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Must Watch: First Beautiful Trailer for Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse'

by Alex Billington
June 29, 2011
Source: YouTube

Across all borders, hope survives. Get ready for a stunning look at the new film from Steven Spielberg called War Horse, adapted from a book by Michael Morpurgo about a boy and his horse during WWI. DreamWorks recently debuted the first official trailer for the movie and it is definitely a must watch. I really had no idea what to expect, but this looks phenomenal, then again this is Spielberg film and it definitely has all of his wonderful hallmarks. I'm sold, I'll be there opening day. War Horse stars Jeremy Irvine, as the main character Albert, as well as Emily Watson, Toby Kebbell, David Thewlis and Tom Hiddleston. Enjoy!

Watch the first official trailer for Steven Spielberg's new film War Horse:

Spielberg's War Horse, based on Michael Morpurgo's novel which also became a stage play, was adapted by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and Richard Curtis (Pirate Radio). This follows a young man named Albert (played by newcomer Jeremy Irvine) and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches during World War I. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert still heads to France to save his friend. The cast also includes Tom Hiddleston, Emily Watson, David Thewlis and Niels Arestrup. Disney/Touchstone currently has War Horse scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 28th this year.

Filed under Hype, Opinions, To Watch, Trailers

From around the web:

Anonymous

wow...........i'm speechless...........i am SO there opening night.
andy

Amazing!
Loser

Beautiful and charming and in glorious 2D.
- Jedibilly
  
  Enough of the whiners about 3D! Why do you have to bring it up, smartass?! All you have to do is just walk into the screen showing in 2D instead of 3D, there's a choice we make to whatever rocks our boat, Loser!
  - Loser
    
    actually there often isn`t a choice here many 3D movies are not shown in 2D here
JennyB

Can someone please find a decent looking trailer, 720p or over?! It should be against the law to put up movie-trailers in crappy low SD! Man, I really regret watching this in such poor quality. I suggest anyone else to wait for a much better HD version.
- http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington
  
  I agree! I wish I could do something, but it's out of my control. There are HD versions for download, but it's not on Apple/Yahoo yet and this YouTube was the official one they sent out! Will update this with HD as soon as I can.
  - JennyB
    
    Here it is: http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/war-horse/trailer
    - http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington
      
      Thanks. But I really really hate TrailerAddict. One of the worst designed and poorly run trailer sites I've ever come across.
- Anonymous
  
  so? any movie ever made that is NOT in HD is crappy? i'm a huge fan of HD (i own 2 blu players and love HD movies!) but there are hundreds of films not done in HD that are excellent in their SD format. and why should it be against the law to show a trailer that is not in HD? i think you're opinion is a little too extreme
  - Situasian
    
    I believe this was more in reference to the trailer resolution. It would suck watching a movie on your TV that was filmed in 360p. I don't think the poster had an issue with standard resolution movies.
    - Anonymous
      
      true! i probably misinterpreted what she was saying - thanks for the reply!
Adam L

Gotta love speilberg
Cookie

That was...beautiful...no other words to describe it...
Moon

I'll wait till the reviews are out. Spielberg has lost the heart in his movies and you can even tell War Horse is lacking it from the trailer.
- rocKKickerl7102002
  
  what part convinced you it was lacking, if i can ask?
  - Moon
    
    It's meant to be the story of a boy and his horse and the trailer didn't show that at all. It looks nice, but at the same time this would just seem like an average movie to people if it wasn't Spielberg.
    - Super8alien
      
      Just like how 'schindler's list' was supposed to be about schindler's list but the teaser ended up showing nothing about it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-L2KrbZYFc. And we all know how the movie turned out to be. Right?
    - Anonymous
      
      sorry moon - but i couldn't care less if the director is speilberg or weinberg..........i just think the movie looks great from the trailer.
- Raj
  
  I totally agree.
Voice of Reason

Don't get me wrong, Im glad to see a trailer that doesnt start with a rolling bass-rumble akin to a fart, a flash of a scene, then black, voiceover, repeat....but this just looks cheesy. Cheese Horse. Designed to tug on heart strings: more poignant words, running, horses, war, more poignant words, more running, more galloping, more war.....bah.
- http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
  
  Suddenly, everything becomes a cliche to those who don't like "cheesy". Sad you can't see the great story in this. Look around the industry. Do you see anyone making anything like this? Are you unable to open your mind to a movie that is meant to make you feel something other than "Look ma, a man can fly, transform into a robot, and blow up a planet!" Look deeper.
  - Ticketmaster
    
    I can't disagree with you more. This trailer was quite ordinary. And knowing Spielberg I'm sure the film will be too.
    - http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
      
      You could disagree with me more, I'm sure. However, you'd be wrong. This is what a teaser should look like: just enough to give you an idea as to subject matter without completely revealing the story in full. Then add those poignant shots, sweeping camera action, glowing backgrounds, and actor's emotions and you have an above average teaser. You're obviously not a Spielberg fan. You're entitled to your feelings.
  - Voice of Reason
    
