EQUINE MOVIES

Equines have inspired various art forms, including movies. La Polo curates a list of equine movies for readers.

The film made in 2011 was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay written by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, and based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel of the same name. The cast includes Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch. Set before and during World War I, it chronicles the bond between a man and his horse. The remarkable plot explores the power of friendship during war.

The 1979 adventure film is based on the 1941 classic children’s novel of the same name by Walter Farley. It was directed by Carroll Ballard and stars Kelly Reno, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton, Michael Higgins and Mickey Rooney with the Arabian horse Cass Ole playing the eponymous Black Stallion. It follows the story of Alec Ramsey, a boy who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with a wild Arabian stallion. Despite starting off on a hostile note, the two form a close alliance in order to survive the desperate conditions. Definitely a tear-jerker!

This is a 1998 Western drama film directed by Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. The cast includes Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas and Scarlett Johanssen. The narrative follows a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.

This is a 2000 American-French-South African adventure drama film. The film began production in 1998 and was released in the US in June 2000. It was directed by Sergei Bodrov. The ensemble cast includes Chase Moore, Jan Decleir, Arie Verveen and Maria Geelbooi. It follows the saga of Lucky, a chestnut-coloured horse born in captivity in 1914, who realises his dream of running with freedom, with the assistance of a kind-hearted stable boy. By the time credit roll on, you’ll have exhausted a newly opened box of tissues!

This 2003 sports film is written and directed by Gary Ross is based on the best-selling 1999 non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. It consists of an ensemble cast of Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper, Gary Stevens and William H. Macy. The film is loosely based on the life and racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized, often overlooked Thoroughbred racehorse, whose unexpected successes made him a hugely popular national sensation in the United States during the Great Depression.

This 2002-made animated western film was directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook from a screenplay by John Fusco, and based on an idea by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who produced the film alongside Mireille Soria. The film follows Spirit, a Kiger mustang stallion (voiced by Matt Damon as a narrator), who is captured during the American Indian Wars by the United States Cavalry; he is eventually freed by a Lakota man named Little Creek with whom he bonds, as well as a mare named Rain. In contrast to the anthropomorphic style of animal characters in other animated features, Spirit and his fellow horses communicate with each other through nonlinguistic sounds and body language (albeit with many human facial expressions and reactions). This one is sure to melt your heart!

National Velvet is a 1944 American Technicolor sports film directed by Clarence Brown and based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Enid Bagnold. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, Angela Lansbury, Anne Revere, Reginald Owen, and an adolescent Elizabeth Taylor. The plot follows Mi Taylor, a former jockey who mentors a young girl, Velvet Brown, to groom a wild horse to win England’s Grand National steeplechase. In 2003, National Velvet was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

This 2010 biographical sports drama film is produced and written by Mike Rich and Sheldon Turner based largely on William Nack’s 1975 book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion. The film chronicles the life of the Thoroughbred racehorse Secretariat, winner of the Triple Crown in 1973. Diane Lane plays Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, who takes over the Doswell, Virginia, stables of her ailing father Christopher Chenery despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. With the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (played by John Malkovich), she navigates the maledominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and one of the greatest racehorses of all time.

Dreamer is a 2005 sports drama film written and directed by John Gatins. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Kurt Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue and Dakota Fanning. It is inspired by the true story of an injured

Thoroughbred racehorse Mariah’s Storm. The tale chronicle Ben, a horse trainer, who always neglects his daughter Cale. However, when he adopts an injured horse, Sonador, the bridge between Cale and him begins to heal as he begins to spend more time with her. Perfect choice for a father-daughter movie day!

Champions is a 1984 drama sports film based on the true story of jockey Bob Champion. It is directed by John Irvin, written by Evan Jones, and stars John Hurt, Edward Woodward and Jan Francis. The film is based on the true story of Bob Champion who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1979. After an operation to remove the diseased testicle and chemotherapy, Champion recovered and went on to win the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. It will tear your heart up, but mend it back too!