War Horse: The Real Story: As Seen on Channel 4 [DVD]

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As seen on Channel 4. This is one of the most important documentaries of 2012, it is even more epic and brutal than the Steven Spielberg feature film. This is the extraordinary and deeply moving true story of the million British horses who served in World War One. It is told using rare archive and testimony, combined with the latest historical research. The story begins with the mass call up of horses from every farm and country estate in the land. Brough Scott evokes the world of Downton Abbey as he tells the tale of his aristocratic grandher Jack Seely and his beloved horse Warrior. He would become the most famous horse of the war, renowned for his amazing courage. In a new era of mechanised trench warfare the deep bond that developed between man and horse helped both survive the hell of the Somme and Passchendaele. The finest hour of the cavalry came in spring 1918 when led by the warhorse Warrior they broke through the German lines and helped win the war. But there was further heartache for the horses when the war came to an end. 85,000 of the oldest were sold for horse meat. Half a million were sold to French farmers to help rebuild the countryside. Only 60,000 made it back to Britain. Six black horses that survived the war together would pull the body of the unknown warrior to its last resting place in Westminster Abbey. But the most famous war horse of all to return in glory was Warrior. His story, like the million other British horses who served, should never be forgotten. Steven Spielbergs critically accled movie War Horse tells a deeply moving story, but the truth is altogether more extraordinary. - DAILY EXPRESS .......This history that inspired the fiction is every bit as astonishing. - DAILY MAIL I havent seen the stage play or Spielbergs adaptation of Michael Morpurgo s novel, but if theyre half as moving as this documentary about the one million British horses on the frontline during the First World War, there shouldnt be a dry eye in the house. - THE INDEPENDENT Spielbergs War Horse is cleaning up in cinemas. But this documentary reveals the unsentimental truth behind the fiction - THE TIMES Inspirational- RADIO TIMES