Morpurgo's 1982 novel War Horse, which was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward publishers, was a runner-up for the Whitbread Book Award in the same year. In 2009, DreamWorks Studios bought the film rights to the book and one year later, Steven Spielberg was on board as its director. The movie version, set to be released Jan. 13, 2012, tells the story of one boy and his unforgettable relationship with a horse. If the recently released trailer of the film is anything to go by, horse lovers are in for a treat.
Have the Kleenex handy, War Horse will be a tear jerker
The remarkable friendship between horse "Joey," the colt with a white cross emblazoned on his forehead and "Albert" the English boy who trained him, is a "tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War," says Warhorsemovie.co.uk. At the outbreak of the World War I, much to Albert's dismay, Joey is sold, recruited into the cavalry and shipped off to France.
Joey's journey, which is told through the horse's eyes, catalogs the war and shares his experiences as his rider is killed and he's forced to face enemy fire, death and disease. Albert, the boy who cannot forget him but whose youth won't allow him to enlist, sets out on a mission of his own, to bring Joey home. The story, writes DreamWorks, reaches it end in "an emotional climax in the heart of No Man's Land."
War Horse play comes to Broadway as well
Morpurgo's novel had also been adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford and opened on Oct. 17, 2007 at the National Theatre in London to much critical acclaim. Using life-sized horse puppets, the play has netted three awards since opening, the Olivier Award, the Evening Standard Theatre Award and London Critics' Circle Theatre Award. Last year, it was announced that the play would be moving to Broadway and will open in 2012.
Cast in the lead role for the movie War Horse is 20-year-old Jeremy Irvine, a newcomer to the movie industry, having featured only on the stage. Spielberg is said to have described Irvine as both "natural and authentic." Rumors are already abound that the movie could be a major contender for next year’s best film Academy Award and has firmly jettisoned Irvine into the limelight, not bad for young lad from a small town in Bedfordshire.
Filmed at Dartmoor National Park
Thirteen different horses were used in the role of Joey forcing Irvine to get used to them all. Not an easy feat considering his confession to the Daily Mail that he did not like horses. But after a 2-month intensive horse training course, Irvine it is said, became a natural. His new role will certainly boost the young actor's career and of course, it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes either.
War Horse was filmed on location Dartmoor National Park in Devon. The war scenes, which were shot at the Duke of Wellington’s estate, involved adapting the estate to resemble a WWI battlefield with trenches and a No Man’s Land, reportedly the scene of the movie's tear jerking climax. The film's planned release in cinemas is January 13, 2012. Watch the trailer at War Horse Movie.co.uk, oh and buy some Kleenex, you know you're going to need it.
Sources:
- War Horse. 2012. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Prod. Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. Perf. Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Mullan and Tom Hiddleston. Studio. DreamWorks. Distributed by Touchstone Pictures. Release date: Jan. 13, 2012
- Morpurgo, Michael. War Horse. Scholastic Press. Reprint edition (September 1, 2010); 176 pages; ISBN-10: 0439796644; ISBN-13: 978-0439796644
Elizabeth Batt - Elizabeth Batt is a former large animal nurse, certified NREMT, lover of equines and conservationist.
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