warhorse christian movie review

Reviewed by: Scott Brennan CONTRIBUTOR

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horses in the Bible

cavalry and the use of horses in wars over the years

World War I

alcoholism and drunkenness

living on and making a living from working a farm

agriculture in the Bible

Ted states that God gives each man bad luck, but feels that he got more than his share.

Featuring	… … … … … … … Celine Buckens … … Patrick Kennedy … Leonard Carow … David Kross … Matt Milne … Robert Emms … Eddie Marsan … Nicolas Bro … Rainer Bock … Hinnerk Schönemann … Gary Lydon … Geoff Bell … Liam Cunningham … Sebastian Hülk … Gerard McSorley … Tony Pitts … Irfan Hussein … Pip Torrens … Philippe Nahon … Jean-Claude Lecas … Justin Brett … Seamus O’Neill … Pat Laffan … Peter McNeil O’Connor … Trystan Pütter … Gunnar Cauthery … Julian Wadham … Anian Zollner … Michael Kranz … Hannes Wegener … David Dencik … Edward Bennett … Johnny Harris … Philip Hill-Pearson … Tam Dean Burn … Alain Williams … Thomas Arnold … Maximilian Brüeckner … Markus Tomczyk … Peter Benedict … Callum Armstrong … Martin D. Dew … Jason Cook … Michael Ryan …
Director
Producer	Kathleen Kennedy … Frank Marshall … Tracey Seaward … Adam Somner … Steven Spielberg …
Distributor

“Separated by war. Tested by battle. Bound by friendship.”

“W ar Horse” is everything you would expect from a Steven Spielberg film. It’s a masterpiece of cinema in its detailed recreation of a story worth telling. Each frame could be a painting hung in a museum, speaking deeply into the souls of all those who were to view them one by one. There are spectacular visuals of southwestern rural England, with greens and blues, stunning sunsets, and the rocky soils with farmland images that are reminiscent of painter Jean-Francois Millet’s “ The Angelus .” Even though film clips might depict the heartwarming story of love between a boy and his horse , this certainly is not a movie for children. It does tell that story, but it is set with the backdrop of World War I at the German frontlines—with many stark and brutal battle scenes, not fit for children.

There were millions of horses killed on all sides during WWI. It was the war that would end the cavalry charges of the past, as trench warfare , with barbed wire and machine guns and tanks spelled certain defeat and destruction for the war horses. In this period of transition, the horses were used to move cannons and guns and shipments, and thousands died just from being overworked or becoming emaciated under the conditions. This is the setting of the story “War Horse” and hints at just what is to take place in the film.

The well written screenplay by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis is based upon the children’s novel by the same name, written by Michael Morpurgo , who, to date has written more than 120 books (mostly children’s). War Horse , first published in the UK in 1982, also became a stage play in 2007. Much of the magic in the story must be attributed to this incredible author, matched only by the cinematic storytelling ability of Spielberg, himself. The story reeks with the undying optimism characteristic of Spielberg and Morpurgo, delving into the themes of redemption and the overcoming ability of the human spirit. [For interested readers, the story of “War Horse” continues in a follow up book called Farm Boy .]

A boy named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) grows up on a rural farm in Devon, son to an alcoholic father (Peter Mullan) and a supportive, yet enabling, mother ( Emily Watson ), who themselves are struggling for survival on a rented farm. It is here that Albert falls in love with young Irish half-thoroughbred, one his dad purchased irresponsibly only to spite his landlord (David Thewlis). Considered too weak for field work, by all, Albert is forced to make him plow the family’s rocky soil to save their farm and prove them all wrong, and thus the bond between them is set for the remainder of the film. Albert names him Joey, and the tenderness between the two of them is palpable. But at the outbreak of the war, and in dire financial straits, his father is forced to sell Joey to the British cavalry.

This devastating sale of Joey creates the separation anxiety that carries the viewer through the rest of the film. While Albert tries immediately to join the British cavalry, he is denied because he is too young—but all signs point to that changing, in the future.

Joey becomes the symbol of hope for all of humanity, even through the midst of such a terrible war . Each character, along the way, who takes custody of Joey is changed or altered in some way, an obvious expression of our common humanity, no matter what side we are on. There are several scenes where the common humanity of both sides comes into agreement and Joey is at the center of that picture. It is strongly reminiscent of an equally powerful French film, “ Joyeux Noel ” (2005), where enemy soldiers became temporarily united singing “Silent Night.”

The subtle, but outstanding performance of Peter Mullan (Albert’s dad Ted) cannot be overemphasized. His alcoholic persona belies a troubled past that holds secrets of a war from his own experience, but it is he who held the incorrect belief that God gives each man bad luck and stubbornly believes he’s gotten more than his fair share. Ted apparently isn’t familiar with Matthew 5:45 ,

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Nor the Scripture from Proverbs 20:1 ,

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Not surprisingly, a few of the profanities (a couple of hells) come from him. In all, there is very little cursing, with only one “damn” noted, along with a “Good Lord,” used in vain. There are a host of English expressions, like “bugger off you tight bastard”, “bugger me,” and “don’t be daft” which don’t carry the same weight in the American vernacular, but are offensive to some, nonetheless.

There is no sex or nudity, but only a mention by a 14 year old boy (Michael) [who had snuck into the army] of asking his older brother Günter about Italian women, to which he responds, you are too young.

These same brothers (on the German side) disobey orders from their superiors, and one does wonder what would have been their fates had they followed orders. This is a point to ponder in light of Romans 13:1-4 : whether or not the truth of those Scriptures applies to believers only or even in a war , at all. Without becoming a spoiler, let it be said that it is possibly the most disturbing event in the entire film. Other disturbing images include bodies of horses and men in panoramic detail and intense fighting scenes, which are expected from a warzone, although nothing as intense as “ Saving Private Ryan .”

By and large, the undying optimism that Spielberg consistently brings to his films is not missing in “War Horse,” and faith in humanity is predictably present. Noted is the underlying tone that it’s in humanity, not faith in God—though there is no put down necessarily for those that are of faith. Arguably, this is not his greatest work, but with John Williams’ musical score and some of those scenes in the final 20 minutes of this lengthy film, it certainly rates close to the top.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: None

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WARHORSE ONE

"sometimes engaging, but flawed".

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

What You Need To Know:

Miscellaneous Immorality: Soldier tells little girl he doesn’t care what the Taliban fighters pursuing them believe but, if they intentionally hurt innocent people, they’re the “bad guys,” soldier teaches girl to throw a knife, and Taliban fighter deceives American soldier.

More Detail:

Are there enough movies where a grizzled warrior cares for a small child while going Rambo on endless hordes of nameless stock villains? Weren’t LOGAN, THE MANDALORIAN, THE WITCHER, and THE LAST OF US sufficient enough? Not according to writer and star Johnny Strong of the war movie WARHORSE ONE.

Strong plays Master Chief Richard Mirko, a Special Forces operative whose helicopter goes down in Afghanistan as American troops leave the country for good. Evading Taliban fighters and searching for a way out of enemy territory, Mirko finds Zoe, the orphaned child of Christian missionaries killed by the Taliban. Mirko escorts Zoe to safety through some mountainous and forested terrain while single-handedly dispatching dozens of Talban fighters along the way.

WARHORSE ONE is a glorified CALL OF DUTY first-person shooter movie. The hero must fight off dozens, if not scores, of Taliban fighters to protect Zoe and get her to the exfiltration spot where another American helicopter can take them out of the country. The movie is too long, and the many gun battles sometimes become rather repetitious and monotonous. WARHORSE ONE also has some shaky camerawork, sloppy color grading and poor acting. However, the story still manages to conjure a fair amount of suspense, and the relationship between the hero and the little girl is strong.

Also, WARHORSE ONE has a strong moral worldview with some positive Christian references and strong Pro-American elements. The movie stresses heroism, protecting the life of a child and sacrifice.

That said, WARHORSE ONE is marred by some strong foul language, including eight “f” words and very strong war violence with multiple gun battles. Also, in one scene, the hero mentions a Muslim soldier working for the American who sacrificed his own life for the hero’s platoon. The bad guys, however, are all Muslim fanatics.

MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for WARHORSE ONE.

