War Horse

Before leaving for France Major Stewart gives the order for battle; there is to be no polish so that a glinting bridle or stirrup would not give away their position.

In the scenes set in France all the metal on the horse's bridles is freshly polished.

When Ted Narracott brings Joey home for the first time, the rope falls off of Joey's nose when Ted talks to his family, but it is back in place when Ted walks the horse to the field.

The young German deserter is named Michael.

His named is pronounced the way an American/Englishman would pronounce it (with a k sound).

A German would pronounce it with the a "ch" sound, which is an unvoiced soft aspirative sound not found in English.

(Comparable to the Scottish sound "ch" i.

in "Loch".

) When the black horse is dying, there is a very dramatic shot of the sun shining from underneath Joey (from behind), but in subsequent shots, it's clear the sun is shining on the front of the horses.

Before Captain Nicholls goes to his death in 1914, he listens to a gramophone recording of the beautiful song, "Roses of Picardy" by 'Frederick Edward Weatherly' (qv) and 'Haydn Wood (II)' (qv).

Unfortunately for him, the song wasn't written until 1916.

Anyone who has been around horses knows that the bridles would be removed at the end of every day.

- PLOTThe German Army camp is on an open field in enemy territory without any sentries, with around a dozen machine guns forming a defensive line at least 100 yards away from the camp, with nobody guarding these machine guns and with the camp right in the middle of the firing line of the machine guns.

When the German machine gunners reach their guns, they open fire without elevating their guns thus spraying bullets at around 1 to 2 feet above ground.

However dozens of horses manage to come through this hail of bullets unharmed, while their riders sitting at least 5 feet above the ground die in scores.

The horse is shown galloping in a trench and never having to turn, suggesting the trench is long and straight.

In reality, trenches were built with zig-zags so if the enemy got in, it couldn't shoot down the trench and easily hit someone.

The early stages are set in Devon, UK but the village houses are all of Cotswold stone, not usually found in Devon.

In France, the windmill with damaged sails continues to turn at a steady rate despite smoke hanging in the air, showing there is no wind.

When Albert is trying to befriend Joey with an apple which he is holding out at arm's length, the apple is whole.

There is a short cut as Joey looks back at his mother and when we see the apple again, it has a big bite taken out of it.

But Albert has not moved.

After the horses pull the heavy gun to the top of the hill, the gun crew loading the gun only place the projectile in before firing - in reality, the shell would have to be followed by at least one powder charge to propel it.

Large caliber artillery pieces and naval guns load the projectile/shell and the propellant separately; smaller ones have them assembled as a cartridge, similar to what a rifle, machine gun or handgun fires.

When the younger Schroeder brother, Michael, is entering the lines to march to the front, he enters the left line (walking direction).

His brother, Gunther is packing the horse and follows to get him out of line.

At that moment Michael has switched line and walks in the right line of the column.

As Andrew waits behind in the trench to shoot deserters, we see that he is surrounded by rats and dead soldiers, but when the camera angle changes as a couple of British troops descend the ladder, the rats and bodies have disappeared.

When Lt.

Waverly and Captain Nicholls are discussing the new caps, Nicholls says ".

I fancy that cap.

I'll kill you first of all.

" The shot changes to show Waverly's reaction.

Here, Nicholls's jaw can be seen moving as if he's speaking, but nothing is spoken.

Practice Cavalry charge sceneThe adult horse Joey can be seen just prior to the practice cavalry charge with a white mark in its hair above its right eye.

During the charge there is a close up of Joey's face and the white mark is absent.

The color of this horse is also a slightly darker chestnut to that of the horse at the end of the charge.

Subsequent shots through the film do not show this white mark and especially the shots of the young horse the mark is also absent.

When the Germans begin their march, Gunther ties Albert's flag to the left of Michael's bag.

Later when they are doing the march down the road, the flag is now tied to the right.

In the trenches scenes the British troops shoulder badges say Dorset but they refer to themselves as Devon boys during the assault on the machine gun nest.

There were different regiments from each neighboring county until the Devon and Dorset regiments were merged until the 1957 defense review.

The motorcycle the German soldiers are shown riding is a Triumph SD, an English model introduced in 1920.

When the cavalry charge through the grass towards the Germans you can see they are running in trails previously made.

