I get choked up just watching the trailer.  I'll need a box of tissues when we go to see the movie.

http://youtu.be/JPNyNr2Kp4w

I'm very excited about this movie, but a little cautious too. Knowing that Steven Spielberg made it, I'm pretty sure it's going to be full of his usual bloody scenes. The horse look so cute though, and so dedicated! :)

Thanks for sharing this Jayne! I'm sending the commercial on to my friends and family!

I LOVED the book.  I have it on CD, and it was a great read!  I can't wait for the movie.  It will be nice if they stick to the story.

 I'm actually looking for an adult version of the book too, but haven't had any luck (I do have a book called War Horse, but it's about the use of horses throughout war and is not specific).

I did get to go see the movie and I personally thought it was very well done, it's PG-13 so it's not super bloodly.  I will say that it does take a bit for things to get rolling as they build background, but once the background has been established you really get caught up in it.

One tip for those who are going... I don't recommend getting a drink or food when you go to watch it.  All the people who went into the movie with food and drink had to get up and leave at some point for the bathroom since it is about 2.5 hours.

 We saw the movie yesterday, it was a "nice" wartime story.  I was disappointed in the unrealistic horse behavior  presented in the movie. For example, Joey learns to plow because Albie put the collar on his own head so Joey sees what to do and therefore  goes immediately from being a green horse (with poor ground manners) to knowing how to be harnessed and driven to plow a whole field of straight rows right off the bat.  And the time Joey ran up the hill to take the his horse buddy's place in pulling the canon, because otherwise the soldiers were going to shoot his black horse friend who wasn't well enough to be harnessed up.  Sentimental but not horse behavior. But I suppose if you don't know horses you would buy into it. However the training that went into getting that behavior from the horse/s must have been quite something. Did you notice there was also a goose trainer listed in the credits?

There were some very sad parts such as the two young German brothers, some happy parts such as young Emily and her grandfather.  Especially tender was the scene involving the English and German soldier as they removed Joey from the barbwire.  The battle scenes were gruesome; both the landscape and the carnage. Soldiers are incredibly brave - and we have much to be grateful for. There were several happy endings so to speak with some sadness mixed in. Overall it somehow wasn't quite what I expected, but still entertaining.

 Ok - I imagine everyone will disagree now.

 Ah, but it was realistic when Emilie was trying to get Joey to jump by showing him how to do it and he just kind of wandered between the big jump and the pole on the ground. Typical horse - put in the least amount of effort necessary.

 Perhaps we should label this thread with a *SPOILER ALERT*  

LOL

 I agree with sh -- it was a nice story, but clumsily edited and definitely not put together by someone who knows horses.  If I only knew that horses speak perfect English, I could have saved so much money in training!!!  I also had to laugh that the closing shots were a direct pull from Gone With The Wind -- we kept waiting for Scarlett to run out and put the horse in a fluffy dress or something.

There were a few scenes I enjoyed, such as cutting Joey from the barbed wire (which miraculously only gave him one small cut after multiple strands at full gallop??) and the charming French grandfather.  

There was also some lovely cinematography work, but it lost much of its power in the overdone sentimentality and the poor editing.  Spielberg needs to learn from directors who know how to let the power of horses speak for itself.

I thought it was a nice enough family movie, but required massive suspension of disbelief and don't expect too much.