War Horse is the best play I've ever seen, and the only play I've felt compelled to return to not once, but twice. In all honesty, I'd love to see it several more times. That's how touching, heart-wrenching, and mesmerizing the story and telling of War Horse is. Consequently, when I discovered the story would become a film, directed by Stephen Spielberg, I was apprehensive and yet eager to see it.
I had logicial concerns. How would real animals compare to the puppets? How would the movie be without the wonderful music from the play? Would the film have the same emotional impact as the live performance?
All of these concerns were alleviated from the moment Joey, aka "War Horse," was born. The movie is magical in its own way. As a different medium, the story plays out at times unlike the play would have, but these changes are welcomed and necessary to preserve the integrity of the story. There were plot differences, but I imagine many of these came from the book the play and movie were based on. For my thoughts on the play itself, see my previous blog posts about the New York production and the London production.
Ultimately, in the film, the goose still achieved comedic relief, the acting was still stellar, the horse playing Joey still shined (bravo on the casting of the animals!), and a song from the play even appeared in the background of one scene. Near the end, the whole audience was on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting to see how the plot unfolded. The film may not have been live theatre, but, like the play, the film was incredibly compelling. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of the best comparisons I've read about the the play vs. the film is from Howard Sherman. I think he made several great points, and like him, I am now eager to read the book as a follow up to seeing both the play and film.
~ LBD
Theatre Quote of the Moment: "Only remembered for what we have done." ~ War Horse (The play)
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