The Black Stallion (1979)

Set in 1946, a young boy (Kelly Reno) and his father (Hoyt Axton) are travelling by steamer off the coast of North Africa when a storm and a fire cause the boat to sink. The boy falls overboard but is rescued by a wild black stallion and they both end up on a desert island. Based on the novel by Walter Farley and directed by Carroll Ballard (who's only made six movies) in his feature film debut. This is a lovely piece of film making that is a little less than the sum of its parts. The first fifty minutes of the film are amazing and reminiscent of the 1953 short film WHITE MANE. Those fifty minutes are an eye popping masterpiece. Alas, the rest of the movie while very good is a gender reversal of NATIONAL VELVET and that is reinforced by the presence of Mickey Rooney's horse trainer who could be the adult version of the boy he played in VELVET. It's fine but after the magical desert island sequence, it just seems so ordinary. Perhaps the film makers feel it too because the end credits are played over the island sequence. A family film in the very best sense of the word as opposed to Disney's superficiality. The excellent score is by Carmine Coppola. With Teri Garr, Clarence Muse and Michael Higgins.