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War Horse is ideal material for Steven Spiel­berg. His adaptation of the children's novel by Michael Morpurgo comes to the screen by way of the celebrated National Theatre stage version, which has been entrancing audiences of all ages on Broadway since last season. It's the story of a magnificent auburn stallion named Joey, trained by a Devon farm boy, Albert Narracott, and then sold by his father to the army at the outset of World War I.

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• DVD & Streaming
• Drama , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 25, 2011
• Jeremy Irvine as Albert; Peter Mullan as Ted Narracott; Emily Watson as Rose Narracott; Niels Arestrup as Grandfather; Tom Hiddleston as Captain Nicholls; Benedict Cumberbatch as Major Stewart; David Thewlis as Lyons; Celine Buckens as Emilie

Home Release Date

• April 3, 2012
• Steven Spielberg

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• Walt Disney

Movie Review

A bullet is beautiful when removed from its context, smooth and shiny and cool to the touch. It is simple yet elegant—its edges running upward to a point or a glinting, symmetrical hill. A child who didn’t know better might mistake it for a pocket-size spaceship, or a tiny tower when set on end.

They would not recognize it as a thief.

Yet thieves are exactly what bullets are. In the context of war, they rob countries of their men, men of their ideals, ideals of their virtue. They take breath and blood and thought, and let them lay in the mud of battle, scattered like shrapnel. They take sight and sound, life and limb, hope and courage.

And even if you safeguard all of that, there’s still one thing the wartime bullet will always take: innocence.

In beautiful, green, southwestern England, a horse is born. It is a beautiful beast, all grace and muscle and shiny coat. And, like beauty is wont to do at times, it makes a local farmer lose his head. Determined to own the animal (and show up his deep-pocketed landlord), Ted, the slightly tipsy farmer, overbids for the horse and brings him home instead of a good, sturdy plow horse. It’s as if you or I set out to buy a truck and came home instead with a Ferarri.

He’s gone and mortgaged the future for a pretty, worthless pony. But when the man sobers up and moves to put a bullet into the beast, his son Albert steps between the flesh of the animal and the bullet’s barrel.

“He’ll show you,” Albert says of the horse whom he’s named Joey. “We’ll show you. We’ll get it done.”

And they do. Thanks to Albert’s determination and the horse’s ability to adapt, Joey becomes the prettiest plow horse in all of Devonshire. Now, Albert tells his horse, they can be together, “Which is the way I think things were meant to be.”

And perhaps they would have been, too … had the calendar not said 1914 and the world not marched toward cataclysm. The war is coming. And when it arrives, it takes not the farmer, not the boy, but Joey, the big, beautiful horse in all his magnificence and innocence, the horse who’s known only harnesses and fields and apples from Albert.

Positive Elements

“It’s challenging to tell a story where you have to look at a horse and wonder what the horse is feeling from moment to moment,” director Steven Spielberg told USA Today . “But that’s why I wanted to direct this picture. You’re giving language to a horse based all on physical performance.”

Joey, the hero of War Horse , tells us volumes about the nature of war. There’s nothing glamorous or glorious about the conflict we see. And yet in the midst of it, we see the horse embody laudable human traits—even sacrificing his own potential well-being for that of a comrade. Spielberg uses the horse as something akin to a symbol—the vehicle in which we can see the horror of war, but the little ways in which we can rise above that horror.

His film has plenty of human heroes too. Albert is unfailingly kind to Joey—even as he pushes both himself and his horse to the breaking point to save the family’s farm. He longs to be a war hero, like his father was—and when he later goes off to war himself he indeed proves to be heroic. But by then, of course, he’d rather be back in Devon.

Albert’s father, for all his faults, does what he can to provide for his family. “He never gave up,” wife Rose says. “And he does it for us.” Rose stands by Ted in the thickest sorts of trouble, even if she’s exasperated by him at times. She also offers us a profound reason why Ted—who was honored in past British battles—never talks about his role in combat. “It’s good to be proud when you’ve done something good,” she says. “He refused to be proud of killing, I suppose.”

Joey changes hands several times throughout the film, and each of his caretakers manifests positive traits. When British officer Captain Nicholls buys Joey and realizes how important the horse is to Albert, he promises the boy he’ll bring him home safely if he can. Young French girl Emilie hides Joey and another horse, Topthorn, in her upstairs bedroom, keeping them out of sight from German soldiers. Two German brothers use Joey to tote an ambulance—saving him from being shot in the head. A German artillery worker risks his own freedom to save Joey. And when the horse gets tangled up in barbed wire in the infamous No Man’s Land between the French and German trenches, a British and German soldier form an unlikely temporary alliance to free the gallant creature.

Spiritual Elements

Joey is sometimes cast in a quasi-spiritual light. Albert confides in the animal, who’s called a “miracle horse” by soldiers, “I knew when I first saw you that you would be the one to save us.”

A soldier whispers the 23rd Psalm to himself as he traverses No Man’s Land. A commander rallies his troops before battle, saying, “Be brave. Fear God. Honor the king.” Ted bemoans his fate, telling his wife that he used to think that God gave each man his share of trials. But “I’ve had more than my share,” he concludes.

Sexual Content

None. Quips are made about the relative beauty of women in various countries.

Violent Content

World War I doesn’t get as much cinematic attention as its showier sequel, what with the latter war’s dynamic leaders and clear-cut bad guys. The “war to end all wars” was a complex, morally murky fight that left more than 15 million people dead (including around 7 million civilians). It was a brutal conflict, dominated by trench warfare and made more miserable by poison gas. War Horse , while not nearly as gory as it could be, doesn’t flinch from its inherent horrors.

Early on, we see a field of battle littered with dead horses and men. Topthorn gets pretty beaten up and broken down toward the end of the war, and Joey tears himself up something awful when he runs through the fields full of barbed wire. (He runs so fast that their tangles cause him to flip over, landing hard and painfully.) Characters frequently point guns at horses, preparing to shoot them, and we hear guns fired that apparently slaughter other horses.

Men suffer as well. We see many die in the course of the story, including two who are shot for deserting. Bodies go flying during explosions. Others are mowed down by rifle or machine gun fire. One soldier is told to stay behind and shoot anyone who retreats back to his home trench. One man gets wounded in the leg. Others are gassed. We see people who are missing limbs and have their eyes bandaged.

Albert is thrown from Joey over a fence. Someone’s knocked down by a horse. We learn that Emilie’s parents died in the war.

Crude or Profane Language

Characters say “b‑‑tard” and “h‑‑‑” twice each, along with British crudities “bloody” (two or three times), “b-gger” (at least four times) and “git” (once).

Drug and Alcohol Content

Ted drinks regularly, and sometimes gets drunk. Rose largely tolerates his drinking, explaining to Albert that he drinks to forget some of the things he saw during wartime. But she does take away the bottle shortly after Ted threatens to shoot Joey. Some days are better off forgotten , she tells him. This isn’t one of those days .

Whiskey and other alcoholic beverages make sporadic appearances elsewhere too.

Other Negative Elements

Emilie doesn’t always show complete respect for her clearly beloved grandfather, sometimes lightly joking in a way that prompts him to, also lightly, tell her to respect her elders.

“The war’s taking everything,” Grandfather says miserably. “And everyone.”

It took the horses too.

Britain sent more than 1 million horses to war between 1914 and 1918. Just 62,000 returned.

The lives of horses, neither then or now, are as valuable as the lives of men. And yet we’re so used to seeing men die on film that I wonder if we’ve become desensitized to their ends. I wonder if that’s why seeing animals in peril—horses, dogs, cats—sometimes moves us more. We simply don’t see it as often.

In War Horse , we witness the horrible toll that war indeed takes, on everything and everyone. Albert comes home from the front, but he comes home wiser and sadder. Grandfather loses nearly everything. Many others do not survive at all. Based on a children’s book written by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is no sanitized story meant for youngsters. This is a story about lost innocence and the atrocities of war, told in sometimes heartbreaking fashion.

It’s also perhaps the most moving, beautiful and inspirational movie of the year.

In the midst of the terror, we see moments of heroism, self-sacrifice and love. In the midst of cruelty, we see demonstrated humanity—some of which, ironically, come from a horse. And as we look through the eyes of Joey and Albert, we catch a glimpse at how we too can push through the hard seasons that come to us all.

