Rating: 
Summary: SUPERLATIVE PERFORMANCE OF DISTURBED YOUTH
Review: THIS FILM STARS THE BRILLIANT BRITISH ACTOR PETER FIRTH IN HIS EARLY CAREER. HE IS NOT SUPPOSEDLY RELATED TO THE BRITISH ACTOR COLIN FIRTH (OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ,ET AL), THOUGH I OBSERVE MANY SIMILARITIES IN INTENSITY OF TALENT AND PERFORMANCE. AMAZON.COM NEEDS TO CORRECT THIS ERROR IN THE DATA ON THIS FILM.
Rating:
Summary: No doubt about it!
Review: This movie is without a doubt the best movie I've ever seen. It asks all the most essential questions posing modern theory vs. ancient "myth" and leaves the viewer to search for their own answers. Truley wonderful!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor translation from stage to screen
Review: Though "Equus" was masterful when seen on the broadway stage, it suffers dreadfully in this screen translation. It's curious because Sidney Lumet had a winning screen track record and Burton had honed his role as Dysart on the NY stage, after taking over the role from Tony Perkins. But something is sadly amiss here. Some of the problems are the dank, sterile way in which many scenes were filmed. The viewer almost becomes claustrophic when Dysart interogates and analyzes the boy, ably played by Peter Firth. The sets seem absurdly cheap for such a production, with sofas, chairs and walls reminscent of something out of "General Hospital." The stable scene where Firth blinds the horses takes the concept of gratuitous violence to a new level. Again, this scene worked beautifuly on stage, but is numbing and troubling when viewed in the movie version. Burton's performance was widely praised at the time of release and he was nominated for his seventh Academy Award. He didn't win (Richard Dreyfuss won instead). The performance is uneven and Burton never seems completely comfortable in the role. Ultimately, the viewer is confused with an overly avant-garde approach to the production and the fact that it's hard to care much for boy or his predicament. What was riveting on stage becomes a sadly boring psychological melodrama.
Rating:
Summary: Poor translation from stage to screen
Review: Though "Equus" was masterful when seen on the broadway stage, it suffers dreadfully in this screen translation. It's curious because Sidney Lumet had a winning screen track record and Burton had honed his role as Dysart on the NY stage, after taking over the role from Tony Perkins. But something is sadly amiss here. Some of the problems are the dank, sterile way in which many scenes were filmed. The viewer almost becomes claustrophic when Dysart interogates and analyzes the boy, ably played by Peter Firth. The sets seem absurdly cheap for such a production, with sofas, chairs and walls reminscent of something out of "General Hospital." The stable scene where Firth blinds the horses takes the concept of gratuitous violence to a new level. Again, this scene worked beautifuly on stage, but is numbing and troubling when viewed in the movie version. Burton's performance was widely praised at the time of release and he was nominated for his seventh Academy Award. He didn't win (Richard Dreyfuss won instead). The performance is uneven and Burton never seems completely comfortable in the role. Ultimately, the viewer is confused with an overly avant-garde approach to the production and the fact that it's hard to care much for boy or his predicament. What was riveting on stage becomes a sadly boring psychological melodrama.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Two hours for: Boy tries to make love to girl but can't because he's a horseosexual. Boy blinds horses because they were in the barn when it happened, but out of eyeshot, if you'll pardon the expression. Richard Burton cures boy by getting him to spill story. I kept watching the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick. Richard Burton shines when playing cynical characters with acerbic wit. This was the wrong role for him -- he didn't shine.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Two hours for: Boy tries to make love to girl but can't because he's a horseosexual. Boy blinds horses because they were in the barn when it happened, but out of eyeshot, if you'll pardon the expression. Richard Burton cures boy by getting him to spill story. I kept watching the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick. Richard Burton shines when playing cynical characters with acerbic wit. This was the wrong role for him -- he didn't shine.
Rating:
Summary: Superlative performance
Review: Unequivically the best movie ever made. Burton's performance is stellar. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Burton's soliloquy is deep!
Review: What are we doing, fundamentally
Rating: 
Summary: Strange, Beautiful, and Sad
Review: When Alan Strang (Peter Firth), a profoundly troubled young stable worker, blinds several of the horses in his care he is sent to Dr. Martin Dysart (Richard Burton). The psychiatrist is determined to unravel the mystery of why Alan would do such a thing. In a series of flashbacks it is learned that a horseman, sex and religion are mixed into the skewed psyche solution. Before the tragic events, when Alan is simply working with the horses, there are lots of visually stunning, almost ethereal scenes of the animals being groomed and ridden. Especially pretty horses were cast in this film; probably so the audience would feel even sorrier for their plight. Equus is based loosely on a true incident, and a play by Peter Schafer (I also strongly recommend reading the play in book form... it's beautifully written, especially the opening passage).
Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
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