The Horse (1973)
Cast
Gordon Houston Maury Wright Gary Morrin Roger Collins George Williams 
Larry Clark
Credits
Written by: 
Charles Burnett
Cinematography: Ian Conner
Editing: Charles Burnett
Produced by: Charles Burnett
Plot
This critically acclaimed 1973 short is about an aristocratic white farming family who has a horse that is being put away, by the father of a young black boy named William. William cares for said horse in its last moments, as the male family members eagerly wait for his dad to arrive.
Sinekatalog’s take
Burnett's early short watches a young Black boy tend a doomed horse while the white family around him waits for the inevitable. Understated, tense and quietly cruel, it says a great deal about power in a few minutes. A concise, powerful sketch of Southern hierarchy.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 6.5 / 10 (459 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.
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