Hiroshi Hoketsu
Author: Tim Farley
“The Black Stallion” at the New York Film Festival
NYFF17: Family Matinee of “The Black Stallion”
Posted by Jeffrey Bloomer on 2.17.2012
The quintessential tale of a boy and his horse, The Black Stallion screens Saturday at 11am in a special 50 Years of the New York Film Festival family matinee at the Walter Reade Theater.
Although now widely regarded as a classic, The Black Stallion came to NYFF in 1979 with an uncertain future; United Artists, its distributor, didn’t show much interest in it. But after it screened at the festival, positive notices started to roll in, and it went on to a leggy box office run and two Academy Award nominations (though, puzzlingly, not one for its spectacular cinematography). Roger Ebert named the film the best of 1980, and Pauline Kael wrote it was “proof that even children who have grown up with television and may never have been exposed to a good movie can respond to the real thing when they see it.”
Based on the first of a long series of books by Walter Farley, the film picturesquely chronicles the relationship between a boy and his iconic stallion, initially after they are shipwrecked on an island together and eventually on the racetrack. The simple story resonated profoundly enough to inspire a sequel, prequel, television adaptation and myriad imitators in the years that followed.
Come see a magnificent 35mm print this weekend, with tickets just $6 for kids (children 4-12 should be occupied by an adult). And don’t forget to check out our ongoing Family Films series, with daily screenings throughout the February school break and more titles coming soon.
Below is a full list of all the films that played alongside The Black Stallion at the NYFF in 1979:
Luna
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy/USA, 1979
The Golden Coach
Jean Renoir, Italy/ France, 1953
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
Chuck Jones, USA, 1979
Black Jack
Ken Loach, UK, 1979
WIse Blood
John Houston, USA, 1979
Short Memory (La Memoire Courte)
Eduardo de Gregorio, France/Belgium, 1979
Angi Vera
Pál Gabor, Hungary, 1979
Nosferatu, The Vampyre
Werner Herzog, West Germany/USA, 1978
Mad Wednesday
Preston Sturges, USA, 1950
Scarface
Howard Hawks, USA, 1932
The Europeans
James Ivory, UK, 1979
Molière
Ariane Mnouchkine, France, 1978
Best Boy
Ira Wohl, USA, 1979
Other People’s Money (L’argent des autres)
Christian de Chalonge, France, 1978
Alexandria… Why? (Askandrie…Lie?)
Youssef Chahine, Egypt/Algeria, 1978
My Brilliant Career
Gill Armstrong, Australia, 1979
Primal Fear (Mourir à tue-tête)
Jan-Marie Martell Canada, 1978
In a Year of 13 Moons (In einem jahr mit 13 monden)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany, 1979
Without Anesthesia
Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1978
The Wobblies
Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, USA, 1979
The Young Girls of Wilko (Panny z Wilka)
Andrzej Wajda, Poland/France, 1979
Peeping Tom
Michael Powell, UK, 1959
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Rauber Wrber Fassvubder, West Germany, 1978
SPECIAL EVENT: AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS
Film shown were: The Cold World, Shirley Clarke; Heartland, Richard Pearce; Trash, Paul Morissey; Ice, Robert Kramer; Glen and Randa, Jim McBride; Alambrista (The Illegal), Robert M.Young; Badlands, Terence Malick; Gal Yung Un, Victor Nuñez; Killer’s Kiss & The Brig, Stanley Kubrick; Bush Mania, Haile Gerima; Crazy Quilt, John Korty; Northern Lights, Jon Hanson and Rob Nilsson; Sweet Sweetbck’s Badasssss Song, Melvin Van Peebles; Scenic Route, Mark Rappaport.
Beautiful items at; Black Stallion Ranch Trading Post!
We’ve decided to make some changes to the look and feel of the site – adding some new straw in the stall, that’s all. All the info about my Dad’s books and movies will still be here but we’re dropping some of the old entries on the forum and updating the store.
“Black Stallion Gift Shop” is now BLACK STALLION RANCH TRADING POST!!
Since the last book my father wrote was “Black Stallion Legend” which is set in the southwest where he was living with the Hopi Indians, and this is where Pam and I live on Black Stallion Ranch, it is only fitting that we show you some of the beautiful jewelry and other interesting things that you can find at the Trading Post. We will be adding new items every week, sometimes every day, so make sure you check back often. We try to have a broad price range from the littlest cowgirl to that ultra fantastic gift idea for that extra special someone. If your looking for something unique, and don’t see anything you like, be sure to write as there are always more things than we can list.
Please! Take a look and let us know what you think!
Thanks for Reading … and Writing!
your ol’ friend – tim
FREE BOOKS!!!!!
On Horsemanship – by Xenophon
The Arabian Art of Taming and Training Wild and Vicious Horses
Thought you’d like to read these free ebooks on your kindle or phone or other device. Some classics that can help with horses – and people, too! Ever notice how good horse trainers are usually good people people? Not always, some just can’t relate to humans, but the great ones I’ve known seem to have an unspoken sense of balance and strength that puts all animals, people included, at ease.
When you have a minute check these books out – something to read on the bus and you might find some tips from words a couple thousand years old. Everything changes – and stays the same, especially people and horses!!!
thanks for reading …and writing!
tim
Horse Tales and Florida Literacy Week
Horse Tales Literacy Project had a big week! Lots of excitement and fun for everyone (even for the mounted police)!
Here is the article in the local news – Orlando Sentinel;
Many youngsters, particularly boys, who struggle to read find that much of the reading material available is not interesting to them.
Organizers of “Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!” a statewide reading initiative that runs from Jan. 23 to 27, are trying to keep that divide in mind. A kickoff event held at Sadler Elementary in Orange County earlier this month involved a visit by a race car themed with this year’s “Take the Lead and Read” motif.
And on Tuesday, the Arabian Nights Dinner Theater in Kissimmee will be hosting first-graders from Ivey Lane Elementary School in Orange County to meet the Black Stallion. (They’ll also get to see the ”Take the Lead and Read” race car).
As part of the Horse Tales Literacy Project, students got to meet a horse at their school before they started to read a book about horses. According to Lindsey Von Broembsen with Horse Tales Literacy, a nonprofit that uses horses to encourage reading, the Ivey Lane students have read “Little Black, A Pony” by Walter Farley.
The Arabian Nights visit will precede their introduction to a second book, the sequel, “Little Black Goes to the Circus.”
The students will get to learn about horse care at the Arabian Nights event. They will meet four horses to learn about horseshoes, feed/hay, grooming and tack (saddles and bridles). The students also have the opportunity to read to a horse at each station.
“Letting them see them as real horses connects them to what they are reading and motivates them to read,” Von Broembsen said.
One of my favorite books about literacy, “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys” by Michael Smith, makes the point that students, particularly boys and struggling readers, will make the effort to read if they connect with a book. Initiatives like this are perfectly aligned to get youngsters interested in reading.
Thanks for reading … and writing!
Tim Farley