Amazon.co.uk Review
For director Robert Redford the trick was directing himself. The Oscar-winning director (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) says that he is one kind of actor (in the moment) and a different kind of director (more controlling). Whatever the problems, Redford has worked it out beautifully in this leisurely paced adaptation of Nicholas Evans's bestseller, The Horse Whisperer. When the prized horse of New York magazine editor's (Kristen Scott Thomas) daughter suffers a horrible accident, she tracks down Tom Booker (Redford), a Montana horse healer who is known for working magic. Soon East Coast brashness meets Old West simplicity as the reluctant Annie takes her even more reluctant daughter (Scarlett Johansson) to Marlboro country. Booker's influence goes beyond the horse through healing the heart of daughter and mother. The 2-hour and 44-minute film is a beautiful travelogue of scene and sky (with a giant assist from Oliver Stone's usual cinematographer, Robert Richardson). Never complicated, the movie's rewards may be hidden in its length and Redford's tendency to introduce us to a way of life instead of focusing on a story. The major deviation from the end of Evans's novel is a welcomed change. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.co.uk Review
Robert Redford's fifth feature as director, and the first self-directed film in which he has starred, The Horse Whisperer features him in a role he could have been born to play, Tom Booker, a gentle, thoughtful Montana rancher with a gift for healing "horses with people problems". When Grace MacLean (12-year-old Scarlett Johansson) suffers a shockingly well-staged riding accident her New York magazine editor mother drives daughter and horse, both carrying physical and emotional trauma, to the Booker farmstead. What unfolds is a 162-minute film in which little happens, yet which is lyrical, deeply moving and richly atmospheric. Inevitably both girl and horse start to heal, while the mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas), who in the early scenes seems disconcertingly to have modelled her performance on Anne--The Weakest Link--Robinson, comes to reassess her life. The adulterous affair of Nicholas Evans' novel is reduced to temptation and treated with much greater maturity than in Scott Thomas' previous English-language film, The English Patient (1996). Indeed, The Horse Whisperer is everything that Oscar winner was hailed as: an intimate sweeping romance in the tradition of David Lean, with superlative cinematography by Robert Richardson and a career-best musical score by Thomas Newman. Thematically echoing Redford's own multi-Oscar winning directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), The Horse Whisperer is one of the finest films of the 1990s.
On the DVD: Shot at 2.35:1 against very similar landscapes to Legends of the Fall (1994), The Horse Whisperer has a real epic visual sweep and the anamorphically enhanced image captures the endless landscapes and ever-changing skies well. However, there is more than expected grain, and some scenes show obvious compression artefacting. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is largely confined to the front three speakers, though creates some wonderfully atmospheric ambiences when called for; Thomas Newman's score is served particularly well in several key scenes. The extras are the American theatrical trailer and a music video for Allison Moorer's New Country ballad "A Soft Place to Fall", both crawling with compression artefacts. Also included are three "featurettes" on the production, Redford, and real-life "horse whisperer" Buck Brannaman, though each runs less than two minutes. The lack of any substantial extras is explained by Redford's comment in his "featurette" that wanting to know about how everything is done ruins the magic of the movies. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
Truly touching.......2008-03-14
This film is remarkable - it is so emotionally engaging that you can't help but fall in love with the film and the character's in it as they embark on their journey of healing and discovery.
The twists and turns that occur throughout the film keep the audience gripped and we are left feeling satisfied if a bit sad at the end of it all as the characters find themselves choosing the path to follow.
I highly recommend this film! A tribute to Redford's directing skills.
evelynmac.......2008-02-01
I watched this film a few years ago and really enjoyed the stunning scenery. The unfolding story of the healing of the horse and the girl who was involved in the accident. The second time I watched this film the thing that really struck me was the healing of the mother, and the horse whisperer himself, I missed that first time round. As a mother myself, and like the mother in the story quite controlling and weighed down with trying to make everything perfect and trying to fix everyone. The part where the horse whisperer rides out with her and gives her some simple but (for me) life changing advice. I love this film and would recommend it.
