The Black Stallion

The Black Stallion

Director: Carroll Ballard
Country: USA

1979 | 118 min. | English
Synchronization in German
FSK 6
Age recommendation: 8

Cast_ Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse, Hoyt Axton, Ed McNamara, Michael Higgins Screenplay_ Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, William D. Wittliff Camera_ Caleb Deschanel Producer_ Francis Ford Coppola, Tom Sternberg Rights_ Park Circus

Boy meets horse. An ode to the friendship between man and animal, whose lyrical images of nature and landscapes rank among the most beautiful in US cinema.

After a shipwreck, young Alec finds himself stranded on a deserted island. The only other survivor is a wild black Arabian stallion. In ›The Black Stallion‹, action and drama alternate with quiet moments that turn into cinematic poetry. In one of these almost silent scenes of purely visual narration, the boy baits the shy animal into a beach cove with the help of seaweed. The sea water sparkles, silhouettes emerge in the evening glow – as in a dance, each of their steps is chosen with care, until trust and companionship become possible. ›The Black Stallion‹ thus celebrates the utopia of a harmony between man and nature. Its fragility is made evident when, upon returning to civilization, the newly formed friendship is faced with difficult challenges.

Director

Carroll Ballard, born in LA in 1937, studied film at UCLA in the 1960s. His feature debut ›The Black Stallion‹ (1979) won many awards, including an Oscar. It was followed by ›Never Cry Wolf‹ (1983) and ›Fly Away Home‹ (1996). He is considered a master of sensitive cinematic portraits of animals and nature.

Screenings

  • Sunday 14.11.202115:15MannheimMAStadthaus N1
  • Monday 15.11.202109:30MannheimMAStadthaus N1
  • Tuesday 16.11.202110:00HeidelbergHDKarlstorkino
  • Wednesday 17.11.202114:30HeidelbergHDKarlstorkino