War Horse is a beautifully crafted film with a soul stirring narrative. It manages to be both heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time. The audience empathizes with both the protagonist horse and all of the people who find themselves unexpectedly his caretakers.

The story is engaging and entertaining, and the pacing is consistently good, and at times, brilliant. Visually, War Horse is striking. Warm and breathtaking vistas juxtaposed with the gritty realism of war. John Williams ' score doesn't disappoint, punctuating the film's emotional highs and lows with the perfection only such an auteur is capable of.

Spielberg has created another epic cinematic winner, the like of which hasn't been seen since his Saving Private Ryan. Overall, a most enjoyable film and surely one of the year's best.… Expand

Spielberg has been ridiculed for shooting his actors from below against impossibly Spielbergian skies and a denouement that lays the love on copiously. But there's nothing simpleminded about how he uses movie magic, as a spell to dispel nihilism, to save us from the worst of ourselves by summoning up the best.

This might be Speilbergs best movie to date. Such a pleasure to see an epic film shot withought CGI a real cinematic experience. It has it all superb acting, well edited, beautifully shot, and most of all the marvelous story with it's timeless anti war message, a true classic.
I do have one major criticism and that is the God awful score. It is so unecessarily and completely over the top as to be gratuitious. You have something so lovely and powerful there is no need cue the viewers for the right emotion for this particular scene. I wish Mr. Speilberg would rescore it, the music sets the wrong tone and almost cheapens it.
Otherwise it is sublime and it will win best cinematography and perhaps best picture as well.… Expand

An absolutely beautiful emotional rollercoaster. I cannot praise this movie enough on grounds of cinematography, music, and a dozen other things. I know I hugged my cat the second I got home.

Great film. The tone exists somewhere between reality and a fariy tale. The phrase 'they don't make them like they used to' does not apply to this film. It's rich in film making tradition and craft. Spielberg is still in a class of his own and has remained admirably true to his values despite more cynical times. This is a film that wears it's heart on it's sleeve and has no pretensions. All the regular Spileberg collaborators have turned in top work: John Williams has written one of his most stirring scores, Janusz Kaminski's cinematography is superb as usual and he has given the film more colour saturation than usual to bring the beautiful locations to life. Production values are all top. The film is very well cast too and all the actors really inhabit their characters even though they are subtly caricatured.

The second act of the film is my only real criticism. It's slightly malformed and unexpected but this doesn't detract from the film as a whole. There is an obligation to the source material that perhaps holds the film back in places. Overall this is a must see and it's great to see Spielberg make a film that echoes his work from 2 decades ago.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is my favorite film of the year. Steven Spielberg has made another classic in his library, though people may just call it a Spielberg film that got nominated for Best Picture and nothing more that that (sorry for insulting you, "Munich" fans). "War Horse" is more than a war film. It tells about a farm boy who raises a horse bought on accident. The two are inseparable, but then the horse is enlisted in the British army. The boy makes a vow to see his horse someday. We then see the marvelous and somewhat frightening journey of the horse through the war. The sound is too loud, which means it must be good. The score by John Williams is another important entry in his filmography. Even the cast is brilliant, mainly Emily Watson and whoever played the boy. The cinematography is spectacular, with the shots carefully and skillfully planned out. Overall, I haven't seen that many war films, but if they're like "War Horse", I'll be renting the entire genre on Netflix in no time.… Expand

A really cool feel-good film, yes it's a bit corny, yes it's a bit implausable but next we'll be getting drongos down-rating ET because it's an "insult to their intelligence that aliens exist" (jbuddah - it's called a back up plan/trap - your critisisms are easily explained away by those with the intelligence to see a bigger picture). Being from a rural part of England myself the film captures the genuine magic which does exist on those warm country nights when running with the animals. Granted it sugar coats everything and there's not one sign of any horse poo, but it's non the worse for it and the free-flowing adventure is as warming as it is simplistically entertaining. A typical Speilberg Disney-esq fairytale and one I thrived on. And those who think that their kids haven't seen more gore on the net really need a reality check.… Expand

Steven Spielberg is best as always he is.A beautiful emotional journey of friendship i can say...I am sure after watching this movie you will get up from your sit clap your hands for this movie..

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets-British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter-before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man's Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse-an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure.… Expand

Young Albert enlists to service in WWI after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.

I was surprised at the reviews here at first, but reading them carefully I realize that the lower ratings are from people who do not understand the genre, have not managed their biases, display idiosyncrasies beyond the normal, or fix on a mote while the redwood stands before them. Ignore them.

The film, taken on its own terms, is nearly perfect. As a child's fable of the costs of war and the necessity of the cardinal virtues of faith, hope and charity - wrapped in the iron of courage - to endure them, Spielberg achieves a fit balance between realistic depiction and human heartedness. Technically, the film is superb. While I chafe at his films for their lack of intellect, over-directed manipulation of sentiment (John Williams needs to retire - he and Spielberg together have reached the point where we must have a musical stick rapping us to tell us what every gesture intends), and an inability to understand subtlety, in WAR HORSE everything comes together. His decision to use film stock lends a richness and depth to his painterly compositions. What could seem like over-planning (another tendency) works here because of the fable involved - we expect and need to see the pictures he presents. HIs care in details (horses' heads coming up together at a crucial moment, movement through a field of grain, a scene of a war's suspension beginning with an uncannily true horse calling episode) expressed through exquisite cinematography and editing tell the tale visually. The entire design of the film - from rural domestic and farm settings to village to French farmhouse to bivouacs to trenches to the engines of war - presented a real world that held the fable perfectly.

