Director Ballard and cinematographer Deschanel, along with composer Carmine Coppola create an amazing ambiance for the actors to work within. This film is something of a precursor to "E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial," as both had screenplays by Melissa Mathison, and both have a boy and his horse/alien with a wordless, symbiotic understanding between them. Child actor Kelly Reno (Alec Ramsey) could have easily played Elliot in "E.T." One wonders if he were in the running for that part."The Black Stallion" is also quite evidently a precursor and inspiration for "Chariots of Fire" (1981). The images of the boy and the horse running along the beach have similar optical effects to that of the young Brits running along the beach in "Chariots." Interestingly, actor Hoyt Axton (portraying Alec's father) plays a melody on flute in an early "Black Stallion" scene which is indeed the "Chariots of Fire" theme, but with a different tempo and duration of notes. Vangelis undoubtedly saw this, but when he was brought to court for plagiarism the judge ruled in his favour (instead of composer Carmine Coppola)."The Black Stallion" is a beautiful work of art.

I found this movie enjoyable, even though there were some "unlikelihoods" in it. It was going along fine up until the scene where Alec, who previously was the horse's best friend, decides to throw ropes on the animal and force it to "race". I found it abysmal and berserk that the child would do an ethical about-face like that and return this kind and noble beast to ropes, schedules, programs, surrender and torment. I took the movie out of my V.C.R. at that point, and threw it out.It is unfortunate that the producer of this movie felt strongly enough about the original novel to give us a movie that tears our hearts out: Just when we thought Black had found a good and decent home, we find that this proud and sensitive animal is just a tool for the ambitions of man. (Some things never change).The dialogue at the outdoor table should have gone: Alec: "Why did you stop training?" Henry: "I couldn't stand to see horses being broken anymore. Have you ever seen what it takes to break a horse to make it run? Have you ever seen what jockeys do to their horses during the races?" Alec shakes his head no.Henry: "To break a horse of Black's age and history would be even tougher.., maybe impossible. You might kill the horse trying. You said this horse saved your life, right?" Alec replies "Yes." "Well, then why don't you try returning the favor? Show it some love."If The Black Stallion had taken another route by showing the ultimate value of kindness, the movie could have been something special, more akin to The Horse Whisperer. Such a betrayal by Alec is insane, and made the movie valueless.

It's 1946. Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is traveling on a ship with his father. There is a wild Arabian stallion on board. The ship sinks and the boy becomes stranded on a desert island with the horse. He is eventually rescued and returned to his mother (Teri Garr) with the horse. When the horse runs away, trainer Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney) catches him. Together, they train him to race on the big tracks.It takes a little too long to get going with a very slow start. The ship sinking is exciting and the island is beautiful. I think the island is actually a great place for the boy to speak. It would give him real personality. The music and the lack of dialog makes the movie beautiful to look at but it could have been more. With great writing, the boy could have delivered a compelling performance like 'Cast Away'. However he's never given the chance and the movie moves along slowly but beautifully. Considering the drama in the story, the movie really lacks tension. When they're off the island, the movie takes its time. It wants to be atmospheric and mythical. The second half never gets any of that. It feels tired and formulaic. The first half is a beauty but the second half is lacking.

Time has perhaps taken a tiny tick off the perfection of this for me (the ending is a bit abrupt, etc.), but this is still one of the best, most beautiful, most emotional, and most entertaining 'family' films ever made. Eschewing dialogue entirely for large blocks of time, and then only using words sparingly when people do speak, this is story told in pictures, both breathtaking wide shots (often tracking shots moving so fast, but so smoothly that it seems impossible) and intimate close-ups revealing subtle details of emotion. The sequence with boy and horse making friends while trapped on an island is justifiably what people remember most, but there's lots that's great here, including what was arguably the best performance of Mickey Rooney's long career.NB: The DVD releases are frustrating. The US release isn't even anamorphic, and the UK, while anamorphic, has lots of dirt, grain, and less than perfect moments. And they're still gorgeous.