Sylvester (1985)

Admirable film.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I watched this movie before I rode horses, and I thought it was very exciting! Then I watched it years later after having had a few years' experience riding and competing. Though it's an entertaining movie, there are real inaccuracies that come with the riding and competition portions. Some of it is simply bad equitation and performance, but some of it is also the filmmakers not representing the level of competition properly. Also, the time frame used from the idea of training the horse until the competition is ridiculous. As a horse movie, it is definitely not the worst, and for the most part I still enjoyed it, but if you know horses well enough, you will notice the glaring flaws.

Wow I guess everyone has their own taste. I thought the movie was appalling. I've been riding and competing has a three day rider for almost twenty years and I've never seen a more unrealistic portrayal of my beloved sport- we used to watch it at the barn and make fun of it. The horse they used is a really nice 3-day horse that didn't look at all like the herd of Quarter horses she picks them out of. Besides that Melissa Gilbert can't ride to save her life- all the long shots are fabulous the horse looks great then the zoom in (and because it isn't the stunt rider anymore) he completely falls apart is strung out and her butt is stuck out so far it's hilarious. Beyond that the story is totally implausible-- you can't even take a horse to the shows she was going to without showing them at lower levels first-- it's completely against the rules- maybe a really well known rider could get permission to skip some of the requirements but you can't just start eventing a horse at the level she was supposedly at (although they never show her jumping any of the actual advanced fences at Rolex-- I jumped the stuff she was going over when I was a 12yr old pony clubber). Honestly I'm flabbergasted I never thought any horse person would like this movie. Clearly everybody has their own opinion- hey I like International Velvet despite the fact that they shoot a horse on a plane- it's so flawed- the horse keeps hitting it's head on the ceiling of the plane (horses fly in planes with tons of headroom) the rider gives him a tranq, when it doesn't work he shoots him because if he gives him anymore tranq he'll "kill him" umm why wouldn't you just give him tranq till he either calmed down or died- why shoot him in the head while he is in a pressurized cabin and standing next to a bunch of other horse who could easily be set off by he shot. Never understood that. At least Tatum O'Neal can ride a little bit and they actually have real riders (like Brice Davidson) int he flick. I just can't think of a single thing to recommend the movie Sylvester. Big thumbs down on that one I wouldn't even watch it to laugh at it- I'm embarrassed to think someone would watch it and think that it is in any way a representative of eventing.

If you're a subscriber to Western Horseman, this movie is for you. And if you're not, it's still watchable. Melissa Gilbert plays an orphan girl Charlie (livestock auction market pusher from Marfa, Texas) who learns dressage. Richard Farnsworth plays Foster, her boss, who helps her enter a cowhorse named Sylvester Stallone in the Rolex at Lexington, Kentucky. The movie shows that Gilbert must have picked up some horsemanship somewhere along the way. Actually, Farnsworth's character prefers mules. If you've never seen the Rolex, watching this movie is a good way to get hooked on it. It is quite challenging and dangerous. Also in this story are Charlie's two younger brothers and a love interest.

I watched this movie on TV and fell in love with it then. About five years later I bought it and watched it at least 6 more times. The acting must of been good because as a horse rider myself, I could see and understand the feelings that Charlie was going through herself. The only thing that made me rewind the movie back was the part where she caught Sylvester, calmed him down, and after it bit her in the arm you can notice the poor use of cartoon-like footage of the horse running away. Other than that I will always find this movie in my heart every time I think about giving up or when I need some encouragement to ride horses.