Main Cast: Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Jim Carter, Peter Davison, Alun Armstrong
Release Year: 1994
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
The fourth screen adaptation of Anna Sewell's classic novel is, in some ways, the most faithful and accomplished. Screenwriter and director Caroline Thompson recounts the life of Black Beauty, an aging, handsome stallion living in Victorian England. The film is narrated by Alan Cumming as the voice of Black Beauty, who spends a happy childhood on a rambling country estate before being ravaged by illness and surviving a horrible stable fire. However, the worst is yet to come as Black Beauty's new owners subject him to life as a horse for rent and, later, as a taxi puller in working-class London, before he can retire in peace. The original novel was written to draw attention to the cruel treatment of animals in 1877 England, and the issue's continued relevance today adds poignancy and gravity to this affecting tale. The film is episodic, as was the book, and the topic is handled with sensitivity and care. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
John McEnery - Mr. York; Eleanor Bron - Lady Wexmire; Peter Cook - Lord Wexmire; Andrew Knott - Joe Green; Alan Cumming - Black Beauty; Conrad Asquith - Guv'nor Crenshaw; Rosalind Ayres - Mistress Gordon; Angus Barnett - Ned Burnham; Niall O'Brien - Farmer Thoroughgood; Peter Penry-Jones - Wild-looking Young Man; Adrian Ross-Magenty - Lord George; David Ryall - Carriagemaker; Matthew Scurfield - Horse Dealer; Anthony Walters - Alfred Gordon; Bill Stewart - Coachman; Dick Brannick - Cabbie; Robert Demeger - Horse Marker Buyer; Bronco McLoughlin - Granary Cart Driver; John Quarmby - Butler; Mary Selway; Graham Valentine - Cabbie; Lyndon Davies - Head Groom
Credit
Kevin Phipps - Art Director, Les Tomkins - Art Director, Mary Selway - Casting, Rex Peterson - Consultant/advisor, Jenny Beavan - Costume Designer, Chris Carreras - First Assistant Director, Caroline Thompson - Director, Vic Armstrong - Second Unit Director, Claire Simpson - Editor, Danny Elfman - Composer (Music Score), Simon Kaye - Musical Direction/Supervision, Magdelen Gaffney - Makeup, John Box - Production Designer, Dick Pope - Cinematographer, Tony Spratling - Cinematographer, Alex Thomson - Cinematographer, David Feig - Cinematographer, Peter Macgregor-Scott - Producer, Robert Shapiro - Producer, Eddie Fowlie - Set Designer, Joss Williams - Special Effects, Caroline Thompson - Screenwriter, Kevin Bartnof - Foley Artist, Anna Sewell - Book Author
Black Beauty is a 1994 film adaptation of Anna Sewell's novel by the same name, directed by Caroline Thompson in her directorial debut [1]. It was released in 1994 and stars Sean Bean and David Thewlis. The film is also treated as an autobiography of the horse Black beauty as in the original novel, and is narrated by Alan Cumming as the voice of the 'Black Beauty' [2]. This is the fifth feature film adaptation of the 1877 classic novel by Anna Sewell[3].
