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Post by Claire on May 10, 2012 13:49:50 GMT 1
Hi all, started a new thread for this as it was getting caught up in the War Horse thread. This is the film adaptation (loose) of Elyne Mitchell's book. It is known by 2 different names - The Silver Brumby & The Silver Stallion & stars a young Russell Crowe. I can lend anyone a copy of the film if they can't track one down. Possible discussion points that have been raised already: is Thowra a mare in the film?!! ;D Also is the colour right or soooo wrong...?
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Post by darkhorse on May 10, 2012 20:32:52 GMT 1
Thanks for offering to lend me the film Claire
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Post by kunuma on May 10, 2012 20:34:07 GMT 1
I think I have to call it the Silver Stallion, it really wasn't anything to do with the Silver Brumbies as far as I felt about it. It was very carefully done from the point of view of animal welfare of course, to the level where instead of cringeing at the fight scenes between stallions, you had to use a great deal of imagination to turn the combatants into stallions!! I've seen worse 'fights' between my own horses! Also a bit tricky when one of the 'stallions' at least is plainly a mare! I'm sorry but I didn't like the whole mother telling daughter a story aspect, and felt guilty about that as it was of course how the whole thing started, but it didn't help me to get into the story - in fact it kept pulling me out of the story! Probably the biggest problem though is that I never like the films of books that I love as I have such a vivid picture in my mind of them already and it is never the same!
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Post by Claire on May 13, 2012 14:19:08 GMT 1
It wasn't really a film of the book, just loosely based around it. I think if you look at it as a horse film on its own its pretty good. I'll have to watch film again before I can comment more as its a while since I saw it.
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Post by Claire on May 13, 2012 14:19:40 GMT 1
BTW kunuma you haven't voted
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Post by kunuma on May 13, 2012 19:26:42 GMT 1
BTW kunuma you haven't voted Mmm, I know, I'm dithering, apropos what you just said about it not being a film of the book, if I think of it as just a horsy film I would score it much higher than if I think of it as the Silver Brumby film - think I should look at it that way - if you see what I mean!
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Post by Claire on May 13, 2012 22:51:42 GMT 1
Yes I would just think of it as a horsy film per se. After all I don't think it was ever meant to be a faithful adaptation of the book. Also not everyone who watches a film may have seen the book its adapted from so its prob fairer to give it a rating on film alone. Anyway thats my opinion for what its worth
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vera
Pony Clubber
Posts: 247
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Post by vera on May 14, 2012 9:03:31 GMT 1
First, the colour; the "silver" referred to the manes, Elyne Mitchell describing a palomino foal and how the moonlight made the mane shine silver. She was very happy with the film by the way. Second, the horse used for Thowra is a mare; she also played Bel Bel. The horse trainer said she was the best for the job required. This info comes from the "extra" features on the dvd. Now, the music is hauntingly beautiful and fits in so well with the dream of horses that threads through the film. I have wondered how non horselovers would view the film and was watching it with one who sat entranced and burst into tears at the end. At first I was annoyed by the whole story in a story but after several watchings, I got to appreciate those bits too. Altogether it is a beautiful film!
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Post by kunuma on May 14, 2012 21:15:14 GMT 1
Well I suppose Lassie was always a boy so anything goes in the film world, but a stallion is special - I'm going to sound like a male chauvanistic pig here, but no way can a mare play a stallion! That did throw me completely - but then I am a total stallion fan, I'd rather ride a stally than a mare or gelding any day.
Explains the weird markings on her face, they had obviously painted them on to try and make her look different than the first time we see her as Bel Bel.
I've voted very good, going entirely on the film on it's own merits and forgetting the whole Silver brumby connection.
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Post by Claire on May 14, 2012 22:50:51 GMT 1
I haven't watched if for ages so I might have thought that at the time but cannot remember. I didnt know it was the same mare who played Bel Bel tho (dont think theres any extras on my DVD) I sort of agree with the stallion thing. The whole character of Thowra comes from the fact he is a stallion. And they do have a certain presence that mares don't have. Surely they could have found a boy horse to play him? After all people wouldn't have liked it if it had been a woman dressed as a man instead of Russell Crowe ;D But I suppose the majority of people wouldn't notice or care.
In riding I like mares and geldings equally, don't know if I've ever ridden a stally come to think of it.
Anyway must watch film again before I can comment more!
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Post by kunuma on May 16, 2012 20:54:22 GMT 1
" I actually wrote to Elyne Mitchell in 1982 about this and she wrote a lovely letter back to me - I was 22 and had read the series about ten times since my later primary school years so was a dedicated fan ........ I just wanted to tell her how much pleasure her books had brought me and to ask about the colour of the silver brumbies. They were what we used to call 'creamy' - the very pale palomino with silver mane and tail and lots of irridescence - almost white in winter so they really were 'horses of the snow' that could be lost in forests of white barked trees. NOT the sort of palomino that Pally judges would call perfect coat coloured - FAR too pale, but quite a popular colour with stockmen who still call the pale palominos 'creamies'."
Found this on the net, I think I could go along with the pale, creamy palomino idea, would explain why they say that Wanga and Jilla were creamies too but with dark points, which would not be possible if they had dark gold bodies as opposed to almost white. #They should have done Silver Brumby's daughter, I could have gone along with the mare as my namesake!
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Post by darkhorse on Jun 13, 2012 21:02:02 GMT 1
Coming late to the discussion, sorry!
That is very interesting about the colour kunuma. You will have to be our expert on silver brumby colour as you got it fron the horse's mouth (pardon the pun!)
I enjoyed the film, but like you kunuma I thought Thowra was too golden. I didn't find him being a mare diminished the action in any way however. I actually enjoyed the bits with the mother and daughter. I thought it gave us an insight into how much Elyne knew about the bush and how she began writing the Silver Brumby stories. I was expecting it to follow the book more closely and so was slightly disappointed that there was less horse interaction than I expected. I know Russell Crowe was easy on the eye but I felt there were too much bits with his character in it.
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Post by Claire on Jun 14, 2012 19:59:11 GMT 1
Just reminded me I haven't added my comments. I did watch it again. Visually the film is stunning and I like the atmosphere of it. But I would have rather had a more faithful adaptation of the book than this which is just very loosely based on it. I think it may have worked as an animated film (yes I know there was an animated TV show but that was pretty awful) after all they made a decent effort at an animated horse film with Spirit Stallion of the whatsit. (And the animated Spirit was a more impressive stallion than the mare in this!)
However if you look at the film away from the book it is very well done and defo one of the better efforts at a horsy film. I suspect they added the Elyne Mitchell parts and padded out the people bits to make it more appealing to a general non-horse mad audience. I find this in a lot of horsy films, almost as if they are afraid to make it too horsy. Which is odd as they don't seem to feel that way so much about films about other animals. And the success of War Horse does show that the film watching public can tolerate equines quite well!
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Post by Angela on Dec 3, 2013 6:25:37 GMT 1
I love this movie - has two of my favorite things: horses & Australia !!! I'm unfortunately having to sell on Ebay my Silver Brumby/Silver Stallion movie & the rare CD soundtrack with it (hopefully to good home!). The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears. ~Arabian Proverb Live & Love Free to all - Angela/Alora
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