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The Horse Whisperer

The Horse Whisperer

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: shocking, amazing, beautifull, left me speachless
Review: I ride every day, and as a horse lover it was a very hard movir to see, but what a movie?!? Tha vue was amazing and the horse was so beautiful. The movie was made so good,it left me thinking for days, how to apriciat life and never to shut out the ones you love. Realy, to all the peopla who wrote, acted, and made the movie come to life... It was worth you time! Thank You for letting have such a good time

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not exactly what I had in mind!
Review: This movie was a dissapointment. I am a owner/lover of American Quarter Horses, and was thrilled when they finally appeared on the big screen. But as we all know it takes more than a horse to make a movie. I guess it was my bad that I read the book before I watched the movie. But what confused me the most, when I did watch the movie, was that so many of the good parts were taken out. The ending was different, and I felt that there was too much focus on the first half of the book itself. All in all it was a good movie, "Justin" looked marvellous as usual. I just feel that if you're going to make a movie about a book, try to change as little as possible. In the book Gulliver was a chestnut, yet in the movie he was a bay. Pilgrim was supposed to be a bay and he was a chestnut.People fall in love with the ending of a book, it's what makes them want the good ones turned into a movie. It's just a disapointment when the story you fell in love with is changed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A crying movie almost all the way through
Review: I thought this was an excellent movie for the most part. However, there were a couple of things that detracted from it. 1)There was too much of a picture of "down on the farm". I really wanted to see more of the therapy for girl and horse. 2) I really didn't like the ending which kind of left the movie with a loose end. I haven't read the book, so I don't know how true the movie is to the story. Slow paced and not much action. I would definately recommend this movie to anyone who likes drama in general.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Get ready to be mesmerized by the stunning imageries.
Review: There is no way I would be able to muster the patience to sit through this strikingly beautiful, but equally languid film in the theater. Unless the theater management encourages me to get up and run around a few laps in the auditorium during the 169 minutes span of the film. With today's viewing habit of moviegoers, long length feature film such as The Horse Whisperer (Titanic an exception) is better served during the home release. At the same time, the breathtaking cinematography is a main attraction of The Horse Whisperer which can only be fully appreciated in the theater with the exact intended composition by the director. Nevertheless, I am glad that such long feature length movies are still made and while I am guilty of not patronizing during the theatrical release, the picture captures my interest on the home front.

The Horse Whisperer is the first film that Robert Redford served not only as the producer and director, but also as the star. In a unique approach, the film was shot and shown in theater with the aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 respectively. In the Manhattan setting, the film was shot with 1.85:1 as a way to express the clutterness and chaotic lifestyle of the big city. As the family journeys to Montana, the scope setting widened to 2.35:1 in projecting the simplicity and peacefulness of nature. The framing of the DVD is closer to 2.35:1 for both settings. Thus, the effect is diminished from Redford's original intention. Furthermore, I feel that some close-ups of the 2.35:1 framing are too tight, forehead and chin are letterboxed out by the black bars. While this is a minor distraction, there are two instances where digital artifacts betrayed the integrity of the shot. A very noticeable jittering effects show up on my Panasonic A110 on two landscape backdrops. The hills look like it were moving as the compression cheated a few frames out of the setting. Hopefully something like this will not become an issue as the compression technology continues to improve.

With that aside, the rest of the picture is gorgeous. The majority of the story takes place in Montana and the cinematography of Robert Richardson (Platoon, Wag The Dog) embraces the spectacular landscape with many wide-open shots. The images are post card perfect of rugged mountains, snow-covered plains, breezy field of wheats, pillowing clouds, and silhouette vistas. The lighting is serene and natural. Soft filter lenses are used to gently bounce amber-gold light off the characters or casting silhouette against the backdrop of majestic sunset skies. One can not watch this film without being captivated and inspired by the landscape and lighting. Images of the transfer are detailed with fully saturated colors and no grains. Blacks are glossy and shadow details is clearly defined.

