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Steven Spielberg' War Horse Trailer: Heroic Horses Bring Hope in the Midst of War (*Cue Rousing Music*)

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (31)

war-horse.jpg

The trailer for Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, based on Michael Morpurgo’s World War I novel, looks OK. I guess. I mean, there’s some war scenes, and there are some horses, and then there are horses in the war scenes, and there’s an old guy who talks abot the horses, and the horses in the war scenes. Also, there’s that typical Speilbergian rousing music (war movie version) and there are some actors, some of which you might like (Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson).

It’s just a first trailer, and the movie is not due until Christmas, so maybe the next one will be more promising, not that this one looks bad. It just looks like a generic Spielbergian war movie trailer. With horses.









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Comments

I desperately want to see the theater production of this. The puppetry for the horses looks fantastic, and I have a feeling this sort of story is better suited to a stage.

Posted by: linny at June 29, 2011 9:18 AM

Every morning I get down on my knees and thank the overarching power and majesty of the universe for bringing about a man named "Benedict Cumberbatch" who has done well enough as an actor to justify discussion of him, and therefore allowing me to hear and say his name on a somewhat frequent basis.

Life is beautiful.

Posted by: StoatCat at June 29, 2011 9:23 AM

Not to rain on your parade, Linny, but I have a very good friend who is a theater junkie who fucking HATED War Horse. Said it was so misguided and completely butchered the story by adding a billion different perspectives. But, he did say that the horse was neat, and saved the play from being a total wash.

Posted by: Kamikaze Feminist at June 29, 2011 9:32 AM

The horse back riding community is going to EAT THIS UP.

I can feel it.

Posted by: grace b at June 29, 2011 9:46 AM

Yes grace b, yes we are.

Posted by: Stella at June 29, 2011 9:54 AM

Probably going to need some tissues.

Posted by: MRod at June 29, 2011 10:02 AM

@StoatCat---And don't forget Englebert Humptyback, or was it Englebert Humperdink? Oh, yeah, his name was really Gerry Dorsey...

Posted by: Stinky at June 29, 2011 10:18 AM

Everyone who knows I own a horse mentions this stage production or movie. Probably a good Netflix for the horse trainer girlfriend.

Posted by: Katers at June 29, 2011 10:31 AM

As a member of the horse back riding community, I already want to see it, but yeah, that trailer is kind of generic. I like Ron Howard films and Spielberg's stuff. They should just remake Black Beauty. Previous versions of that story were held back by poor budgets and a lack of decent special effects to recreate some of the stunts, animal cruelty scenes, etc. that they could easily do now with CGI as advanced as it is. I love THAT story, I don't know about this War Horse story, but it seems like a version of Black Beauty based on this trailer.

Posted by: Viking at June 29, 2011 10:32 AM

boring. what's going to happen in this movie that can't be gleaned from the trailer? nothing. boring.

Posted by: splinter at June 29, 2011 10:54 AM

I met someone recently at a party who was in charge of Make-up and Hair for the horses in this film. They said the Spielberg was a generally nice guy, but was so used to people not saying 'No we can't do that' that he expected everything to just happen. Down to a horse magically drying itself for the next shot in 10 minutes after having been soaked through in a rain shot.

Posted by: Bex at June 29, 2011 11:03 AM

Is this really a movie that watches a war through the perspective of a horse? Ugh.

Posted by: Em at June 29, 2011 11:04 AM

I was really curious to see how this movie would end up since it's kind of an odd premise, and a difficult one to take seriously at that. Now I feel fully manipulated by those soulful horse eyes and misty battlefields and galloping through fields...*sniff* I love horses.

Posted by: Parker at June 29, 2011 11:30 AM

@StoatCat: I share in your worship. I occasionally find myself intoning Benedict Cumberbatch's name repeatedly, like Buddy the Elf and his fascination with Francisco.

Also, I heart him. Sherlock is the best thing in the world right now - can't wait for more!

Posted by: curegirl0421 at June 29, 2011 11:30 AM

I heard the horse dies in the end.


kidding! kidding!

Posted by: logan at June 29, 2011 11:44 AM

Can someone tell me what the story is suppose to be? I'm not sure I can really grasp at it based on the trailer.

It's like several other movies where the main character is a dog. Like an equine version of The Incredible Journey crossbred with Lassie Come Home.

Maybe we could have Tom Hanks playing the inner voice of the Horse.

"Mama says they was magic horseshoes. They could take me anywhere. Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was ruhn-'Ning!"