Excellent casting and performances throughout by all players, including extreme good fortune in the horses, and a judiciously compressed screenplay allowed the scope of the story to play through while keeping the crucial human scale intact. Characters were instantaneously established without seeming like stock figures. Also, the Spielberg juvenile - that dreaded commodity - did not appear. The young leads and were, in all regards, ennobled and uncloyingly endearing. No villains appeared; all characters were presented as humans caught in something terrible, whether a prewar economic circumstances or war's hangman's clutch. As for realism, again, some reviewers here mistake the genre and sputter over details that are beside the point in this sort of film. One must judge a film on its own terms, or accept being seen as a propagandist, polemicist, or philistine. Or, as can be seen in one review here especially, merely peevish.

I recommend WAR HORSE to anyone interested in a master filmmaker making the most of his great skills, suppressing his lesser tendencies or turning them to advantage, and presenting a simple fable about simple love enduring despite the forces of hate. The entire film, until its last minute, conveys an authenticity and rightness of tone that will delight most moviegoers and not leave them feeling embarrassed afterwards for being moved. They will have been moved, in this case, as children are, for all the right reasons.… Expand

Corny, YES...DUH, Look at the plot details, but moving, amazingly told and unique to any currently out, while the genre is small it is certainly one of the best ww1 films and the best live action animal protagonist film. A movie that is felt and involving throughout and afterwards you wonder how was it all done!

SPOILER ALERT!! A SUPERB film! Superb cinematography, Direction and story!! And the horse deserves an Oscar!! This film DOES stir the soul, emotions and has many scenes that definitely tug at your heartstrings, not to mention your nerves. And, then there is Spielberg.... He is pure genius at work again and again..

This is a good movie . This one is available at http://tinyurl.com/MovieStreamingOnline
in English, in HQ quality FREE . Plays like youtube .


This movie is availabe for free in HD at:

http://tinyurl.com/MovieStreamingOnline


recommended.

our president recently signed a bill to legalize horse slaughter in this country. the movie industry is making profits from WAR HORSE but are they donating any of the proceeds to help the plight of real horses ? Mr. Spielberg et al , should at the very least , be aware & make others aware of the gruesome reality that horses in this country face. i urge all who read this to educate yourselves of the awful facts on the treatment of horses in this country & to petition the movie industry / government to address this issue. as individuals & as a nation , we need to advocate for these majestic animals. it is utter hypocrisy to glorify horses while condemning them to a bitter future. thank you...… Expand

Good movie, not a great one. War scenes are intense and maybe too dramatic but Spielberg does not do things in a small way. The abuse that the horses suffer at the hands of their masters is appalling but that was then... My wife and I were touched by the horse entangled in barbed wire because we had a horse in a similar predicament...That scene was painful to watch.... Good movie about war and hard life and how the world finds the right answer in the midst of chaos and the worst of our kind....… Expand

Definitely an excellent film. Actually, I think it's a pity that War Horse didn't win even a single Oscar this year. Comparing to Schindler's List, which is too cruel and depressing for me, this movie is warm and beautiful. The music is also enjoyable. A good film for animal lovers. But the script is not as good as I imagined and the end may be a little bit idealistic.

If u truly love animals, this movie is at least a 9 on a scale of 1-10. If you dont like animals and u want a war movie only, then this probably isnt for you.

War Horse isn't for everyone but if you're its audience then you can appreciate this amazing piece of cinema. Spielberg has successfully brought the brilliant novel to life with this risky but still amazing film. Some people might find a lot of it slow, but its stunning war battle scenes will open anyones eyes, and the way the film bonds you with its characters makes the climactic scenes all the more powerful. Spielberg has given us another brilliant film that I would highly recommend.… Expand

War Horse is a classic Spielberg film with its great landscapes and excellent music. i loved the way the movie showed how the horse transformed each character it met through the war. A truly wonderful film for the whole family.

An emotional journey from beginning till the end. It's not anything new, just something that's been brought back. A message of friendship that most movies wouldn't be able to show. Personally, i think it's more emotional than Avatar or Titanic

Steven Spielberg knows what makes a film great. In this day and age, the theaters are flooded with computer animated cartoons and over-the-top teen comedies. War Horse is a return to the golden age of cinema: inspiring dramas that tug at your heartstrings. Based on the stage play of the same name (which is based on the novel of the same name), War Horse is a remarkable story of a young Englishman who forms a powerful bond with his horse. Tragedy strikes when World War I breaks out, and the two become separated as his beloved horse is drafted into the army. What follows is some of the best dramatic moments I have ever seen. As far as action scenes go, it's your typical war drama fare: the violence makes the situation more intense for the characters. One particularly notable scene is where several horses are pulling heavy artillery cannons for the German Army, but when any of them fall to the ground, they are simply euthanized and replaced. One of the soldiers becomes merciful and attempts to prevent this, which makes us feel sympathetic for someone who's suppose to be a villain.
One thing I like about this film is the music. John Williams has composed almost every Steven Spielberg film, so it's no surprise that he was called in to do this one. His orchestral score is perfect and the music alone is enough to make you cry. The sets are impressive, reflecting both the battlefields of World War I and the early 20th century architecture of the English and French countrysides. While I can't say War Horse is a perfect film, it still ranks among Spielberg's best. It's a timeless story that adds up to a great experience.… Expand

Steven Spielberg, yet again, proves to be one of the best directors and story tellers of our time. Only he could take a story about the relationship between a horse and his boy and turn it into a heart warming adventure. The character development is arguably the best thing about the film; War Horse has many different characters, some only in the movie for a few scenes, but almost immediately their roles in the grand story are seen. The cinematography is gorgeous and the score sweeping. I can't recommend this film enough. Excellent; one of the best films of the year!… Expand