The Silver Stallion
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Movie Reviews of The Silver Stallion
Movie Review: Lovely scenery, and good story line
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my nephew 6 yrs. He is a horse fanatic! Both he and his 8 year old sister enjoyed it. The horse fighting scenes were not overly disturbing to them. I myself enjoyed the beautiful scenery and footage of the horses was awesome. I felt though that the acting was left to be desired. All in all a great movie for horse loving kids.Movie Review: Wonderful movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Wonderful movie for horse lovers. Russell Crowe is great as usual. There's no vulgarity, which is more and more a rarity even in "family" movies. There's some fantasy elements as the main horse seems to have unusual intelligence and power.Movie Review: More likely to appeal to children than adults.
Summary: 3 Stars
Based on the book "The Silver Brumby" by Elyne Mitchell, "The Silver Stallion" opens during a storm, with a mother composing a story to comfort her daughter, Indi. She tells of the birth of Thowra, a palomino brumby in the high country of Australia's outback, named after the wind. As Thowra grows into a magnificent young stallion, he catches the attention of local ranchers, intent on capturing the beautifully-colored horse. One man in particular (played by a young Russell Crowe), becomes obsessed with the hunt. But the more intent he is on catching the stallion, the more maddeningly cunning and elusive Thowra becomes.
The film switches back and forth between the story of Indi and her mother, and the tale of Thowra himself, with Indi's mother narrating. Eventually we find that the two stories are more interconnected than they seem at first. Unfortunately, neither story has a very strong plotline. Crowe's character's pursuit of Thowra can be boiled down to a series of chase scenes, punctuated by rivalry between stallions of neighboring brumby herds, while the action between Indi and her mother consists of the girl continuously pestering her mother to divulge the next chapter, with a seemingly unrelated side-story about an injured wallaby thrown in for good measure.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is not "The Man From Snowy River." The horses are anthropomorphized a bit too much for my tastes, and the acting tends toward cheesiness at times, though not so much as to be unbelievable. The soundtrack - often taking on a chanting quality that grows more intense as each chase scene progresses - is rather melodramatic, occasionally even disturbing by its overbearing nature. Nevertheless, while this film fails to really impress me as an adult, I'm pretty sure I would have loved it as a child. The horses are beautiful, and the theme of a cunning animal hero consistently outwitting the "bad guys" is just what most children will love.
The DVD itself, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired. The movie is presented only in fullscreen format, and though the cinematography and picture quality themselves are not top quality, the shots of the Australian high country would have been much more breathtaking in a widescreen presentation. There are also no special features whatsoever. In summation, I'd recommend this film primarily to families with younger children, especially those that love horses. Children will likely find the story exciting and the horses endearing. But even at a mere 93 minutes in length, it doesn't offer much to hold the attention of adult viewers.
Movie Review: Great for little kids
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this for my 2 yr old who is crazy about horses. This is a great movie for little kids. It is beautiful, the landscape and the horses are just amazing. That is the part my daughter likes. As for the story, it is lacking. I guess if you are a Russel Crow fan you might like this more than I do. He is rugged, handsome and young in this movie.(That is the first time I have said he is handsome)I on the other hand laugh at acouple of scenes("I've got your daughter Stallion!")if you have seen this movie you know what I'm talking about.Movie Review: GOOD - BUT NOT MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER
Summary: 2 Stars
Based on previous reviews, you would have thought this was another MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER: it's not, not by a long shot. I watched SNOWY after wading through this one, and was amazed at how much better it was. It's not that the horses aren't amazing - they are. But the story is weak, the cinematography is undistinguished, and this desperately needs a wide screen. I have to agree with another reviewer that this is a B movie.
On the other hand, Caroline Goodall turns in a wonderful performance as a writer creating a story about a silver stallion that has become a legend in the outback of Australia. She narrates parts of the story almost as if she were telling it around a campfire at night, so that it has a certain eerie quality. Ami Daemion is enjoyable as her daughter, reading her mother's story as she completes it in chunks, and becoming more and more obsessed with the horse. Russell Crowe plays a rancher bent on catching the silver stallion, and in his usual, likeable way is entertaining in this early performance of his career. Unfortunately, he gets little more to do than show off his riding abilities, because the real stars of the movie are the horses.
This film has some excellent horse work, except for the fight sequences between the ruling stallions, which are little more than dances. Nevertheless, as animal actors, they're wonderful. If I had it to do over, I would have given this film three stars instead of two, because it is a sweet story to snuggle up with the family on a weekend afternoon. I think pre-teen girls and any horse-lover will especially love it.
Waitsel Smith