I love horse snouts. They make me smile. You got the big nostrils. The lips with patchy whiskers. Warm and squishy, but also firm and dexterous. They make the horse look older, maybe wiser too.
In The Black Stallion, the horse has such a tiny nose!
It’s a pretty movie. Great photography. There is all sorts of music. Each actor brings a great performance. Hoyt Axton seems so innocent talking to his son….
Some people are surprised that it didn’t win some Oscars. But it couldn’t win Best Picture because like 1/3 of the movie has no dialog. Best Picture went to Kramer vs. Kramer that year. Lots dialogue in that one.
I remember when this came out; I thought Mickey Rooney was old then. He’s still alive. He’s been in movies for each of 10 decades.
It’s based on a book. The original author wrote like 20 in the series, from 1941 to 1983, so that’s only one every two years. It’s not to be confused with Black Beauty, but I’m sure there was some kind of influence peddling going on there.
It’s a gentle movie, despite all the blood and death. But it reminds me of why I hate the suspense of horse races. Remember Eight Belles? So many others. Or they get hung up in the gate and tear themselves to pieces, have to be put down. I worry so much at horse races.
Anyway, it’s a swell movie. On a really big screen it’s so pretty that you might not even feel like it’s a little too gentle. You might not think it’s a bit slow by today’s standards. There’s a lot going on there, but you have to be able to see it all.
