Attonement - Film - Horrible........

Guys
I know I am possibly the last ever person in the world to have eventually got round to watching this (someone brought me DVD for my birthday recently), and I was well into it thinking all very good with great story line unfolding and impressed........

THEN....the SCENE.....almost just a throwaway extra, on the Beach when all the soldiers were waiting to get back to England, and they SHOT the horses! It just finished me off completely, absolutely revolting, and as much as my husband kept telling me it was only acting and stunt shots, I couldnt get it out of my mind.......had to stop watching and could not sleep after that. Have spent all night googling to make quite sure it was a stunt and that it wasnt real..........am still upset now!
I wish a warning could be put on it, altho it does mention sex scenes, language and Gore, it doesnt quite cover the shooting scene of a horse(s)........uniquely foul AND there was no subtext any where to say animals were not harmed in making of film......maybe I am just a bit soft? Any one else see it? I now cant actually go back and watch the rest now, and I have even been tempted to chuck the damm DVD and box in the Bin! It really has sparked something off in me and want to know if anyone else saw this and what they thought.
 
I haven't seen it either!

I don't fancy it because I know it's a tragedy and I like my films fluffy, happy and non-realistic
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I always hate it when animals die in films - more so than people which is probably wrong on some level! Same with children.

I watched I Am Legend and hated it because the dog died in it!

I will probably never watch Atonement now lol - thanks for the warning
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PS - You would get LOADS of replies to this topic if you reposted it in the 'Soapbox' as, although it's obviously about horses, it's more about horses in films and would be more suited there as some people don't move between forums xx.
 
Yes I've seen it and although the film held my attention it was not as good as I thought it would be.

Regarding the horses yes I agree it was very distressing to watch, however it is just a film (although depicts the cruel facts of life) I am absolutely possitive that no horses were actually harmed in the making of the film.
Despite all the anticruelty activists there is I am sure strict legislation and regulations protecting animals in film making - I bet they are treated better then the actors!
Also I very much doubt that the owners, after spending so much time training the horses and subsequently building a bond would allow anything horrible to happen to them.
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Foxglove

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As much as I agree it is a horrible scene, I do think it is sad that it is this is what people remember of the film and not the horrific conditions that the soldiers of Dunkirk would have suffered at the time.

This isn't a critisim of how distressed you were, just a general observation of how desentistised we as a human race are nowadays.
 
Crikey, I didnt even notice the horses being shot. I was more concerned with the soldiers and that stupid evil bitch of a child Bryony. Oh I wanted her to DIE
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Ermmm, just to put it in to context... yes, historicaly they did shoot the horses... but at the same time millions of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and disabled people were being exterminated in concerntration camps and the Russian people in Starlingrad were eating human flesh to survive.
 
To me, it wasn't done to glorify anything......You didn't really get a proper glimpse of anything. It made me go 'oh gosh' but it didn't distress me. It was just to add to the sadness of it all I think.... I can see where you are coming from though - maybe write to someone and get an answer on something?
 
the horses wouldn't of been shot - there is very strict animal welfare on films ( I work in the industry) - more likely trained to drop on cue
 
Guys
Thanks for your comments. The cold common sense of it of course, tells me that the Horses were not hurt.....really.
However, it was the shock of seeing it with no warning, and it did look realistic.
Maybe my one horrifically sad experience of being with my first horse and holding him when he was put down, now 20 years ago, is still in my head....? I will never forget it, the noise and the look of something in his eye when the Huntsman "did" it bought the situation back......next time I need to send my old boys on their way, will be with an injection..........
Of course I realise the horrors and realities of War, especially coming from a Military family, and I know the casualties of events like Dunkirk were a landmark in history, when prehaps we should not dwell so much on the swift, albeit horrble death of horses, considering the loss of Human lives and so much bravery throughout.

However, needed the debrief and thanks so much for your input.
 
I don't think they are allowed to shoot horses for filiming - most have a 'no animals were harmed' at the bottom of the credits.

I would suggest you don't watch Black Beauty

I've seen horses shot and injected, and I would choose shooting everytime. Unless of course you want your horses last memory to be a vet injecting a hyperdermic and then taking over a minute for the heart to arrest - at which point they are still very aware.
 
I watched the DVD this afternoon after reading this post. The scene in question was very much in the background, and mostly "suggested" - only one horse actually fell, and he did it very gracefully - not at all like a horse being shot in RL. Not that I am criticising his acting ability!
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I agree with CotswoldSJ as it goes - I prefer shooting to lethal injection. Much quicker.

As an aside, when I was at school we had a teacher who was at Dunkirk, and he described the horses being lined up and shot. He cried when he told us.
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I must say that it only took for the first horse to fall, and I dissapeared out of the room......I have no idea what happened after that or for how long it went on, just the brief glimpse was enough.
Prehaps after a glass of wine this evening, I might be brave enough to resume!
 
I'm always far more distressed by animals being hurt or dying in films than people, even children
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Probably says a lot about me as a person, my mum always said I was better with animals than humans
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