Product Details

• Actors: Mark Lester, Walter Slezak, Peter Lee Lawrence, Ursula Glas, Patrick Mower
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: October 5, 2004
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002JP5CM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,306 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Black Beauty [Widescreen]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The adventures of a horse as he is passed through the hands of many masters prior to returning to his original young master and a happy retirement.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: G
Release Date: 7-MAR-2006
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the Black Beauty you know and love, December 28, 2004

By 

Staci L. Wilson "Author: Animal Movies Guide ... (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Beauty [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There have been several versions of Black Beauty produced for the cinema and for television. One of the weakest versions is the 1971 British production, which focuses much more on its parade of human characters than it does the horse. In the book and several of the movie versions, we get to know Beauty. We feel what he feels, and we understand what he is thinking as he passes from owner to owner. Beauty goes from a loving, happy family and life on an English farm with a little boy (Mark Lester) who loves him, to the cruel hands of the local land baron (Patrick Mower). Then he's stolen by Gypsy stereotypes, shipped across the continent, sold to a circus, and gifted to a gentleman who in turn gives the horse to his daughter. The daughter presents Beauty to her lover, who's a soldier headed for India. When the young man is killed in battle, Beauty is shipped back to England, where he goes to work in a coal mine. Instead of the people in the story being the thread woven through the horse's life, in this version it is just the opposite. While a horse called Ginger is mentioned in passing, the colorful equine characters in Beauty's orbit - most notably, Merrylegs - are all excised.

Adding insult to injury, the filmmakers made precious little attempt to match the various horses who portrayed Beauty throughout the years. Different shades, different builds, and even completely different breeds were used interchangeably. To a horse-lover, this is on par with a director casting Jack Nicholson, Jackie Chan, and Jacqueline Bisset in the same role and expecting the audience not to notice. The only constant was the extremely shoddy-looking fake star painted on the horse's forehead.


Staci Layne Wilson

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful piece of art, but does not engage today's kids, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Beauty [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As a young girl, I was truly struck by this film; the music, the texture of the lighting, and the tall, dark, and handsome leading man leant it an uncannily romantic feel. However, when I tried shared the movie with the little girls I babysit for, the sophisticated narrative and general lack of explosions bored them to distraction. This particular telling of BLACK BEAUTY no longer serves its function as a children's story, but is nonetheless compelling for adults.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This version is not for young children!, May 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Beauty [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After hearing so much about Black Beauty, and studying horses with my 5yr old we got this movie at the library. I was sad that I had not previewed it before letting her view it. I was surprised to see the fighting with the men stabbed in the chest. After talking with some friends I have found out there are other versions of Black Beauty that are wonderful and good for children to see.