Deals with life altering changes for the main characters.......2007-12-18
More so than "Horse Whisperer", the movie deals with life altering changes for the four main characters (the mother, the father, the daughter, the horse whisperer) and the horse of course. Even the affair is positive. It helps Tom Booker get over his wife when he puts that record back in it's sleeve, and it helps Annie get off her so called "high horse attitude." It's a movie of changes for the better all around. Enjoyable, real, well done.The scenes interacting with the horse are wonderful. Sitting in that field waiting for the horse to feel comfortable enough to deal with Mr. Booker was an enormous hurdle. The best scene is after two and a half hours when Tom brings the horse down to Grace's level, so that they both rise together. That scene,is to joyfully cry for, and laugh yes.
Nicholas Evans would be proud!.......2007-05-10
Speaking as one who read the book when it first came out in 1995, (and who has since re-read it several times!) I have to give full marks to Robert Redford for taking the time to make such a wonderfully captivating take on a story that I thought wouldn't be done justice to. I COMPLETELY disagree however to the ending and thought it would've been far better left untouched. But as usual, the Hollywood team always seems to want to stir things up and change bits just to annoy us!
This tells the story of a 13 year old girl called Grace, played to perfection by a very young Scarlett Johanson, who is the daughter to her lawyer father, Sam Neill, and her editor mother, again played to perfection by Kristin Scott Thomas. Annie, (Mum) is a very strong willed business woman who doesn't believe in quitting, no matter what the circumstances. She comes across as quite obnoxious and rude at times but as the scenes unfold, you realise that she just doesn't know how to be any other way. Robert, (Dad), is quite the opposite, which being a lawyer is rarely seen! Grace and Robert tend to just go with whatever Annie wants for a quiet life and are closer together than either are with Annie. It's obvious that although there is much love between all three, there are some definite issues surrounding the marriage.
One morning Grace goes out in the snow to meet her friend Judith. They're both keen horseriders and meet up at the stables to prepare the horses, Gulliver and Pilgrim. Whilst out riding, they decide to have a slightly longer ride and go back another route. They have to walk the horses up and over a railway bridge to cross the road below it. As they are walking up the embankment, Gulliver slips back down and Judith falls off leaving her foot caught up in the stirrup. As Grace is trying to gather the two panicked horses together, a 40 tonne truck comes around the corner. Pilgrim sees it and rears up against it trying to protect Grace but she too falls off. The truck swallows up Judith and Gulliver and slams into Pilgrim and Grace. Amazingly, the latter two survive.
What follows is the heart wrenching/warming story of the pair's survival and how their lives affect everyone and everything around them. Annie refuses to have Pilgrim put down, despite the many pleas from her vet, for fear that if Pilgrim dies, something in Grace will die too. She becomes obsessed with finding a way to 'fix' him and comes across some articles about a man called Tom Booker, a 'horse whisperer'. She contacts him but he refuses to have a look at her horse because he's too busy and lives a couple thousand miles away. Annie won't take no for an answer and decides to tell a few white lies and drives Grace and Pilgrim all the way from New York to Montana, leaving Robert at home to work.
Pilgrim is a completely destroyed horse now. His muscles are wasted away from lack of exercise and he's covered in scars. But more terrible than that is his mental state. He's a nervous, untrusting wreck of an animal and he won't let anyone near him. Annie turns up unannounced at the Double Divide, Tom's ranch, and pretty much demands that he come see her horse now that she's dragged him all the way out there. It's dislike at first sight!
Tom goes to see the horse and isn't sure he can do anything with him but agrees to try, for he feels for Grace. The therapy, (if that's what it's called), begins and it's touch and go all the way. As Pilgrim begins to mend, so does Grace and Annie learns that it's okay to let her guard down and relax. Pretty soon she and Tom are obviously sharing some feelings for each other.
This is another thing that got my goat up in the film. In the book they have a full on affair, sleeping with each other and what not, but although it's wrong, it's told tastefully so that you want them to be together. In the film all they do is kiss once! If they want you to believe how much they love each other, surely they can show a bit more to their relationship?
Anyhoo, the story ends happily with Grace finally being able to ride Pilgrim and the horse himself is quite a happy one, once again. Annie and Tom part with many tears and broken hearts to boot. No-one is any the wiser for their feelings for each other and so no-one gets hurt except them.
The visuals are absolutely stunning throughout this film. They are just as I have pictured them when reading the book. The supporting cast are just as great as the leads, with Dianne Weist playing Tom's sister-in-law and Chris Cooper playing his brother. I didn't cry as much during this film as I do when I read the book but it's still very moving just the same. I suggest the book to all of you who enjoy this film because it's just got so much more in it and the ending is literally one that you don't see coming! (Yes,yes, Tom dies as someone has already said, but it's the way it happens that counts!)
