10 Blood-Stirringly Epic Cinematic Charges

8. Warhorse (2011)

The Charge: The charge into the German encampment

Steven Spielberg’s World War I horse centred epic could be criticised for being a little too sentimental at times, and although Spielberg makes an effort to convey the horrors of the First World War sometimes it is just a tad too romantic. Though a heavy dose of nostalgic sentimentality is almost a given with any Spielberg movie, so perhaps he can be forgiven, especially as Warhorse is a very well crafted movie, especially so in the case of this opening cavalry charge.

This time taking place near the beginning of the movie rather than near the end, the scene acts as a splash of cold water as we break from the more rose-tinted views of England before the war, to the harsh reality of industrialised warfare.

It depicts a cavalry charge led by Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) and Major Stewart (Benedict Cumberbatch) against a German camp. Their horses storm the camp and victory seems assured, until German troops uncover machine guns and lay waste to the charging men. Spielberg’s contrasting shots between thundering cavalry and riderless horses fleeing into the forest is haunting, perfectly illustrating the naivety at the start of the war which led to so many deaths.