War Horse

Mister Ted

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Anybody else watching the film.? The horrors the poor beasts went through during the War is something I couldnt watch.
 
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MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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Watched it once, bawled my eyes out. Can't bear to watch it again. Its like Black Beauty, that's another one that had me going. Only way I could watch it would be with a stiff drink (but not Gin coz that always makes me a bit weepy anyway).

Some lovely shots of Dartmoor tho'............
 

Rumtytum

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I absolutely refuse to watch, just can’t do it. The misery those horses and mules went through in WWI... and whilst WH came home and had a happy ending, the reward for most of the others was to be shipped to Egypt and an even worse existence and death. As MJR2BT says, it’s up there with Black Beauty for me, I would be a blubbering wreck.
 

Goldenstar

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I could not watch it - I would find it too distressing. I think I was traumatised by Black Beauty at a young age.

I was traumatised by Black Beauty it’s one of those defining moments you get in life .
I saw the film first I am sure it was black and white but that might well be wrong I can’t think what my mother was thinking of .
From that day life was different .
It’s why I have no problems leading out my horses to die .
Black Beauty is a towering work of campaigning fiction overlooked I think because the writer was a woman .
Black Beauty helped found the RSPCA and was the beginning of animal rights as we understand them today.
 

J&S

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I cry as soon as I see a horse on the screen, hopeless case. I have however, read the book, seen the film and been to the theatre to see the puppetry. I didn't like the film much, far too "Speilbergy" but the scene of them galloping through the corn field on Charge is as clear in my mind now as when I saw it on the screen. The book had quite a few little areas that were left out of the film and to my mind a book is always better than a film as you have your own version in your head whilst reading it. The play was amazing for quite different reasons, the subtle movements of the puppets were extraordinarily life like and the whole effect was spellbinding.

If you want to read about a real life "war horse" I suggest you read My Horse Warrior by General Jack Sealy, A.J Munnings illustrated this with his WW1 pictures, many of which some of us saw in the exhibition at the Army museum earlier this year. The peace time pictures were drawn at Warrior's own home on the Isle of Wight. There is a small exhibition dedicated to him at or near Mottiscombe. The wonderful thing is that there is a happy ending!

Black Beauty was so sad I could hardly bear it, I had a chestnut horse who I needed to sell/find a home for at one point and all I could think about was that she might end up like Ginger. Yes, the youth of today watch some awful violent stuff but, what about Bambi! That film was majorly traumatic for me with Bambi's mother's death. As GS said, "What were our parents thinking of"!
 

HashRouge

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The book is miles better than the film and better even than the play. They made some plot changes for the play that I didn't like as much. In the book (minor spoiler alert!) Albert joins the veterinary corps to find Joey, he's not a soldier. I remember finding a copy of the book in my primary school library when I was about 9 - I had no idea what an emotional roller coaster it was going to be! It's told from the horse's perspective, like Black Beauty.
 

splashgirl45

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i saw the play and blubbed then even though it was puppets.....i have managed to avoid seeing the film as i dont think i would like seeing real horses......black beauty left a big impression on me and i could never read it again. mind you i was in floods of tears at bambi which was animated, and would never be able to watch that even though i am old now...i am not very tough where animals are concerned...
 

Sasana Skye

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I watched the film a few years ago and went to see the play at the theatre. Around the time the film came out there was a documentary called War Horse: The Real Story which I saw before Steven Spielberg's film (which I think made it even harder to watch). Basically spent the whole time crying for each of them. It was terrible what the horses went through in the wars but what really got to me was the families and farmers having their horses taken away from them by the army. There was an interview on War Horse: The Real Story from an old man who lost his horses as a young boy, knowing full well that he would never see them again, and he told of how he cried himself to sleep for days. Broke my heart.
 

Goldenstar

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My parents neighbour when I was young was an older gentleman of that era he was my horsy mentor when I was little and my parents clueless .
I visited him when he was old and dying and he talked of the horse that his father bought him when he was 21 it was a chestnut with two white socks behind it was taken my the army and our neighbour went to fight he talked about looking at every chesnut body as they pushed the Germans back through France hoping to see his friend was dead and out of it all the tears poured down his face .
That’s why I can’t watch war horse it’s no fairy tale few came home .
I think of my parents neighbour often he was an influence on me and I look at my horses and think of those loved horses who went to die in hell .
 

Snowfilly

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I tried to watch the film and started crying at the scene where the horses are taken away for the army. It broke my heart.

I read the book when I was 11, it was a primary school reading book and I cried solidly every English lesson for ages.

Black Beauty was the first time I ever saw my mum cry; she cried when she read me Ginger's scene, and like Goldenstar, I think that book is why I have no problem taking my horses to their death. There's so many worse fates than dying.
 

scats

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I cry at the Lloyds bank adverts

God me too! What’s worse is, the one from last year (the beach one) was constantly played around the time Diva was put down. I now associate Lloyd’s bank horses with Diva (they couldn’t look any more different ha!) so even this ad has me blubbing.

Can’t put myself through WH. Someone bought me the film. It’s still in its wrapper. I only have to see the cover of the DVD and I feel my world ending.
 

shirl62

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Margaret and I saw the last 30 mins ...We were both crying our eyes out...( had seen it before ) What made us worse was thinking of all the horses who died in WW1. The scenes were harrowing enough but I am sure they were a lot worse during the war. Such is man to be the cause of such pain and suffering. We still feel traumatised after watching it .....
 

Mister Ted

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I watched the film a few years ago and went to see the play at the theatre. Around the time the film came out there was a documentary called War Horse: The Real Story which I saw before Steven Spielberg's film (which I think made it even harder to watch). Basically spent the whole time crying for each of them. It was terrible what the horses went through in the wars but what really got to me was the families and farmers having their horses taken away from them by the army. There was an interview on War Horse: The Real Story from an old man who lost his horses as a young boy, knowing full well that he would never see them again, and he told of how he cried himself to sleep for days. Broke my heart.
Also the beautiful Shires and Clydesdales were taken, what an end.
 

Pearlsasinger

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The book is miles better than the film and better even than the play. They made some plot changes for the play that I didn't like as much. In the book (minor spoiler alert!) Albert joins the veterinary corps to find Joey, he's not a soldier. I remember finding a copy of the book in my primary school library when I was about 9 - I had no idea what an emotional roller coaster it was going to be! It's told from the horse's perspective, like Black Beauty.


The book was written for children and imo it shows that very clearly in the film as well, I haven't seen the play.
 

DabDab

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We had a book day with Michael murpurgo when I was at primary school and of course I wanted the book with a horse on. So I have a signed copy of war horse that was one of the very few books I read before the age of 12 (i didn't read well as a child), and I still remember almost every word, so for that reason I have always avoided the film. I have seen the play though, and cried most of the way through, although the puppetry is amazing.

My mum never let me see black beauty when I was young. I'm grateful to her for that....even listening to it as an audio book when I was a teenager was hard going.
 
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