Steven Spielberg's War Horse - The Review

[Cheeky Monkey]

Having seen the theatre production I am reluctant to watch the film as it just cannot be anywhere near as moving. - the stage lighting and the mood it can create with stunning puppetry made it a stand-out experience based on not fantastically good foundations in my opinion - I used to use the book as a text when teaching and it isn't all that tbh. I'm a big fan of Spielburg generally so I'm sure it will be as good as it can be but...................................

With that post you have summed it up for me - book is average imho and it is the puppetry on stage that is the 'wow factor,' as well as that enormous tank, which was amazing in such a small space. That said, I did struggle a bit with the second half of the stage production - too much 'tragedy of war' stuff going on to keep me awake. I'm torn with the film, part of me wouldn't mind seeing it and another part of me isn't too fussed.

 

[vegster]

With that post you have summed it up for me - book is average imho and it is the puppetry on stage that is the 'wow factor,' as well as that enormous tank, which was amazing in such a small space. That said, I did struggle a bit with the second half of the stage production - too much 'tragedy of war' stuff going on to keep me awake. I'm torn with the film, part of me wouldn't mind seeing it and another part of me isn't too fussed.

Try to bear in mind that different media forms put a different slant on the story, sometimes beneficial, sometimes not. I have never read a Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes book and yet have seen lots of the Basil Rathbone films however, Mark Gatiss pust a superb modern spin on the old story's making it compulsive viewing.Give it a go, you never know ?

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Crap, that's spoilt it for me then. To be fair, having seen the trailers before the films that I've actually wanted to go and see, I'm still not convinced that it's not a spoof. But then, I feel the same way about Lord of the Rings. I'm not convinced that isn't a complete wind up aswell, such daft premises for films. I'm a little bit on the cynical side, especially when it comes to films. All I want, essentially, is either some magical powers (X men) or Dinosaurs (Jurassic Park). If a film has neither of these, it better have Kristen Stewart.

Go and see it NE. I do not want to put anyone off. It is well worth 146 minutes of anyones time imo. What I am trying to say is it is Spielberg all the way through. If it were a piece of Rock it would have " made by Steven Spielberg " written in the middle. If you don't like Spielberg's style of film making this is unlikely to change your opinion. If you go with an open heart and mind and go with the flow of the film there are plenty of memorable and moving moments. It will resonate with older viewers who may have friends and family who perished in WW1 hence the audience predominated with elderly people. There are few , if any films now about WW1 and the sacrifices made by those brave Men and Horses.

Spielberg has classic camera shots and he uses this to good effect in this film. Whether people like him or not, he is an immense filmmaker imo and brings new moments of cinema not seen before in most films he makes. From the technique of the Camera shooting towards the face of the guy in Jaws, to the T Rex attack in Jurassic park to the Normandy beach landings in SPR, I have never seen these moments before from any filmmaker. He does a " Spielberg shot " with the Girl coming through the door filmed purely seen in the reflection from the horses eye. To show that the whole story is a tale seen through a Horses experiences.

The board sweep of the canvas he has , he utlilises , to epic proportions on occassions. If people want to be cynical and not go with it, they will, I am sure see things they want to be cynical about. Tookey gave it 5 stars and declared it a " cinematic masterpiece " and he is normally very hard to please and snooty but equally some critics have poo poo'd it. IMDB has it at 7.5 and the metacritics at 7.2 and Rotten Tomatoes a fresh 76%.

I will be interested to hear what other people think of it.

He is now working on " Lincoln " which has all the ingredients to be epic although more to a USA persuasion possibly.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Try to bear in mind that different media forms put a different slant on the story, sometimes beneficial, sometimes not. I have never read a Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes book and yet have seen lots of the Basil Rathbone films however, Mark Gatiss pust a superb modern spin on the old story's making it compulsive viewing.Give it a go, you never know ?

Fair do's vegster.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

He is now working on " Lincoln " which has all the ingredients to be epic although more to a USA persuasion possibly.

Without wanting to give away the ending, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, who while on the run was treated by a doctor (who knew not what Wilkes Booth had done) named Mud or Mudd. The innocent Doctor Mud was tried for the offence of aiding the assassin, and although he was later cleared, his reputation was ruined and from this little tale comes the phrase "His/her name is mud"

Tks for listening gang.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Without wanting to give away the ending, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, who while on the run was treated by a doctor (who knew not what Wilkes Booth had done) named Mud or Mudd. The innocent Doctor Mud was tried for the offence of aiding the assassin, and although he was later cleared, his reputation was ruined and from this little tale comes the phrase "His/her name is mud"

Tks for listening gang.

