The Black Stallion Returns
A rare sequel that can stand alone, 1983'sThe Black Stallion  Returnsis both a fun follow-up to the 1979 Carroll Ballard/Francis Ford  Coppola film and a fine adventure in its own right. Kelly Reno returns as the  now adolescent, deceptively ordinary Alec Ramsay, who stows away on a plane for  Casablanca after the titular horse is kidnapped by Arabs. Getting him back  pitches Alec into the middle of tribal rivalries and all sorts of complicated,  dangerous intrigue. The cast includes Teri Garr, Vincent Spano, and Woody  Strode, but the real star here may be cinematographer Carlo Di Palma, a veteran  of several Woody Allen films and a master of color, light, and framing. Director  Robert Dalva edited the previous film and happily executes countless ideas he  appears to have stored up from his first stallion outing. But it's Reno's  resourceful hero--his anti-Harry Potter normalcy--that finally takes hold of  viewers.--Tom Keogh