Posted by: bleujayone at June 29, 2011 12:03 PM

I'm surprised all the horse people want to see this. I can't watch any film that even hints at harm coming to sentient animals (human harm I can handle because we bring it on ourselves). Even if the horse survives and makes it back to his version of Birtwick Park I would be a mess knowing what happened to most horses in WWI. As a child I had to leave the room when Black Beauty was on TV.

Posted by: PaddyDog at June 29, 2011 12:15 PM

"Mama says they was magic horseshoes. They could take me anywhere. Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows. From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was ruhn-'Ning!"

phwoarh! Thanks for the laugh, bluejayone.

Posted by: Viking at June 29, 2011 12:19 PM

Stoatcat: Did you know that Cumberbatch is the voice of Smaug!?!

See look:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1212722/

Posted by: Melody Be at June 29, 2011 12:26 PM

Every morning I get down on my knees and thank the overarching power and majesty of the universe for bringing about a man named "Benedict Cumberbatch" who has done well enough as an actor to justify discussion of him, and therefore allowing me to hear and say his name on a somewhat frequent basis.
Life is beautiful.

This just needs to be repeated as no truer words have been written.

BUT, but, I feel I was promised some Cumberbatch in this trailer and THERE IS NONE. And though I want to see Benedict on the big screen as a big Christmas present to myself, I agree with Paddydog on animals and movies and death/pain/sadness.

Posted by: Jules at June 29, 2011 12:51 PM

The West End version is where Kit Harrington got his start so imma give this movie a chance on that alone. I wish he was still in it. Though that might not be the best thing for his career based on this stupid trailer.

Posted by: E-Money at June 29, 2011 1:05 PM

Relax people! It's a Speileberg film. The last shot shoes War Horse cavorting in a field with 2 cute fillys.

Posted by: logan at June 29, 2011 1:06 PM

That trailer is doing nothing to convince me this story has a plot that takes longer than five minutes to tell in great detail. Actually, I think I know less about the story because I watched trailer.

It's about a girl sleeping with a horse, right? And her brother gets jealous so he sends the horse off to war?

Posted by: Robert at June 29, 2011 1:10 PM

IDK is it a Kentucky horse?

Posted by: logan at June 29, 2011 1:24 PM

I'm surprised all the horse people want to see this. I can't watch any film that even hints at harm coming to sentient animals (human harm I can handle because we bring it on ourselves).

So you're alright with, say, Saving Private Ryan because all those 18-year-olds storming the beach deserved to get their heads blown off (just because they're evil humans), but you can't handle a walking bottle of Elmer's glue being threatened with injury???

*goes back to lunch of steaming boshin tang*

Posted by: Greedy at June 29, 2011 1:48 PM

*eyes widen at knowledge of Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug*

Ah, Benedict Cumberbatch, you sly boots.


I only just now got around to watching the trailers, having spent all morning repeating "Benedict Cumberbatch" over and over to myself to the strains of different drinking songs and trying to find a match. I'm thinking John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt or Vive la Companie might be promising. This trailer, however, makes it look like some British version of Charming Potato has fallen in love with a horse.

Makes me think of Mike Birbiglia:

"...starring Steve the Gay Horse...as Paul the Gay Horse..."

Posted by: StoatCat at June 29, 2011 2:42 PM

I can't wait to watch this, was the first thought that popped into my head when someone mentioned a good movie.

I'll pass on this though.

Posted by: googergieger at June 29, 2011 3:35 PM

Le bored... Oh HEY now! Is that David Kross, my male doppelganger I see (for a split second)?
Whuoah. Someeeebody needs some new panties. Lord only knows how creepy I feel and how much my mother makes fun of me because of it...

I'm not a horse person, but even if I were, movies centered around animals are always far too depressing than they need to be soooo, yeah, I don't know about this one.

Posted by: Lisa Bee at June 29, 2011 7:54 PM

Doesn't anybody else think that the guy in the header looks like a miniature Swayze? Swayze!

Posted by: Blank at June 30, 2011 4:19 AM

This looks like the kind of movie that will make my mother cry. Not just at the end, not just at a sad part, not even from the opening titles. No, this looks like a movie that will be preceded by an assortment of tearjerking trailers--something to do with a family surviving the Blitz, or a blind kid and his seeing-eye dog, or even another horse movie that'll probably have Chris Cooper in it (for all of twenty minutes). I'd love to see a WWI film, but I'd be much more interested in seeing some dogfights with the Red Baron.

Posted by: keikoreo at June 30, 2011 11:58 PM

I cried. I suck.

Posted by: Amanda at July 8, 2011 4:18 PM