When they burst into the open you can see how the grass has been flattened by a previous charge.

This is an insult to most people's intelligence. This movie should not be taken seriously by any adult.

For his latest production, Stephen Spielberg has chosen to tell the tale of a boy and his horse- and the First World War. Think Black Stallion meets All Quiet on the Western Front.

War Horse (2011): Dir: Steven Spielberg / Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston: Steven Spielberg's magnificent tribute to animals that put their trust in humans only to be betrayed to the sins of war. This is a different viewpoint of war as seen previously in his film Saving Private Ryan, which regarded the toils of humanity and the unforgiving wages of war.

War horse is a very simple movie about friendship and trust between a young boy and his horse and how they are separated because of poverty and the war. Set in magnificent scenes and backgrounds it truly brings out the brilliance in directing .

Covering the themes of interspecies friendship, futility of war & how warfare affects not only mankind but all living beings, War Horse is an overly melodramatic war-drama from Steven Spielberg that's crafted with his usual flair, tenderness & elegance but isn't a cinema that's going to appeal to everyone for its bland narration might make it a chore to sit through.Based on a children's book of the same name & set during the First World War, War Horse chronicles the inseparable bonding between a young boy & his horse that was bought at an auction by his father for its sheer beauty despite his family needing a plough horse for their farm instead of a thoroughbred.

I could often hear that people dislikes movies because they are unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder why they hail films like this one, but says that others like our Swedish film Hamilton is unrealistic.

This motion picture is excellent and a wonderful story with a great director. With all that said, there is one powerfully moving performance that is truly the centerpiece of the film and which stands out: The incredible work of Emily Watson as the mother, Rose.

After Tintin which just got savaged by audiences and adored by critics I went the way of the critics I thought it was the best family film of 2011 sharing that crown with Hugo and I thought nothing would share that or even threaten to take the Crown away from Tintin or Hugo as a matter of fact until the simply stunning War Horse came out and just blew the competition away it was undeniable from the opening few minutes of War Horse that I knew I was about to witness something unforgettable something remarkable something which was unlike anything I had ever seen before something which told the story of the first world war through the eyes of a quite remarkable horse which is so moving so touching so charming in the right moments so funny in the right sequences, the comedy scenes are placed in the right moments not distracting in any way to the way that the story is being told visually or emotionally because the key to the timeless nature of the film and why the film should warrant repeat viewings from all audiences, I feel the film is suitable for all audiences Children, Grandparents just the whole world needs to see this film so they can learn the stories learn the historic moments that happened in our past I know the past can be and was horrible to remember we must be able to look back on our past and reflect on how lucky we are to have won the corresponding wars our past generation had to endure the pain they suffered the friends and comrades they lost who they did not want to lose but tragically did but they died not for the pain that would be suffered by their families but because they made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, that's the magic and the lesson of the film that children and families will learn as they watch the film with their children or grandchildren, if you show this to your children tell them this think how lucky you are to be alive because there was a time when the world could have been so much different than the world we live in now which is a wonderful hopeful world to live in although ideally we all want that but the world is not like that the world is full of danger and hurt and pure evil and don't bow down to them stand up to them be brave make yourself proud of who you are and in a way Joey Albert's horse is the audience's guide through this story we see the war through his viewpoint he worries for his fellow horses even though he can not verbalise that to us you can feel what he feels emotionally because of Steven Spielberg's masterful storytelling his exceptional craftsmanship his shots of Devon at the start of the film are simply stunning and No they are not matte paintings that's is Steven Spielberg's beautiful camera effortlessly gliding the countryside of Devon simply a wonder to behold on the big screen, here's some advice see this film on the biggest screen possible it will not have the same effect it does when you sit and watch it at home on a DVD player! The acting in this film in really fantastic Jeremy Irvine is simply wonderful casting and needs more film roles which he does not seem to be getting at the moment which is a shame he deserves more acting work, Peter Mullan as Albert's father is beautifully understated and not overly dramatic just the right complexities for his performance, Emily Watson's performance was of great calmness and subtlety really touching and quite moving in fact it's a great performance!

It happens a very few times when you feel good after watching a movie, after watching WAR HORSE i really feel good.Nice Acting, superb directing, wonderful cinematography, fabulous camera work and very good piece of Art work.