When Emilie surmises that her parents died in the war, she imagines they died bravely—fighting for what they believed in. Grandfather says that, yes, they were indeed very brave. Then Emilie—perhaps out of grief or anger, accuses her grandfather of being a coward. In response, Grandfather suggests that maybe there are different forms of courage, and he points to carrier pigeons—pigeons who, no matter what, always return home—as an example.

“Can you imagine flying over a war, and you know you can never look down?” Grandfather says. “You have to look forward. Or you’ll never get home.”

War Horse looks ever forward.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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War Horse: movie review

In 'War Horse,' Steven Spielberg brings his trademark storytelling to this somewhat sentimental tale of a boy and a horse he loves and loses.

• By Peter Rainer Film critic

December 22, 2011

“ War Horse ” is a movie that perhaps only Steven Spielberg could have made. This is both good and not so good. On the plus side, the film has many of his trademark virtues – a resonant feeling for loneliness and emotional connection, stirring action sequences, vaunted storytelling. The not so good stuff, the dewy sentimentality and picture-book imagery especially, is generic Spielberg. The generic ultimately wins out.

Originally a bestselling 1987 novel by Michael Morpurgo , “War Horse” was dramatized for the London stage by Nick Stafford in 2007 and later won a Tony on Broadway. In all of its incarnations, the heart of this material – a boy’s love for his horse – is almost as old as the movies. Set in England just before the outbreak of World War I, the narrative centers on Albert Narracott ( Jeremy Irvine ), a teenager living with his family in the English countryside who bonds with the beautiful bay thoroughbred he names Joey. 

When Albert’s alcoholic father ( Peter Mullan ), in order to avoid eviction, sells Joey to the British cavalry, Albert is heartbroken and vows one day to reunite with him even though horses in World War I often ended up as cannon fodder. From this point on, Spielberg and his screenwriters (Lee Hall and Richard Curtis ) serve up a series of extended vignettes chronicling Joey’s travails as he is adopted by a kindly English officer ( Tom Hiddleston ), a pair of German brothers (Leonhard Carow and David Kross ), an old Frenchman ( Niels Arestrup ) and his teenage granddaughter (Celine Buckens), before the film finally circles back to Albert, now a British soldier in the Somme offensive.   

The novel imagined the story from Joey’s point of view and the stage play utilized large-scale puppetry to represent the horses. By contrast, Spielberg’s movie is, unavoidably, more realistic. In the end, no matter how photogenic Joey is, he is still irrevocably a horse.

This is not all for the worse. The heavy-going mystic-symbolic trappings of Joey in his earlier incarnations are played down here in favor of the sheer gorgeousness of the steed. This is in keeping with the movies' rich history of glorifying horses as horses  (“National Velvet,” “The Black Stallion” etc.). 

But inevitably, because Spielberg is Spielberg, Joey does indeed become more than just a horse, even if we don’t enter into his thoughts. Joey is the spiritual connection between warring factions who, at bottom, are just decent human beings caught up in a senseless war. The centerpiece sequence has an American and a German soldier venturing into no man’s land to disentangle Joey from a welter of barbed wire. It’s a powerful scene and yet, in his not too subtle way, Spielberg is manipulating us as much as those puppeteers on Broadway manipulated Joey.

In general, Spielberg milks each scene for maximum memorability, which becomes wearing after awhile. The grandfather and his granddaughter are pastoralized creations every bit as much as Albert and Joey. The rural landscapes – those that aren’t littered with corpses – are shimmering, nostalgic tableaux that evoke the films of David Lean and even, in a particularly overscaled moment at the end, “ Gone With the Wind .”

Spielberg has never been the director you go to for subtlety, and, at his transcendent best, in films like “ E.T. ,” subtlety is the last thing you wanted from him. He’s a big-gesture, direct-emotion kind of guy. Some of “War Horse” is intensely affecting – especially the early scenes between Albert and his long-suffering mother ( Emily Watson ) and the massacre in the wheat fields of the overmatched British by the Germans, which ranks almost as high as the D-Day invasion sequence in “ Saving Private Ryan .”

But too much of this film is felt on a cinematic level instead of an emotional one. Spielberg by now can do this sort of thing with such facility that he often lets his technical skills override his deepest engagement in the material. I guess what I’m saying is that “War Horse,” despite its excellences, is a supreme demonstration of a director phoning it in. Grade: B (Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence.)  

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The War Horse

Dove Review

This movie soars in an epic way! It’s simplistic story-telling and awesome visuals light up the screen in a way which is magical! The viewer will experience just about every emotion while watching this winner made by, not surprisingly, an expert in the field of direction named Steven Spielberg. That it is family friendly makes the experience one that can be shared and shared it should be.

The movie contains a nice mix of what makes going to the movies fun: solid acting, a sweeping score, breathtaking cinematography, tight direction and humor to boot. And then there is the story. It’s the story of a boy who bonds with a horse and loses him for a time due to the nightmare of the First World War. Young Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) eventually enlists in the war and hopes to find his faithful companion. All that the horse endures and the trials and tests of those who care for him make for a dramatic story. In one touching scene both a British and German solider work together for a moment to free a horse from an entanglement. We highly recommend this old-fashioned epic as it has the power to touch a modern audience. This one gets five Doves from us for sure.

Dove Rating Details

Man is knocked down by horse; a duck chases a man; a man knocks his son out of his way; a woman threatens a man by holding crocheting needles to his eyes; young man uses whip on horse to make him plow; slicing noises of swords in battle; fires are started; men are shot at; it's stated that injured horses will be shot; dead horses are very briefly seen; a horse gets caught in barbed wire and some bleeding is seen; a wound is seen on horse's leg; two young men are executed for desertion but the camera moves away and we do not see them hit but do see them briefly and from a distance on the ground.

"Go to H"-1 (Said in a "No, way" emphatic manner from a man who cares for the horse and is commanded to leave it so it is not in the form of a curse; H-3; B-2; D-1; "Good Lord"-1; "Stupid Git"(British slang for idiot)-1; "Bum-butt"-1; "Bugger me"-1

Some drinking scenes including a man drinking from a flask; a comment about a man needing to drink less beer; a "rum cake" comment; drinking of wine or brandy; smoking of cigarettes; the smoking of a cigar; a man gives a girl medicine.

A discouraged man says God has forsaken his family but things change later on.

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No Need to Hoof It to See War Horse

• Christian Hamaker Contributing Film and Culture Writer
• Updated May 07, 2013

DVD Release Date: April 3, 2012 Release Date: December 25, 2011  Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of war violence) Genre: Drama, Adaptation, War Run Time: 146 min. Director: Steven Spielberg Actors: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Neils Arestrup, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Celine Buckens, Eddie Marsan, David Kross

Let’s not forget that movies are moving pictures, and that a great director teamed with a great director of photography can produce a great film. A great script is the ingredient needed for a masterpiece, but well directed, stunning visual work is sometimes enough to overcome shortcomings in the storytelling department.

Director Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janus Kaminski have that kind of fruitful relationship. They first teamed on Schindler’s List  but are best known for their work together on Saving Private Ryan , particularly that film’s unforgettable version of the Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy, with Kaminski’s cameras giving the action an immediacy and you-are-there quality that made the sequence so impressive. Saving Private Ryan didn’t win the Best Picture Oscar—the prize that year went to Shakespeare in Love —but the director and cinematographer continued to work together on a list of memorable, if not always completely successful films: A.I.: Artificial Intelligence , Minority Report , Catch Me If You Can , The Terminal , War of the Worlds , Munich   and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . That last film was their one bad misfire.

War Horse , adapted from a book by Michael Morpurgo that also served as the basis for a successful stage play, tells the story of an English farmer ( Peter Mullan ) and his son Albert ( Jeremy Irvine ), who bonds with a horse named Joey. The father, increasingly desperate as he faces the loss of his farm, sells Joey to a military man, Captain Nicholls ( Tom Hiddleston ), who promises Albert he’ll take good care of the animal. The captain even promises to return Joey to Albert one day, if possible. Nicholls becomes the primary human character in the story as he takes Joey into World War I, where the British troops are confronted by German guns and other modern weaponry.

One of the problems with War Horse is that we’re meant to identify with the title character and his boy owner, but no sooner have we developed a bond with both than the rug is pulled out, and it’s on to Joey’s next owner. The reason the story follows Joey is, ostensibly, to learn about the people he comes into contact with, but there’s no underlying theme to Joey’s interaction with his human companions. Some of Joey’s owners are tender, some are brave, some see the horse as merely functional. What else would we expect?

