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WAR HORSE competitive crying thread

(106 Posts)
MitchierInge Mon 09-Jan-12 16:40:33

I know I'm not the only person snivelling through the trailer when it appears. Anyone seen it sneakily yet?

Was more than a bit traumatising on page and stage so am preparing for worst. (Cannot help noticing no mention of OUR major Morpurgo adaptation yet sad)

Pixel Mon 09-Jan-12 16:47:18

I've had the book since last Christmas and haven't had the nerve to read it yet, the five minutes-worth with the puppet at Olympia turned me into a wreck so although I've kept meaning to see it on stage I haven't yet. (Joey looks a bit too much like dhorse, even in puppet form!). I suppose I could wait for the DVD and see it in manageable chunks,
I blame my mother, I was traumatised at an early age by being read Black Beauty as a bedtime story.

MitchierInge Mon 09-Jan-12 16:53:06

oh you must, I can't go through it alone!

It's very very very affecting isn't it? saw the whole play, obviously it was brilliant but argh it was so BAD - got used to crying through Morpurgo's books anyway, that's sort of different

I'm such a masochist, I am really looking forward to Friday!

I have just read the book. It was a quiet day at work! I was standing on the market stall, crying my eyes out!!
Mitchy, did we PM regarding this film a while back?

MitchierInge Mon 09-Jan-12 23:31:25

We did, it was Private Peaceful which might be, um, slightly lower profile (surely war horse will boost it though?) that they were filming at our place - it's probably not a secret now they have gone? They did the war bits just up the road, there is a ready made set, think Downton Abbey did war scenes there.

It was lovely having free sandwiches and cake and stuff but when they filmed in our field they moved my horses, after all the excitement of them photographing the brown one, no fame or fortune for us sad

Ah, I knew there was something going on! grin

recall Mon 09-Jan-12 23:37:20

I will never watch it - I know it will be too sad.

But sad in a nice way, Recall.

GrimmaTheNome Mon 09-Jan-12 23:41:58

I'm not a 'tack room' regular but I bet I could win this competition - just hearing iWH being talked about on R4 started my tear ducts! I will have to wait for DVD though, DD would be too embarrassed by floods at cinema.

LowRegNumber Tue 10-Jan-12 07:50:34

Dm and I are taking the younger dc to see it on Friday, can't wait to embarrass my younger ones by sobbing openly in the cinema (i got my elder dc by sobbing through spirit stallion of the cimmaron). I suspect that the dc will be totally unaffected as they all seem rather tough whilst I am a wuss of the highest order!

AlpinePony Tue 10-Jan-12 07:57:53

You'd need to tie me down and staple my eyelids open to make me watch this. No way!

I can't even watch something as supposedly innocuous as Seabiscuit! blush

MitchierInge Tue 10-Jan-12 09:22:50

as a sobfest it's going to be like Black Beauty AND Marley and Me combined with that really awful bit of Flicka where they load her on to the trailer and she can't see the sky and doesn't know what is happening, argh tears now, and the end bit when you think they have shot her, argh argh argh

but a bit worse because WWI things are already unbearable in their own right

think I will have a reread to inoculate myself

I cried at the original play in London it was BRILLIANT ( the play not me sobbbing)

Luckily I had a lovely lady next to me who provided tissues & we both confused about why we were so emotional over <as she put it> a bloody puppet!!

The film will be worse/more realistic apparently a lot of the scenes with Joey are using improvised footage so will be very natural..... <wails>

marge2 Tue 10-Jan-12 12:39:57

Some folks from my yard are going this week. I have wussed out. My lovely 19yo horse has chronic health issues and I just can't afford to keep her much longer, what with livery AND vets bills on a part time wage on top of all the normal family stuff. Cards now starting to be declined. Having her pts is on my mind all the time. Just know I won't be able to cope with War Horse (Actually I can't afford to go anyway)

Abbicob Tue 10-Jan-12 13:17:07

I won't be going either - far too sad a topic.
I also saw the Olympia performance and thought it was very sad and distressing.

Mirage Tue 10-Jan-12 13:26:45

Oh no marge2.sad

DD1 who is 8 wants to see WH,but it is a 12a,so although she could go with me,I blub just thinking about it,so don't want to upset her by being upset IYSWIM.

WW1 stuff always makes me cry,adding horses in to the mix will make me just about dehydrated.I still well up when I remember the knacker man coming for our shetland,and that was over 30 years ago.

MitchierInge Tue 10-Jan-12 14:19:27

sad marge, so sorry to read that

it's a tear jerker of course but distressing? inspiring and affirming and that sort of thing

anyway have found a picture of beloved brown horse that reminds me of one of the newer cover designs for war horse, feel free to admire

haggisaggis Tue 10-Jan-12 15:23:18

Sorry to be thick here, but how sad is it? There is a chance dd (9) will be taken to see it with a group of her friends at teh weekend. She gets very upset at animal films where the character is in danger / dies - so need to prepare her. (she refused to see "Marley & Me" )

MitchierInge Tue 10-Jan-12 15:30:29

well, there is a really bad bit, a horse death (two actually but one is a slightly more important character than the other) I can't imagine they have glossed over that

slightly less enthusiastic myself now, has been such a long wait though

Pixel Tue 10-Jan-12 16:44:24

(Joey looks a bit too much like dhorse, even in puppet form!)

Ha ha, I've just seen the Joey in the film (well, as a youngster) and of course he is nothing like dhorse, but funnily enough the puppet is just like him!

I've been given some theatre vouchers for Christmas, Maybe the time has come to be brave...

It is ultimately uplifting although the wider message <how many horses didn't make it back after the war & NOT because they died in action> is shock but a valuable history lesson for the DC's.

I'd think carefully before taking any child below 12 TBH, as the war scenes are quite harrowing. (only IMHO of course)

LowRegNumber Wed 11-Jan-12 03:09:00

Honestly, neither dc nor I found the stage version as harrowing as the book. Whilst it is beautiful and moving it is much easier to stomach. I suspect the film version will be much tougher as it will be more graphic iyswim. For me a lot of the reason the stage show was upsetting was because I related it back to the book.

SucksToBeMe Wed 11-Jan-12 03:40:36

The boss at my old job did yhe speicial effects on this film. He told me everybody was quite emotional working on the movie. I won'tbe watching it as i cry at the john lewis adverts <pathetic emotion> I do however have the T shirt and other various momentos.

Loshad Wed 11-Jan-12 22:42:51

Don't know how i'd manage with the stage/film version. Have read both warhorse/private peaceful 4 times now (at my dcs school they have to read them over the summer hols y5/y6) each time i blub my eyes out.
Was reading private peaceful with dc4 this summer and was crying so much i couldn't get the words out. Was released by him saying 2shall i read for a bit now mummy" blush

marge2 Wed 11-Jan-12 22:44:59

Oh Dear God. Just read the book in one sitting. Oh Dear God!!! I am NEVER going to go and see that!

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