X
- 1979
- G
- United Artists
- 1 h 58 m
- 1979
- G
- United Artists
- 1 h 58 m
Summary A boy forges a special friendship with a wild stallion after both are shipwrecked on a deserted island. (MGM)
Directed By: Carroll Ballard
- 1979
- G
- United Artists
- 1 h 58 m
- 1979
- G
- United Artists
- 1 h 58 m
The Black Stallion
84
7.8
Where to Watch
Summary A boy forges a special friendship with a wild stallion after both are shipwrecked on a deserted island. (MGM)
Directed By: Carroll Ballard
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
84
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
10% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
84
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
10% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The Black Stallion is one of the few movies that justifies the word "sublime." It casts an immediate pictorial spell of wonder and discovery and sustains it until a fadeout that leaves you in a euphoric mood, lingering over images whose beauty and emotional intensity you want to prolong and savor. [9 Dec 1979, p.G1]
The relationship between man and beast develops slowly and mystically - the island interlude, utterly without dialogue, lasts 50 minutes, and is one of the most sustained, lyrical, rapturous sequences in the history of motion pictures, a visual symphony whose beauty cannot be oversold. [15 Mar 1980]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
7.8
68% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
32% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
7.8
68% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
32% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Generations from now, when people talk about horse movies, they won't be talking about "National Velvet" or "My Friend Flicka," they'll be talking about the majestic beauty of Carroll Ballard's The Black Stallion. [07 Feb 1980]
This touching and beautifully photographed, if slightly overlong, tale of a boy and his horse follows the escapades of young Alec Ramsey (Reno), who is traveling across the ocean with his father.
Shot in stunning color by a gifted cinematographer named Caleb Deschanel, beautifully scored by Carmine Coppola in moods ranging from Arabian Nights impressionism to Wagnerian exaltation, the first hour of The Black Stallion is a state-of-the-art demonstration of film as a purely visual medium, a formal exercise that is nonetheless suffused with feeling. [29 Oct 1979, p.105]
For all its pretty glimpses of the desert island, the film never offers a clear, overall sense of what the place looks like; neither the camera nor the boy really goes exploring.
Though the freckle-faced Reno and Mickey Rooney (as the horse's crafty old trainer) are well cast, their scenes together are perfunctory and impersonal. Emotions are provided in stead by a busy and overbearing musical score. The film's story begins to move in fits and starts.
Production Company
Omni Zoetrope
Release Date Oct 13, 1979
Duration 1 h 58 m
Rating G
Tagline "From the moment he first saw the stallion, he knew it would either destroy him, or carry him where no one had ever been before..."
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
