765 The Black Stallion

[swo17]

The Black Stallion



This remarkable adaptation of Walter Farley's classic children's novel by Carroll Ballard—in which an American boy is rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of North Africa by a seemingly untamable wild horse—is a cinematic tour de force. From the crystalline shores of a deserted island in the Arabian Sea to the green grass and dusty roads of 1930s suburban New York, Ballard and director of photography Caleb Deschanel create a film of consistent visual invention and purity, also featuring a winning supporting performance by Mickey Rooney as a retired jockey and a gorgeous score by Carmine Coppola.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New 4K digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Caleb Deschanel, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Five short films by Carroll Ballard, with introductions by the director: Pigs! (1965), The Perils of Priscilla (1969), Rodeo (1969), Seems Like Only Yesterday (1971), and Crystallization (1974)
• New conversation between Ballard and film critic Scott Foundas
• New interview with Deschanel
• New piece featuring photographer Mary Ellen Mark discussing her images from the film's set
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Sragow

[domino harvey]

This literally just came out on Blu-ray last year from Fox, kinda wish I'd known this was in the works...

[captveg]

I'm glad the MGM/Fox Blu-ray that came out just a year ago didn't cost much. I'll be able to give it to my parents to put in the family films library for the nieces & nephews.

[barryconvex]

wow, what a great surprise. my mom took me to see this at the bargain theater when i was a kid and to this day it's the only movie i ever sat through twice in a row...really pretty soundtrack, gorgeous cinematography...the (mostly) silent first half hour of this movie shot in Sardinia is absolutely perfect filmmaking. thank you criterion...

[tenia]

This literally just came out on Blu-ray last year from Fox, kinda wish I'd known this was in the works...

Like My Darling Clementine, only this time there was a US release too, not only a European one.

[britcom68]

Just having looked over the film again after the announcement came out, I was surprised by how much better it was than I remembered it. My parents adored Ballard's films and as a child I was made to sit through them repeatedly. I always remember hating this film growing up so it will be a pleasure to revisiting it with a top-drawer Criterion edition.

It will be interesting to see Ballard's short films too. The version I saw of Rodeo was a poor-quality VHS back in the 1990s, but it made an impression on me because I have never before, or since really, been at all interested in rodeos and let I recall enjoying this a great deal.

[manicsounds]

dvdbeaver

[gleemonex]

Mondo is currently selling a screen printed poster of Nicolas Delort's art for this movie. Definitely one of their best recent covers.

[Minkin]

blu-ray.com

[George Drooly]

Great movie, loved it 35 years ago as a child, found myself almost unspeakably moved watching it again.

Man, nobody sighs like Teri Garr. What a trademark! Every film she's in I await the moment with anticipation.

Now how about Ballard's Never Cry Wolf? Is this a Criterion possibility?

[knives]

This has been quite the pleasant surprise so far especially since I was so unfamiliar with Ballard before this that I thought the he was a she. He comes across fairly smart and well humored in the interviews giving a good sense of the way filmmaking was evolving in the time. The intros to the short films in particular are a lot of fun painting a picture of film rarely talked about. The shorts likewise are fantastic and I hope Criterion has another Ballard release in their pocket if just so that more of them can be included. It looks like the ones that are were restored in 2014. Does anyone know if this project restored all of his shorts or just the ones included here?

It's quite fascinating to see the variety of style on display here with the longest short, a 47 minute doc on California's centennials, presenting this Krish like ode to memory and time which mixes a wondrous awe with some bitterness and fear. Perhaps a bit too long, but it is effective. The only other narrative among the shorts is a very '69 PSA for the Humane Society about a lost cat is done in a fairly typical schoolroom PSA style. It's reasonably fun, but the weakest of the five and frankly there's better films in this mode to pick from. There's two direct cinema quickies that are a lot of fun and reasonably effective even if they don't compare to the best. The set ends on a really good Eames inspired bit of madness showing crystals forming in real time.

Hopefully the main feature proves as much fun.

[jorencain]

The latest episodes of "The Next Picture Show" podcast discuss this and "Pete's Dragon." They are worth a listen.