War Horse

[canadian_turtle]

Would like to have seen it but couldn't get in at Eastleigh. Not sure if it was down to photocopies or oversubscription. Had to watch Sherlock Holmes instead!

Chris

They always oversubscribe and state to get there early to avoid disappointment. Though surely it wasn't a hardship to see SH?

[yogi]

Maybe I am being a bit mean here, I do wonder how many of the key scenes were CGI effects rather than the actual horses/ducks "performing"

I did think that too, but apparently Topthorn, the black horse is CGI !!

The entire time? Surely not when Cumberbatch was sat on it?

Maybe he was CGI as well, Spielberg had just worked on Tintin!

Who knows, it was probably Andy Serkis all along and so was the horse

[canadian_turtle]

I did think that too, but apparently Topthorn, the black horse is CGI !!

The entire time? Surely not when Cumberbatch was sat on it?

Maybe he was CGI as well, Spielberg had just worked on Tintin!

Who knows, it was probably Andy Serkis all along and so was the horse

Would explain that thing on Cumberbatch's face!!

[superhero]

That's why they might say they used 14 horses for Joey but it might all be CGI, who knows. Such is the power of technology these days.

Intersting article from Spielberg about the use of CGI in the film - there were only 3 scenes where he used CGI for the horses, so I really don't topthorn was all CGI (the 3 scenes are pretty clear). And the sunset at the end is real, there's no sky enhancement.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news ... -tell.html

[opas]

Fantastic film, I really enjoyed it. Was half expecting a snorefest but I was gripped from beginning to end. Yes it is a bit cheesy and sentimental in places but I was rooting for Joey, Albert and many of the other characters we met along the way (those brothers had me a bit teary eyed). It gave me the same feelings I had when I watched Slumdog Millionaire so that is a good thing! It was also nice to see familiar faces crop up in places.

I agree with canadian_turtle's point about the non-English speakers speaking English in foreign accents. I think I may have preferred it if they allowed the characters to speak in their native languages and just used English subtitles for these bits. I do not think that would have taken anything away from the film and would have even added to the experience but perhaps others would disagree.

Thankfully they didn't play out that [spoiler]potential girlfriend storyline, I thought if Albert and Joey get home and they start on that to tie everything up in the 'perfect happy ending' then they should have considered splitting the film and making Warhorse 2![/spoiler]

A tad long, but I enjoyed the emotional, epic ride. Surely this will be considered a classic film in years to come (a cheesy classic but, hey it will be something to look forward to on the xmas TV schedules). 9/10.

[mdweaver]

I saw this last week and am shocked by all the positive reviews on here as I thought it was absolutely dreadful. It was far too long, the acting was terrible, and the story was so far fetched it was ridiculous. It was so boring and the horse saving the day over and over again just got tiresome. It was like watching a marathon of Lassie episodes but with a horse instead of a dog. Snore.....

[Kaybeelon]

Has any of you who saw the film seen the play (which is one of the best plays I ever saw) or read the book (which was good once I got over the fact that a horse was telling me a story). Does that spoil the film - or the other way around?

[jeanelle]

I loved the play - but that was definitely because of the wonderful puppets and technical effects. The film is soppy and sentimental and obviously a children's story. Not the very worst I've seen but not to be highly recommended to adults.

My friend [spoiler]who flinched every time a gun was aimed at a horse but didn't bat an eyelid when the two young brothers were executed[/spoiler] loved it.

[prettyxcool]

The entire time? Surely not when Cumberbatch was sat on it?

Maybe he was CGI as well, Spielberg had just worked on Tintin!

Who knows, it was probably Andy Serkis all along and so was the horse

Would explain that thing on Cumberbatch's face!!

[kevinknapman]

Topthorn was played by four horses and wasn't entirely CGI. Why would you go to all that effort to fake something you can easily have on set for real? It's a horse not a dragon.