Although the film runs too long, it’s never painful to watch, thanks to Kaminski’s grand image-making. Those images include not only stately scenes of Joey on the farm, but harrowing depictions of trench warfare. (While War Horse might hold some appeal for children, a sense of innocence and wonder comes through only in certain scenes, while significant portions of the film depict war violence that includes bombings, shooting and dead soldiers.) The film is respectful toward religion, with men calling on God to protect them during the battle and thanking him when the war has ended.

With so much going for it, War Horse should have been a more gripping experience. As it is, War Horse is not a particularly bad film, just a mediocre one. In light of who brought the story to cinematic life, that counts as a major disappointment. CAUTIONS :

• Language/Profanity:  “Bast-rd”; “ hell ”; “d-mn”; “good Lord”; “bugger me.”
• Alcohol/Smoking/Drugs:  A man drinks from a flask; an accusation that a man can’t afford to pay his landlord because he buys beer for his horses; man is said to drink in order to forget the mistakes he’s made.
• Sex/Nudity:  None.
• Violence/Crime:  Man kicked by horse; a gun is cocked; a man threatens another man with knitting needles; warfare includes swords, machine guns, other gunfire, bombs and explosions, with bodies seen flying through the air after bomb impact; a man is shot by a firing squad; orders given to shoot fleeing soldiers; dead soldiers shown; a horse is entangled in barbed wire; a tank runs over a horse.
• Religion: A character says he used to believe that God gave each man his share of bad luck, but he no longer believes that; a war cry: “Fear God! Honor the king!”; a man says, “God and the king will keep an eye on you”; a man prays the  Psalms 23 ; a man says, “Thank God for the end of this struggle. And victory.”         

Questions? Comments? Contact the writer at [email protected] .

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Common sense media reviewers.

Spielberg's sweeping horse drama is beautiful but intense.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Albert and Joey's relationship is a story of p

Albert is an amazing young man. He's dedicated

The war scenes aren't sugar-coated. They'r

A teenager flirts with a girl he's driving aro

British slang/insults like "barmy," &quo

Mr. Narracott drinks and seems to be known for bei

Parents need to know that Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the English children's book and hit Broadway show, War Horse, depicts war in a realistic manner that's too intense for younger kids. Despite being an earnest, sentimental horse drama, the war sequences show soldiers being killed in action …

Positive Messages

Albert and Joey's relationship is a story of perseverance, loyalty, and unwavering friendship. The two belong together, and Joey is committed not only to serving his country but to finding his beloved horse again. There are also messages about war -- both that it's an honor to serve your nation but that it's a tragedy to have to die for it.

Positive Role Models

Albert is an amazing young man. He's dedicated and disciplined to train and teach Joey and later to find him again. He's brave during battle and selfless in his actions. Despite his courage, he's also quite kind and sweet. A German soldier tries to save his younger brother from fighting, even if by doing so he endangers himself. A French grandfather and his sick, precocious granddaughter have a beautiful relationship that's combative but close.

Violence & Scariness

The war scenes aren't sugar-coated. They're not as graphic as the R-rated Saving Private Ryan , but there's definitely a body count -- with dead and injured soldiers and horses shown. Most of the disturbing war scenes are in the movie's second half. Particularly upsetting moments include two young soldiers being shot for deserting, other key supporting characters (including a horse) being killed in action or from exhaustion, and a major character being injured (it's unsure whether he'll make it or not).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A teenager flirts with a girl he's driving around town; Albert shows off on Joey in front of them.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

British slang/insults like "barmy," "bugger," "bloody," "daft," "stupid git," "old sod," "fool of a father," and the like. Also "hell," "damn," and "good lord" (as an exclamation).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Mr. Narracott drinks and seems to be known for being drunk on a regular basis. He stumbles around and slurs his words on occasion.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Steven Spielberg 's adaptation of the English children's book and hit Broadway show, War Horse, depicts war in a realistic manner that's too intense for younger kids. Despite being an earnest, sentimental horse drama, the war sequences show soldiers being killed in action (and for desertion) as well as a field of dead cavalry horses. Three subplots focusing on families depict their own wartime tragedies, including a drunk father; a sick, orphaned granddaughter; and a soldier trying to save his underage brother from going to the front line. But the heart of this story is the touching bond between Albert and his beloved horse, Joey, who might be the bravest horse ever portrayed on film. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (33)
• Kids say (63)

Based on 33 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In WAR HORSE, after English teenager Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) sees a beautiful foal being born and his father, Mr. Narracott (Peter Mullan), spends the family's rent money to buy the thoroughbred at auction -- just to outbid his cruel landlord, Mr. Lyons ( David Thewlis ) -- Albie thinks the foal is his destiny. After agreeing to train "Joey" himself, Albie works tirelessly to teach the horse to plow a field. Against all odds, Albert and Joey succeed -- but when a storm damages the family's crops, Mr. Narracott is forced to sell Joey to a cavalry officer ( Tom Hiddleston ) setting out to fight in World War I. The action then follows Joey as he switches owners -- and sides -- in the Great War. Eventually, Albie is old enough to enlist and hopes to find his beloved Joey again.

Is It Any Good?

This film combines two of Spielberg's favorite themes as a director -- family and war. The stand-out performances deserve credit for making the movie's 146 minutes worth your while. The cast is a virtual who's-who of rising English talent -- up-and-comer Irvine (making his feature debut), the always terrific Benedict Cumberbatch , and Thor breakout star Hiddleston as the earnest captain who buys Joey -- along with veteran supporting actors led by Emily Watson , who shines as Albert's wise, hardworking mother, who always knows what to say.

Yes, War Horse is long (nearly two and a half hours) and sentimental, but that's fine. The story demands emotional depth, especially in the second and third acts, when it's Joey the audience is following, not Albert. Between the gorgeous cinematography (all those lush landscapes and claustrophobic trenches) and the expert editing, the film doesn't drag. As epic dramas go, this one is more heart than heft, but it's a beautiful portrayal of the extraordinary friendship -- and circumstances -- surrounding a boy and his horse.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about War Horse 's violence. What is its impact ? Do you think it should have been toned down to make the movie even more family friendly?

Talk about the techniques Spielberg uses to "humanize" Joey. Do the extreme close-ups and swelling score make it easy to relate to the horse? Were you expecting the focus to shift to Joey's adventures instead of Albert's?

Why are horse movies so popular with audiences? Compare War Horse to other famous horse-centered films.

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 25, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : April 3, 2012
• Cast : David Thewlis , Emily Watson , Jeremy Irvine
• Director : Steven Spielberg
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : DreamWorks
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Book Characters , Great Boy Role Models , Horses and Farm Animals
• Run time : 142 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of war violence
• Last updated : May 11, 2024

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War Horse: Movie Review

Hannah Goodwyn

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Veteran filmmaker Steven Spielberg creates a beautiful picture of the love between a boy and his beloved horse in his newest live-action film release, War Horse .

Based on a play that was based on Michael Morpurgo's book, War Horse is a powerful war epic made captivatingly personal. It’s simply about the journey of a boy and his horse during the tumultuous years of World War I Europe.

Starring a who’s who of up-and-coming British actors and theatrical veterans,Spielberg's film is a sweeping cinematic adventure that will stir the hearts of teenagers and adults alike this holiday season.

THE MOVIE IN A MINUTE

Young Albert is thrilled when he’s chosen to train his family’s new horse, which he names Joey. But, life for him and Joey is forever changed as the British cavalry comes to their small town enlisting soldiers and horses for service in the First World War. Joey’s adventures and struggles – as he rides for the British forces, is taken by German soldiers, cared for by a young French girl – are met with a hopeful longing to be with Albert again. Coming of age, Albert enlists in the war to find his beloved horse to bring him home.

THE GOOD AND BAD IN WAR HORSE

From the first moments, War Horse makes you feel like you’re about to embark on an epic adventure. Your guide is Joey, played by multiple horses, which are all filmed showing the most magnificent expressions, giving real emotion to his character. Do not expect this film to be fast-paced. Go in expecting you will witness great storytelling, and you will not be disappointed.

