WAR HORSE SCREENING

Thanks to Sasha Stone at Awards Daily I was tipped off to an early screening of WAR HORSE in my area. WAR HORSE has been the most anticipated movie of the year and nobody had seen it yet. Everyone had WAR HORSE in their Best Picture top 10 due to nothing other than the Spielberg factor. In other words you don't have to see it to know Spielberg will make an Oscar movie. WAR HORSE has not been shown to critics or screened at any film festivals, so many have been waiting to see how this movies rates.

I printed my ticket from the website for a screening in Plymouth Meeting, PA which was one of seven cities hosting a showing. I had my doubts that it was real or that I would even be able to get in. I do nothing but read critics and other bloggers who get to see movies first. I thought maybe this would be my chance to be one of those people.  I drove the hour and twenty minutes to the theater not knowing what to expect. When I arrived there was a line forming in an otherwise empty movie theater lobby. So I guessed this was for real. We were all told that no recording devices were aloud and before entering everyone was wanded and their bags searched. I was lucky enough to get in before the theater filled up. Some audience members had notepads for note taking and you could spot the real critics because they all had novels with them to read. Obviously from years of waiting in line for a screening and passing the time with no cell phone.  Someone asked us to please gather at the end of the screening to tell them what we thought. The movie began promptly at 7:30 with a 146 minutes running time. I will post my review later today, but I am curious as to why Dreamworks decided to screen WAR HORSE this way. My ticket stated that it was a "word of mouth" screening. But was it because their confidence was low and didn't want the big critics to trash it yet or was it just a way to build momentum?  The movie definitely needs some trimming, so I am anxious to see if the movie is edited more before it's December 25th release date. My full review is coming today.