Le retour de l'étalon noir

(1983) The Black Stallion Returns ADVENTURE

After the critical success of "The Black Stallion", the makers thought they could do this again by returning cast and crew to do the follow-up adapted by the same author who wrote the first one called the Black Stallion! The plot has Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) who's now older and little taller than he was in the 1979 film, going into another adventure to retrieve his Arabian Stallion, after being taken from him from people claiming that they were the original owners, for the purpose of using him for a race somewhere in the deserts of Casablanca! Not as subtle as the first one, nor as adventurous as one would expect to see after the first one, since they're some far fetched things happening during this kind of an adventure which can sometimes drag, meaning that you'd have to stick it out until the final 20 minutes or so, to make it all worth your while because it avoids cliches! And the final race was just as thrilling as the first movie.

A great family film, about a boy from the U.S.A. and a horse from Arabia. The boy meets and befriends Arabs and Muslims and rides the horse in a grueling Arab marathon horse race.

What is most important about this film is that it is that rare gem: a Hollywood film that shows Arabs and Muslims realistically: as human beings, instead of depicting them as terrorists or fanatics, which is what Hollywood usually does (see the documentary "Reel Bad Arabs" for more about that topic). After all, the reality is that most Muslims are not terrorists or fanatics.

This film helps people to appreciate ethnic diversity, instead of hating what is different... therefore, unlike many media portrayals of Arabs and Muslims, the film helps to increase peace and harmony in the world.

The moderate financial success of the excellent original 'Black Stallion' movie almost guaranteed a sequel considering the series of novels of available source material.

Unfortunately, the absence of Carroll Ballard's unique vision reduce this effort to a by-the-numbers horse-and-boy adventure story which is likely to be of interest to children only. So, we get a welcome return of 'The Black' and Alec Ramsey, but sadly, the magic is mostly gone.

I have only read the first few pages of the book 'The Black Stallion'. It is obvious that the book is a good children's' story and that Mr Farley's legacy has been to encourage reading in several generations of American children. I suspect that this sequel movie, with its more conventional storytelling approach is closer to Mr Farley's works than the first movie, but this does not make for memorable cinema.

Mr Ballard must have turned this one down, because I can't imagine that he was not offered the director's chair given the reception the first movie received. Maybe he didn't like the 'action movie' script? He seems to be very particular about the movies he makes.

Performances here are generally lacklustre and there is one particularly bad hammy supporting actor turn - if you've seen this, you know who I mean.

One part of me can't help but wish that they hadn't bothered with this. It doesn't spoil the original exactly, but the excellence of the first 'Black Stallion' movie so far outshines this effort that you wonder quite what the point of this was, other than a quick cash-in at the box-office.

One point of excellence - Georges Delerue's theme 'Alec and The Black Stallion' is a wonderful soaring score and could have been a welcome addition to the original movie soundtrack.

Your kids will probably enjoy this. Your mind will probably wander...

Greg

The original was a favorite for me as a child. I think that is why i waited 20 years to see this, a sequel that I was sure would disappoint. I was wrong to wait so long to see a film that, in many ways, surpasses the original.

This amazing epic finds Alec Ramsey, the boy from the first film, traveling to the brutal and glorious Sahara desert , in search of his beautiful Arabian Stallion, who has been taken away by his original owners. Along the way Alec finds a good friend in Prince Raj, who takes the boy with him on an unforgettable quest that will lead them to the stallion, and also to a race like no other. With much attention given to small details, as well as set design and costumes, we learn the fascinating history of this very special horse. Every five years there is a great horse race in the Sahara desert, with different tribes racing their finest horses to win honour and respect from the others. A man from the Uruk tribe goes to dishonorable means to sabotage the race, while the Berber tribe, led by Prince Raj is more honorable in their methods. This film culminates in what has to be the most glorious and exciting race ever filmed, with young Alec and his best friend racing against each other, the boy for possession of his horse, and the Prince, for the honour of his people.

The film score, the cinematography, those gorgeous desert scenes all add up to an absolute classic adventure film. Perhaps this was not a commercial success because this sequel focuses more on the boy's plight, with the horse only making an appearance later into the film. Or more likely, perhaps the whole production was just too "foreign" for Western audiences back in 1983. Whatever the reason, fans of old fashioned adventure tales should give this a look. The actor who plays the teen Alec Ramsey obviously had an uncommon love for horses, and it shows in his genuine performance. Vincent Spano is great and totally believable, both in looks and performance as Raj, and the rest of the cast is fine as well. Filmed in Morrocco, and partially in Algeria lends this special film an epic look. Of course with something like this it is important to see it in it's original wide screen ratio. One of my favorite films now, it was worth that 20 year wait...

I also do not understand how this film did not get better reviews. This is a movie I grew up with and one of the few films in that category that I do not just keep around for sentimental reasons; I love it just as much as an adult as I did the first time I saw it. The filming location is wonderful, Kelly Reno's acting is superb, and it has the most amazing score that always tugs on my heart and makes me want to close my eyes and throw my arms wide just to feel the wind on my face. As a result, it is one of the few sequels that is better than the original. In short, The Black Stallion Returns is a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable movie; a great watch for everyone.