Director Steven Spielberg is a master cinematic storyteller and his crew and cast’s talents aren’t lost in War Horse . Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, whom has worked on all of Spielberg’s live-action films since Schindler’s List , beautifully captures the emotion of each moment. Composer John Williams musically captures the story's essence and screenwriters Lee Hall and Richard Curtis put the right words to the action.

War Horse is at its purest form is the portrayal of an unbreakable friendship with the dramatic backdrop of a war that is often overlooked in cinema. Spielberg creatively crafts this movie in such a ways as to show the utter desolation of war without making it unbearable to watch. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence, War Horse is not for young children. But, the director’s clever filming of the war scenes keep it from the R level and appropriate viewing for pre-teens and older.

The cast of War Horse is to be commended. Spielberg did well in casting inexperienced actor Jeremy Irvine in the lead role, as Albert. His performance brought a believability to the love between his character and Joey. Actors Emily Watson and Peter Mullan convincingly play Albert’s discouraged parents. Two secondary actors of note are Tom Hiddleston, whom moviegoers may recognize as Thor’s evil brother Loki from this summer’s blockbuster, and Toby Kebbell, who plays a Geordie solider during one of the film’s critical scenes. Though only on screen for a portion of the film, Hiddleston delivers a memorable performance as the charming Capt. Nichols, Joey’s caretaker during his cavalry days. Kebbell also completely engages your attention as the soldier who risks his life entering No Man’s Land to save Joey. His reciting of Psalm 23 and the incredible set design, lighting, and filming of that scene make it one of the most emotional moments of the movie.

Watching War Horse will remind you what it is is like to experience a film that is good on all accounts. The acting, script, set direction, photography and musical score all contribute to making War Horse one of the year’s best movies.

About The Author

Hannah Goodwyn served as a Senior Producer for CBN.com, managing and writing for the award-winning website. After her undergraduate studies at Christopher Newport University, Hannah went on to study Journalism at the graduate level. In 2005, she graduated summa cum laude with her Master's from Regent University and was honored with an Outstanding Student Award. From there, Hannah began work as a content producer for CBN.com. For ten years, she acted as the managing producer for the website's Family and Entertainment sections. A movie buff, Hannah felt right at home working as CBN.com's More

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War Horse Parent Guide

War is never a pretty thing and though sanitized in many ways, director steven spielberg's movie brings a more balanced but sobering look at world war i to the screen..

Albert (Jeremy Irvine) has a deep bond with his horse Joey. So when the animal is sold to the British Cavalry, the boy also enlists in the World War I effort, in the hopes of saving his equestrian friend.

Release date December 25, 2011

Run Time: 147 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

War is never a pretty thing and though sanitized in many ways, director Steven Spielberg’s movie brings a more balanced but sobering look at World War I to the screen.

Before the conflict begins, Albert (Jeremy Irvine) lives in a pastoral setting in the English countryside where he and his parents (Emily Watson, Peter Mullan) eek out a living on a rock-strewn, tenant farm. Then one day in a match of one-upmanship fueled by alcohol, Albert’s father Ted buys a young horse at auction. Albert names the colt Joey and begins to train him for the saddle and plow. But with bills piling up, Ted sells the horse to Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) when the war breaks out. When the army sets sail, Joey is shipped to France along with the rest of the soldiers.

Based on a fictionalized children’s book by Michael Morpugo , the battle depictions are much more graphic and intense than anything described in the novel. Prolonged portrayals of hand-to-hand combat involve bayonets, automatic guns, tanks, grenades and gas warfare. Humans, as well as animals, endure injuries and harsh treatment. (Two soldiers are shot for leaving their posts.)

Yet looking through the unbiased eyes of this horse conscripted to service, audiences will find sacrifices made by men and beasts fighting for their country’s cause. And in the middle of the chaos reigns the love of one young man for his horse.

About author

Kerry Bennett

War horse rating & content info.

Why is War Horse rated PG-13? War Horse is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of war violence.

Violence: A goose chases people. A horse kicks a man and knocks him over. A man threatens to shoot an animal and mistakenly aims a gun at his son. A horse drags a boy. A woman threatens a man with knitting needles. Repeated intense scenes of war violence include shooting, stabbings and charging of soldiers. Dead and injured humans and animals are shown. Some blood is shown. Characters engage in trench warfare. Men are gassed. Medical personnel treat wounds. Two characters go AWOL and are later executed. Animals are worked until nearly dead and then shot. Explosions occur on the battlefield. A character uses a hand grenade. An animal is entangled in wire. Characters talk about people who have been killed.

Sexual Content: Young adult males make brief sexually suggestive comments. A man worries soldiers will assault his granddaughter.

Language: The script contains infrequent profanities and some name-calling.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A character consumes alcohol often and is occasionally portrayed as drunk. Other men infrequently drink and smoke.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

War Horse Parents' Guide

What compels Ted to up his bid against his landlord at the horse auction? What factors contribute to his actions?

Does meeting soldiers on both side of the conflict make this film different from many war movies? How does it make the story more realistic?

Albert says our lives are made up of big days and small days. How do big days change or impact a person’s course? What are some of the big days in your life?

This movie is based on the children’s book War Horse , by Michael Morpugo .

The most recent home video release of War Horse movie is April 3, 2012. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: War Horse

Release Date: 3 April 2012

War Horse releases to home video in a 2 Disc (Blu-ray/DVD) or 4 Disc (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) Combo Pack. These sets include:

- War Horse: The Journey Home

- A Filmmaking Journey

- Through the Producer’s Lens

- Editing and Scoring

- An Extra’s Point of View

- The Sounds of War Horse

Related home video titles:

The relationship between humans and horses is also explored in the films Black Beauty , Flicka , Seabuscuit and The Black Stallion .

Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis Steven Spielberg Lee Hall, Michael Morpurgo, Richard Curtis Rated PG-13 146 Mins. Walt Disney Studios Extras on the DVD are limited to a single featurette, . This is a six-and-a-half-minute featurette on the locations, the clothing, the art design. If you can splurge for Blu-Ray, the extras become quite impressive.

is close to a spectacular film. is close to the film that director Steven Spielberg wants it to be, a film that borders on epic awesomeness and oozes the golden era of Hollywood from its every cinematic pore. The problem with the thing that keeps it from actually becoming a spectacular film, is that Spielberg is simply trying too hard to create an awe-inspiring, visually stunning, and emotionally compelling Hollywood classic. Time and time again, is telling us, the audience, exactly what we're going to think, feel and experience and, whether we like it or not, Spielberg's darn well determined to pull us into this inspiring, feel good story. Based upon a successful 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo turned into Tony Award-winning stage prioduction, is the perfect material for Spielberg, one of America's finest makers of children's and family films with a seemingly innate ability to weave together extraordinary filmmaking into stories that capture both the innocence and complexity of childhood. At its very root, is the story of an irrevocable bond between a horse named Joey and a young man named Albert (Jeremy Irvine). Joey enters Albert's world thanks to his stubborn father, Ted (Peter Mullan), a man who seems to have lived in a permanently drunken stupor since his return from war and who doesn't quite see the error of his ways as he outbids his landlord (David Thewlis) for the horse. Albert's home is held together by his mother, Rose (Emily Watson), a woman both fiercely loyal and hard working. Eventually, World War I arrives and no amount of sentimental attachment can save the relationship between Albert and Joey as Joey is sold by Ted to the British Army in an act that is unquestionably logical if achingly lacking in humanity. The that follows isn't so much a story of the relationship between Albert and Joey as it is the journeys that both must make now that their lives will be irrevocably impacted by the coldness and unpredictability of a world at war. Joey's ownership, or at least possession of Joey, will change on multiple occasions on both sides of the war and amongst those only hoping to avoid the war. Spielberg, as much as he is creating a heartwarming film here, doesn't hold back on the cruelties of war and it must be especially noted for small children that in at least one excruciating scene involving Joey the anguish and anxiety are nearly heart-wrenching. The story of is deeply moving. The performances, as well, are quite often deeply moving. Why then does it feel as if Spielberg is pushing the issue so hard when there's such a fundamentally involving and satisfying film already unfolding? Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, easily one of the best working in the business, goes immensely overboard here with camera work that is almost uncomfortably stagey and emotionally manipulative. features a disturbing number of shots containing backlit faces in silhouette posing eloquently while the simply godawful original score of John Williams lumbers to and fro in the background. Instead of trusting his material, Spielberg takes what should have been a spectacular film and turns it into a merely good one through his seemingly insatiable need to spoon-feed the film's sentimentality to his audience as if we're not going to get it unless he points it out. manages to capture the brutality of war without, for the most part, reducing itself to unnecessarily graphic violence. The film is deservedly rated PG-13, though the film's most graphic scene actually involves Joey and, as well, ends with what may very well be the film's most sentimental, life-affirming moment. Spielberg doesn't take side in the war, as well, with both Germans and the British having moments of humanity and inhumanity. The film's best performance, perhaps appropriately so, comes from that of this fine and majestic horse that portrays Joey. Joey is a magnificent animal and, I might add, a tremendously expressive one. It's virtually impossible to watch his story unfolding here without falling deeply in love with him and actually caring about how his story ends. The humans that surround Joey are talented as well, with several members of the largely British cast working against type. Irvine's performance as Albert is subtly effective, building its credibility over the course of the film. Peter Mullan does a tremendous job as Ted, Albert's drunken yet loving father. Emily Watson takes an almost non-descript role and brings it to life in wondrous ways. Niels Arestrup, as a kindly grandfather who loses virtually everything in the war, is so compelling that as the film winds down you have a hard time choosing just how you want it to actually end. is so close to being an incredibly brilliant film that it's hard not to lament the fact that Spielberg just couldn't hold back a bit more and simply allow the film to unfold naturally. Yet, it's also a tremendous testimony to the immensely talented Spielberg that a 3-star, "B" graded film is considered a bit of a disappointment. If only hadn't been such a work horse, this beautiful to be hold yet impossible to surrender to film could have been yet the latest in Spielberg's true masterpieces. Instead, it's simply a reminder that even when Spielberg's not up to par he's 17 hands higher than a good majority of filmmakers working today.