If you like epic films, watch this one. If you like romance, drama, oh and of course blowing big snot bubbles!, watch this! Sit back with a big bar of chocolate girls and enjoy! :o)
No where near as good as the book.......2006-11-17
The film was no where near as good as the book. The novel was fantastic and breathtaking but this film is slow burning and i found myself forwarding through most of it.
Amazon.co.uk Review
For director Robert Redford the trick was directing himself. The Oscar-winning director (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) says that he is one kind of actor (in the moment) and a different kind of director (more controlling). Whatever the problems, Redford has worked it out beautifully in this leisurely paced adaptation of Nicholas Evans's bestseller, The Horse Whisperer. When the prized horse of New York magazine editor's (Kristen Scott Thomas) daughter suffers a horrible accident, she tracks down Tom Booker (Redford), a Montana horse healer who is known for working magic. Soon East Coast brashness meets Old West simplicity as the reluctant Annie takes her even more reluctant daughter (Scarlett Johansson) to Marlboro country. Booker's influence goes beyond the horse through healing the heart of daughter and mother. The 2-hour and 44-minute film is a beautiful travelogue of scene and sky (with a giant assist from Oliver Stone's usual cinematographer, Robert Richardson). Never complicated, the movie's rewards may be hidden in its length and Redford's tendency to introduce us to a way of life instead of focusing on a story. The major deviation from the end of Evans's novel is a welcomed change. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.co.uk Review
Robert Redford's fifth feature as director, and the first self-directed film in which he has starred, The Horse Whisperer features him in a role he could have been born to play, Tom Booker, a gentle, thoughtful Montana rancher with a gift for healing "horses with people problems". When Grace MacLean (12-year-old Scarlett Johansson) suffers a shockingly well-staged riding accident her New York magazine editor mother drives daughter and horse, both carrying physical and emotional trauma, to the Booker farmstead. What unfolds is a 162-minute film in which little happens, yet which is lyrical, deeply moving and richly atmospheric. Inevitably both girl and horse start to heal, while the mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas), who in the early scenes seems disconcertingly to have modelled her performance on Anne--The Weakest Link--Robinson, comes to reassess her life. The adulterous affair of Nicholas Evans' novel is reduced to temptation and treated with much greater maturity than in Scott Thomas' previous English-language film, The English Patient (1996). Indeed, The Horse Whisperer is everything that Oscar winner was hailed as: an intimate sweeping romance in the tradition of David Lean, with superlative cinematography by Robert Richardson and a career-best musical score by Thomas Newman. Thematically echoing Redford's own multi-Oscar winning directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), The Horse Whisperer is one of the finest films of the 1990s.
On the DVD: Shot at 2.35:1 against very similar landscapes to Legends of the Fall (1994), The Horse Whisperer has a real epic visual sweep and the anamorphically enhanced image captures the endless landscapes and ever-changing skies well. However, there is more than expected grain, and some scenes show obvious compression artefacting. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is largely confined to the front three speakers, though creates some wonderfully atmospheric ambiences when called for; Thomas Newman's score is served particularly well in several key scenes. The extras are the American theatrical trailer and a music video for Allison Moorer's New Country ballad "A Soft Place to Fall", both crawling with compression artefacts. Also included are three "featurettes" on the production, Redford, and real-life "horse whisperer" Buck Brannaman, though each runs less than two minutes. The lack of any substantial extras is explained by Redford's comment in his "featurette" that wanting to know about how everything is done ruins the magic of the movies. --Gary S Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
Truly touching.......2008-03-14
This film is remarkable - it is so emotionally engaging that you can't help but fall in love with the film and the character's in it as they embark on their journey of healing and discovery.
The twists and turns that occur throughout the film keep the audience gripped and we are left feeling satisfied if a bit sad at the end of it all as the characters find themselves choosing the path to follow.
I highly recommend this film! A tribute to Redford's directing skills.
evelynmac.......2008-02-01
I watched this film a few years ago and really enjoyed the stunning scenery. The unfolding story of the healing of the horse and the girl who was involved in the accident. The second time I watched this film the thing that really struck me was the healing of the mother, and the horse whisperer himself, I missed that first time round. As a mother myself, and like the mother in the story quite controlling and weighed down with trying to make everything perfect and trying to fix everyone. The part where the horse whisperer rides out with her and gives her some simple but (for me) life changing advice. I love this film and would recommend it.
