The Black Stallion (film)

The Black Stallion
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Carroll Ballard
Screenplay by	Melissa Mathison Jeanne Rosenberg William D. Wittliff
Based on	The Black Stallion 1941 novel by Walter Farley
Produced by	Fred Roos Tom Sternberg
Starring	Kelly Reno Teri Garr Clarence Muse Hoyt Axton Michael Higgins Mickey Rooney
Cinematography	Caleb Deschanel
Edited by	Robert Dalva
Music by	Carmine Coppola
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	American Zoetrope
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	October 17, 1979 (1979-10-17)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.7 million
Box office	$37.8 million[1]

The Black Stallion is a 1979 American adventure film based on the 1941 classic children's novel of the same name by Walter Farley. The film starts in 1946, five years after the book was published. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, a boy who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with a wild Arabian stallion that he befriends. After being rescued, they are set on entering a race challenging two champion horses.

The film is adapted by Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, and William D. Wittliff. It was directed by Carroll Ballard and stars Kelly Reno in his film debut, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton, Michael Higgins and Mickey Rooney with the Arabian horse Cass Ole playing the eponymous Black Stallion. The film features music by Carmine Coppola, the father of Hollywood producer Francis Ford Coppola, who is credited as executive producer.

In 2002, The Black Stallion was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[2][3]