Review by Brian Eggert December 9, 2011

In 1958, to earn his Boy Scout merit badge in photography, at the age of 11, Steven Spielberg completed his first short film, called The Last Gunfight . Shot with his father’s 8mm camera, Spielberg completed the 9-minute Western by filming dusty, mountainous scenery to evoke Monument Valley’s presence in the films of John Ford ( My Darling Clementine , The Searchers ), personal favorites of the young filmmaker-to-be. Years later, in 1989, after he had become a household name and blockbuster engineer, Spielberg’s opening shot of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was actually filmed in Monument Valley as an evocation of Ford’s Westerns. It was the Second Unit’s Frank Marshall who completed the shot, however, as Spielberg refused to enter the “hallowed ground” of Ford’s cinema himself out of superstition. Over the years, Spielberg has drawn from Ford to establish his own classicism in his films, which today rival Ford’s in their pathos and scope.

Spielberg returns to Fordian archetypes for War Horse , an epic that sets out from a picturesque farm for a fateful ride across Europe during World War I, only to return in a sweeping “there and back again” journey. Based on the 1982 young-adult novel by Michael Morpurgo, the film follows a theatrical interpretation, which debuted on Broadway, and in 2007 won several Tony Awards, including Best Play. On stage, the production featured a decidedly cinematic treatment, complete with slow-motion battle sequences, while through puppetry, actors portrayed the central character, a horse from whose perspective the story is told. Spielberg’s film, adapted by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, remains closer to the book, although the play’s more recent popularity no doubt inspired the director and his longtime producer, Kathleen Kennedy, to pursue the project. In an effort to combine his sentimental temperament with his most humanized depiction of war yet, Spielberg delivers an instant classic, and one of 2011’s very best films.

The story opens in the quaint farming village of Devon on the English countryside, where the Narracott family struggles to maintain their farm. Hard-headed paterfamilias Ted (Peter Mullen) heads into town in spring to bid on a plow horse but finds himself drawn to a small hunter colt, a beautiful horse but not suited for farming. Nevertheless, out of stubborn pride, he outbids his malicious landlord (David Thewlis) for the animal, yet at a price that may leave him unable to pay rent or cultivate fields. A drunkard and troubled war vet, Ted returns home, the horse in tow, to find his wife, Rosie (Emily Watson), filled with scorn over the reckless purchase. But their son Albert (newcomer Jeremy Irvine), who has watched neighbors raise the horse since its birth, vows to teach the horse the plow. The boy names him Joey, and the two form a unique bond of trust and love. They keep the Narracott farm running, defying all odds and expectations. But when Nature tragically steps in and ruins the farm’s chances, Ted is forced to lease Joey to British Calvary forces when World War I breaks out. As Joey goes off to war, Albert is steadfast in the belief that they will be together again.

The film’s structure is episodic, following Joey in France as fate moves him from owner to owner. He begins with a bright British officer, Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), whose superior, Major Stewart (Benedict Cumberbatch), owns a black stallion known as Topthorn. Together, Joey and Topthorn are captured by the Germans and become the impetus for two deserters. Later, the horses are another kind of salvation for a young French girl and her caring grandfather, and later still, they are slaves for pulling heavy artillery behind German lines. With each chapter, Spielberg resists dwelling on the specific atrocities of war as he’s done in Schindler’s List , and instead views the whole as chaos. His film remains blind to borders or sides or politics and finds humanism in a range of nationalities through the horse’s uniquely neutral perspective. In a way, the approach best aligns with that of Spielberg’s WWII drama Empire of the Sun , set from the perspective of a child’s eyes. This is most tenderly accented in the scenes in No Man’s Land, where a British and German soldier emerge from their respective bunkers, each waving a white flag to cut Joey free from barbed wire.

With early scenes on the storybook farm, complete with green pastures and a petulant goose who oversees the property, Spielberg evokes Ford’s homegrown innocence in The Quiet Man and the tonal wholesomeness of Golden Age cinema. These scenes may seem overly syrupy, with composer John Williams’ music punctuating our responses. But it’s here that Spielberg establishes Home, a safe and dependable place of family and Technicolor beauty, just as Peter Jackson does for the Shire in the extended opening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring . From these classical roots, the audience goes to war and witnesses modernized anarchy—killing machine tanks, cynical soldiers, and the pitiless omnipresent struggle—realized by battle scenes that rival those in Spielberg’s own Saving Private Ryan . By the finale, rich with an orange, low sunset blazing across the sky, Spielberg echoes Gone with the Wind , cinematically equating Albert and Joey’s return to the Narracott farm to Scarlett’s return to Tara, her beloved plantation. In each warmly realized note, Spielberg appreciates classic storytelling through imagery that awakens our cinematic memory.

But the film is also decidedly Spielbergian. In terms of story, he portrays another in a long line of semi-autobiographical Spielberg families whose all-but-absent father shapes the son. After all, Albert initially takes on Joey to prove their merits and earn his father’s approval. That desire drives Albert, even after the film’s story-propelling betrayal; as Albert enlists, he does so not only to find Joey but to live up to his father’s legacy. From a technical perspective, Spielberg recruits his crew of regulars: the efforts of production designer Rick Carter, editor Michael Kahn, and costume designer Joanna Johnston place the audience in the period setting with clarity and detail. But it’s Janusz Kaminski’s lyrical photography that brings a sense of wonder to the production. From an extreme close-up that reflects in Joey’s massive, expressive eye to extensive master shots that capture the scope of battle, Kaminski’s cinematography, combined with Spielberg’s ingenuity, delivers images both gorgeous and haunting. One such sequence involves the Calvary riding into a line of German guns at the edge of a forest. We see a grand shot of British soldiers armed with swords and charging on horseback. Cut to German machine guns firing, and then another cut to horses racing into the woods without their riders. As always, Spielberg finds creative ways to tell a story and produce a feeling through compelling images.

War Horse achieves what we can call Spielberg Magic—the sense of splendor and emotion fuelling his most universal pictures, which over the years have solidified him as our time’s most successful and most heartwarming filmmaker, and also the most consistently iconic. In full embrace of this notion, the film is powerful and flows naturally, and it’s bound to reach a wide array of viewers, many of who will need tissues to make it through. Though he doesn’t shy away from grim wartime realities, Spielberg instills themes of family that resonate as the setting changes and Joey passes into the next installment of his story. This heightens our involvement, making every sequence more affecting than the last. More impressive is Spielberg’s ability to maintain perfect control over these changing moods, but then finally, he returns us home, where he restores our sense of safety by channeling great works of cinema. Taking us on this journey, Spielberg has created another incredible, striking film, one sure to become an instant classic, like so many others bearing his master’s touch.