Deals with life altering changes for the main characters.......2007-12-18
More so than "Horse Whisperer", the movie deals with life altering changes for the four main characters (the mother, the father, the daughter, the horse whisperer) and the horse of course. Even the affair is positive. It helps Tom Booker get over his wife when he puts that record back in it's sleeve, and it helps Annie get off her so called "high horse attitude." It's a movie of changes for the better all around. Enjoyable, real, well done.The scenes interacting with the horse are wonderful. Sitting in that field waiting for the horse to feel comfortable enough to deal with Mr. Booker was an enormous hurdle. The best scene is after two and a half hours when Tom brings the horse down to Grace's level, so that they both rise together. That scene,is to joyfully cry for, and laugh yes.
Nicholas Evans would be proud!.......2007-05-10
Speaking as one who read the book when it first came out in 1995, (and who has since re-read it several times!) I have to give full marks to Robert Redford for taking the time to make such a wonderfully captivating take on a story that I thought wouldn't be done justice to. I COMPLETELY disagree however to the ending and thought it would've been far better left untouched. But as usual, the Hollywood team always seems to want to stir things up and change bits just to annoy us!
This tells the story of a 13 year old girl called Grace, played to perfection by a very young Scarlett Johanson, who is the daughter to her lawyer father, Sam Neill, and her editor mother, again played to perfection by Kristin Scott Thomas. Annie, (Mum) is a very strong willed business woman who doesn't believe in quitting, no matter what the circumstances. She comes across as quite obnoxious and rude at times but as the scenes unfold, you realise that she just doesn't know how to be any other way. Robert, (Dad), is quite the opposite, which being a lawyer is rarely seen! Grace and Robert tend to just go with whatever Annie wants for a quiet life and are closer together than either are with Annie. It's obvious that although there is much love between all three, there are some definite issues surrounding the marriage.
One morning Grace goes out in the snow to meet her friend Judith. They're both keen horseriders and meet up at the stables to prepare the horses, Gulliver and Pilgrim. Whilst out riding, they decide to have a slightly longer ride and go back another route. They have to walk the horses up and over a railway bridge to cross the road below it. As they are walking up the embankment, Gulliver slips back down and Judith falls off leaving her foot caught up in the stirrup. As Grace is trying to gather the two panicked horses together, a 40 tonne truck comes around the corner. Pilgrim sees it and rears up against it trying to protect Grace but she too falls off. The truck swallows up Judith and Gulliver and slams into Pilgrim and Grace. Amazingly, the latter two survive.
What follows is the heart wrenching/warming story of the pair's survival and how their lives affect everyone and everything around them. Annie refuses to have Pilgrim put down, despite the many pleas from her vet, for fear that if Pilgrim dies, something in Grace will die too. She becomes obsessed with finding a way to 'fix' him and comes across some articles about a man called Tom Booker, a 'horse whisperer'. She contacts him but he refuses to have a look at her horse because he's too busy and lives a couple thousand miles away. Annie won't take no for an answer and decides to tell a few white lies and drives Grace and Pilgrim all the way from New York to Montana, leaving Robert at home to work.
Pilgrim is a completely destroyed horse now. His muscles are wasted away from lack of exercise and he's covered in scars. But more terrible than that is his mental state. He's a nervous, untrusting wreck of an animal and he won't let anyone near him. Annie turns up unannounced at the Double Divide, Tom's ranch, and pretty much demands that he come see her horse now that she's dragged him all the way out there. It's dislike at first sight!
Tom goes to see the horse and isn't sure he can do anything with him but agrees to try, for he feels for Grace. The therapy, (if that's what it's called), begins and it's touch and go all the way. As Pilgrim begins to mend, so does Grace and Annie learns that it's okay to let her guard down and relax. Pretty soon she and Tom are obviously sharing some feelings for each other.
This is another thing that got my goat up in the film. In the book they have a full on affair, sleeping with each other and what not, but although it's wrong, it's told tastefully so that you want them to be together. In the film all they do is kiss once! If they want you to believe how much they love each other, surely they can show a bit more to their relationship?
Anyhoo, the story ends happily with Grace finally being able to ride Pilgrim and the horse himself is quite a happy one, once again. Annie and Tom part with many tears and broken hearts to boot. No-one is any the wiser for their feelings for each other and so no-one gets hurt except them.
