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Whistle Stopper - White Mane (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $8.60
Your Save: $ 6.35 ( 42% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
Starring: Alain Emery, Laurent Roche, Charles Guillaume, Pierre Moureaux-Nery, Pierre Bestieux
Directed By: Albert Lamorisse
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 0715515028929
Format: Anamorphic
Label: Criterion Collection
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Criterion Collection
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Running Time: 40
Studio: Criterion Collection
Theatrical Release Date: 1952
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Comment: I have seen this film several times in a theater or classroom and enjoyed it. But Criterion produced a much sharper image than I had ever seen before. We watched it with a woman who works with horses, and she was amazed at the horses in the film. The fighting scenes were excellent, and she marvelled at White Mane in the fire. The boy Falco is still a wonderful character to watch, pure and determined. Their escape into the water is tragic to watch. What joy when your previously enthusiastic pleasure increases through a fresh viewing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: White Mane
Comment: White Mane is the name of a wild horse living in a barren region of Southern France, the leader of a herd of horses. Some "gauchos" try to capture him and do, for a time, but he escapes. He is seen by a young boy who eventually befriends him and brings him to his home, which he shares with an old man and a baby sister. The family has other pets, such as turtles and a flamingo. Unfortunately, the gauchos haven't given up their quest to capture the beautiful horse. This somewhat sad tale is lightened considerably by its beautiful photography and by its straightforward tone. It is told in the manner of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, and would be suitable and recommended for children, with parental guidance, and adults.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Boy and Horse clash with the adult world
Comment: A boy and a horse clash with greedy and dishonest adults. They go off into the sea and one hopes they find a better place (rather than dying).
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Summary: Bittersweet beauty
Comment: A companion to the same director's classic "The Red Balloon," this exquisite film probably wouldn't be made for children today ... and that's a pity. Children, simply by being younger, smaller, and weaker than the adult world around them, are already well aware of cruelty. They all understand what it is to be bullied, to be targeted for being different, to have to fight when they'd rather just be left alone. "White Mane" presents this fact of life not brutally, or mercilessly -- but honestly.
And it offers more, as well. The lyrical beauty of the film, the gorgeous black & white photography, the astonishingly expressive face of the boy Folco, all remind us that if there's unfairness in the world, there's also something sublime & deeply moving in it as well -- if only we look for it & see it. And it offers the consolation of art, and of storytelling itself.
I understand the misgivings of some regarding the film's ending. It's ambiguous at best, a harsh reminder that the sensitive of this world are often hounded by those who don't (or won't) understand them, and thus do their best to destroy them. But children can't be protected by denying that sad fact. If anything, a film like this probably enables them to deal with it better.
Adult viewers will savor the poetry, but also shake their heads in doleful recognition. It's a poignant gem of a film, most highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Could be the Most Beautiful Black and White Cinematography Ever
Comment: I gasp at the beauty of this film...the only way to describe it is to imagine a nature photograph of Edward Weston or Ansel Adams coming to life. The story is simple enough. A wild horse that runs free in the South of France is captured by some French "cowboys", yet refuses to be tamed and breaks free. Despite several efforts of the cowboys to retrieve this pick of the horses, White Mane will only allow himself to be handled by a young boy - the son of a fisherman in harmony with nature. But it is not the story that makes this film sing...it is the combination of some of the most beautiful, lyrical images I have ever seen on the screen, the folk music of the South of France, and the very sparse narration in the French language. So therefore, it is a film where nature in the raw unfolds before our eyes...without distractions of unnecessary conversation or sentimental music.
A few words about the fighting among the horses. Everyone knows this is common to determine status and rank in the herd. That is reality...in the animal world and, alas, in the human world also. What the film does is depict "White Man" as he truly is, wild. untamed, and even a little brutal.
This is poetry in film, plain and simple. This is allegory. And it is even ballet as the music - when it is played - is coordinated so perfectly with the movement of the cowboys or the horse. If you are someone who finds joy in watching a jackrabbit scampering along the cracked earth with a wild stallion accompanying his rhythms, then this is the film for you.
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Editorial Reviews:
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As in Albert Lamorisse's classic fable The Red Balloon, a boy forms a unique attachment in the less fanciful, if equally lyrical White Mane. While the 1956 color film takes place in modern Paris, the filmmaker's 1953 effort plays like an old black and white western. In the opening sequence, White Mane ("Crin Blanc") enjoys a life of freedom in the dusty Camargue region of Southern France. Local cowboys, portrayed by the herdsmen of Les Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer, attempt to capture him, but the wild horse keeps evading their clutches. Young fisherman Folco (Alain Emery), who lives with his grandfather and younger brother (the director's son, Pascal, star of The Red Balloon), finds himself entranced by the proud creature. In Folco's dreams, they become friends, but the horse prefers to associate with his own kind. That dynamic starts to change once White Mane realizes Folco isn't like the adults trying to tame him. The boy doesn't want to change the horse, and a relationship develops based on mutual trust. This luminous transfer features spare narration, in French or a newly-recorded English version, and minimal dialogue in favor of a flute-dominated score and chase-oriented action (which may be too intense for younger viewers). Just as the 34-minute Red Balloon won an Oscar, the 40-minute White Mane won a Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival (the two often screen together). Other than the trailer and an essay from Michael Koresky, this long-awaited release forgoes special features. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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