The Black Stallion Essay

The film The Black Stallion (1979) is an important film because of its ability to develop the relationship between a boy and a horse, and to convey the conflicting themes of competition and cooperation, using the elements of sound. A very deliberate, thought-out use of dialogue, score, and sound effects allows viewers of this film to see how the boy and the horse each mature in their own ways throughout the film, and how their struggle with independence and relying on each other is ultimately resolved. Throughout The Black Stallion, sound effects are used primarily to establish settings and pace. This film was conceptually built around a child’s perspective of the world, which resulted in clear, immense images and a plot that proceeds in

Once again, the film uses a rhythmic device, in this case the horse’s gasping breaths, to establish a tempo for the scene that sets it apart from those around it. Time seems to slow with this pacemaker, even as the horse flies around the track at breakneck speeds. The sound of the crowd in the background swells and recedes again as shots alternate between the boy and his horse on the racetrack, and a flashback to when the pair first rode together on the beach. Combined with the score, this ever-changing mirage of music and sound effects as they blend in and out around each other, builds anticipation until at the final moment the hero emerges victorious from the race. Of course winning the big race is always a hallmark of the climax of a movie, but in this case the true climatic action stems from the fact that in that moment, the boy and the horse are cooperating completely for their mutual success. Gone is the independent power struggle of their first few days on the island; here the film shows its audience through the use of incredible sound editing, that the relationship between the boy and the horse has grown into one of dependency and