The Black Stallion Returns (1983)
Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Woody
Strode, Kelly Reno, Teri Garr, Allen Goowitz, Vincent Spano, Ferdinand Mayne,
Jodi Thelen
My Review and Thoughts:
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
A true childhood favorite in reading and watching. I loved
the original Black Stallion book and film. There have been so many versions
over the years and I always tend to watch them all because they were a pivotal
part of my childhood. I was super happy to learn the Return had been chosen by
Twilight Time for one of their special edition 3,000 Unit Blu-ray's. I have often
felt this is an over looked older classic, specifically for the whole family.
It’s a wonderful story with great performances and equally memorable moments
that stand out in cinema in the family kid oriented reality.
I think one of the reasons it stands out also is that they
got the original kid actor Kelly Reno to return to the part of Alex Ramsey, which he also played in the original 1979 film. It’s always a plus when doing a
sequel to get the original players. It’s never the same to me and in reality destroys
the process of the film. It’s sad that Alex Ramsey stopped acting in 1985, I
always thought he was a really good performer. But sadly it really wasn’t his
choice to stop acting, he was in a really bad car accident that took him away
from the movie business. Ultimately recovered, but never was able to re-enter
the movie business and that’s really a true shame, he had a fun natural talent
of acting, and both Stallion movies, showcases that.
Also keep an eye out for a very underrated African American
actor the great one of a kind Woody Strode who starred in over 90 performances
through his career. He was also a side character or a part that was pivotal and
memorable as a side character. He starred in many John Ford films. Many remember
him fighting Kirk Douglas in the masterpiece classic 1960’s Spartacus. Starred
in one of my favorite films and westerns of all time the masterpiece classic,
one of a kind 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West. A personal childhood B-movie
favorite he starred in was the Drive-In classic 1977’s Kingdom of the Spiders.
He was in so many cult style films, from 1972’s The Italian Connection, 1976’s Keoma
and so many others, just always a treat to see him perform.
This time around Alec and his mother on the farm start to
have strange things happen, then the barn burns down and Black the horse is
stolen. Soon Alec learns that The Sheik known as Ishak has stolen the horse in
thinking he owns it. Soon Alec is on an adventure stowing away in a plane going
to Casablanca. Alec is going to take on the Sheik to save Black.
Very interesting is this is directed by Robert Dalva, which
this is his only movie as director, he directed a couple of TV shows after this
but basically went to other movie making roles such as cinematographer and
editor. Which is interesting to note about the editor role is he has been a
part of some high quality big budget films such as 1992’s Raising Cain, 1995’s
Jumanji, 1999’s October Sky, 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. That is
what is also interesting, is he was editor on the original The Black Stallion
(1979) and went on to direct the sequel. Now the sequel is nowhere near as
great as the first one but still is very entertaining for the whole family, in that movie night experience. Twilight Time has done a wonderful job in transferring
this to Blu-ray.
Pop you some popcorn, rent the original one and have a
double feature with the family and experience great adventure that is perfect for the entertainment of the family. The Black Stallion Returns is a great fun treat to experience all
over again and Twilight Time has done another great job in giving pure
entertainment, and allowing the viewer to experience an older film on a new
outlet that is worthy to praise.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Another great example of restoring and transferring and
taking care of an older film and giving it a new outlet that should be
experienced. Audio is perfect sound quality, crisp and spot on. The video is
vibrant and comes together once again looking new all over. I am not one
of these reviewers that pin point small spots or asinine bickering over things,
I look at the beauty put into crafting the older films on new outlets to experience, and Twilight Time never fails in giving the movie loving world important
examples of how to treat cinema.
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA / English 2.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Extras:
My Rating: 1 out of 5
Isolated Score Track. Composing the music for the film is
another worthy to be talked about persona in the film world, Georges Delerue.
He died young at the age of 67, but left a vast array of excellence to be
remembered in the film world. He had an amazing total of well over 350
composing jobs. From such greats like, 1959’s Hiroshima Mon Amour, 1963’s
Contempt, 1970’s The Conformist. The amazing 1983’s Silkwood, that I wish
someone would honor and bring out on Blu-ray. 1986’s Platoon, 1989’s Steel
Magnolias and many, many more from Composing, to musical director, to
conductor. He was an amazing musician, and he shines on this isolated music
track. Another fantastic special feature.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Yet again another priceless Twilight Time Blu-ray that is my
viewpoint a must own, and must experience Blu-ray, specifically for the whole
family. Kids will love it, adults will love it, I loved it, experiencing it all
over again.
INFO:
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the wonderful Twilight Time Blu-rays. The main page that gives you these
beautiful releases on top quality Special Editions.
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