Most people will know the classic children's novel by Anna Sewell that tells of the adventures of a horse named Black Beauty. I had enjoyed this as a child myself and will definitely share the book with my daughters when they are a bit older. In the meantime though, they have been watching the film that tells the classic story. There has been a more recent film made in 1994, but this is the original that was made in 1971 and stars Mark Lester (of Oliver fame). This film also manages to remain pretty true to the events in the book which always pleases me greatly.
Black Beauty is an enjoyable and very clever story. It starts with when Black Beauty is born and belongs to a small boy called Joe (Mark Lester). Unfortunately his father runs into financal difficulties and loses the farm along with Black Beauty to the mean and nasty local squire. In a drunken rage he falls from the trap that Black Beauty is pulling and the horse is then found and taken by an Irish traveller. From there, the horse wanders away and is discoverede by a horse dealer who sells him to a continental circus. The story moves on with Black Beauty being passed from one owner to another until eventually he is found as a pit horse being mistreated by his owner. I won't tell you what happens at the end of the film, but as this is a children's film, you probably can guess that there is a happy ending!
My daughters really loved this film even though there are some quite scary moment ans some right nasty characters! They fell in love with Black Beauty right from the first and it really is the horse that is the star of the film. It's also very clever the way that there are lots of mini stories contained within the film and these change every time Black Beauty finds himself with a new owner. There is a love story with a young woman and her soldier love but her father will not allow the wedding. There is fighting between two feuding circuses which involve kidnapping and trickery. There is the mean squire treating all of his tenants badly but also gambling away his estate. Each short story is quite engrossing in its own right and sometimes it is a bit disappointing to leave one story as you never quite know how it ends up for the people involved.
It was also interesting for the girls because the story is set in the 19th century so they were interested to see the things that people wore and the fact that there were no cars. It was also very interesting to notice all the different ways that horses were used in those days - infact Black Beauty had many different jobs in his lifetime ranging from circus performer to pit horse.
As the film was made in 1971 there are no special effects to speak of and it certainly feels a little bit dated as far as the cinematography is concerned. It's an all British cast but the acting does seem a little bit more wooden than would be acceptable by today's standards. Having said that though it is a very enjoyable family film and is at times set against some very beautiful scenery in either Ireland or Spain.
THis is a very well made film for its time and it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours watching it with my daughters.
The film is currently available on Amazon on DVD for £3.87. THere are no DVD extras on my copy.
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