Spielberg has signed up Daniel Day Lewis to play Lincoln. He only does about 1 film every 5 years and is a superb actor so that is a good call. The role was given to Liam Neeson after his magnificent turn as Oskar Schindler but after Natasha died he pulled out.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Ted Danson was also going to be the first choice for Indiana Jones but he pulled out ! Luckily it went to Harrison Ford later.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Go and see it NE. I do not want to put anyone off. It is well worth 146 minutes of anyones time imo. What I am trying to say is it is Spielber all the way through. If it were a piece of Rock it would have " made by Steven Spielberg " written in the middle. If you don't like Spielbergs style of filmmaking this is unlikely to change your opinion. If you go with an open heart and mind and go with the flow of the film that are plenty of memorable and moving moments. It will resonate with older viewers who may have friends and family who perished in WW1.

Spielberg has classic camera shots and he uses this to good effect in this fil. Whether people like him or not, he is an immense filmmaker imo and brings new moments of cinema not seen before in most films he makes. From the techique of the Camera shooting towards the face of the guy in Jaws, to the T Rex attack in Jurassic park to the Normandy beach landings in SPR, I have never seen these moments before from any filmmaker. He does a Spielberg shot with the Girl coming through the door filmed purely seen in the reflection from the horses eye.

The board sweep of the canvas he has , he utlilises , to epic proportions on occassions. If people want to be cynic and not go with it, they will, I am sure see things they want to be cynical about. Tookey gave it 5 stars and declared it a " cinematic masterpiece " and he is normally very hard to please and snooty but egually some crtics have poo poo'd it. IMDB has it at 7.5 and the metacritics at 7.2 and Rotten Tomatoes a fresh 76%.

I will be interested to hear what other people think of it.

He is now working on " Lincoln " which has all the ingredients to be epic although more to a USA persuasion possibly.

I don't always like what you're posting, but I always like the passion and thought that's gone into it. When I see War Horse, I shall let you know what I thought. I'll probably be disappointed there were no T-Rex scenes though!

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I don't always like what you're posting, but I always like the passion and thought that's gone into it. When I see War Horse, I shall let you know what I thought. I'll probably be disappointed there were no T-Rex scenes though!

Thanks mate.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

The superb John Williams - War Horse - The Reunion.

A rather stunning piece of music imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pruzdefWGo

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

War Horse (2011) - IMDb

 

[Mental Lental]

Steven Spielberg's War Horse
Venue - Brighton Marina Cinema Screen 1
Attendance - 250, capacity 350

In short if you Love Spielberg, you will Love War Horse,

I love(d) Spielberg. I hated War Horse.

 

[Mental Lental]

Actually to be fair it's a pretty simple equation.......

If you liked Indy 4, Tin Tin and Super 8..... go and watch War Horse.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Actually to be fair it's a pretty simple equation.......

If you liked Indy 4, Tin Tin and Super 8..... go and watch War Horse.

Yes, yes we hear you, you have rubbished the film 3 times now, we get it ok. And the above is a ridiculous statement not worth reacting to. Did you not even know it was a childrens story of a sentimental tale of a Horse and expected it to be like Inglorious Basterds ?

 

[looney]

Missed super 8 as i want to watch it, war horse has no appeal to me so will dodge it.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Missed super 8 as i want to watch it, war horse has no appeal to me so will dodge it.

Spielberg did not direct Super 8, not sure if he knew that.

 

[Pevenseagull]

disappointed with War Horse....contrived, manipulative, predictable, wallpaper ...... maybe it's just me getting older .. but Spielberg's not made a film that I had an emotional response to since "Schindler's Ark", (how could one not); and hasn't directed a decent entertainment since 'catch me if you can' .. which was a decade ago.

unfortunately I fear he is a busted flush


and I love his good stuff


(Not Hook)

 

[Mental Lental]

Yes, yes we hear you, you have rubbished the film 3 times now, we get it ok. And the above is a ridiculous statement not worth reacting to. Did you not even know it was a childrens story of a sentimental tale of a Horse and expected it to be like Inglorious Basterds ?

I'll be honest Uncle S I didn't know it was a children's story. Furthermore, I'd never even heard of War Horse as a book or a play before seeing it. However, it still strikes me as one of those stories that works on stage but not on celluloid. In addition, it did nothing for me to suggest that Spielberg is managing to crawl out of the rut that he obviously appears to be in at the moment.

 

[Pevenseagull]

That written, War Horse LOOKS AMAZING. Beautifully, technically constructed. no soul, no heart, pushing fake buttons to illicit a cheap emotional response. shame

 

[Pevenseagull]

that said .... it's like expecting David Bowie to make a brilliant album