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Why Patrick Bateman Is Obsessed With Music In American Psycho

Frankenstein's resurgence in 2025 pits christian bale against jacob elordi to be the best monster, 10 amazing made-for-tv war movies that are just as good as theatrical releases.

• Christian Bale returns to horror after two decades in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride film as Frankenstein's Monster.
• The Bride will feature Jessie Buckley as the titular character, alongside performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.
• Bale's portrayal of the classic Monster character promises to bring depth and complexity to the horror genre in the upcoming film.

Christian Bale's upcoming horror film The Bride will mark his first horror movie in decades. Bale is signed on to star as Frankenstein's Monster in The Bride , which is Maggie Cyllenhaal's anticipated directorial follow-up to 2021's The Lost Daughter starring Olivia Colman. Jessie Buckley ( Women Talking , Men ) will star opposite Bale as the titular Bride character. The Bride will also feature performances from Maggie's brother Jake Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard , who are both fresh off their lead roles in Apple's Presumed Innocent .

The Bride is one of two upcoming Frankenstein films set for a 2025 release, with the other being Guillermo del Toro's highly anticipated Frankenstein adaptation. Del Toro's film will see Jacob Elordi ( Saltburn , Priscilla ) portray The Monster and Oscar Issac ( Dune , Ex Machina ) play Dr. Victor Frankenstein. That film will also feature Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth, which should make for an exciting comparison between the two promising Frankenstein installments. It will mark Bale's first return to horror since 2000's American Psycho .

The Bride Is Christian Bale's First Horror Movie Since American Psycho

He has mostly stuck to dramas and action movies since.

Remarkably, Bale has not starred in any horror or horror-adjacent movies since the release of 2000's cult classic American Psycho . Although American Psycho received mixed reviews upon its release, earning a mostly positive Rotten Tomatoes score of 68%, the film remains to possess one of Bale's most iconic cinematic characters. Bale plays a buttoned-up wealthy NYC banking executive named Patrick Bateman with a psychopathic alter-ego in the classic horror satire .

Bale played the horrific-looking Gorr the God Butcher in Marvel's 2022 action-adventure Thor: Love and Thunder but has not starred in a true horror since American Psycho . Netflix's The Pale Blue Eye starring Bale also came out in 2022 but was more of a whodunnit suspense crime mystery than a horror as well. Bale won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in 2010's The Fighter and could be in Oscar contention once again with The Bride .

Patrick Bateman shows his obsession with music throughout American Psycho, and while it seems off with his character, it serves an important purpose.

The Bride Gives Christian Bale's A Proper Horror Movie Role At Last

Bale can add great depth and complexity to the classic monster character.

Christian Bale hasn't played too many villains, although it's arguable that Frankenstein's Monster is both a victim and a villain based on the original story written by Mary Shelley. His Patrick Bateman character is undoubtedly a monster in human form and is terrifying in many ways but with American Psycho being more of a dark comedy and psychological horror, Bale has yet to fully embrace a fully transformative role in the horror genre. Bale's Gorr character in Thor showed the depth he can add to a mythical and tragic villain, which is why his Monster in The Bride could be one of his all-time best performances.

2025 will have two new movies using Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel as the source material, with two actors in the role in their respective films.

The Bride! (2025)

The Bride! is a 2025 horror romance film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film is set in 1930s Chicago, where Dr. Euphronius creates Frankenstein a companion. Christian Bale stars as Frankenstein alongside Annette Benning, Jessie Buckley, Penélope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard.

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Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, harold and the purple crayon.

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As someone who venerates Harold and the Purple Crayon , Crockett Johnson ’s 1955 hymn to the power of imagination (I gift every love one's new baby with a copy of the book with a purple crayon taped inside),  the idea of a film adaptation has always filled me with a certain sense of trepidation. This is due to the somewhat uneven track record of past attempts to bring the great works of children’s literature to the screen. Sure, a film like Spike Jonze ’s take on Maurice Sendak’s beloved “ Where the Wild Things Are ” captured the delicate charms of its source material in ways that enchanted viewers both young and old. But for every one of those, there's something like that monstrous live-action version of “The Cat in the Hat,” a movie just as bad as the original Dr. Seuss book was good.

Now “Harold and the Purple Crayon” has arrived in theaters in all its live-action glory. It starts on a surprisingly engaging note: a 2-D animated sequence that recaps Harold’s adventures in the book. The sequence finds a decent approximation of the book’s famous visual style and features narration by Alfred Molina . Unfortunately, that sequence lasts about 90-odd seconds, and the real story kicks in after that. Everything goes straight to ultra-garish Hell via a narrative that feels more like a failed “ Jumanji ” knockoff than anything that the late Johnson’s work could have possibly inspired. Here is a film that pays lip service to the importance of creativity without ever displaying a demonstrable shred of it during its seemingly interminable run time.

After that recap of the original story, we see a now-grown Harold ( Zachary Levi ) still cavorting through his cartoon world along with friends Moose ( Lil Rel Howery ) and Porcupine ( Tanya Reynolds ) and the ever-present voice of the narrator. Then, one day, the narrator’s voice disappears, and Harold decides to use his all-powerful crayon to draw a portal to our world so that the three of them can try to track him down. Alas, the real world proves to be odd and confusing for them, so luckily, Harold and Moose (now in human form, though he occasionally switches back for no apparent reason) end up running into Terri ( Zooey Deschanel ) and Melvin ( Benjamin Bottani ), a mother and middle school-aged son who are still in the dumps since the death of Mel’s dad. For reasons that defy explanation, she allows them to stay the night at her house, where Harold finds Mel to be a kindred spirit — he has an unseen imaginary pet that is equal parts eagle, lion, and alligator — and lets him in on the magical crayon. (Porcupine, for the record, has gotten separated from the others and is off wreaking benign havoc on her own.)

While Terri is off at her job at Ollie’s — an institution shown far more reverence here than Johnson’s book — Mel ends up helping Harold and Moose to find the narrator, leading to any number of wacky slapstick scenes in which they fly through the air in a plane or cause mayhem at the store. They also enlist the aid of Gary (Jermaine Clement), a creepy librarian with the hots for Terri, who is also the author of an unpublishable fantasy novel called “The Glaive of Gagaroh” (allowing the film also to alienate fans of “Krull” to boot). Eventually, Gary reveals to Harold that he is, in fact, a character from a book, which sends Harold, Moose, and Mel off on a trip to Crockett Johnson’s house to finally see him. Although Google helpfully reveals the address, it inexplicably fails to mention the key reason why they could have skipped that trip. Meanwhile, Gary, having seen the crayon’s power first-hand, schemes to acquire it for himself and bring the universe of his book to life. 

Trying to transform Crockett’s 64-page book into a feature-length film would always be a dubious proposition. But even the most pessimistic of minds could have imagined something as dire as this. For starters, Harold himself has been transformed into one of the most annoying screen characters in recent memory thanks to the appallingly clumsy screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman that tries to make him into an irrepressible free spirit along the lines of Buddy in “ Elf .” Still, he only manages to make him obnoxious beyond belief. Things aren’t helped much by Levi’s awful performance, which tries for winsome adorableness throughout but which comes across as if a.) Levi had been struck in the head with a board before every take, and b.) that director Carlos Saldanha did enough takes to rival Kubrick before he (and presumably only he) was satisfied. Beyond that, the storyline is choppy, the visuals are utterly blah, the big set-pieces are the usual CGI-happy dreck, the sentimental moments are woefully unearned, and the notion of a film ostensibly celebrating children’s literature utilizing a librarian as the bad guy is infuriating.

Before you send me comments scolding me for not looking at this film through the eyes of a child, based on the available evidence, no one involved with “Harold and the Purple Crayon” had any real interest in engaging younger viewers on any level. Sadly, exploiting the good name of a familiar piece of IP in the hope of scoring a few bucks from families that have already seen “ Inside Out 2 ” and “ Despicable Me 4 ” and are looking for something else to watch seems to have been of more importance to actually living up to the legacy of said IP.

