War Horse

Name: War Horse
Genre: War
Released: December 25, 2011
Duration: 146 min
Rating: 72

2011

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 387 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 387 Ratings

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War Horse

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Movie Details & Credits

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2011 | PG-13

Summary: 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,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. War Horse is one of the great stories of friendship and war—a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is arriving on Broadway next year. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history. (DreamWorks Pictures)

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Director: Steven Spielberg

Genre(s): War

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 146 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

David Edelstein

Dec 26, 2011

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. Read full review

100

Rex Reed

Dec 20, 2011

War Horse is a don't-miss Spielberg classic that reaches true perfection. Read full review

Roger Ebert

Dec 21, 2011

War Horse is bold, not afraid of sentiment and lets out all the stops in magnificently staged action sequences. Its characters are clearly defined and strongly played by charismatic actors. Its message is a universal one. Read full review

Lawrence Toppman

Dec 19, 2011

For certain movies, the adjectives "formulaic" and "predictable" are complimentary. War Horse is one of them. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Dec 22, 2011

There are extraordinary and beautiful things in War Horse, enough of them to make the movie a pleasure and a worthwhile experience, though not enough to trick the eye or get you believing this movie hangs together. Read full review

Betsy Sharkey

Dec 26, 2011

Has the sweep of a classic John Ford movie, the sentiment of Frank Capra and a spirited steed named Joey who will steal your heart. The film itself is more difficult to love. Read full review

Boxoffice Magazine Amy Nicholson

Dec 16, 2011

Director Steven Spielberg doesn't have a steady grip on War Horse's careening tone, but he'll be damned if there's not 15 minutes in there for everyone. Read full review

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User Reviews

CINEFILO

Dec 25, 2011

It is an emotional journey in full gallop. The project is tailored for Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan', a specialist in military history and also for Spielberg's 'ET', the chronicler of infantile wishes and desires family.

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

JohnMasterL

Oct 20, 2015

Spielberg sabe manejar perfectamente la acción y el drama en esta gran película. Una bella historia con muchos personajes bien desarrollados gracias a la estupenda dirección de Spielberg, no es su mejor película, pero es sin duda alguna una increíble película.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Cinemaphile

Jul 29, 2016

In #WarHorse, Spielberg returns to the genre which he is best suited. No, not epic war films, but films about coming of age. War Horse is both beautiful and horrific, epic and personal. With the assistance of Janusz Kaminski, #Spielberg masterfully employes his dramatic trademark dolliesIn #WarHorse, Spielberg returns to the genre which he is best suited. No, not epic war films, but films about coming of age. War Horse is both beautiful and horrific, epic and personal. With the assistance of Janusz Kaminski, #Spielberg masterfully employes his dramatic trademark dollies into closeups of the earnestly emotive faces of actors giving the best performances of their lives. Spielberg continues to pay homage to Ford and Wilder as he does in all his films, giving cinemaphiles an extra layer of complexity.

However, this story is as simple and poignant as ET or AI, drawing upon those relationships we forge in childhood. Some have criticized War Horse for being too mature for young audiences, but compared to the abattoir which is modern cinema, War Horse is a throwback to movies of two generations ago. The violence is not sensational, but realistic enough put those characters we care about in real jeopardy without being manipulative.

Spielberg's cast is not star studded, which works to the advantage of this film. By casting those who are not recognizable, we are able to see ourselves in them much more easily, they are everymen and everywomen.

The star is clearly the horse. The character Joey is not as two dimensional as The Black, in The Black Stallion. Granted, there is a danger of anthropomorphizing an animal, but anyone who is the custodian of a domesticated animal knows that they are intelligent and have a wide range of moods. War Horse's animal trainers and horse wranglers deserved a special Oscar for delivering incredibly expressive performances from the horses of this film. Joey's harrowing experience in No Man's Land is both the most heart wrenching and most uplifting scene I've ever seen in cinema.

Though this story is completely implausible, it succeeds in suspending our disbelief, due to Spielberg's gift of magic and the innocence of the children's novel from which it is drawn.

A must for your BlueRay collection.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Official

Mar 8, 2014

"War Horse" is an elegantly shot film. It's emotional, sweet, touching and thrilling. It's not perfect, but this certainly shows us the beauty of friendship and the strong bond of love.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Tyranian

Sep 19, 2019

A pretty good war film though very long, the cast is okay and some of the plot is silly but it looks great.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

wordy_actions

Jan 19, 2012

A bizarre mix of good and bad scenes. Some scenes are beautifully shot and very well paced. Others are predictable and schmaltzy. There's also infuriating censorship throughout the whole movie. God forbid we see someone get shot in a WAR movie. This movie makes me wish Spielberg would justA bizarre mix of good and bad scenes. Some scenes are beautifully shot and very well paced. Others are predictable and schmaltzy. There's also infuriating censorship throughout the whole movie. God forbid we see someone get shot in a WAR movie. This movie makes me wish Spielberg would just ditch the horse, make the movie rated R, and do a war movie that actually has emotional resonance. It's hard for me to care about a damn horse when there are thousand of humans dying all around it.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

MovieMan12

Jun 28, 2013

This is a stunningly disaster of a movie. Complete rubbish. I don't recommend this to anybody that has taste in movies. Pointless stupid film. Speilberg needs to get back to what he does best.

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

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31	#31 Most Discussed Movie of 2011
76	#76 Most Shared Movie of 2011