Equus (1977)

A psychiatrist attempts to uncover a troubled stable boy's disturbing obsession with horses.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Peter Shaffer (play), Peter Shaffer (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Colin Blakely

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Burton	...	Martin Dysart
Peter Firth	...	Alan Strang
Colin Blakely	...	Frank Strang
Joan Plowright	...	Dora Strang
Harry Andrews	...	Harry Dalton
Eileen Atkins	...	Hesther Saloman
Jenny Agutter	...	Jill Mason
Kate Reid	...	Margaret Dysart
John Wyman	...	Horseman
Elva Mai Hoover	...	Miss Raintree
Ken James	...	Mr. Pearce
Patrick Brymer	...	Hospital Patient

Storyline

A psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming seventeen-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang, the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father and a genteel, religious mother. As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy's demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own.

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Plot Keywords:

religion | therapy | penis | stable | horse | 

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Taglines:

"I am yours and you are mine"

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1977 (UK)

Also Known As:

Fliehende Pferde

Filming Locations:

Toronto International Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Persky-Bright Productions, Winkast Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Firth was nominated for the 1975 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "Equus" and he recreated the role in the movie version.

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Goofs

Some of the horses blinded in the final scene in the stable are obviously just puppets.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Martin Dysart: Afterward he says, they always embrace. The animal digs his sweaty brow into his cheek, and they stand in the dark for an hour, like a naked couple. And of all nonsensical things, I keep thinking about the horse, not the boy. The horse and what he might be trying to do. I keep seeing the huge head, kissing him with its chained mouth, nudging from the metal some desire absolutely irrelevant to fulfilling its bearing or propagating its own kind. What desire could this be? Not to stay...

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Connections

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005)

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Soundtracks

Rum Punch
(uncredited)
Music by David Berkwood and Eton Blocka
KPM Music Ltd

User Reviews

Equus

Richard Burton gave his finest performance in this adaptation of the Peter Shaffer play about a psychiatrist (Burton) who must unravel a mystery surrounding the blinding of a number horses from a young boy,played to perfection by Peter Firth. The film loses the play's theatricality immensely, but the performances in the film are so incredible all around that none of that will matter. Joan Plowright stands out as the young boy's mother. Burton and Firth were Oscar nominated.