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Post by Claire on Apr 11, 2011 16:34:37 GMT 1
Hi all, susan suggested we do this one next and I think its a good idea as will be interesting to contrast the 2 different racing films, one based on real life, the other fictional, with each other. The film was based on Enid Bagnold's classic book and was made in 1944, starring a young Elizabeth Taylor. More on the film below: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Velvet_%28film%29The film used to be on Youtube but has sadly been removed, but it should be fairly easy to find. If you can't get hold of a copy and want to join in post here and hopefully some kind soul will help out Discussion in approx 2 weeks.
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Post by darkhorse on Apr 14, 2011 14:35:02 GMT 1
Excellent! This is one I already have and I can watch it with my girls. I don't think they have seen it before.
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Post by Claire on Apr 15, 2011 20:16:50 GMT 1
If anyone can't get hold of a copy of the film please let me know.
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Post by darkhorse on Apr 23, 2011 12:38:31 GMT 1
Has anyone else watched the film. We watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Need a poll Claire!
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Post by Claire on Apr 23, 2011 19:00:54 GMT 1
Have added poll.
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Post by darkhorse on Apr 27, 2011 14:56:44 GMT 1
Thanks
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Post by Claire on May 2, 2011 11:59:02 GMT 1
I love this film annd tbh its probably quite hard to give an unbiased view as I grew up on films like this and watching them brings a nice rosy glow of nostalgia for a nicer more simpler time (crikey I sound ancient!) One of the best horse films ever as it is one of the few to show the depth of love a girl can feel for a horse. Ok, its not realistic, but thats probably a good thing. The belated sequel International Velvet was much more realistic but did not capture the success of this film. National Velvet is a fairy tale about horses. Altho it doesnt follow the book entirely it certainly gets the flavour right, with the eccentricities of the family, and their interplay, captured very well. My favourite bits watching as an adult are the interaction between the mother and father, love these two characters, especially the mother. Nice to have such a strong female character. Mickey Rooney is also excellent as Mi. I wonder where it was filmed? As a kid I knew instinctively it was in America (looks nothing like Sussex which is where its supposed to be set!) which confused me as they went to London and Aintree by train/road! Now I know its a Hollywood recreation of England.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2011 14:28:31 GMT 1
I've voted good although I haven't watched it since I was little but I remember enjoying it then and saw it several times.
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Post by Claire on May 2, 2011 18:38:36 GMT 1
Wide range of opinion on the film so far vis-a-vis the poll!
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Post by shadowhawke on May 7, 2011 4:46:39 GMT 1
I finally saw this one and it was ok...... Of course I wasn't impressed with the book either.
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Post by Claire on May 7, 2011 10:53:23 GMT 1
I think the book is one of the best pony stories ever written!!! Mind you I suspect its not to everyone's taste.
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Post by haffyfan on May 7, 2011 13:17:56 GMT 1
I finally saw this one and it was ok...... Of course I wasn't impressed with the book either. yay ;D not just me then! I can't actually think of anything constructive to say about it hence bar voting I have thus far kept quiet.
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Post by jinglerebel on May 10, 2011 2:57:38 GMT 1
I wonder where it was filmed? Probably California as Monty Roberts says that he "was Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet" in The Man who Listens to Horses - he was a child stunt double back in the day. Haven't seen it for a long time but find it spooky when Mickey Rooney is telling ET's little brother the story about a horse that gets shipwrecked, rescued, then wins a big race - and Mickey ends up in The Black Stallion movie decades later!
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Post by susanb on May 10, 2011 15:29:58 GMT 1
I loved it, in spite of loving the book too, which is quite different!
The only bit that I found jarring, which really didn't work (and wasn't in the book) was the subplot about Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney) being on the take and reforming because of the love of a good family (sick bucket, please).
Outside of that, and in spite of the fact that they cast a chestnut to play a piebald and Elizabeth Taylor to play the plain girl in a family of beauties, I thought they did well. They definitely caught the love of the girl for her horse and her ability to dream big for him. I loved the quiet dignity of Anne Revere as Velvet's mother Araminty and the cheeky sauciness of Angela Lansbury as the eldest sister Edwina.
When Enid Bagnold wrote the book, she said that it was her attempt to explore the effect of sudden fame/notority upon a very innocent person. In the movie, the first exposure is her winning The Pie in the lottery, in the book she also becomes an heiress, inheriting a stablefull of horses and ponies, when a neighbor commits suicide. There is also an echo of Velvet's fame in exploring Mrs. Brown's channel swim, which is present in both book and movie.
What does everyone think? Did the movie manage to capture that innocence in the spotlights glare that Bagnold was going for in her book?
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Post by Claire on May 10, 2011 23:27:12 GMT 1
I've decided to re-read the book actually to see what the differences are (not a hardship!) so I'll comment more when I've finished it. I agree that they did change Mi's character a lot and they missed out a sister!
I am really surprised that there is such a wide range of voting on this one as I thought everyone would like it.
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Post by susanb on May 11, 2011 0:08:50 GMT 1
I know....I'm surprised too, but then I'm SHOCKED when I see people pass the book over in top 10 polls and the like....I consider it one of the best children's books, period.
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Post by Claire on May 11, 2011 0:25:42 GMT 1
I know....I'm surprised too, but then I'm SHOCKED when I see people pass the book over in top 10 polls and the like....I consider it one of the best children's books, period. I wonder if its because the book really transcends the pony book genre, in its exploration of wider issues, such as those you were talking about earlier. I think some readers have a fairly fixed idea of what a pony book should be like and this doesnt quite fit in.
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Post by darenc1 on Mar 6, 2012 11:07:14 GMT 1
I'm a bit late to the party with this one as well, so I hope you don't mind me contributing!! I hadn't seen the film for ages since a "friend" borrowed my copy of the DVD.... and it was never seen again! However, another friend gave me a copy for Christmas last year, and I had the chance to watch it again recently. I'll be honest, I wasn't massively keen on it the first couple of times I watched it. HOWEVER, it has grown on me considerably since! It's got the right kind of fairytale feel to it - a young girl winning a horse in a raffle and then riding him to victory in the National - all helped a brilliantly innocent lead actress and a good supporting cast. The racing scenes are very good, and come close to some of the more modern stuff in capturing the excitement and thrill of the sport. Realistic? No, of course not, but it isn't meant to be. Entertaining? Certainly is. It's not hard to see why this is regarded as a bit of a classic by some. I'm still plodding through the book (quite slowly!) and while it's a good read, I can't help but think that sometimes the narrative is a bit slow in places. Someone mentioned International Velvet. I can't help but think that's possibly one of the worst horse films I've seen, not helped by the fact that The Pie changes from being a bay gelding to a black stallion between films!!
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