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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE HORSE WHISPERER
The Horse Whisperer

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The Horse Whisperer (1998)

71%
60%
68%
N/A
N/A
N/A
71 %
Reviews Counted: 51 Fresh: 36  Rotten:15 Average Rating: 6.9/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 48 mins
Synopsis:
A terrible horseback riding accident has left 14-year-old Grace MacLean (Scarlett Johansson) emotionally and physically scarred for life, and has left her prized horse, Pilgrim, permanently spooked. Grace's mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas)--a high-powered New York magazine... [More]
A terrible horseback riding accident has left 14-year-old Grace MacLean (Scarlett Johansson) emotionally and physically scarred for life, and has left her prized horse, Pilgrim, permanently spooked. Grace's mother, Annie (Kristin Scott Thomas)--a high-powered New York magazine editor--is unwilling to believe that Pilgrim is beyond help and is desperate to help her daughter recover from the trauma. Annie drives across the country to Montana, with daughter and horse in tow, in search of Tom Booker (Robert Redford) a horse whisperer with a special gift for communicating with troubled horses. With Tom's help, both Grace and Pilgrim begin to deal with the aftermath of the accident. Annie, meanwhile, begins to reevaluate the choices she has made in life as she becomes enamored with both Booker and life on a Montana ranch. Sam Neill plays Robert MacLean, the husband and father left behind in New York when mother and daughter make their trek. Directed by Redford (ORDINARY PEOPLE, QUIZ SHOW) and based on Nicholas Evans's popular novel of the same name, the film features sweeping Montana vistas, earnest performances, and impressive horseback riding and training sequences. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Scarlett Johansson, Dianne Wiest

Director: Robert Redford
Screenwriter: Richard LaGravenese, Eric Roth
Producer: Robert Redford, Patrick Markey
Composer: Thomas Newman, John Barry

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 11, 1998

[DVD Details]

Reviews

 
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It's a film-maker's love letter to himself.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 04:21 AM
Time Out
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Curl your cynical lip if you want, but there's a place for heartwarming, life-affirming, even weepy dramas.

Full Review | Comment
11/08/07 03:21 PM
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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Directing himself for the first time, Redford has lavished his usual meticulous care on popular material that comes alive on the screen in ways that it never could on the page.

Full Review | Comment
11/08/07 03:20 PM
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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This has loads of craft and honor but never quite takes off.

Full Review | Comment
11/08/07 03:17 PM
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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We are not talking postmodern or even modern here, but the best kind of old-fashioned.

Full Review | Comment
04/27/07 03:15 AM
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
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I found it to be a compelling, adult film that transports you into another world.

Full Review | Comment
04/09/05 03:42 AM
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
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A lovely piece of filmmaking.

Full Review | Comment
05/14/03 05:16 PM
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
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This is a beautiful movie, but not for those in a hurry.

Full Review | Comment
03/16/03 08:36 AM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
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Robert Redford has done it again.

Full Review | Comment
02/08/03 08:30 AM
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
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For such a long meal it certainly isn't very filling.

Full Review | Comment
01/10/03 08:34 AM
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
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Despite its flaws, The Horse Whisperer is a marvel -- in its artistry, its love of place, and its tender regard for broken hearts.

Full Review | Comment
10/15/02 08:26 AM
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
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No review available.

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08/25/02 10:48 AM
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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No review available.

| Comment
07/30/02 11:04 AM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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The Horse Whisperer is a calculated heart-tugging machine, as soulless and efficient in its own way as Twister or Independence Day; instead of a 'thrill-ride,' it's a trip through the tunnel of love.

Full Review | Comment
06/05/02 08:20 AM
Cathy Thompson-Georges
Boxoffice Magazine
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Tutors us in the art of slowing down, being present, and quieting the heart.

Full Review | Comment
03/02/02 08:19 AM
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
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Redford is obviously a romantic at heart, and he brings a light touch to the erotic moments in the film.

Full Review | Comment
02/27/01 05:50 PM
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
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That lack of identifiable passion is The Horse Whisperer's most vexing problem.

Full Review | Comment
02/14/01 12:37 AM
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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No review available.

| Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
USA Today
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...beautiful-looking and emotionally absorbing...

Full Review | Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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Though a bit overlong at nearly three hours and with a curiously unsatisfying ending, The Horse Whisperer nonetheless taps into the spirit of the characters and their noble mounts.

Full Review | Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
E! Online
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