--- title: "The Black Stallion" year: 1979 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion" fi1m_id: "the-black-stallion" imdb_id: "tt0078872" tmdb_id: 17264 wikidata_id: "Q2300266" fi1m_score: 87 critics_score: 90 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-10-07T04:28:40.594812+00:00" updated: "2026-10-07T04:28:53.250543+00:00" region: "SE" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Black Stallion (1979) Directed by Carroll Ballard · 1h 58m · Family, Adventure, Sport ## Identity The Black Stallion - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-black-stallion - **IMDb ID:** tt0078872 - **TMDB ID:** 17264 - **Wikidata ID:** Q2300266 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078872/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/17264, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2300266 **Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 90 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* A boy and a horse on an island, and the film knows better than to let anyone talk > Carroll Ballard’s film of Walter Farley’s novel is two films: a boy and a wild horse alone on an island, which is as fine a stretch of wordless cinema as we know, and a racing picture with Mickey Rooney, which is good and ordinary. ## Synopsis Off the coast of North Africa in 1946, Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is sailing home by steamer with his father (Hoyt Axton), a card player who wins a small statue of Bucephalus at the table and gives it to his son with the story of Alexander’s horse. In the hold is a wild black Arab stallion (Cass-Olé), roped and hooded, which Alec feeds sugar through the boards while its handlers beat it. One night, in a storm, fire breaks out below decks and the ship goes down. Alec is dragged through the water by the horse and wakes on an empty island with the statue, a pocketknife and the animal that saved him. There is nobody to talk to, so the two of them have to work out how to live side by side. ## Review Children’s films are usually frightened of silence. *The Black Stallion*, which Carroll Ballard directed from Walter Farley’s novel, with a screenplay credited to Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, William D. Wittliff and Walter Murch, is built around a stretch of close to forty minutes in which nobody says a word, because there is nobody to say it to. A boy and a horse are washed up on an island. The film watches them. That is the whole of its first half, and it is the best thing in it. It begins on a steamer in 1946, and the shipwreck that gets Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) and the horse (Cass-Olé) to the island is the one place the film means to scare you. Caleb Deschanel shoots the deck tilting in the rain by firelight, the horse plunging into black water with its ropes still on, and the boy going in after it. We were frightened, and we were frightened under a U certificate, which says something about how little the film needs to show. Robert Dalva cuts the sequence fast and dark, and then, when the water closes over, stops cutting almost entirely. The island is where Deschanel earns his reputation. He shoots the boy and the horse from a long way off, small on the sand, and lets a take run until the horse decides to move. He puts the camera under the water and films their legs, four black and two pale, walking through the same green light. The horse gets its rope caught in the rocks and Alec cuts it free with his knife; days later he comes down the beach holding out seaweed, and the horse, after a long time, takes it. We were moved more than seemed reasonable by a horse eating seaweed from a child’s hand, and the reason is that Ballard has made us wait for it. The ride along the surf line that follows, the boy sliding off and climbing back on and the water throwing itself at both of them, is the image people remember, and they are right to. Carmine Coppola scores the island with flute and drum and not much else, and the rest is wind, surf and the horse breathing. Kelly Reno is not acting in the usual sense. He is a boy who can ride, and Ballard films him doing things, lighting a fire, failing to catch a fish, getting kicked, rather than performing them, which is why none of it looks like a performance. Then the boy is rescued and the film changes. He goes home to his mother (Teri Garr), the horse bolts from the back garden, and Alec tracks it to a run-down farm owned by Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney), a retired trainer with a stopwatch and a reason to use it again. Clarence Muse plays Snoe, the old horseman who sees what the animal is before anyone else does. Rooney is quiet and good; he plays Henry as a man who has stopped expecting anything and is annoyed to find himself hoping. The training at night, the two of them on a muddy track in the dark with a lantern on a post, is the second half’s best passage. But it is a horse-racing picture now, and a familiar one. A reporter called Neville (Michael Higgins) turns up to make the plot move, the mother more or less vanishes once she has given her permission, and Coppola’s score, so spare on the sand, swells for the race. The race itself we will not describe. It is well staged and we were on the edge of the sofa, but we had been somewhere stranger an hour earlier and could feel the film settling for less. Most critics do not mind this. We mind it a little. Ballard went on to make *Never Cry Wolf* (1983) and *Fly Away Home* (1996), and all three films have the same shape: a person and an animal, a long stretch of looking, then a plot. This is the purest of them, because the looking goes on longest. Fred Roos and Tom Sternberg produced it, it runs 118 minutes, and it reached British cinemas on 17 October 1979. Watch the first hour with the lights off and the sound up. If there is a child next to you, the storm may call for a hand. The second hour they will enjoy more than you do, and that is fine; it was always theirs. *Fi1m score 87, published 7 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are uniformly positive, and the praise falls almost entirely on the look of the film. Every critic singles out the cinematography, and most point to the same stretch: the long, near-wordless island sequence after the shipwreck, which several describe as the finest thing in it. Ballard’s eye is the recurring theme; Variety treats him as a major new talent, and Carmine Coppola’s score is mentioned as part of the same effect. The bond between the boy and the horse is found quietly moving rather than sentimental. The spread is narrow, from warm to rapturous, and the reservations are all about the second half. The Los Angeles Times finds the film loses its grace once it comes ashore and leans on Hollywood emotion; Slant is puzzled by the swerve into competitive racing; Radio Times concedes the training and racing scenes are familiar but thinks their energy carries them. Collider is the one review to find the racing finale effective in its own right. Nobody dissents from the overall verdict. ## Straight answers **Is The Black Stallion worth watching?