Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

hopebuild I read most of the books in the Black Stallion series when I was a young girl of 8 or 9. The story is a great one. An epic tale. This movie captures the spirit of the first book of the series. Visually this movie is stunning. I would definitely recommend it, especially for horse lovers. I may even go back and read the books again. The book goes into a lot more detail than the movie, of course, but the magic of the story comes across beautifully here. The boy who plays the lead should have won awards for doing such a great job throughout the movie in interacting with the horse. It is a shame what happened to the boy actor who played the lead. In real life his career was cut short by tragedy. I love movies about horses and this one is up there on my list.

SnoopyStyle It's 1946. Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is traveling on a ship with his father. There is a wild Arabian stallion on board. The ship sinks and the boy becomes stranded on a desert island with the horse. He is eventually rescued and returned to his mother (Teri Garr) with the horse. When the horse runs away, trainer Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney) catches him. Together, they train him to race on the big tracks.It takes a little too long to get going with a very slow start. The ship sinking is exciting and the island is beautiful. I think the island is actually a great place for the boy to speak. It would give him real personality. The music and the lack of dialog makes the movie beautiful to look at but it could have been more. With great writing, the boy could have delivered a compelling performance like 'Cast Away'. However he's never given the chance and the movie moves along slowly but beautifully. Considering the drama in the story, the movie really lacks tension. When they're off the island, the movie takes its time. It wants to be atmospheric and mythical. The second half never gets any of that. It feels tired and formulaic. The first half is a beauty but the second half is lacking.

billnich-1 Carroll Ballard and Francis Ford Coppolls succeeded in taking a children's book and elevating it to a multi-layered story of the mythological journey of Alec and the Black, reminiscent of the ancient mythology of Alexander and his horse Bucephalus.Looking over the many reviews of this film, none (although I might have missed it) mentioned the parallels between Alec and the Black with the story of young Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus, told by Alec's father at the very beginning of the film. You have to hear the father tell that story if you are to understand the multiple levels of the rest of the film. In that vein you can't understand the nuances of the "home" sequence without the island sequence, nor the island sequence without the story of Alexander.The shipwreck occurs immediately after Alec's dad tells the story. After the shipwreck, Alec and the Black leave the world (a death of sorts falling into the dark sea) and enter a realm of timelessness on the island. No indication of when the story takes place is found on the island once Alec cuts the Black free from his ropes and Alec's pajamas deteriorate to little more than a lion cloth. On the island, they enter the realm of timeless myth where Alec, like Alexander (in Dad's story) tames the wild Black Stallion (we even see from Alec's point of view the Black passing behind the figurine of Bucephalus). When Alec tames and rides the Black he/they is/are now master of the island. Once Alec/Alexander has tamed the Black/Bucephalus, they now return to the world of 1946.Once home, Alec must again train/tame the Black as a racehorse, with the help of his mentor, Henry Daly. However, to win the race, the Black and Alec must retain some of their wild island nature (Alec casts off his helmet, lets go of the rains and grabs the Black's mane during the final race). (The racetrack is like the arena of Dad's story at the movie's beginning.) Also, Alec's connection to the Black is part of his coming to terms with his own father's death. An important scene is the one with his mother before she agrees to let him race. In this scene he makes the connection between the Black and his father ("I was in the water. I couldn't breathe. It was dark. I called out for dad. I looked up and there was the black, and I grabbed on to him.")With a mind for mythology, I saw this film on many levels that are consistent with a typical mythological story. The Dad's story of Alexander and Bucephalus slingshots you through the rest of the film, in which the story, links the island and "home" sequences to the story told at the beginning of the film.

medic249a2 Francis Ford Coppola was a busy man in 1979; his Vietnam War epic 'Apocalypse Now' had been released earlier that year, and he was soon at work on another project - a marvelous story about a boy and an Arabian stallion marooned on a remote island after a shipwreck. That project, of course, was 'The Black Stallion' - often considered Coppola's 'forgotten child' of 1979.Some of Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' crew also worked on 'The Black Stallion'; namely producers Fred Roos & Tom Sternberg and Coppola's father Carmine, who wrote the beautiful, moving score that surrounds the film. For direction, Coppola handed over the director's chair to Carroll Ballard, whose very capable hand made this film absolutely stunning.The story is well known, from Walter Farley's classic novel - a young boy, who escapes a shipwreck off North Africa with a horse he had helped rescue, bonds forever with the animal after they are washed up on an island. After being rescued the two return to the United States, where Alec keeps the beautiful horse in his backyard. When an innocent garbage man triggers a fear in the horse's mind, the animal escapes to a farm owned by a former jockey & horse trainer, Henry Dailey. When young Alec follows the horse to the barn, he asks Dailey if there's ever a way to learn to ride him. Dailey is skeptical at first; the horse is considered wild, and no papers exist. He does, however, start teaching Alec the ways of riding, and they are soon making runs with the horse - now known as 'The Black' - on a racetrack. The day comes when Dailey shows the horse to a reporter, who promotes the animal as a 'Mystery Horse' to challenge the country's fastest Thoroughbreds in a race. Alec will ride The Black in the challenge match - to a triumphant finish...The photography is absolutely spectacular; most of the island shots (done in Sardinia) are made with no dialogue, which some have called 'meaningful silence', with only Carmine Coppola's soundtrack in the background - piano chords as the horse kills the cobra and a spectacular trumpet fanfare as Alec looks up at The Black standing on a cliff. Great care was taken to make the city shots (done in Toronto) realistic; the racetrack shots especially reflect this. The costumes and vehicles are authentic for the period - this was especially true on race day when The Black goes up against the 2 thoroughbreds.Unfortunately, this great work was largely ignored by AMPAS at that year's Academy Awards; this is absolutely shameful as this photography rivals that of Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' from the same year.All around, this is one of the finest family movies ever made. I saw it when I was around 8 in the theater and did not see it again until I was about 39, when I showed it to my little girl (who loves horses). I give it an 8/10.