'War Horse'

10:36 PM PDT 4/14/2011 by David Rooney

This spellbinding London play sets a high bar for Steven Spielberg's upcoming film version.

It's easy to see what attracted Steven Spielberg to British children's author Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse. But it's hard to imagine how the screen version, due in December, can improve on the thrilling experience of this stage adaptation, which is as emotionally stirring, visually arresting and compellingly told as anything on the filmmaker's résumé.