Horses on the screen

GreyMane

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 May 2018
Messages
973
Location
All over the place
Visit site
What are your favourite horsey films or TV programmes, or memorable (good or not) moments? Some of mine:

TV: Black Beauty... Follyfoot... Champion the Won-der Horse... White Horses! ahh, that theme tune.

Fillums:

- "The Missionary" with Michael Palin; in which his character is seen arriving, in a carriage and pair, to visit a stately home where dear old Michael Hordern is the amnesiac butler. There was a shot from the carriage looking over the horses' backs; they were cantering and there was a very clear soundtrack... of horses trotting. This made my friend and I both roll around laughing, we were the only 2 people in the cinema to find this funny!

- "Tumbleweed" (1953) with Audie Murphy; scrawny looking mustang saves the day, what's not to love. "I told you he's the best horse I've got"
The rough riding in most Westerns is so hard to watch though :( Cannot abide anything with John Wayne in... of which there's a lot.
I've got the autobiography of Yakima Canutt who was a rodeo rider, then stunt rider, then an action sequence director. Very hairy stuff.

I read "The Horse Whisperer" (meh) and did not bother with the film. Has anyone seen "Out of the Wild" ?

My old fella, after getting pestered into doing a bit of riding, now knows enough to join me in muttering "HE/SHE can't ride..." at various actors!
Ah, grasshopper, you have learned well.

Can't finish without this link; enjoy! :D
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell TV Blooper
 

SpringArising

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 May 2014
Messages
5,255
Visit site
International Velvet is an all time fave. The scene where she finds out she's been selected and gallops around the field cheering ALWAYS makes me well up with happy tears!

The Horse Whisperer is a great film -not even for the horsey bits- and the soundtrack is beautiful.

Black Beauty is just a classic that will make me cry no matter how many times I watch it and again, Danny Elfman's score is just stunning.
 

millikins

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 March 2011
Messages
3,895
Visit site
How about Cisco in Dances with Wolves?
I was impressed with the actor playing Rawdon Crawley in recent Vanity Fair, he was a rider.
 

BeckyFlowers

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 July 2017
Messages
1,665
Visit site
Also a massive fan of International Velvet. I love perving over horses in films. My favourite film ever is Gladiator, and one of my favourite scenes is when they are in the Coliseum and battling the barbarian horde and win - the white horse that Maximus jumps on and wreaks havoc on makes me swoon.
 

Daughter of the Moor

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 August 2015
Messages
76
Visit site
The Selfish Giant, not about horses but plenty on it as it is set in Bradford's travelling community and Dream Alliance about a racehorse being kept and trained from an allotment in South Wales.
 

Annagain

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 December 2008
Messages
15,506
Visit site
Slightly off topic but I did this picture quiz of famous horses (some fictional and some real) for a riding club quiz not so long ago. Feel free to have a go! It was designed for both horsey and no n
 

Attachments

  • Horsey Who.pdf
    381.8 KB · Views: 29

MotherOfChickens

MotherDucker
Joined
3 May 2007
Messages
16,641
Location
Weathertop
Visit site
I can't cope with watching the old Westerns now but used to love them.

King Arthur (2004) the knights have incredible Lusitanos-they are all beautiful and the riding is pretty good. 2 amazing (horse free) scenes in that film means I can (almost) forgive casting Clive Owen in it. I liked the horses in Centurion as well (I love the film, its violent and flawed but great cast and countryside). I also liked the horses in the Robert The Bruce-someone have been crossing Iberians with a heavy breed and there were some very nice ones. Of course Lord of the Rings and Hildalgo. I like to see Iberians in film, there seems to be an increase in Friesians but I'd have thought they would want more comfortable horse to ride ;)

Robin Hood (the Russell Crowe one) has some good horse scenes, its not nearly as bad a film as I thought it at first.

Agree with Cortez, some amazing horse work on GoT showing what can be achieved with false perspective. There is also a handsome, large liver chestnut horse they use for actors and driving-makes me laugh because noone considers continuity when it comes to horses-so this one is ridden in very different (far apart) locations on the same episode by different characters and shows up pulling carts too. If I had the imagination, I would do a blog from his POV :D
Pic below wasnt done with false perspective fwiw. there is a 20min doco about the horse work done for this episode on YT I think. The Devil's Horseman do the horse work for the show.

20-got-battle-1.w710.h473.2x.jpg

This is the liver chestnut

brienne-of-tarth-season-6-plot.jpg
 

GreyMane

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 May 2018
Messages
973
Location
All over the place
Visit site
I'm not a huge fan of horsey films. I do like epic fantasy with epic horses though - the horses in the Lord of the Rings are perfection.

