everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I grew up with horses with cups won in Horse Shows and I held a Pilots License - I know how impossible it is to deal with a terrorized horse and, although this result seemed heartless,it was the only choice after tranquilizers did not work. I just tuned into this this morning by accident and thought the movie was a real winner with more of the Olympic competitions included than just "bites". The locations and integrity to the action in filming were excellent. I hope to see it again and tape it. We often see the Shows at Spruce Meadows in Calgary Alberta on TV and it is now a premier event in the world for Show Jumping. That facility is a wonderful site and very close to the cross-country hazard jumps shown in the movie. This is an outdoors world class arena and often held under less than perfect conditions - it is quite exciting to watch for me as I am no longer able to get as close to horses as much as I would wish.

Like its predecessor, National Velvet, International Velvet (1978) boasts a stellar cast: teenager Tatum O'Neal, the gorgeous Nanette Newman, and leading men Christopher Plummer and Sir Anthony Hopkins. It also has a more believable plot and a top-notch writer/director in Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives, The Slipper and the Rose, The Guns of Navarone, Colditz). The main stories are Sarah Brown's (O'Neal), an American orphan who finds herself in England with an aunt she doesn't know (Newman as the adult Velvet Brown), and of the horses and people inextricably entwined in their lives. A poignant and graceful growing up story of the challenges facing a difficult teenager and the adults who raise her, International Velvet has something for both horse lovers and non horse-lovers alike. More important than Sarah's bid for the Olympics is the love that is won. The cinematography and Francis Lai's soundtrack are stunning and awards worthy; Tatum should have won another Oscar with this role, too. Beautiful scenery. An under-rated feel-good family film!Warning: Box of tissues useful when watching this movie as, amid the love and triumph, there is some gritty realism.

Every time I hear the opening music to this movie, I start to get emotional, it brings back a period of my life when I first saw it so vividly. I read the book at around the same time (also by Brian Forbes) I just really like the themes in the film - loss and bereavement, growing up, unrequited love, finding your calling, not ever giving up, and the loyalty humans and animals can have for each other (even though I am not particularly into horses the way other people seem to think you have to be to like this film) My children loved this film just as much when I showed it to them, they "got it", although they did find the car scene and the aeroplane scene harrowing. I think it is a fantastic film and it makes me feel about 13 again. And I defy anyone not to weep at the end when orphaned Sarah asks Scott to meet "my parents"!

I have read a comment from another person who comments upon the lack of ethnic inclusion. This film is based in the very early years when ethnic minorities were not even considered, therefore I really don't think ethnic status is that relevant. It also may be seen as dull by todays standards but it is a classic which cannot be repeated no matter who takes the lead role. Yes it is a film where everyone is perfect and by some peoples standards a little cheesy but my advice would be: if you don't like it don't watch it. For families where horses are a part of life then this film makes a change from the violence etc on the TV now. The thing which I find can have the most effect is that the moral of the story is that you shouldn't give up when the odds are stacked against you - a prime example of life which most children should learn.