film itself, but with what was happening behind the camera. During the course of the film, you could not help but wonder how the trainers were getting these horses to move, act, and react on cue. I am almost one hundred percent certain that these horses did not have their own trailers, that they did not have an acting coach, and most importantly that there was a scene rehearsal. I am certain that these animals were thrown right in front of the camera as their trainers did everything possible to make sure that they did everything they were supposed to.
For all of those reviews I have read about how this film shows a much needed side of humanity and their cruelty of animals, I think this film is a double standard. It teaches/shows the cruelty of animals, yet we do not see behind the camera. I am not a betting man, but if I was I would have to say that perhaps what the camera didn't show was madness, mayhem, and cruelty. I could see it in the extra's eyes that they were not treated fairly (the extras were cows ... you can tell a lot about a cow through the eyes). Do animals get the same treatment as actors? Is there a union for these horses, or do they have representation? If the answer is "no" to both of these, then I am going to have to say that we DEFINITELY need to look behind the camera and see the true cruelty that is happening to these beasts.
Also, why was is this film considered an independent film? I am going out on a limb here by saying that they only reason is due to Alan Cumming. I think that his early work is considered "independent", so they added it to this book
To sum up quickly, this film was horrible. Not only was my mind constantly questioning the treatment when the cameras went off, but I felt the story was too coincidence. I know it is very Hollywood to have these coincidences, but too many of them make an unbelievable story. To believe that this horse, of all the horses in the world, came full circle to happiness really made me question the sanity of the director. The words coming from the horse were to the utmost cheese factor. The line that sticks so heavily in my mind is hearing Alan Cumming (in character of Black Beauty) say, "Oats. Wonderful oats." I was hoping to die a happy man without those words passing through my mind. But oh well, who would have thought it.
Overall, this is a children's story and film, so maybe I needed more children to fully enjoy it. Black Beauty was not the film that I was hoping for, nor will I ever rest until my animal friends have proper film representation. I think I am going to call the law offices of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe. I think they are the only ones that can help...
Grade: * out of *****
Description of Black Beauty
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: G
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 88 minutes
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