Ultimately, “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is the product of people working under the cynical belief that kids will just accept anything foisted upon them in the name of “family entertainment” as long as it is noisy and colorful. If you genuinely care for your kids, you will give this movie a wide berth and use the ticket money to buy and read Crockett’s original book and its follow-ups. Trust me, they'll thank you for it one day.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)

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Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution in a third world country and how their joy in Christ results in a stunning conclusion. Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution in a third world country and how their joy in Christ results in a stunning conclusion. Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution in a third world country and how their joy in Christ results in a stunning conclusion.

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• Trivia The filmmakers have been supported by Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), Calvary Chapel, Pastor Greg Laurie, NACC, Baptist Press, Christian Cinema, NRB, Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries, The Christian Post, The Fish Radio, Rebecca St. James, Family Christian, Lifeway Christian Resources, Talbot Seminary, Biola University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Baptist News, Daystar TV, Evangelical Press Assn, and Life Surge.

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Review: Gender-swapped ‘Company’ revival dazzles, capturing the spirit of Sondheim

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Robert or Bobby — as he’s known to his friends — the protagonist of “Company,” Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 musical, has always been an enigma. Why won’t this confirmed New York bachelor, who is celebrating his 35th birthday and not getting any younger, finally settle down with a wife? What is he so afraid of?

This question is the springboard for a groundbreaking concept musical. The show burrows into the character’s psyche while surveying the mixed blessing of marriage in a kaleidoscopic revue that boasts one of Sondheim’s most irresistible scores.

Scenes are linked thematically rather than in the linear narrative fashion of traditional book musicals. But for many fans of the show, the mystery of Bobby’s nature was never satisfyingly solved.

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Review: ‘Clue: Live on Stage’ reinvigorates the 1985 movie with mindless fun

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Marianne Elliott, the Tony-winning director of “War Horse,” “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and the Broadway revival of “Angels in America,” wondered what would happen if you turned Bobby into Bobbie and cast the role with a woman. Her Tony-winning revival, which starred Katrina Lenk as Bobbie and the inimitable Patti LuPone as Joanne, whose rendition of “The Ladies Who Lunch” had Broadway raising a glass in her honor, discovered that the mystery might not be solved but a fresh new take could yield provocative insights.

LuPone isn’t in the North American tour production of “Company” playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Aug. 18. But Britney Coleman is radiant in the role of Bobbie.

She’s more grounded than Lenk, who leaned into Bobbie’s sphinx-like nature, endowing the character with a Mona Lisa smile. What’s more, Coleman’s voice is powerful enough to make the most of the original Bobby’s big numbers without sacrificing contours of personality. (Her rendition of “Being Alive,” the character’s climactic epiphany, had the Hollywood Pantages audience roaring in appreciation.)

Better still, Coleman finds the perfect tone to carry the musical, balancing cockiness and insecurity, loneliness and independence, and irony and sincerity. Indeed, the spirit of Sondheim lives on in her performance.

Review: The ‘Curious Incident’ of a young detective set loose to find life’s truths

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This gender-flipped production is far from perfect. Elliott plays fast and loose with the period, updating the era so that Bobbie is rarely without her phone, taking selfies and looking at what seem like dating apps. There’s a joke about Prozac, but also one about Sara Lee, the go-to frozen cheesecake brand of my 1970s childhood. The costumes by Bunny Christie, who also designed the geometric sets, follow suit in a parade of fashions that suggest a post-’70s retrospective.

Elliott deals with those elements of the social world that concern her and ignores those that don’t. In one sense, race is a factor, given that Bobbie is now played by a Black woman and several of the couples are cast as interracial. But the musical would need to be substantially revised to deal explicitly with this change and that is not the case here.

The same could be said about the gender swap. Strategic modifications have been made to accommodate the shift, but the production is largely faithful to the spirit of the original. Unencumbered by her own directorial scheme, Elliott leans into the freedom of musical storytelling, a mode in which realism is dabbed on rather than studiously applied.

The inconsistencies and interpretive static never disappear, but Sondheim and Furth’s “Company” comes through where it matters most — theatrically. As I felt when I saw this revival on Broadway, Furth’s book might have benefited from some judicious pruning. But the musical numbers provide more than enough blissful compensation.

Marriage is the main topic, both the joys and despairs, in numbers that make ambivalence energizing, fun, poignant and, most important, resonantly true. “The Little Things You Do Together,” “Sorry-Grateful” and “Marry Me a Little” tackle the subject from different angles, but they prove that lyrical complexity and tunefulness can go hand in hand.

One of the highlights of this revival is the handling of “Getting Married Today.” The source of incapacitating wedding day jitters is now a gay wedding. Jamie (Matt Rodin) vents his acute anxiety in a song that demands the highest level of neurotic showmanship. Rodin is a marvel, delivering with rapid-fire virtuosity lines by Sondheim that are made all the more involving by the sensitive portrayal of husband-to-be Paul (Jhardon DiShon Milton, in a touching performance).

Of the other supporting cast members, Matt Bittner makes the most of his appearances on stage. In one scene, playing a straitlaced husband who gets high with his wife and Bobbie, he confronts difficult marital feelings his character would normally censor in a comically alert performance that mines Furth’s book for dramatic gold.

Sometimes the novelty of the revival gets the better of the ensemble’s character work. The fault lies less with the performers than with the revival’s hesitant approach to textual changes. Switching Bobby’s trio of girlfriends to Bobbie’s trio of boyfriends, for example, requires more than light textual revision and bold casting choices. (“Barcelona,” however, is nonetheless memorably pulled off by Jacob Dickey’s flight attendant Andy and Coleman’s pleasure-seeking Bobbie.)

How does Joanne fare in all of this? Judy McLane is a powerhouse singer, as adept at harmonizing with the ensemble as she is at majestically separating herself from the pack. When the spotlight is squarely on her, as it is in “The Ladies Who Lunch,” she brings the audience to a feverish pitch of Sondheimian ecstasy. But how the song fits into the dramatic arc of Bobbie’s commitment phobia isn’t easy to discern.

There’s a fuzziness to Joanne’s subsequent interaction with Bobbie, when in effect she offers to pimp out her husband to her. I could more or less track the dramatic through line from my knowledge of the original show, but the psychology gets lost in the bravura of the moment.

Despite these qualms and quibbles, I can’t remember ever feeling as invested in Bobby or Bobbie as I did at the Pantages. “Company” is always worth the time, and Coleman anchors the central role with a luminous humanity.

Where: Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. When : 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Ends Aug. 18 Tickets: Starting at $56.75 Info: broadwayinhollywood.com or ticketmaster.com Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

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Charles McNulty is the theater critic of the Los Angeles Times. He received his doctorate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism from the Yale School of Drama.

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An Olympics Scene Draws Scorn. Did It Really Parody ‘The Last Supper’?

Some church leaders and politicians have condemned the performance from the opening ceremony for mocking Christianity. Art historians are divided.

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By Yan Zhuang

A performance during the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday has drawn criticism from church leaders and conservative politicians for a perceived likeness to Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of a biblical scene in “The Last Supper,” with some calling it a “mockery” of Christianity.

The event’s planners and organizers have denied that the sequence was inspired by “The Last Supper,” or that it intended to mock or offend.

In the performance broadcast during the ceremony, a woman wearing a silver, halo-like headdress stood at the center of a long table, with drag queens posing on either side of her. Later, at the same table, a giant cloche lifted, revealing a man, nearly naked and painted blue, on a dinner plate surrounded by fruit. He broke into a song as, behind him, the drag queens danced.

The tableaux drew condemnation among people who saw the images as a parody of “The Last Supper,” the New Testament scene depicted in da Vinci’s painting by the same name. The French Bishops’ Conference, which represents the country’s Catholic bishops, said in a statement that the opening ceremony included “scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity,” and an influential American Catholic, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota, called it a “gross mockery.”

The performance at the opening ceremony, which took place on and along the Seine on Friday, also prompted a Mississippi-based telecommunications provider, C Spire, to announce that it would pull its advertisements from Olympics broadcasts. Speaker Mike Johnson described the scene as “shocking and insulting to Christian people.”

The opening ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said at the Games’ daily news conference on Saturday that the event was not meant to “be subversive, or shock people, or mock people.” On Sunday, Anne Descamps, the Paris 2024 spokeswoman, said at the daily news conference, “If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

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