I read that Viggo Mortensen was so taken with his lovely horse that he bought it after the filming.
It ws fun to see how they played with the scale, eg by giving the hobbit horses/ponies massive wiggy manes and tails to make them look smaller. Some of the humans looked better than usual in their wigs too.

Lots of great viewing suggestions, thank you. No subscription telly in our house so no G of Ts but will try and see Hidalgo and Spirit - still undecided about the Icelandic film. Iceland gave us Bjork after all, they seem comfortable with a fairly high level of strangeness!

On TV, despite identifying with the girl who rushes outside, the Lloyds Bank advert on the beach annoys me as it is SO obviously a large CGI herd of the same identical horse. I used to love the Guinness "white horses" ad with the surfer.

Going further back, I vaguely recall a "true story" film about 2 hardworking brothers who funded buying and training an Arab racehorse by doing a paper round; made for TV I think. And a documentary with Lucy Rees and a cowboy starting 2 young horses in their 2 different ways.
 

MotherOfChickens

MotherDucker
Joined
3 May 2007
Messages
16,641
Location
Weathertop
Visit site
My favourite film ever is Gladiator, and one of my favourite scenes is when they are in the Coliseum and battling the barbarian horde and win - the white horse that Maximus jumps on and wreaks havoc on makes me swoon.

that is a great scene-he's a good rider, there's some nice horses in his film The Water Diviner (which I really quite enjoyed, showed Australia off well).
 
  • Like
Reactions: DD

MotherOfChickens

MotherDucker
Joined
3 May 2007
Messages
16,641
Location
Weathertop
Visit site
I feel a serious sword/sandal/bow and arrows weekend coming on :D

so-link to doco here. Warning, this episode is very violent-hands down the best battle scene for TV or film I've ever seen, completely epic. There are pics of horses being wounded/killed/dead, it explains how they did it in the doco but if you are upset at the thought of it, just don't watch.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

King Arthur

v1.bjsyOTU0Njk7ajsxNzkxMzsxMjAwOzE1MDA7NzUw.jpg

Robin Hood
Robin-Hood-Gallery-23.jpg

1941375202.jpg

The Outlaw King

4F4B39F100000578-6085921-image-m-59_1534929971699.jpg

Last, but not least-Angus from Brave :D

Angus.jpg
 

Tarragon

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 January 2018
Messages
1,781
Visit site
I watched a "making of" for the BBC adaption of Merlin with Colin Morgan and Bradley James and Colin complained that he always got the "naughty" horse that wouldn't do as it was told
 

Cortez

Tough but Fair
Joined
17 January 2009
Messages
15,148
Location
Ireland
Visit site
He he: I worked on King Arthur, and GoT, so know the horses quite well (two different outfits supplied the horses). The big chestnut you are mentioning is a Lithuanian draught horse and is a very reliable actor's horse; we've used him several times for other productions. There is some fabulous horse work on "Alexander" (an otherwise terrible film), also the first "Zorro".
 

Blazingsaddles

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 May 2018
Messages
1,891
Visit site
Pale Rider, love the grey. Loved watching Silas as a child - would imagine I was riding a beautiful, big, black horse instead of a short, stubborn welsh grey during my riding lessons. White Horses over France was a bbc series in the early eighties which I thoroughly enjoyed too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DD

joosie

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 June 2009
Messages
1,105
Location
New Zealand
Visit site
The one I saw most recently was Lean On Pete. Good film but very, VERY sad - plus there's a very graphic scene in there that came totally out of the blue and literally made me scream "noooo!". Don't watch if easily upset. Do watch if you fancy Travis Fimmel!
 

MotherOfChickens

MotherDucker
Joined
3 May 2007
Messages
16,641
Location
Weathertop
Visit site
He he: I worked on King Arthur, and GoT, so know the horses quite well (two different outfits supplied the horses). The big chestnut you are mentioning is a Lithuanian draught horse and is a very reliable actor's horse; we've used him several times for other productions. There is some fabulous horse work on "Alexander" (an otherwise terrible film), also the first "Zorro".


so jealous :) he's a lovely horse!
 

hobo

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 March 2010
Messages
9,276
Location
dorset
Visit site
Agree about Lean On Pete yes I gasped out loud not for the faint hearted but great film. Also Loved Of horses and Men just bonkers film but great scenery.
Spirit is my favourite cartoon film and made me cry as well.
 

Snowfilly

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 September 2012
Messages
1,678
Visit site
I could never watch Black Beauty past the scene with Ginger in the cart :-(

Hidalgo caused a lot of controversy in long riding circles because it was claimed as a true story, but ignore that and you've got Viggo Mortenson looking drop dead sexy and a lot of beautiful horses. He rides so well as well!

Lord of the Rings have some of the best horse scenes I've ever seen.

Spirit was one of my favourite films as a kid, and so was The Black Stallion.
 
Top