The encoded Dolby Digital soundtrack is not particularly powerful and there is little reason to be for a film that is mostly dialogue driven. There are a few scenes where the sound is very dramatic such as the harrowing accident scene of the horse and truck that I had to literally brace myself watching the impact. The score by Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption, Meet Joe Black) complements the Western landscape with solo piano and soft violin surrounded by orchestration, but refrained from reaching a melodramatic stage. The recording is expansive and rich in clarity and provides most of the ambience. Sound effects such as horses and distant thunders are spatially integrated.

For a film that I wouldn't be able to sit through in the theater, I watched the DVD twice at home on the first couple days I got it. To see the film, you have to sprawl on the sofa, settle into a comfortable position, and ready to be mesmerized by the stunning imageries and a deliberate but satisfying story.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Relaxing, warm romantic experience, uplifting and inspiring.
Review: I happened to watch this movie on a "snow day" when I was "iced-in" and ended up watching it 4 times! Redford shows himself as a class act once again in this relaxed, 'take your time' dramatic slash romantic film contrasting the fast big city life of a magazine editor (Kristen Scott Thomas)with the relaxed atmosphere on the Montana ranch of the "Horse Whisperer" (Robert Redford) whose therapeutic skills are sought out for a horse badly traumatized in an accident involving the editor's daughter. The "down home" atmosphere of the rancher's family and the unselfish, very caring approach of Redford's character provides treatment not only for the ailing horse but also for the daughter (not to mention the members of the viewing audience!!). I found this movie extremely refreshing with much room for personal reflection. A must for any truly passionate film aficianado.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: This is a great movie. It depicts real people in real life situations. Acting of Redford is marvelous!

Cinematography is breathtaking :)

Thumbs Up!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Horse Whisperer
Review: Okay, okay lets all agree on one thing here: the book is always better. that said, lets move on. "The horse whisperer" was a beautiful movie. It opens up with a young girl, Grace MacLaen. She lives in New York with her parents and her horse Pilgrim. One early morning her and a friend go out for a snow-filled trail ride. But where there is snow, there is ice and Grace's friend, Judith, slips (actually her horse, Gulliver, does)and they come crashing down into a fatal and life changing accident. After grace recovers enough to walk again, her mother realizes that something has changed within the young girl and forces her and pilgrim to take time out and seek help in montana. The "horse whisperer" tom booker (redford) sees that the threesome needs him in the worst way possible. Going against his belife in helping the horses, not the people, he sets out to help them. And so begins his long and demanding "healing" process. Pilgrim reaches a breakthrough and an old frienships is born again with the girl he once loved and trusted. But Grace's mother isnt ready to leave montana quite yet for she has fallen in love with the magical cowboy. All in all it was an excellent movie. but as i have said before the book is always better. watch the movie first and then "feel" (not see) what really happens when you read the book!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Read the book....
Review: First off, I'm an avid reader. I read this book shortly before I heard about the movie coming out and I loved it. I couldn't put it down & cried through the last chapter. Now, to clarify...I'm not one of those weepy women who cries over hallmark comercials & other such drivel. It takes a lot to make me shed a tear. That said, I got so into the book that I couldn't help feel the pain the characters were going through.

When the movie came out, I went to the theatre to watch it...excited about seeing it all come to life before me. I know better than this b/c rarely are movies as good as the books, but still I hoped for the best. It was beautiful. I'll give it that...but it was slow. I felt every mile of the drive from NY to Montana. Besides being bored through most of the movie, I got more & more angry as I realized just how little respect was paid to the book with the screenplay. The characters weren't the ones that I had fallen in love with...or in the same respect hated. They were just kinda emotionless, middle of the road representations of the characters that Nicholas Evans created. Then...somewhere along the line, I'm guessing the screenplay writer decided that the book that they had bought the rights to wasn't good enough so they took the liberty to omit the last 4th of the book & reinvent their own Hollywoodized ending. As a reader and a Nicholas Evans fan, I couldn't help but feel that they butchered his work.

