It’s a story of hope and courage and the tenacity of a young man. Our story isn’t focused on all that death. This was a transitional time as we were starting to move away from horsepower. For hundreds of years, the horse was the most feared weapon in an army. He was used with cavalry and for hauling military equipment. What was Joey’s role?Ī He was a beast of burden on both the English and German sides. Q Horses were still in use in the early 20th century. That gave me a more personal look into the war, not as much a political one.

But instead of big historical overviews, I read memoirs from British, French and German soldiers that served during the war. Q How familiar were you with World War I before embarking on “War Horse”?Ī I was familiar with it through films such as “Wings” and “All Quiet on the Western Front.” But I wasn’t as familiar with the war, given how I pride myself on my historical knowledge. There’s plenty of grit and death in the film, but Spielberg, in a recent phone interview, said he purposely made it less violent than his other war movies to gain a broader audience: “War Horse,” based on a 1982 children’s book by British author Michael Morpurgo and a 2007 play adaptation, is being marketed as a sweeping war drama as Joey passes through several hands, including a young English farm boy, a British cavalryman, a German soldier and an old Frenchman.

Michael morpurgo saving private ryan