Well, colour me astonished. Scratch that, colour me absolutely blown away! I placed War Horse in my Top Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2012 list more as an act of respect to the excellent stage production, a masterclass in dramatic storytelling that I thought in reality could never have been matched on the big screen. While Steven Spielberg and his team have undoubtedly gone down a different route to the National Theatre play's crew, the changes made are without a shadow of a doubt for the better, making for a stunning pinnacle of filmic direction and narrative presentation that easily establishes itself as an early contender for Film of the Year. Heavily based on Michael Morpurgo's best-selling Great War children's novel, the plot focuses on a young horse called Joey, his experiences in the battles and events of the traumatic conflict, and his overriding quest to be reunited with his trainer Albert. It's a storyline which is sure to touch even the toughest of viewers, a real tear-jerker that builds to an inevitably heartwarming conclusion, yet encapsulates the core human drama of the First World War to an incredible degree. Were it not for Spielberg's dedication to portraying the intricate, subtle moments shared between kin, fellow soldiers and even the enemies of battle, this would go down as a movie that's simply begging us to tug our own heartstrings at the sight of a wounded, battered and desperate animal who wants nothing more than to get home, but thankfully that's not the case, so we're provided with a wonderfully deep and emotive experience, the likes of which I haven't seen in a feature film for a good few years now. On top of that, we've got a stellar cast list, boasting the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Marsan, yet all of those big-name stars are put to great use, not because we see them time and time again, rather because the brevity of their appearances allows for the crux of the drama, Joey himself, to act as the pivotal point of our perspective on events, shaping everything that happens around him. Of course, when Steven Spielberg helms a movie, you almost know that John Williams is going to have some kind of involvement with the orchestral side of things, and the composer does not disappoint here by any stretch of the imagination here, quite the opposite! In fact (you may want to sit down for this one), I might go so far as to say that Williams has crafted his finest soundtrack for a feature film with his work on War Horse since he first produced the theme tune for Star Wars back in 1977- there really hasn't been a more haunting and beautiful selection of melodies to back such a prized narrative in a long time now, so to be able to specifically credit John for that is a great feeling indeed. I mentioned Spielberg's direction briefly earlier, but before I wrap up, I must dedicate this part of the review to specifically congratulating Steven on what has rightly been called "his finest hour" by some critics, something I would completely back up having seen the wonderful vistas and setpieces he creates over the course of this 150-minute epic. There really hasn't been such a beautiful, emotional and sensory filmic experience as War Horse for far too long now, but I can say without a doubt that Spielberg and his team have done what I believed to be the impossible: not only they have crafted a brilliant adaptation of one of the finest children's novels around, they've surpassed it by providing a heartfelt representation of the darkest trials of human nature and their devestating consequences in one of the most tragic conflicts of all time. If you see one film this month...heck, if you see one film this year, make it War Horse.
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Saturday 14 January 2012
War Horse Review (5/5)
Well, colour me astonished. Scratch that, colour me absolutely blown away! I placed War Horse in my Top Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2012 list more as an act of respect to the excellent stage production, a masterclass in dramatic storytelling that I thought in reality could never have been matched on the big screen. While Steven Spielberg and his team have undoubtedly gone down a different route to the National Theatre play's crew, the changes made are without a shadow of a doubt for the better, making for a stunning pinnacle of filmic direction and narrative presentation that easily establishes itself as an early contender for Film of the Year. Heavily based on Michael Morpurgo's best-selling Great War children's novel, the plot focuses on a young horse called Joey, his experiences in the battles and events of the traumatic conflict, and his overriding quest to be reunited with his trainer Albert. It's a storyline which is sure to touch even the toughest of viewers, a real tear-jerker that builds to an inevitably heartwarming conclusion, yet encapsulates the core human drama of the First World War to an incredible degree. Were it not for Spielberg's dedication to portraying the intricate, subtle moments shared between kin, fellow soldiers and even the enemies of battle, this would go down as a movie that's simply begging us to tug our own heartstrings at the sight of a wounded, battered and desperate animal who wants nothing more than to get home, but thankfully that's not the case, so we're provided with a wonderfully deep and emotive experience, the likes of which I haven't seen in a feature film for a good few years now. On top of that, we've got a stellar cast list, boasting the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Marsan, yet all of those big-name stars are put to great use, not because we see them time and time again, rather because the brevity of their appearances allows for the crux of the drama, Joey himself, to act as the pivotal point of our perspective on events, shaping everything that happens around him. Of course, when Steven Spielberg helms a movie, you almost know that John Williams is going to have some kind of involvement with the orchestral side of things, and the composer does not disappoint here by any stretch of the imagination here, quite the opposite! In fact (you may want to sit down for this one), I might go so far as to say that Williams has crafted his finest soundtrack for a feature film with his work on War Horse since he first produced the theme tune for Star Wars back in 1977- there really hasn't been a more haunting and beautiful selection of melodies to back such a prized narrative in a long time now, so to be able to specifically credit John for that is a great feeling indeed. I mentioned Spielberg's direction briefly earlier, but before I wrap up, I must dedicate this part of the review to specifically congratulating Steven on what has rightly been called "his finest hour" by some critics, something I would completely back up having seen the wonderful vistas and setpieces he creates over the course of this 150-minute epic. There really hasn't been such a beautiful, emotional and sensory filmic experience as War Horse for far too long now, but I can say without a doubt that Spielberg and his team have done what I believed to be the impossible: not only they have crafted a brilliant adaptation of one of the finest children's novels around, they've surpassed it by providing a heartfelt representation of the darkest trials of human nature and their devestating consequences in one of the most tragic conflicts of all time. If you see one film this month...heck, if you see one film this year, make it War Horse.
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I do agree with all you say, however the inaccuracy with the accents did personally annoy me; despite being very naturalistic in all other areas. I did definitely find it a brilliant film, taking every audience on an emotional roller coaster of a journey with Albert and Joey which I cannot but commend the team who crafted such an outstanding piece of work.
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