As you probably know, the plot of the novel involves the protagonist Alec Ramsay getting shipwrecked on a remote desert island with a wild stallion. Eventually rescued, he returns home, taking the horse with him. The black stallion is insanely fast and Alec dreams of racing him but is hampered by the fact that the horse is untrained and also has no official papers. He is aided and abetted by Henry Dailey, a retired jockey and trainer who helps him train the Black and uses his contacts to get him into a match race with the two fastest race horses in America.
We had some of the younger set with us tonight, and watched the 1979 film The Black Stallion. It is, of course, adapted from Walter Farley's 1941 book of the same name. I loved that novel when I was a child and owned (well, own: I still have them) several books in the series. As you probably know, the plot of the novel involves the protagonist Alec Ramsay getting shipwrecked on a remote desert island with a wild stallion. Eventually rescued, he returns home, taking the horse with him. The black stallion is insanely fast and Alec dreams of racing him but is hampered by the fact that the horse is untrained and also has no official papers. He is aided and abetted by Henry Dailey, a retired jockey and trainer who helps him train the Black and uses his contacts to get him into a match race with the two fastest race horses in America. The movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and stars Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, and Teri Garr. I've seen it a couple of times before and like it: the cinematography is beautiful and so is the soundtrack. I do have some reservations about changes made to the plot, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the story told in the film, or the fine performances of some of the actors involved such as Rooney's (as Dailey) and Teri Garr (Alec's mother)... Mickey Rooney was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Henry Dailey. It seems like the studio bosses also had reservations; after completion the film was shelved for two years because they thought it was too "artsy" for a children's movie. This idea might have stemmed from the fact that for almost half an hour (while on the island) there is no dialogue in the film at all. Coppola had to use his clout to finally get the movie released. When The Black Stallion actually made it to theaters, it became a critical and financial success and won numerous awards. The biggest problem I have with the movie is the fact that the writers of the screenplay changed Alec Ramsay from the sixteen or seventeen year old he is in the the book to an eleven year old boy. This isn't to say that Kelly Reno does a bad job; it's just really unbelievable that a boy as young as he is would be able to survive everything which happens during and after the shipwreck, would be strong enough to control a semi-wild horse on the track, and that he would be allowed to ride in any kind of horse race, even a match race. In fact Reno, who was a skilled rider and did most of the riding scenes himself, had to be replaced by a double during the race scenes because- being eleven- he wasn't strong enough to control the horse portraying the Black. It just seems an odd choice to make him so much younger when the age he is in the book is so much more believable. Also, in the film, Alec is travelling with his father who goes down with the ship. In the book, Alec is travelling home alone after spending the summer abroad with an uncle who is a missionary- again, something a seventeen year old could do, but not an eleven year old. In the book Alec's father is alive and well throughout. That being said, there's a lot to love about the movie and some scenes like the one of the ship sinking, and Alec and the Black becoming friends on the island are very effective. Fun fact: in the room where Henry (Rooney) keeps all of his trophies and memorabilia from his racing days, there's a black & white photo of him on a horse which is actually from the 1944 film National Velvet in which Mickey Rooney also starred.
Comments
|
About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
Fun SitesOdds & Ends |