Classic Horse Favorites: 4 Film Favorites [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

National Velvet International Velvet Black Beauty The Story of Seabiscuit

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Color
• Features:
  • National Velvet: Full-Screen version
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages: English & Francais
  • Subtitles: English, Francais & Espanol
  • International Velvet:
  • Full-Screen version
  • Black Beauty: Full-screen version
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages & Subtitles: English & Francais
  • The Stoyr of Seabiscuit: Full-screen version
  • Featurette
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Subtitles: English, Francais & Espanol

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Editing - 1945 (Robert J. Kern)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1945 (Anne Revere)
•     Nominated Best Color Art Direction - 1945 (Cedric Gibbons, Edwin B. Willis, Urie McCleary, Mildred Griffiths)
•     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1945 (Leonard Smith)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1945 (Clarence Brown)

• Film Daily

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1944

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1944

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Elizabeth Taylor - Velvet Brown
       Barry Fitzgerald - Shawn O'Hara
       Anthony Hopkins - Capt. Johnny Johnson
       Anne Revere - Mrs. Brown
       Alun Armstrong - Reuben Smith
       Dinsdale Landen - Mr. Curtis
       Butch Jenkins - Donald Brown
       Arthur Treacher - Man with Umbrella
       Andrew Knott - Joe Green
       Alan Cumming - Black Beauty
       Jason White - Roger
       Martin Neil - Mike
       Douglas Reith - Howard
       Adrian Ross - Magenty - Lord George

• Director:

  Clarence Brown, Bryan Forbes, Caroline Thompson, David Butler

• Producer:

  Pandro S. Berman, Bryan Forbes, Peter Macgregor-Scott, Robert Shapiro, William Jacobs

• Screenwriter:

  Theodore Reeves, Helen Deutsch

• Play Author:

  Enid Bagnold

• Screenwriter:

  Bryan Forbes

• Book Author:

  Enid Bagnold, Anna Sewell

• Screenwriter:

  Caroline Thompson, John Taintor Foote

• Cinematographer:

  Leonard Smith, Tony Imi, Dick Pope, Tony Spratling, Alex Thomson, David Feig, Wilfrid M. Cline

• Composer (Music Score):

  Herbert Stothart, Francis Lai, Danny Elfman

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Simon Kaye

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Buttolph

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  David Buttolph

• Editor:

  Robert J. Kern, Timothy Gee, Claire Simpson, Irene Morra

• Production Designer:

  Edwin B. Willis, Mildred Griffiths, Keith Wilson, John Box

• Art Director:

  Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Kevin Phipps, Les Tomkins, Douglas Bacon

• Set Designer:

  Edwin B. Willis, Mildred Griffiths, Ian Whittaker, Eddie Fowlie, Lyle B. Reifsnider

• Costume Designer:

  Irene, Dorothy Edwards, John Furness, John Furniss, John Hilling, Jenny Beavan, Leah Rhoads

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Ken Barker

• Makeup:

  Eric Allwright, Magdelen Gaffney

• Special Effects:

  Warren Newcombe, Joss Williams

• First Assistant Director:

  Philip Shaw, Chris Carreras

• Consultant/advisor:

  Rex Peterson

• Stunts:

  Richard Graydon

• Casting:

  Mary Selway

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Richard Graydon

• Second Unit Director:

  Vic Armstrong

• Foley Artist:

  Kevin Bartnof

REVIEWS:

• One of the most beloved children's classics ever filmed, National Velvet holds up almost as well today as it did in 1944. True, modern audiences are much more familiar with elements of the story now, and they may find a bit of the plotting somewhat farfetched; but most audiences will be caught up in the sheer excitement and good will of Velvet that they will gladly overlook any shortcomings. There's so much to praise in Velvet that it's hard to know where to begin -- or would be, if it weren't for the fact that the climactic event remains the best horse racing sequence ever put on film. It's gripping, spine tingling and just plain fun, a sequence that will have viewers on the edge of their seats and ready to stand and cheer. Credit for this spectacular segment is due equally to director Clarence Brown, cinematographer Leonard Smith, editor Robert J. Kern and composer Herbert Stothart, all of whom work together seamlessly. Brown's work throughout is nearly flawless, drawing forth sterling performances from his cast, capturing every highlight of the screenplay and telling the story with keen attention to pacing and cinematic detail. Elizabeth Taylor is sheer magic as Velvet, Mickey Rooney gives a wonderful, understated performance, Angela Lansbury is lovely and Anne Revere makes the absolute most of every moment. Then there's Pi, one of the most beautiful creatures ever put on the screen, a force of nature that is irresistible. Velvet is a dream of a movie -- one from which you won't want to awaken. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• The only thing really wrong with The Story of Seabiscuit is that it simply isn't the story of Seabiscuit. One expects Hollywood to play fast and loose with the facts when it makes a biopic about a person, so it's probably no surprise that they play even faster and looser when filming the biography of a horse. But Seabiscuit would have been a much better film if the creators had simply told his real story rather than inventing a bit of distracting and not terribly believable fluff about a trainer, the trainer's niece, and her romantic interest in a jockey. This is really what the film is about, and it's an incredibly dull and uninteresting little tale. Fortunately, Seabiscuit has Barry Fitzgerald on hand to play the trainer, and his warm-but-ragged personality helps to push the film -- barely -- into the winner's circle. He's helped enormously by the use of actual archival footage of the famous horse in two of his most important races; these two sequences truly get the blood pounding and the pulse racing and demonstrate what the film might have been like if it had really been about the titular subject. There are a few other things of note in the film, such as Rosemary de Camp's performance and parts of grown-up Shirley Temple's (as well as all of Temple's grown-up beauty). But mostly it's Fitzgerald and the actual race footage (some of it causing the film to jump suddenly from color to black-and-white) that make Seabiscuit worth a look or two. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi