War Horse
(2011/Disney/DreamWorks Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B/C Sound: B+/B- Extras: B- Film: B-
Steve
Spielberg can be defined by three film types he makes. The most recent throw out his famed feel good
approach to do serious adult historic material, then there is that feel good
side and making big blockbusters. Any of
his films can have any combination of the three and even all three, which is
difficult and contradictory.
War Horse (2011) is one of the serious
films to enough of an extent that I could take its narrative’s serious side as
solid work that it is not undermined by its maturely humorous moments (none of
the humor is condescending) and then there are the feel good moments that are
at least lightly manipulative, but Spielberg at his best can do this with ease
without being phony like his endless imitators in this respect. We could refer to that as The Spielberg Touch
and in that respect, this is the first film we have seen it in full force in
many years and that helps the picture overcome its clichés and limits to some
extent.
The first
part of the film (set in 1914) is a family farm in danger of being lost due to
a drunken father (Peter Mullan) and mean landlord (David Thewlis). Son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) wants to make
things work, but his mother (Emily Watson) is cautious and trying to be the
moral center in everything against all odds.
Ted (the father) buys a horse instead of his usual alcohol or to pay the
landlord off (in a scene that echoes Jack & The Beanstalk on some level)
and Albert is determined to train the horse, including to work on the farm.
Just as
that is moving along, WWI begins and Albert is among those who join in for the U.K., but can
he bring his horse. Spielberg and the
screenplay by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot)
& Richard Curtis (Black Adder and Mr. Bean franchises, Four Weddings & A Funeral) is a new attempt to balance the two
sides of Spielberg as filmmaker and though this is not a classic, it is
interesting how it stays darker no matter what (and not just visually) and how
the WWI battle scenes work particularly well (inspired by Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory and also anti-war in
tone, which is why the film may have been ignored by some in the media like
nothing since Spielberg’s Munich,
reviewed elsewhere on this site) along with the pacing and atmosphere.
The rest
of the cast is also impressive and I like the locations and production design
work, but this did not find the audience it deserved and is a nice back-to-form
film for Spielberg after the last Indiana Jones film was such a miss. The biggest mistake I think was not sticking
with the original shooting title for the film, Dartmoor,
which with Spielberg’s name next to it would have made people more curious so
they would not think it was just another “horse movie” even though he uses the
horse itself as a narrative tie. Very
interesting all around.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer looks good and offers detail I
did not see in my theatrical screening that used digital projection, though the
film was offered that way and in 35mm prints depending on the theater and it
was shot in the Super 35mm format by Spielberg’s now-longtime Director of
Photography Janusz Kaminski. Though
stylized down, you can see how even current state-of-the-art theatrical digital
projectors are too soft and have been introduced too soon (not worth it to save
a few bucks), cutting off the visuals to some extent. Fortunately, the Blu-ray looks better showing
how well the 35mm film was used. The
anamorphically enhanced DVD is weaker than expected and only worth dealing with
if you have to.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix is often dialogue-based, but as with
all Spielberg films does not stop the mix from being rich, exceptional, filled
with ambience and a standard John Williams dramatic score. It is well recorded and mixed, not suffering
from being stretched a few more channels.
The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD has a soundfield to some extent,
but it is no match for the DTS-MA on the Blu-ray.
Extras in
this four-disc set include Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices and
seven featurettes, the DVD-only War
Horse: The Look, Blu-ray One’s War
Horse: The Journey Home and An
Extra’s Point Of View and Blu-ray Two’s A
Filmmaking Journey, Editing &
Scoring, The Sounds Of War Horse
and Through The Producer’s Lens. See them all after watching the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
