Don't Make a Scene: The Black Stallion

The Set-Up: "Tell Me a Story" 

It doesn't get much simpler than this, story-wise or narrative-wise. The story of Bucephalus mirrors and adds an air of mysticism to the subsequent adventures of a boy and his horse, and Carroll Ballard's way of shooting it (with Hoyt Axton's dad occassionally talking right to the camera in a tight close-up) puts us smack-dab in identification-mode with Alec. It's just one of the many brilliant and lovely movie-making touches that Ballard employs in The Black Stallion.

The Scene: Young Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is left to wander the ship, following his curiosity, as his father (who's taken him along on a business trip in the North Mediterranean) plays high-stakes poker. That night, father and son go over the loot, full of gold and baubles and strange valuables from around the globe. Though Alec is curious about everything, he comes out of it with only two things--a pocket-knife, and the small carving of a black horse.

Action! 


Father: You know, I'll bet this is the most valuable piece here.

Father: It's Bucephalus, the magic horse of Alexander the Great.

Father: A long time ago, this king was going to kill Bucephalus because he was so wild the king couldn't ride 'im.

Father: He had Bucephalus brought into a big arena, and people came from all around, because they wanted to see this horse,

Father: ...which was the biggest, the blackest, an' the strongest, the most beautiful horse that ever was.

Father: King Philip goes walking out there, and he looked around at some of his men, and said," Kill that horse!" Just then, a voice called out from the edge of the crowd, and said, "I can ride that horse!" Everybody looked around, an' said, "Who said that?"

Father: (They) looked over an' it was a kid, just about your size, an' just about your age.

Father: And King Philip looked over an' he said...

Father: "Son...if you can ride that horse, you can have that horse!" Huh? So Alexander walked out into the big arena...

Father: ...an' standin' in the middle of the arena, was Bucephalus. (pulls himself up)

Father: He was big an' he was strong.

Father: An' he was pawin' the ground.

Father: An' there was fire in his eyes, an' there was smoke comin' out of his nose! He went(makes a rumbling, grumbling roar).

Father: An' Alexander walked up, and quick as a cat, he jumped up on his back, an' grabbed onto that long black mane...

Father: ...an' barump-barump, an' away they went, just like lightnin'...

Father: an' they jumped right over the crowd, all the way over the stand, an' they went ridin' out over the hill.

Father: Everybody said, "Whew!"

Alec (not buying it): ...smoke comin' out of his nose!

Father: (making a snorting noise): ...an' fire in his eyes!

Alec: ...fire'n his eyes.

Father: Well, that's the way I heard it. Here, I want you to have this.

Alec: Bucephalus.

(Father smiles)


The Black Stallion

Words by Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg and William D. Wittliff

Pictures by Caleb Deschanel and Carroll Ballard

The Black Stallion is available on DVD from MGM Home Video.

Don't Make a Scene: The Black Stallion

The Set-Up: "Tell Me a Story" During the month of July, we'll be showcasing scenes that feature a story in the midst of the narrative. That story may couch the plot in a new light; it may illuminate themes or present a back-story. It may be just a distraction. It may be a side-story that resonates throughout the film and casts its teller in the affections of the audience, making him immortal no matter how short his amount of screen-time.

It doesn't get much simpler than this, story-wise or narrative-wise. The story of Bucephalus mirrors and adds an air of mysticism to the subsequent adventures of a boy and his horse, and Carroll Ballard's way of shooting it (with Hoyt Axton's dad occassionally talking right to the camera in a tight close-up) puts us smack-dab in identification-mode with Alec. It's just one of the many brilliant and lovely movie-making touches that Ballard employs in "The Black Stallion."

The Scene: Young Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is left to wander the ship, following his curiosity, as his father (who's taken him along on a business trip in the North Mediterranean) plays high-stakes poker. That night, father and son go over the loot, full of gold and baubles and strange valuables from around the globe. Though Alec is curious about everything, he comes out of it with only two things--a pocket-knife, and the small carving of a black horse.

Action!


Father: You know, I'll bet this is the most valuable piece here.

Father: It's Bucephalus, the magic horse of Alexander the Great.

Father: A long time ago, this king was going to kill Bucephalus because he was so wild the king couldn't ride 'im.

Father: He had Bucephalus brought into a big arena, and people came from all around, because they wanted to see this horse,

Father: ...which was the biggest, the blackest, an' the strongest, the most beautiful horse that ever was.

Father: King Philip goes walking out there, and he looked around at some of his men, and said," Kill that horse!" Just then, a voice called out from the edge of the crowd, and said, "I can ride that horse!" Everybody looked around, an' said, "Who said that?"


Father: (They) looked over an' it was a kid, just about your size, an' just about your age.


Father: And King Philip looked over an' he said...

Father: "Son...if you can ride that horse, you can have that horse!" Huh? So Alexander walked out into the big arena...

Father: ...an' standin' in the middle of the arena, was Bucephalus. (pulls himself up)

Father: He was big an' he was strong.


Father: An' he was pawin' the ground.

Father: An' there was fire in his eyes, an' there was smoke comin' out of his nose! He went(makes a rumbling, grumbling roar).