** *The Black Stallion* is worth watching, and we scored it 87, chiefly for its first hour, in which a boy and a wild horse are alone on an island and nobody speaks for close to forty minutes. The second half, a horse-racing picture with Mickey Rooney as a retired trainer, is good and ordinary. Children will enjoy that hour more than adults; the island belongs to everyone. **How long is The Black Stallion, and what is it rated?** *The Black Stallion* runs 1h 58m. It is a family and adventure film. **Where can I watch The Black Stallion in Sweden?** *The Black Stallion* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Sweden, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from kr 39.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does The Black Stallion compare to Kes?** *The Black Stallion* and [*Kes*](https://film.one/film/kes) are both films about a boy and an animal, watched with unusual patience, but Ballard's film is a lyrical adventure while Ken Loach's is a bruising Barnsley drama with the sentiment taken out. *Kes* is the more honest about a child's life; *The Black Stallion* is the more beautiful to look at. Show a young child the horse, an older one the kestrel. **Is The Black Stallion based on a true story or a book?** *The Black Stallion* is based on Walter Farley's novel of the same name, not on a true story. Carroll Ballard's film, from a screenplay credited to Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, William D. Wittliff and Walter Murch, keeps the book's shape: a shipwreck, an island, then a racing plot. Knowing the novel does not matter; the film's best stretch has no words at all. **What should I watch after The Black Stallion?** After *The Black Stallion*, try [*Kes*](https://film.one/film/kes) (1969, Fi1m 88): A Barnsley boy and a kestrel; the same patience, with the sentiment taken out. Then [*Au hasard Balthazar*](https://film.one/film/au-hasard-balthazar) (1966, Fi1m 90): Bresson follows a donkey through other people’s cruelty; hard, plain and unforgettable; and [*Never Cry Wolf*](https://film.one/film/never-cry-wolf) (1983, Fi1m 79): Ballard again, with a biologist alone among wolves in the Arctic and even less talk. ### Reviews we read (6) - **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (★★★★★): Parkinson calls it one of the most magical children’s films, praising its blend of a heart-warming story and stunning visuals. He especially singles out the breathtaking storm and desert-island scenes, while saying the familiar training and racing sequences make up for their lack of novelty with energy and splendour. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7ndgh1/the-black-stallion/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): Ebert gives the film a highly favorable review. He singles out its striking visual beauty, especially the cinematography. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-black-stallion-1979) - **Slant Magazine**, Carson Lund (4.5/5): Lund finds the film an entrancing, wide-eyed portrait, despite a puzzling turn toward competitive horse racing. He praises its delicate visual storytelling and Criterion’s strong transfer and supplements. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-black-stallion/) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): Variety calls the film a perfect gem and regards Ballard as a major talent. It singles out his extraordinary camera eye and the dialogue-free island sequence, enhanced by Carmine Coppola’s score. [Read](https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/the-black-stallion-1200424406/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Mark Chalon Smith (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film’s first half graceful and enchanting, though the second half leans too heavily on Hollywood emotion. He singles out the island scenes for their beautiful cinematography and the quietly moving bond between the boy and horse. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-22-ol-1529-story.html) - **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (85/100, inferred): The review praises The Black Stallion as a beautifully made film, especially its quiet island sequences, while noting Ballard’s effective work in the racing finale. It singles out the cinematography, sound design, and pristine Blu-ray transfer as highlights. [Read](https://collider.com/criterion-blu-ray-reviews-the-killers-limelight-black-stallion/) ## Details - **Director:** Carroll Ballard - **Director:** Carroll Ballard - **Screenplay:** Jeanne Rosenberg, Melissa Mathison, Walter Murch, William D. Wittliff - **Novel:** Walter Farley - **Cinematography:** Caleb Deschanel - **Editor:** Robert Dalva - **Music:** Carmine Coppola - **Producer:** Fred Roos, Tom Sternberg - **Cast:** Kelly Reno as Alec Ramsey; Mickey Rooney as Henry Dailey; Teri Garr as Alec's Mother; Clarence Muse as Snoe; Hoyt Axton as Alec's Father; Michael Higgins as Neville; Ed McNamara as Jake; Doghmi Larbi as Arab - **Runtime:** 1h 58m - **First release (the US):** 13 October 1979 - **Genres:** Family, Adventure, Sport - **Budget:** $3 million - **Box office:** $38 million ## Where to watch in Sweden - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent kr 39.00, hd - Apple TV: rent kr 39.00, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy kr 109.00, hd - Apple TV: buy kr 109.00, hd *Checked 2026-10-07.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1980: Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated) ## If you liked this - *White Mane* (1953): Lamorisse’s forty minutes of a boy and a wild horse in the Camargue; the obvious ancestor - *Kes* (1969), Fi1m 88: A Barnsley boy and a kestrel; the same patience, with the sentiment taken out — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kes.md) - *Au hasard Balthazar* (1966), Fi1m 90: Bresson follows a donkey through other people’s cruelty; hard, plain and unforgettable — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/au-hasard-balthazar.md) - *Never Cry Wolf* (1983), Fi1m 79: Ballard again, with a biologist alone among wolves in the Arctic and even less talk — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/never-cry-wolf.md) - *The Rider* (2017): A real rodeo rider plays himself after a head injury; the horses are the point --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-black-stallion