If there is an animal that disputes with the dog the honor of being called man's best friend, it is the horse.. Faithful, hard-working, dedicated.
There are many valid adjectives to frame these quadrupeds who have lived in close relationship with human beings for as long as we can remember. The cinema, a reflection of reality, has been able to take advantage of this relationship in outstanding horse movies.
Seabiscuit: beyond the legendby Gary Ross (2003)
Horses, both in film and in real life, often embody hope on various occasions. From this symbol, Laura Hillerbrand developed a story where three losers in the middle of the American Great Depression manage to reorganize their lives. All thanks to a weak and stunted horse, which before running into the defenestrated triumvirate, was also doomed to defeat.
Directed by Gary Ross, the same one that almost a decade later would reach stardom with the adaptation of The Hunger Games. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy and Elizabeth Bank.
Horse of battleby Steven Spielberg (2011)
Steven Spielberg seems to have a movie of every genre. Specialist in films with great special effects (Shark, Jurassic Park o Ready player one). Within his filmography, there is also space for horse movies.
Set within the war cinema (another weakness of the director). It tells the story of an animal that has to live through the entire development of the First World War. Even the circumstances would lead him to "work" for the two sides in dispute.
They star Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston.
Wild horsesby John Sturges (1973)
Charles Bronson, protagonist of this film and John Sturges, the director, are icons of western cinema of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Before this film, they collaborated with one of the greatest classics of the genre: The seven magnificents (1960). And if the old west is synonymous with something, it is wagons and horses.
Chino Valdez is a lonely breeder of Mexican origin, living in a forgotten town in the American desert.. His peace of mind is shattered when he is entrusted with the mission of catching some bank robbers, who will end up with something more than just money.
Spirit: the untamed steedby Kelly Asbury and Laura Cock (2002)
The steeds also attract a large audience of children. And if it comes in 3D animation, much more. This film produced by DreamWorks Animation, released just after the phenomenon Sherck, is a mixture of history, drama, romance and western for children.
Several elements of the plots of the American Old West movies stand out. But all seen from the point of view of a horse that refuses to lose its freedom.
Matt Damon and James Cromwell They lead the cast of actors who lend their voices to the characters.
The man who whispered to the horsesby Robert Redford (1998)
A pretty sweet drama (too much, in the opinion of some critics). Based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans. It tells the story of a teenage girl (played by a virginal Scarlett Johansson), who, while riding a horse down a hillside, she loses her best friend. She herself was about to die were it not for the animal she was riding.
Along with the Black Widow actress, Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neil, Chris Cooper and Kate Bosworth also participate.
The mask of Zorroby Martin Campbell
Zorro is one of the first fictional heroes of modern culture. Created by Johnston McCulley and first appeared in 1919, it served as the basis for other heroes such as Bob Kane's Batman himself.
However Don Diego de la Vega's alter ego would be incomplete without his spirited black steed named Tornado. Although in this film it does not have the same weight that it did in the soap opera of the 50s.
Steven Spielberg serves as executive producer in a film starring Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Dances with Wolvesby Kevin Costner (1990)
Although this story set in the American Civil War does not meet the typical characteristics of horse movies, the relationship of its protagonist with an equine is powerful and shocking. One of the starting sequences of the story stands out, when Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) crosses a battlefield on the animal, without receiving neither him nor his horse, a single shot.
Winner of seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It marks the highest point in Costner's career, as a director and also as an actor.
Hidalgo (Ocean of Fire), by Joe Johnston (2004)
A prestigious American rider, along with his less famous horse Hidalgo, are invited by an Arab sheikh to participate in a race. The route consists of crossing three thousand miles in the Arabian desert. Local riders do not welcome the participation of a foreigner. They will do everything possible so that the brave Mustang does not even survive the crossing.
Star Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson and Omar Sharif.
In Search of a Dream, by John Gatins (2005)
A prestigious horse keeper is forced by his little daughter to do everything possible to save a mare. Convinced, you will spend so much time on it that you will end up losing your job. But the insistence of the little girl will pay off, when the recovered animal enters to compete and prevails over the older ones.
Star Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Luis Guzmán, Elizabeth Shue, and David Morse.
Other Horse Movies
The list also includes titles such as:
- Wilde Worse, Wilde Rideby Greg Gricius and Alex Dowson (2011). Tape rated as a western-documentary.
- The black steedby Cornell Ballard (1979). Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and based on the novel by Walter Farley.
- Striped heroby Frederick Du Chau (2004). Among the horse movies there is one starring a zebra. The quadruped, not without effort and enduring all kinds of ridicule, enters the racetrack together with the thoroughbred specimens.
Image sources: Extremadura / Ecuestre / YouTube