The Young Black Stallion

The big (but predictable) change in Simon Wincer's prequel to Carroll Ballard's fondly-remembered 1979 picture about a boy and his Arabian horse (and its 1983 sequel) is that this time around the human half of the duo is a girl. During the closing days of World War II, young Neera (Biana Tamimi) is sent away from her North African home by her grandfather for reasons of safety, but when her caravan is attacked by thieves she's left to fend for herself in the hinterlands. Fortunately, she's befriended by a wild colt whose mother had been stolen by the same marauders, and together the pair find their way back to her home, where they join forces to win a race that will restore her grandfather's stable of steeds (including the colt's mother). The Young Black Stallion is obviously hokum of the most old-fashioned sort, and the acting is strictly functional, but the concluding race is sufficiently exciting to keep younger viewers interested, and Reed Smoot's cinematography rivals Caleb Deschanel's of a quarter-century ago. While no home video presentation will match the impact this short film (51 minutes) had in its original IMAX theatrical showings, this is still a strong optional purchase for larger family film collections. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, as well as the theatrical version and the extended version with the new bonus preface “The Sire” (14 min.), the production featurettes “Finding Biana” on casting star Biana Tamimi (5 min.), “Shooting in Namibia” (5 min.), “Building the Casbah” (4 min.), “A Story in IMAX” (8 min.), and “Taming the Stallions” (6 min.), as well as a “Big Black Horse” read-along and Black Stallion book list, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a film that works better on the big IMAX screen.] (F. Swietek)