"Warner Brothers' release of this classic children's tale does much to rely on the film's virtues (and there are many), but fails to enhance them further with supporting elements. This 1994 version, directed by Caroline Thompson and starring Sean Bean, makes use of atmospheric music and densely framed images, which are made that much better when transferred onto DVD. The choice of either pan-and-scan or widescreen formats keeps a sharp image and encompasses a fantastic palette of colors, which do not bleed. As the main player, Black Beauty dominates many of the scenes, and his dark face contrasts well with his surroundings, the night scenes playing out excellently, with a good balance between shadows and light. The Dolby Digital Sound does well to showcase the horse's Celtic-accented narration (voice of Alan Cumming), with the horse's sounds and remarks clearly audible, if not dominating. The dialogue among the human characters is likewise very clear. What is often off balance is the background music; although never completely overpowering the dialogue and narration, it tends to cut off too abruptly in places where a sudden change for background sounds takes precedent. This package contains the usual language and scene selections and the original theatrical trailer, but does nothing to target its youthful audience or even give older viewers any background information in the form of a featurette or interviews with its creators and stars."