    Piss off, Quanah. I never said this was cliche, just that it looked cheesy. And it does. This looks like Secretariat meets Saving private Ryan to me, and so effing what? Never forget that is ALSO the man behind A LOT of "look ma, a man can fly, etc" flicks by himself AND as a producer. Youre making absolutely no sense. And yeah, I do see other people making this, whatever "anything like this" even means exactly. But if youre talking about quality filmmaking, its everywhere and not just from this one man. Its sad you can't see that.
    - http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
      
      Is that all it took to make you upset? Wow.
Jim

Hard to imagine Speilberg making something bad, but I was not excited by that at all. Looked like a kid movie to me. It's just hard to imagine a movie about a horse being that great. I will keep hope alive though.
- http://www.facebook.com/benay.gavazoglu Benay Gavazoğlu
  
  " It's just hard to imagine a movie about a horse being that great." I think you must see Seabiscuit.
  - Cracky
    
    Gotta say, I agree. The horse may as well talk or something, because I've never loved a horse in a movie. I don't know why.
Anonymous

the cinematography looks godly and because its Speilberg i will see it but i have hated EVERY movie about horses
http://www.facebook.com/redtwo Chris Lucas

I bet the horse dies... which will make me cry like a little girl. I'm staying away
http://twitter.com/tjstalcup tjstalcup

This was ok and all, but nothing in this trailer makes me want to see it. I gather from this trailer that the horse will die and everyone will cry. Not trying to be cynical, there is just no driving motivation for me to go see this.
http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah

I applaud Speilberg for taking great risk in making a film about a horse during war. I'm sure this film will fantastic. I could use a good, hard weep followed by a few hours curled up in my bed crying out "Why?!? Why?!?" I'm sure my wife will wonder what is wrong with me, and I will respond, "I saw a new Speilberg film."
Rp1n

Risk? This film is typical overly emotional manipulative Spielberg. He hasn't made a good film in over a decade.
- http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
  
  Yes. Risk. Do you see a lot of films about horses out there? Have you ever seen a film about a horse during WWI? There's maybe one horse oriented film every few years, and those films don't generally get made by Oscar winning, critically acclaimed directors like Spielberg. The success of those films are hit or miss, and half the time they're engineered towards kids or horse lovers. Granted, I'm sure this is meant for kids, as it's based on a kids book, but with the war imagery it will appeal to adults as well. There's risk in making a film like this. It could be seen as overly "cheesy", or "emotionally manipulative" as you have identified and others have as well. I'm sure Spielberg's intention is to make you cry, but for some reason people have a problem with that. They'd rather deal with the emotional manipulation of an explosion and the excitement that causes then the emotional manipulation of something that makes one tear up. By the way, you can't be emotionally manipulated if you don't care. Yes. Risk, because there's only a trailer thus far, and people love it, or hate it already. Most directors just try to make good commercial films, and don't take risks in both story, imagery, and content. This film isn't just about a horse (Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, which is considered one of the best children's books in the last 25 years), it's about friendship during a time of great war: WWI. It's about the wordless communication between a boy and a horse, which is challenging to film. He could do something middle of the road that would appeal to everyone, but the risk is in doing something that doesn't appeal to all, but somehow still manages to capture the interest despite initial disinterest. Spielberg uses sweeping shots, glowing light, great landscapes, fog and shadow, and character emotions to build his story. He isn't just using words to sing a song, but using images that build his story. There are so many dark films about war, and a few of those have been made by Spielberg himself. Why not take risk and do something different? As you can see, he is. He's a painter. Cinema is his canvas. Let the painter paint. By the way, Munich was made in 2005. It was Oscar nominated, and it was brilliant. Minority Report was in 2002. It wasn't brilliant, but it was good. To say he hasn't made a good film in 10 years isn't accurate, in my opinion.
Codykinsey

This movie looks amazing. People who say it's all just beautiful cinematography and heart-stirring emotion with no substance are being DUMB because it's a TEASER. It's exactly what it should be--just a yummy taste.
grimjob

I'm just glad to finally see a movie involving WWI. Not nearly enough of them.
- http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
  
  Very true.
http://www.facebook.com/benay.gavazoglu Benay Gavazoğlu

I love Steven Spielberg! I'm so excited. I'm sure that i will find something i like. Spielberg's every movie affect me, in a way.
Cody W.

