POV Shot - Secretariat & The Black Stallion.. the winner is...(updated Nov 2016)

NOV 2011 UPDATE, a few new pics plus some video embedded....
NOV 2016 UPDATE, links to articles about equine star and behind the scenes

THIS POST UPDATED OCT 2011: Welcome world... Two of my all-time favorite horses are Secretariat and theBlack Stallion. Obviously, I'm not alone.... as searches for Big Red and the Black have helped bring 24,000 page views and 80 countries to "Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books." For more horse posts here on the blog, please also check out my "Horse Show" posts; you'll find them every year in Sept. for the annual charity horse show near us. You might also enjoy the Sept 21 2011 post on pony artist Norman Thelwell. For more on this blog and our bookstore, see the post "Your Guide to Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books." I update the "Guide" post frequently; you'll find it on the home page for the blog.

Why so many horse posts on a blog for Stuart Ng Books? We sell art books to artists... and there's a long partnership between art & horses. From cave paintings to modern works as well as our niche of illustration, animation & comic art; the horse has been an inspiration and a challenge for artists. I'm always encouraging our artist patrons to visit the horse events here in the south bay to do sketches and life drawings. The wonderful images in "The Black Stallion" film are terrific reference for artists.... and the movie is one I recommend to film buffs as well as horse fans. Enjoy!

THIS POST UPDATED 11/1/10. No dark horse upset here.... Big thumbs up from me on (Oct 2010 Disney Film) "Secretariat." Made me want to rush home and re-read lots of my books about him. I didn't see "Blind Side" but this film feels tailored for the same audience. I appreciated Diane Lane... and how the film gave insight into Secretariat's groom Eddie Sweat and jockey Ron Turcotte.

Still... in a way I'm happy to report... to me, the best horse film ever is 1979's "The Black Stallion". Here's the Breyer model horse for "the Black", along with film program book and photo "picture book" from the film:

From the program:

see the "wild" black creature here in the harness, tamed by the boy.... is it just me... or is there an homage to this sequence in "The Black Stallion" in one of my current favorite films.. "How to train your dragon".....

More stills, here from the "picture book"...

A review by one of my favorite writers!

End papers from the "picture book" with moments from the famous 20 minutes in the film where it's just the boy and the horse on the island... no dialogue.. all images

For more on the film, here are links with insightful review and commentary on the film from TCM:

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=59910&mainArticleId=339775

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/962202%7C0/Behind-the-Camera-The-Black-Stallion.html

2015 article:
"11 Things you Never Knew about the Making of the Black Stallion:
http://www.horsecollaborative.com/11-things-you-never-knew-about-the-making-of-the-black-stallion/

And these gems from You Tube:

Tribute to real life horse Cass Ole, who played "the Black" (yes, he had white socks & a star; his markings were covered up for the movie)...

Here's You Tube clip w/ footage of Cass Ole..... Click arrow to watch video...

Below is clip of match race scene from the end of the movie.... watch for the moments at 4:40, 6:33, and 7:52:

As unmatched as the race footage is in above clip... this sequence doesn't include the best part of the movie.... the 20 mins. on the island! Let me tell you... "The Black Stallion" in the theaters when it came out was something amazing. It holds up fine on DVD.... but on the big screen, with these images, breathtaking sound and mythic, lush score... it comes the closest ever to capturing the magic that happens when you are actually riding a horse. Great work by everyone on this film... especially DP Caleb Deschanel (dad of Zooey) and score by Carmine Coppola (Dad of FFC and granddad of Sophia).

HERE ARE YOU TUBE CLIPS FEATURING BLACK STALLION SOUNDTRACK:

Below are some pics from the island sequence...

You Tube has many clips with real-life horses that trace back to Cass Ole... Here very charming interview with all-grown-up Kelly Reno recalling his experiences making the movie. He's interviewed with Tim Farley, current author of the Black Stallion series, and son of the original Black Stallion author, Walter Farley. The footage isn't edited, so you get all the pauses and asides, but that adds to the very natural and relaxed tone of the clip...

Let's not forget that "The Black Stallion" started as a book... and is still a successful series. Author Walter Farley was in his late teens when he started "The Black Stallion" and it was published when he was only 26 years old! Here's a link to the author's bio on the official Black Stallion website:
http://theblackstallion.com/web/?page_id=21