They sure don’t make ’em like they used to — except, of course, for Steven Spielberg. With it’s epic sweep and complete lack of grit or irony, the director’s recent War Horse intentionally recalls Hollywood’s Golden Age. The story, which involves a boy and his beloved horse shipped off separately to help fight World War I, is derived from a children’s novel and the puppet-powered Broadway show that sprang from it, so the film comes by its earnestness honestly. Even Spielberg’s technique is old school, often employing hundreds of human extras and real horses where most modern filmmakers would have generated them digitally. The disc’s hour-long documentary and additional materials detail every aspect of the movie’s production.
Video: 1080p, 2.40:1. Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. Extras: A Filmmaking Journey documentary; six featurettes: “War Horse: The Journey Home,” “War Horse: The Look,” “Through the Producer's Lens,” “Editing and Scoring,” “An Extra's Point of View,” “The Sounds of War Horse”; DVD and digital copies. Studio: Disney/Buena Vista.