The visuals are absolutely stunning throughout this film. They are just as I have pictured them when reading the book. The supporting cast are just as great as the leads, with Dianne Weist playing Tom's sister-in-law and Chris Cooper playing his brother. I didn't cry as much during this film as I do when I read the book but it's still very moving just the same. I suggest the book to all of you who enjoy this film because it's just got so much more in it and the ending is literally one that you don't see coming! (Yes,yes, Tom dies as someone has already said, but it's the way it happens that counts!)
If you like epic films, watch this one. If you like romance, drama, oh and of course blowing big snot bubbles!, watch this! Sit back with a big bar of chocolate girls and enjoy! :o)
No where near as good as the book.......2006-11-17
The film was no where near as good as the book. The novel was fantastic and breathtaking but this film is slow burning and i found myself forwarding through most of it.
Amazon.co.uk Review
For director Robert Redford the trick was directing himself. The Oscar-winning director (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) says that he is one kind of actor (in the moment) and a different kind of director (more controlling). Whatever the problems, Redford has worked it out beautifully in this leisurely paced adaptation of Nicholas Evans's bestseller, The Horse Whisperer. When the prized horse of New York magazine editor's (Kristen Scott Thomas) daughter suffers a horrible accident, she tracks down Tom Booker (Redford), a Montana horse healer who is known for working magic. Soon East Coast brashness meets Old West simplicity as the reluctant Annie takes her even more reluctant daughter (Scarlett Johansson) to Marlboro country. Booker's influence goes beyond the horse through healing the heart of daughter and mother. The 2-hour and 44-minute film is a beautiful travelogue of scene and sky (with a giant assist from Oliver Stone's usual cinematographer, Robert Richardson). Never complicated, the movie's rewards may be hidden in its length and Redford's tendency to introduce us to a way of life instead of focusing on a story. The major deviation from the end of Evans's novel is a welcomed change. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.co.uk Review
Robert Redford's fifth feature as director, and the first self-directed film in which he has starred, The Horse Whisperer features him in a role he could have been born to play, Tom Booker, a gentle, thoughtful Montana rancher with a gift for healing "horses with people problems". When Grace MacLean (12-year-old Scarlett Johansson) suffers a shockingly well-staged riding accident her New York magazine editor mother drives daughter and horse, both carrying physical and emotional trauma, to the Booker farmstead. What unfolds is a 162-minute film in which little happens, yet which is lyrical, deeply moving and richly atmospheric. Inevitably both girl and horse start to heal, while the mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas), who in the early scenes seems disconcertingly to have modelled her performance on Anne--The Weakest Link--Robinson, comes to reassess her life. The adulterous affair of Nicholas Evans' novel is reduced to temptation and treated with much greater maturity than in Scott Thomas' previous English-language film, The English Patient (1996). Indeed, The Horse Whisperer is everything that Oscar winner was hailed as: an intimate sweeping romance in the tradition of David Lean, with superlative cinematography by Robert Richardson and a career-best musical score by Thomas Newman. Thematically echoing Redford's own multi-Oscar winning directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), The Horse Whisperer is one of the finest films of the 1990s.
On the DVD: Shot at 2.35:1 against very similar landscapes to Legends of the Fall (1994), The Horse Whisperer has a real epic visual sweep and the anamorphically enhanced image captures the endless landscapes and ever-changing skies well. However, there is more than expected grain, and some scenes show obvious compression artefacting. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is largely confined to the front three speakers, though creates some wonderfully atmospheric ambiences when called for; Thomas Newman's score is served particularly well in several key scenes. The extras are the American theatrical trailer and a music video for Allison Moorer's New Country ballad "A Soft Place to Fall", both crawling with compression artefacts. Also included are three "featurettes" on the production, Redford, and real-life "horse whisperer" Buck Brannaman, though each runs less than two minutes. The lack of any substantial extras is explained by Redford's comment in his "featurette" that wanting to know about how everything is done ruins the magic of the movies. --Gary S Dalkin
UK DVD:
- The L-Word - Season 3 [2006]
- The Magdalene Sisters [2003]
- The Mill On The Floss [1996]
- The Other Boleyn Girl
- The Outsiders [1983] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Sea Inside [2005]
- The Truman Show [Special Collector's Edition]
- The Unit - Series 2 - Complete [2006]
- To Kill A Mockingbird (2 Disc Special Edition)
- Twin Peaks: Complete Season 1 [1990]
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