hyped garbage

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The Black Stallion is one of those boy and a horse stories that Hollywood used to make a lot of. Fittingly it's set in the more innocent times of 1946. In many ways it's a souped up version of the old television series Fury. Also the story of a Black Stallion and the boy who loved him.Young Kelly Reno and his father Hoyt Axton are on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea when it goes down with all hands save for Reno and a black horse. Both make it to an island and it's on that island which takes up about a quarter of the film running time where the two bond. Little dialog if any, but some beautiful music showing the kid spearing for fish to survive and the horse running magnificently on the beach.When they make it back to the States young Reno and The Black Stallion have the good fortune to run into Mickey Rooney former jockey and horse trainer and that itself is a tale I won't tell. Rooney tells him though the horse has speed he has no pedigree, no papers from the Thoroughbred Racing Association. Still Rooney as always is resourceful and the two do find a way to make The Black Stallion a cash cow.The Black Stallion afforded Mickey Rooney a last chance at some Oscar recognition with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. No longer the fresh kid of his salad days Rooney is now a bald wizened old man who is touching as the former racetrack denizen who reaches for glory one more time. He, Reno and the horse have some wonderful scenes together.The Black Stallion, a wonderful family film that still holds up well after almost 40 years.

Director Ballard and cinematographer Deschanel, along with composer Carmine Coppola create an amazing ambiance for the actors to work within. This film is something of a precursor to "E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial," as both had screenplays by Melissa Mathison, and both have a boy and his horse/alien with a wordless, symbiotic understanding between them. Child actor Kelly Reno (Alec Ramsey) could have easily played Elliot in "E.T." One wonders if he were in the running for that part."The Black Stallion" is also quite evidently a precursor and inspiration for "Chariots of Fire" (1981). The images of the boy and the horse running along the beach have similar optical effects to that of the young Brits running along the beach in "Chariots." Interestingly, actor Hoyt Axton (portraying Alec's father) plays a melody on flute in an early "Black Stallion" scene which is indeed the "Chariots of Fire" theme, but with a different tempo and duration of notes. Vangelis undoubtedly saw this, but when he was brought to court for plagiarism the judge ruled in his favour (instead of composer Carmine Coppola)."The Black Stallion" is a beautiful work of art.

OH MY GOD! We know that time can dull one's recollections about certain experiences in our lives, but this really surprised us. Of course we hadn't seen THE BLACK STALLION ever since its initial release. This was so long ago that our kids, now ages 39 and 42, were in Grade School. It was another era, when there were still the vestiges of the old Neighborhood Theatre systems. In our case, it was the COLONY THEATRE, located at 59th Street & Kedzie Avenue on the Southwest Side of Chicago. WE DO RECALL that the film was very well photographed, had a fine cast and was dominated with a "Can't Miss" storyline featuring a young boy and the relationship between him and a Black Arabian Stallion. "UPON FURTHER REVIEW", just a few days ago, we rediscovered what certainly is one of the outstanding films of its day. There is very little of the story to truly critique. It posses a great style in story telling; wasting little time in moving the narrative from the Mediteranaen Sea along North Africa's Barbary Coast in that first Post World War II year of 1946. WE ARE TREATED to a succession of scenes that range from our young hero's traveling with his Poker playing Father on board what can only be described as a 'Tramp Steamer', to a spectacularly staged ship fire, then a mutual rescue of boy and horse. The photography is truly first rate here; as it is through the entire picture. FOLLOWING THE ONBOARD ship setting and continuing for what is easily a third of the film, the action is as a Silent Movie; with the narrative being reliant on the actions, expressions and body language of both the young man and the stallion. Stranded and alone on the rugged dessert coast of North Africa, the two survivors are bonded as one. A true friendship develops between the two that is greater than any other.AS ONE WOULD expect, the story moves along; returning to America after a chance rescue; which includes the bringing of the Stallion to the boy's homeland. Then a series of chance happenings leads to their meeting and association with a former Champion Jockey (Mickey Rooney). This leads to the boy riding the Black Stallion in the big race.IT WOULD APPEAR that the story was rendered in a manner not only complementary to the original novel, but also a near perfection in adaptation to screen. THE PRODUCTION WAS the realization of great writer-director Francis Ford Coppola's company; with the well decorated Mr. Coppola's acting as Executive Producer. Mr. Coppola obviously believed in the project and was ready, able and willing to put up his own $$$ to prove it!ALONG WITH SOME other films, THE BLACK STALLION, does an excellent job in showing us the world from the viewpoint of a ten year old.( Our other nominee is Steven Spielberg's ET, right, Schultz?)

This movie truly touched my heart when i first watched it because of the emotion throughout the entire movie. 4 time academy award nominee Mickey Rooney gives the very best performance of his career for his great supporting work in the film. Director Carol Ballard had the guts to make this family movie masterpiece come into a box office success. And also Teri Garr gives one of her best performances.The movie has great acting, photography, and it has great costume design. Also the black stallion has a touching plot to it. In my opinion this was a magnificent movie. The movie compares to such inspiring movies such as The Pride of the Yankees, Rocky, The Blind Side, Million Dollar Baby, Saving Private Ryan, The Pursuit of Happiness, and Remember the Titans. This is a true must see movie for all movie lovers and in my opinion The Black Stallion is one of the best movies ever made.