Black Beauty (1994)

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Movie
German title Black Beauty
Original title Black Beauty
Country of production USA , UK
original language English
Publishing year 1994
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK o.A.
Rod
Director Caroline Thompson
script Caroline Thompson
production Peter MacGregor-Scott , Robert Shapiro
music Danny Elfman
camera Alex Thomson
cut Claire Simpson
occupation

Black Beauty is an adventure film by director Caroline Thompson from 1994 and the fifth adaptation of the only novel by the British writer Anna Sewell , who wanted to draw attention to the sad fate of the workhorses with her book . The film was shot between August and October 1993 in Buckinghamshire and Pinewood Studios in London . The main role was played by the horse Docs Keepin Time .

action

The story is told in first person by Black Beauty, a black stallion with a white star on his forehead. The film begins with Black Beauty's birth in the stable of farmers Gray and ends with the charity at Joe Green, a former stable boy Black Beauty and the other horses in the landowner family supervised Gordon.

After a carefree youth by the side of its mother, the animal comes to pasture with a group of other foals at the age of three and at the age of four, with a lot of patience and oats on the part of the farmer, it is used to the bite bar, saddle and halter . The young horse finds it difficult to come to terms with the training to be a riding horse, but in the end he even likes this becoming one with Gray as a rider.

Eventually Gray sells the young horse to Squire Gordon (Peter Davison), who lives on a large estate with his family, wife and three children. The sickly lady of the house, Mrs. Gordon (Rosalind Ayres) names the horse Black Beauty. He receives a stable box between the haughty red mare Ginger, for whom he immediately feels affection, and the children's pony , Merrylegs. At first Ginger snaps at him all the time, but later largely ignores him.

The two horses Ginger and beauty only become friends with each other, as beauty, also known as carriage horse (sometimes together with Ginger) is used after a stormy night ride home with the coach in the rain is very ill. Squire was out with equerry John, and in torrential rain a bridge had been flooded; the horse sensed that it was rotten and refused to go on. When John tries to pull the animal over by the reins , he slips, the railing breaks and he falls into the water. Mr. Gordon pulls him out of the floods with the help of Black Beautys. At home, dripping wet John gives his nephew, stable boy Joe Green, the job of looking after the horse. He gives the heated and thirsty horse in its ignorance cold water to drink instead of rubbing it dry first. The animal is only slowly getting back to health, lovingly cared for by Joe, who visits it every day when Beauty spends a long time in the paddock to relax .

The Gordon couple take the carriage, in which Ginger and Black Beauty are harnessed, to a doctor's specialist who lives far away. John and Joe are with and due to the distance they stay away overnight and the animals are housed in a strange stable. A fire breaks out due to the carelessly scattered glossy pipe tobacco. Joe saves Beauty first, then Ginger, from the flames at the last second. Black Beauty has to be blindfolded so that he can be led out because he doesn't want to leave his girlfriend Ginger alone.

He can prove that Black Beauty is descended from racehorses when his mistress suddenly becomes very ill and the doctor has to be called in as soon as possible. Black Beauty is saddled and gallops like the wind and goes back to his feet. The doctor can help just in time, but Mrs. Gordon remains ill and so the family has to leave England and move to an area with a milder climate.

All horses are sold, Merrylegs is fetched from the vicar . Black Beauty and Ginger join an extremely rich and distinguished family, Lord and Lady Wexmire. Horses are not treated so well here, however, their heads have to be tied high according to the latest fashion of the 19th century, which causes them great pain in their front legs, neck and back. Her reins are tightened by the driver of the carriage, Mr. York, on the orders of the lady. The freedom-loving Ginger in particular suffers extremely from it, so that one day she goes crazy, just lashes out and is never used as a carriage horse again, because the lady never wants to have anything to do with Ginger again. Reuben takes care of the two injured horses, Black Beauty has a deep leg wound.

The stable master Reuben Smith treats all horses as well and gently as possible. One day, however, he is on the road with Black Beauty in an open car, which, according to the lady, would need a new coat of paint and hires Beauty in a strange stable during the day and then rides back on him later. Only in the middle of the night does he fetch the horse and ignore the warning from the strange stable boy that a horse shoe has loosened and that this should be judged. In his alcohol-fogged state he also has the greatest trouble getting on the horse - inadvertently he even gets on the wrong way.

In the darkness he drives the horse in a hurry through the night-black forest. The stallion is confused about the unusual brutality and severity that he is not used to from him. When the animal loses the loose horseshoe, it stumbles, falls and its rider falls to the ground. Beauty stays with him until they are found the next day.

The horse is injured in the leg and after it no longer regains its former beauty after healing, it is sold on by the snobbish lady.

Ginger had meanwhile been ridden untrained in a race by Lord George, son of the house. To the delight of his mother, he had won, but in the process put the mare to shame and, according to Lord Wexham, she should go out to pasture for a year to relax.

After all, Black Beauty works as a rental horse and serves as a riding and also a carriage horse. Finally he ends up at the horse market, briefly sees Joe, who is now grown up, who seems to hear him, but does not see the animal.

Black Beauty himself ends up in London with Jerry Barker's family and works as a cab horse. It is hard work for Black Jack, as it is now called, to pull the heavy cab and its passengers across the cobbled streets of London every day . But otherwise he feels comfortable with the family of four, who have a great affection for animals and treat him very lovingly. When Ms. Barker's (Emma Richler) friend Dinah wants to visit her terminally ill mother, Jerry sacrifices his day off to take her to the country with Beauty. Lord and horse enjoy the day in the great outdoors and the horse finally has free space again.

One day he sees Ginger, who is now also working as a cab horse and doesn't even recognize him anymore. It is only skin and bones and shortly afterwards it comes to the skinner .

Jerry's called to a house at 9 p.m. in the middle of winter to pick up people from a company. A heavy cough torments him and when it is now past midnight, he knocks and is approached by the person opening the door, saying that the company is about to end. But he has to wait a long time and is then verbally dismissed by the two drunk and unpleasant men. Barker developed a serious lung disease and was never allowed to drive a cab again. When the Barkers move away from London and into the country at Dinah's mediation, it's time again that Black Beauty changes hands.

He comes to a grain dealer, where he works as a cargo horse for two years and is treated very badly until one day he can no longer manage the physical exertion and ends up at the horse market again.

This time it is discovered and bought here by Joe Green. At first, however, he is not recognized by him at all, so emaciated and worn out as he is now, but Green finally recognizes him by neighing after he had already turned away to leave. At Joe's, the horse recovers and enjoys its well-deserved charity.

Others

That it is actually a female foal can be clearly seen when the animal lifts its tail. It is also common to see that the supposed mare Ginger is played by a gelding.

Awards and nominations

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