BUT, if you like long, slow, movies and have never read & don't intend to read the book...go right ahead and see this movie. You just might like it. Scarlett Johanssen is good and the scenery is beautiful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Moving and inspiring!
Review: An extremely moving blend of visual imagery and a compelling story of strength, love and realizations, "The Horse Whisperer" brings to life one of the bext novels ever written, while also giving the audience a movie that sets a new standard for emotion and feeling. It's a film that makes us laugh and a cry, a movie that depresses us as well as gives us an uplifting sense of wonder and awe. This has got to be one of the best movies ever made.

When her daughter Grace is critically injured while riding her horse, her business-oriented parents go through the painful decision of having her legs removed, which comes as a shock to Grace when she awakens from her coma. What's more, the horse is left with severe physical and emotional scars, none of which anyone can or knows how to heal. Even as the horse becomes increasingly distant and violent when approached by a human, Grace's mother, Annie, refuses to allow the animal to be put down, and begins researching methods and techniques of horse recuperation. When she comes across a magazine article about "horse whisperers," she makes a call to the man interviewed in the article, Tom Booker, who is unable to help her.

While shown in theaters, up until this moment of the movie, the film is shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which is to reflect the cramped, noisy lifestyle that Annie lives in. Determined to find a cure for her daughter's horse as well as to mend their dwindling relationship, she packs the horse and her crippled daughter into their car and takes them on a road trip to Montana, where the film then takes on the aspect ratio of 2.35:1, allowing us to enjoy the full splendor of the surrounding hills and mountains. When they reach their destination, Tom agrees to help her so long as Grace is willing to offer her help. Willing the horse back to its normal attitude proves to be no easy task, though Tom has extreme patience in dealing with the animal. As the progress begins to grow, so does the bond between Annie and Tom, as well as the relationship between mother and daughter. But will Annie's and Tom's differences keep them apart? And what about her husband, who is waiting for results back in the city?

The movie takes its time in exploring its plot, giving us nothing but meticulous detail in every nuance of the story. There is never a moment throughout the movie when we do not know what kind of feelings each character is going through, nor are we left in the dark when something intrical to the advancement of the plot occurs. While it may look as simple as the country life it portrays, the story is utterly complex and moving, finely tuned with emotion and themes of love, sadness, and natural beauty.

The extensive visual imagery and settings are so gorgeous and so large that some of the shots almost swallow the characters. The beauty of the mountain ranges and low-lying valleys of Montana and the Midwest are so satisfying that they alone are worth going to see the movie if for nothing else. They also act as a symbolization of the characters' feelings, because throughout the movie, most of the characters at some time feel lost and confused, which is underlined by the vast amounts of open space that surrounds them all. I don't think there has ever been a film so far that has been able to give us such a wondrous canvas of natural beauty like this one has done.

Character development is done with such terrific clarity that I was able to identify emotionally with different characters on different levels. Tom Booker is played superbly by Robert Redford, and is the embodiment of the simplistic, easy-going rancher who is not satisfied with material possessions, but more with the joy he gets from his family and his work. Annie is played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who delivers a powerful and complex performance in making us believe in her struggles with her daughter and the horse. The love story angle that Annie and Tom share is a moving and brilliant emotional display, and what is even better about it is that it does not become so overly-engrossing that is consumes the main focus of the story, which is the horse's recovery.

As "The Horse Whisperer" unfolds, you'll find yourself moved by every waking minute of its complex plot and involving characters. The core of this movie is nothing but heart, and lots of it, which is enough for a tear-jerker as well as a truly uplifting experience.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sad But Amazing
Review: Robert Redford didn't manage to make more than an average movie out of an average book, but he sure did manage to muddy the waters when it comes to "Horse Whispering." Read the real story at http://www.rarey.com/sites/jsrarey/



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