Customer Reviews

The Silver Stallion

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I read the book many years ago in 6th grade and it is still one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately, it is out of print and very hard to find, even in Australia. This movie follows the main story line of the book, but from a more human viewpoint. It chronicles the writing of the book with scenes of the author, Elyne Mitchell, and her daughter interspersed with the scenes of the story and the horses it chronicles. I would have preferred to have more of the horse story and less of the human one (hence the 4 star rating.) If you liked "The Man from Snowy River", also based on the book by Elyne Mitchell, or just like to watch gorgeous horses running through beautiful scenery, you'll love this one.

Based on the book "The Silver Brumby" by Elyne Mitchell, "The Silver Stallion" opens during a storm, with a mother composing a story to comfort her daughter, Indi. She tells of the birth of Thowra, a palomino brumby in the high country of Australia's outback, named after the wind. As Thowra grows into a magnificent young stallion, he catches the attention of local ranchers, intent on capturing the beautifully-colored horse. One man in particular (played by a young Russell Crowe), becomes obsessed with the hunt. But the more intent he is on catching the stallion, the more maddeningly cunning and elusive Thowra becomes.

The film switches back and forth between the story of Indi and her mother, and the tale of Thowra himself, with Indi's mother narrating. Eventually we find that the two stories are more interconnected than they seem at first. Unfortunately, neither story has a very strong plotline. Crowe's character's pursuit of Thowra can be boiled down to a series of chase scenes, punctuated by rivalry between stallions of neighboring brumby herds, while the action between Indi and her mother consists of the girl continuously pestering her mother to divulge the next chapter, with a seemingly unrelated side-story about an injured wallaby thrown in for good measure.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this is not "The Man From Snowy River." The horses are anthropomorphized a bit too much for my tastes, and the acting tends toward cheesiness at times, though not so much as to be unbelievable. The soundtrack - often taking on a chanting quality that grows more intense as each chase scene progresses - is rather melodramatic, occasionally even disturbing by its overbearing nature. Nevertheless, while this film fails to really impress me as an adult, I'm pretty sure I would have loved it as a child. The horses are beautiful, and the theme of a cunning animal hero consistently outwitting the "bad guys" is just what most children will love.

The DVD itself, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired. The movie is presented only in fullscreen format, and though the cinematography and picture quality themselves are not top quality, the shots of the Australian high country would have been much more breathtaking in a widescreen presentation. There are also no special features whatsoever. In summation, I'd recommend this film primarily to families with younger children, especially those that love horses. Children will likely find the story exciting and the horses endearing. But even at a mere 93 minutes in length, it doesn't offer much to hold the attention of adult viewers.

Two words: See it! It's the best movie yet! I've watched it a total of 11 times, and it NEVER get's boring. With the breath taking scence, and horses this is a MUST movie. You look through the eyes of a horse. ( Which I must say is very wonderful touch to this movie ) It's ending leaves you in question and a smile or a tear or two. But it also leaves you wanting to see it again and AGAIN!

As an Outback author (Caroline Goodall) churns out the pages of her tale about a wild Brumby, her horse-crazy daughter Indi (Ami Daemion) eagerly reads each chapter as it comes off the typewriter. With her mother's voice intoning in the little girl's mind, the dramatic story unfolds: One dark and stormy night, a magnificent golden colt with a silver mane and tail is born and leads a life of great adventure. The narrative switches back and forth between the horse's story, and the people's. Very well done.

Staci Layne Wilson

Based on previous reviews, you would have thought this was another MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER: it's not, not by a long shot. I watched SNOWY after wading through this one, and was amazed at how much better it was. It's not that the horses aren't amazing - they are. But the story is weak, the cinematography is undistinguished, and this desperately needs a wide screen. I have to agree with another reviewer that this is a B movie.

On the other hand, Caroline Goodall turns in a wonderful performance as a writer creating a story about a silver stallion that has become a legend in the outback of Australia. She narrates parts of the story almost as if she were telling it around a campfire at night, so that it has a certain eerie quality. Ami Daemion is enjoyable as her daughter, reading her mother's story as she completes it in chunks, and becoming more and more obsessed with the horse. Russell Crowe plays a rancher bent on catching the silver stallion, and in his usual, likeable way is entertaining in this early performance of his career. Unfortunately, he gets little more to do than show off his riding abilities, because the real stars of the movie are the horses.

This film has some excellent horse work, except for the fight sequences between the ruling stallions, which are little more than dances. Nevertheless, as animal actors, they're wonderful. If I had it to do over, I would have given this film three stars instead of two, because it is a sweet story to snuggle up with the family on a weekend afternoon. I think pre-teen girls and any horse-lover will especially love it.

Waitsel Smith

The silver stallion, Thowra, is breath takingly beautiful, but i don't get why they call him silver when he is a palomino. The countryside is GORGOUS! The acting is ok, but the movie is not really about that, but the horses. All of the scenes are really good except the end scene, and the song that plays with the credits is breath-taking! I loved this movie and it is great for any horse lover or pre-teen! RECOMENDED!!!

It's a tale within a tale. A mother and daughter are alone in the bush while her husband is away on business. The mother is sharing her book about Australia's wild horses with her daughter. As the mother and daughter learn their own lessons about the bush by helping a young kangaroo, the phantom silver stallion is born and pitted against both nature and man.

Beautiful scenery, well cast. The recording was a bit difficult to hear.

I purchased this video so I would have a good movie for my grandchildren to watch. So far so good. The response from them (ages 10 & 7) is that they sat still through the whole movie and really enjoyed it. This movie is the winner of a 1994 parents choice award. Excellent for young people and it doesn't hurt that Russell Crowe is in it. You get to watch the talented Russell Crowe ride his horse - and it was him - not a double. He is so versatile. Excellent storyline too. This is a must for your video collections.

...Beautifully simple children's story? What do we respect? How do we learn to respect nature?

...this has been mentioned as another version of "The Man From Snowy River", I have no problem with that. Australian's do love their horses and they make really exceptional films about them. "Phar Lap" is another wonderful example of these films.

It's nice to get alittle Australia in your veins and visit the bush and the High Country for a time.

In this film Mr. Crowe had some real competition on screen. It was from the animal stars, fortunately, there seemed to be some real bonding between Russell and his animal co-stars. His dog seemed to really love him as did his horses. If you've ever had a pet or worked on a film you know that this is not always the easiest thing to catch on film.

The riding was great fun, the scenery spectactular, covering the seasons in the high country and the horses were breathtaking...

I'm a huge horse lover and this movie takes my breath away. The horses are beautiful and the music sends thrills up my spine. I've read the book and that was very good also. If I could only own one video this would be it. I'm serious. This is my fav movie.