Father: An' Alexander walked up, and quick as a cat, he jumped up on his back, an' grabbed onto that long black mane...

Father: ...an' barump-barump, an' away they went, just like lightnin'...

Father: an' they jumped right over the crowd, all the way over the stand, an' they went ridin' out over the hill.

Father: Everybody said, "Whew!"

Alec (not buying it): ...smoke comin' out of his nose!

Father: (making a snorting noise): ...an' fire in his eyes!

Alec: ...fire'n his eyes.

Father: Well, that's the way I heard it. Here, I want you to have this.

Alec: Bucephalus.

(Father smiles)

"The Black Stallion"

Words by Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg and William D. Wittliff

Pictures by Caleb Deschanel and Carroll Ballard

"The Black Stallion" is available on DVD from MGM Home Video.

The Black Stallion

"The Black Stallion" (Carroll Ballard, 1979) Francis Ford Coppola began his desire to film literary classics not with "Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'" but with this children's classic, never before filmed. For the director, one of Coppola's USC Mafia Carroll Ballard, a documentarian whose eye for construction, framing, and telling a story with images and music and attention to sound would all be used to full affect in this tall tale of a boy and his horse. What is so exciting about "The Black Stallion" is that so much of it is done not with dialog (the taut script is by "E.T." scribe Melissa Mathison as well as "The Journey of Natty Gann" writer Jeanne Rosenberg and "Lonesome Dove" scripter Bill Wittliff), but with luxurious images (cinematography by the brilliant Caleb Deschanel) that are long on atmosphere and detail and from interesting angles that provide a curious view of the world.*

The talent in front of the camera is great, too. The burden of the piece goes to young Kelly Reno, probably chosen for his ability as an equestrian, rather than his acting skills. But even there, he communicates such a fresh "kid-ness" that seems unstudied and unreserved. Terri Garr plays another of the "thankless" Mom-roles she was typecast in during the '80's. But two performances stand out--one from a newcomer, and the other from a movie-"lifer."

Hoyt Axton had done a few television appearances and made a good living as a singer-songwriter when he came to "The Black Stallion." He also had a voice so full of bass that it seemed like it was merely an echo of the rumble emanating from his barrel-chest. His role as young Alec's father has one scene that is all-Axton, literally--where he tells his son a bed-time story about the horse he won in a poker game and the horse of myth that was allegedly his forebear. Axton performs the scene staring straight into the camera lens, but the effect it has on audiences is electrifying--he's telling the story to us. It was probably unnerving for the performer to have the camera right under his nose, but Axton powers through it, filling the frame, and putting us in the position of that boy. For those few minutes, his father is his entire world.

The other amazing work is by, of all people, Mickey Rooney, as a down-on-his-luck horse trainer to whom "The Black" seems to be drawn. Of course, Rooney's background includes playing the trainer of "National Velvet" at an early age, he could have played this role in his sleep if he wanted to. But Rooney takes his M-G-M schooling and leavens it with an almost "method" interiorization to create an enduring, memorable portrait of a trainer gone to pasture who has a miracle land in his lap. His work melds seamlessly with Ballard's "observer" style, and the role made people take notice of him ("Oh yeah, he was good, wasn't he?") and rescued him from a life of dinner theater and "Love Boat" appearances. Rooney is amazing in it.

But it's Ballard's show, as invisible as he is in it. The backbone of the movie, which buys all sorts of cinematic good will is the 30 minute long idyll of the boy and the mysterious horse that becomes his quest and his companion in his castaway existence. Wordless and buoyed by Carmine Coppola's themes (imaginatively and meticulously arranged by an uncredited Shirley Walker), it is at points charming, terrifying and poetic. Once off the island Ballard makes the most of a more conventional narrative style, and though he comes close--particularly in one of the best, and most pilfered horse-racing sequences in movies--he has a hard time trying to match the beauty of that island sequence.

But here's how good "The Black Stallion" is. I went to see it opening night, sitting in the back of the theater to avoid the vocal anarchy of an audience filled with children. After a little bit of rumble as the movie got going, the kids didn't make a peep, didn't get bored, didn't make endless trips to the bathroom, and stayed glued to their seats, their eyes glued to the screen. And they stayed that way through the entire End Credits that played over unused footage from that island sequence, only making a disappointed "Awww.." when the house-lights came up. That truly is, as the movie says, a "miracle horse."

Looking at it again, of course the kids responded to it. This world is full of new sights taken from an angle a kid might want to explore, the boy--Alec--doesn't say much, making him a character that doesn't betray what he knows, so you have to watch him. He is thrown into a scary situation where he learns to fend for himself, and he becomes a devoted friend and care-taker to a powerful animal. He is what every kid wants to be--an adult who has passed childhood behind and can do what he pleases. What kid wouldn't love a movie like this?

And what adult, either?

"The Black Stallion" is one of the best movies I've ever seen.

* And I'd be remiss not to point out the contributions of sound editor Alan Splet, who became best known for his work with David Lynch. His comprehensive recordings of horses let you know the emotions of "The Black" at every point in the film. Incredible work.