Pipes in the movie War Horse

[Don Watts]

Yep, Blue Bonnets.
My wife has corrected herself -- said she was sobbing her eyes out at the time and not paying that much attention ....

[Texas Gael]

Almost sounds as if the movie went by Daniel Laidlaw's piping feat with the KOSB at the Battle of Loos in 1915, which won him the VC. He mounted the parapet and played All the Blue Bonnets, but in War Horse it sounds as if the piper crouched in the bottom of the trench. Guess I'll have to go see the movie - my wife and kids saw it, but not being pipers it was hard to get any information out of them. The trailer seemed to show War Horse over on the German side at one point, hope he didn't desert!

Cheers -

Wes

[Kevin Palm]

Personally, I was disappointed in the movie overall. Too much calculated sentimentality along with too many "yeah, right" moments made for an unsatissfying experience. It was nice to see the pipes, though!

[pipesofwar]

Originally Posted by Kevin Palm

Personally, I was disappointed in the movie overall. Too much calculated sentimentality along with too many "yeah, right" moments made for an unsatissfying experience. It was nice to see the pipes, though!

I too was let down by the film. I think Spielberg is a great filmmaker/storyteller. When the man gets it right, he gets it right. But he has done a few films that just fall short of the mark. From a filmmaking standpoint I think I know where he failed in this film. And yes, it has more to do than just the piper not going 'over the top' as I have voiced here before.

The book version of War Horse tells the story from the horse’s perspective. It is the war seen through his eyes. It was adapted for the stage and then again for the film. The difficulty in telling a story through the eyes of an animal and from its perspective was not what the producers felt would attract a large audience, and they were probably right. So they had to tell the tale through the human characters following the horse on its journey. But in doing so they made the horse the main character and not the humans. This was the mistake. People, the audience will always care more about people than other objects. We have emotional connections; a sympathy or empathy that exists for humans that wont exists for dinosaurs and animals.
I mention dinosaurs in reference to Jurassic Park. I tend to use that as an example because when I ask people to name the main character in that film they have to stop and think. Can you name the main character? .... The Sam Neil Archeologist? The Laura Dern Archeologist? The kids? This was a landmark in special effects, but you know what? It is not in any of the critics top ten lists of greatest films. It's not even on the AFI top 100. It is because Spielberg made the Dinosaurs the main character, the main event of the film and we go 'Wow!' at the visual eye candy, but in the end.. we have no emotional attachment.

The audience will always care more about the adventurer than the adventure. That’s why Saving Private Ryan worked so well for Spielberg.. We cared about those men making it. We don't care if Indiana Jones is raiding the lost ark or on the last crusade because we love cheering for Indiana. Even Jaws, despite it being about the shark, you only see the shark for a handful of minutes in the entire film. When I ask who's the main character, instantly you can identify the Sheriff. You can relate to the Sheriff.

So with War Horse we were, as in Jurassic Park, given a main character not quite human. Yes it works in movies like Disney/Pixar's WallE and Toy Story, but that’s because they endow those characters with very human emotions, actions, and characteristics. Something you can get a real horse to do.
Also, in War Horse we are given a series of vignettes, short stories about the humans the horse comes into contact with. Much like the film, The Red Violin, where we follow the journey of a violin through the hands of various owners as it comes down through history. The problem with that is that just as soon as we start to care about a character we move on.

In War Horse, we are given a opening build to establish the bond between owner and horse, that is never revisited until the very end. In between we start to care about the German brothers but loose them, the girl, then the horse moves on again. After a few of those stings we become numb and don't care. Spielberg knew the audience would need help to feel emotional about the horse and the story so he crafted that "calculated sentimentality along with too many "yeah, right" moments" in hopes to draw you in. It was beautifully filmed and nice to look at, but the 'Gone with the Wind' scene at the end was done, well, with 'Gone with the Wind.'

I too am very glad that he included a piper and I hope this film does well over all. If it helps bring about an interest in WWI and the subject matter it could benefit my Pipes of War films to follow.

Now, of course this is just an opinion. If you loved War Horse, then love it. I liked it, it was good film… not a great film, but it could have been. I will own a copy when it’s released. I just know it could have been better. Yes, I know Spielberg has won Oscars. But then so has our production company, so I do speak from experience.

Anyway, I look forward to releasing our films, each telling the personal story of the only pipers to ever earn a Victoria Cross. The films will have a clear adventurer that I hope the audience will connect with. They are, James Richardson, Daniel Laidlaw, and George Findlater.

Follow our progress at: http://thepipesofwar.com/production-blog/

[pipesofwar]

Originally Posted by Texas Gael

Almost sounds as if the movie went by Daniel Laidlaw's piping feat with the KOSB at the Battle of Loos in 1915, which won him the VC. He mounted the parapet and played All the Blue Bonnets, but in War Horse it sounds as if the piper crouched in the bottom of the trench. Guess I'll have to go see the movie - my wife and kids saw it, but not being pipers it was hard to get any information out of them. The trailer seemed to show War Horse over on the German side at one point, hope he didn't desert!

Cheers -

Wes

Sadly the only parallel to Laidlaw's action was the tune being played.

[Klondike Waldo]

Originally Posted by Don Watts

My wife, also a piper, said it was Battle of the Somme. Curious choice given that the tune wasn't written until after the battle that the scene was depicting.

The scene was The Somme, but not the tune.

[Drew McPheeters]

Here is an intersting tidbit with a picture of the pipers memorial at Longueval in the Somme.

http://yourarchives.nationalarchives...d_at_Longueval

Also here

http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/longueval.html

[Don Watts]

Originally Posted by Klondike Waldo

The scene was The Somme, but not the tune.

Uh, yes. See my subsequent post, please.

[Klondike Waldo]

Originally Posted by Don Watts

Uh, yes. See my subsequent post, please.

Saw it, was merely agreeing with you

[piobair]

Thanks for the info everyone. Ok, if Carolyn was crying her eyes out, I pretty much know I can't watch this movie. I can't stand animals being in pain or hurt or dying.....I've become the ultimate wuss.