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Author
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Topic: Young Black Stallion (Imax 2D)
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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 03-04-2004 10:00 PM
My definition of a good movie is an interesting story with interesting characters told in an interesting way. YOUNG BLACK STALLION has none of these.
Is this the worst "large format" film I've seen? No, HAUNTED CASTLE still holds that title, but this one is very very close. It seems like I've been seeing trailers for this for a couple of years now (as far back as Fantasia maybe?), and you would think in that time they could get something right. Just being big doesn't make it good. Disney should be ashamed of itself for this.
Story summary: Girl and old guy riding through desert passed the bad guys (you know they are bad guys because they have guns). Bad guys attack caravan. Old guy sends girl away. Bad guys attack caravan.
Girl goes off. Falls off horse. Wanders through desert. Finds water. Finds black horse. Loses black horse. Finds black horse again. Befriends black horse. Miracle of miracles---she finds her way home. (Audience is supposed to be surprised here, but all 3 of us were fighting off sleep at this point.)
No one in family is surprised she returned. Like people find their way out of the "shifting sands" every day.
Girl tells old guy about horse. Old guy says horse doesn't exist. Girl insists is does. Then, Mr. Exposition shows up with some of the old guys horses, telling that horses are the prizes in these races.
Black horse magically shows up. Grandfather tells girl not to get the horse. Then, he tells her again. Maybe again, too, I lost track.
Girl trains horse. Girl enters horse in race. Race is through canyons and very exciting. The ending will not surprise anyone.
The picture looks good, having been shot with 15/70 and 8/70 cameras, according to the credits (Phil, an Iwerks camera was given credit for 8/70). Like many large format films, the action is pretty much confined to the bottom 1/2 of the screen, which is about eye level from the back of the room. I think it would look fine cropped for home video. Photography was sharp, but the colors are rather muted because, after all, you are in the desert.
Girl sounds like she recorded her voice in a very small room, which does not sound natural at all. Music is OK, but I think I've heard some of those sound effects before.
Presentation by Marcus Imax crew was, as usual, excellent. Sound on the first Disney trailer, for some nature film from Disney, was loud and distorted, especially on the center channel. Harry Potter trailer had some very weird "jittery-ness" to it. Not something I've ever heard before.
And, guys, its STILL too dark in there. But, I'm learning to get in without knee banging!
And, it was nice to NOT have to hear the "Welcome to the Marcus Imax Theatre" opening for the 25th time! Please don't bring it back!
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Brian Michael Weidemann
Expert cat molester
Posts: 944
From: Costa Mesa, CA United States
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 03-10-2004 02:47 AM
We were supposed to get this film for Christmas and then Regal decided, last minute, not to run it in any of their IMAX theatres. The story I was told was that they could not justify the admission price for the 45-minute piece of crap it is. So I never saw it. But this review does not seem far off for movies of its type.
Did you see L5: First City In Space? Sure, it was 3D, but nothing was redeemable about that one. Yes, Haunted Castle blew, too. And now that I think about it, The IMAX Nutcracker was a piece of work ...
From the trailer to YBS (yes, the trailer had been airing for at least a year-and-a-half), I gathered 90% of the plot, as you put it. Didn't look interesting to me at all ... but it would have meant running something in IMAX, instead of putting it on hiatus and doing Return Of The King, 35mm! Oh well.
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