That was just....beautiful.
Daneforst

I agree with everyone who thinks this looks average. It has NOTHING memorable at all and I bet you could throw in shots from All The Pretty Horses, Black Beauty and Seabuscuit and most wouldn't notice. This trailer is the epitome of "meh". I expect better from SS.
Darrengeet

Looks like one of those movies that kids would be forced to watch in school...i'll pass
Jez

Does anyone else think that this is pure cheese?
Chad

Is the horse's ankle broken at 1:03?
duane

And then God created the DP. An his name was Janusz.
Nohomework

Better still, watch the Black Stallion. A wonderful film.
Rooster Cogburn

The horses ankle doesnt get broken, at least in the book it doesnt. His leg gets caught in barbed wire and all gashed up. And contrary to popular belief, in the book the horse doesnt die either. Lol this looks decent though, will most likely go see it. Im still waiting for spielberg to do an HBO mini-series set in WW1, how rad would that be!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9emWB_rrMt0 Crapola

Man oh man. A horse in war? Genius. Looks absolutely cheeseballs. More heroic bullshit. I know so many men went to that War thinking it would be a breeze and ended up buried in the mud, that kid would be pretty dumb to go and try save his horse, but folk like dumb hero movies. That war was literally like raising hell to the level of earth. The war to end all wars.
Michael C

Thank you Jesus. Another Spielberg movie. I've been waiting so long for this. I've actually seen the play on Broadway and it's amazing. Something about this novel must translate well to the stage/screen or it's just that the talented have the motivation to adapt it.
Wellington

Boy Spielberg has got something against the Germans, the Spanish and the Arabs.
Logus

Seems to be boring as hell... The horse will have also a mouse friend or a dog to team up? I´ll pass.
Aliaskari08

Seriously??? All you people who are on Speilberg's nuts need to get off. At what point did you stop and say this was "epic"? It is so average. Yes the cinematography looks good (but nothing mind blowing). Terrance Malick's "Tree of Life" has way better cinematogrphy. The story is why this looks so average, I think ppl are tired of his b/s war movies, adn one with a kid going to save his horse???? SS is just riding on getting fake emotion by adding a white boy with blue eyes and a horse. SS needs to go back to gritty drama's I.E. Saving Private Ryan. And I bet this will be rated PG-13. JUST SEEMS MEH! I'll wait for Netflix.
Jez

Run War Horse Run! Feels like Robert Zemeckis before he went all Mocap.
Cody W.

People are so cynical and jaded nowadays, its no wonder the world is headed where it is. If it was 10-15 years ago, everyone's response would be positive.
- http://twitter.com/QuanahTweets Quanah
  
  Yes. Sad to see, isn't it?
jadedblue

I prefer cynical and jaded thank you! Peoples taste have changed its a fact of life. This movie looks cheesy and boring to me.
- Cody W.
  
  And its that utter apathy thats leading the world into another dark age.
Jill

The Broadway play was one of the most amazing theatrical experiences I've had in my life. And the most emotional. The movie looks wonderful, too, and I will definitely see it. I guess if having an intense love of animals makes me a cheeseball sap, then so be it. But I was never aware of how horrifically horses were treated during WWI until I saw this beautiful play, and this story just tore at my heartstrings. It you have no emotions, don't see this. If you have a heart and love animals, I can't imagine that this movie won't move you to tears. And no, the horse doesn't die. But that didn't stop the tears from rolling down my face. Personally, I can't wait to see this, but will be stockpiled with tissues.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Cortez-De-La-Cruz/100000950698388 Cortez De La Cruz

Don't need to watch the film, by only seeing a horse in the middle of a war my heart brakes into pieces. Sweet brave animals they are.
http://whatafy.com whatafy

Disappointed no footage of Benedict Cumberbatch in the trailer.
alan sandomir

more manipulative drivel designed to corral a herd mentality and rope another Oscar from saddle-stupid, over-grained members of the Academy. Anyone who cares about animals and, in this case, horses, will recognize that this film is just another cynical example of animal abuse.
alan sandomir

failed to mention what I think is obvious--Spielberg is one of our best directors. That is, he is expert at telegraphing what will interest the larger audience and equally expert at managing skilled contributors who, finally, produce good-looking and, occasionally, perceptive films. War Horse may overwhelm my expectations by being more than this "trailer" details. Let us hope so--after all, we are the ones that may help Disney to gallop past the break-even point. as for the last decade, the films that Spielberg has produced or co-produced have been, almost uniformly, bad. I think monetary motives drive this insane desire to produce such manure. And while "AI," The Terminal", and "Indiana Jones IV" were equally horrible, " "Munich" was intelligent, if a bit too preachy, "Catch Me if You Can" was breezy and warm, and "Minority Report" was remarkable at every level. So--Spielberg, as director, had a very good decade. The criticism, regarding his past directorial work, seems to be a summary dismissal that is neither fair nor deserved.
alan sandomir

i forgot to mention "War of the Worlds"--probably because it is so forgetable.
Anonymous

Doesn't work on my iPad 2 big fail
Saw see

----Spielberg continues to push tech worship, EUGENICS and Globalism while issuing over-produced moral alibis ---for himself. Just a little REALITY CHECK as the 60th Anniversary of the ----KOREAN WAR---- is 'overlooked'. . .
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