PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
SnoopyStyle
It's 1888 Australia. Young Jim Craig loses his father in a logging accident partly due to a wild horse herd led by a black stallion. Fellow mountain men claim that Jim has not earn the experience to work the property. Spur (Kirk Douglas) is an one-legged miner friend of the family. Jim goes into town and finds work at the ranch of Spur's wealthy brother Harrison (Kirk Douglas). It's love at first fight with Harrison's daughter Jessica (Sigrid Thornton). The brothers ignore each other over a 20 year old sibling feud.This is an Australian western romantic epic. I remember this movie being a trailer mention during my childhood with the cable movie channel. It didn't appeal to a young boy for obvious reasons. This is very much a romantic frontier fable. It is traditional western with a dash of modern independence. The landscape is as epic as the story construct. The only strange aspect is that I kept wondering why Jim doesn't tell Jessica about her uncle Spur. It's strange for him to keep a secret from her. It might work even better if the brothers were played by different actors and they reveal their secret family connection late in the movie. Otherwise, it's a great romantic epic.
Robert W.
I won't write this review crapping all over a modern day classic like The Man From Snowy River. I know many adore this film and think of it fondly with great nostalgia. I waited a very long time to see it and finally decided to give it a try. I love westerns, 80's films and Disney classics but for some reason this didn't strike the right chord with me. Despite a promising concept, I found the film dawdles along without ever having a lot of chemistry between the key characters. The performances are good, in fact one in particular is excellent but its lacking depth when it comes to the relationships. The scenery is stunning and yet I felt like the film makers underused the breathtaking Australian outback. The film definitely shows a lot of beautiful horses so people that are looking for that will enjoy it. There is somehow a lack of significant emotion to a story that should be full of moving moments. The romance which should be a focal point in the latter part of the movie feels forced and rushed and very technical. There are some moments where it feels like they're actually bartering for the romantic lead.Tom Burlinson is our lead in the film. He is okay but he is also a key reason the characters lack emotion. He feels almost stoic at times and well he is always determined he wasn't necessarily the right choice for the lead of the movie. Kirk Douglas is literally the reason to watch this movie. He is amazing in a dual role as Harrison and Spur. Both characters are so different from each other and he just absolutely nails both. He is so obviously the seasoned professional and it shows. Sigrid Thornton is the object of Burlinson's affections but also causes one of the biggest issues with the movie. Thornton looks almost stunned throughout her entire performance and the chemistry between her and Burlinson is practically nil. Its almost painful to watch their so called romance unfold and yet I had heard what a classic love story this was but I didn't get it at all. Supporting cast is alright but no one really stands out as being noteworthy.Coming from a long history in Television director George Miller has done a lot of TV and a lot of straight to TV movies. I don't think he had the experience in movies to handle this and make it outstanding. Imagine this film in the hands of a truly amazing director who stuns with cinematography and could handle the script better. That being said, the script left a lot to be desired too. I suppose I was even more let down because this seems like the type of movie I would absolutely adore and I didn't. My expectations were high because so many people just rave about this and they love it and I respect that. I am not saying that its a terrible movie but it certainly didn't appeal to me at all. Someday I may watch the sequel but I'm not anxious to see it for sure. This was a miss in my books. 5.5/10
pc95
The Man from Snowing River has a lot to like about it - more so than to dislike really. Kirk Douglas has some good fun with his dual characters and perhaps an easy time with the stark contrasts. Tom Burlington does a fairly good job as the main hero, while most others are standard. One of the things that makes this movie better is the stunts and photography which really are first rate. We pretty much can guess most of the story after 15 min in, but despite the clichés there's still charm and homeliness. The movie sets up well (spoiler) throwing the audience a twist towards the beginning, but nonetheless the best scenes are actually between Spur and young Jim. They have a marvelous and genuine relationship. The romance is standard fare with Sigrid Thornton mostly unremarkable. The Man from Snowy River is horse enthusiasts dream to watch shot with lots of expansive shots; the music is average with some 80s coming through. A good show, and worth a look.
keesha45
Calling this a western...well, it is and it ain't. Some say the Wild West ended when the last famous outlaw Harry Tracy ended his career a little over a century ago, his Boot Hill being in a field about 50 miles west of Spokane, Washington. This movie takes place in Australia, which true enough, is some 8,000 miles west of the Mississippi, but it's also in the Far East part of the Eastern Hemisphere. And it's not your typical shoot-em-up either. There are no bank-robbing bandits, no gunfights on Main Street, no cavalry fighting the natives. But you'll find here a great coming-of-age romantic tale, with some stirring action sequences never seen before on film, all in the midst of some gorgeous location footage of the Snowy Mountains, which John Ford would have envied for his western films. This area of Australia, if one superimposed the map of the continental U.S. over Australia, would place the Snowy River country in about the same place as our Florida Everglades and not too far from where the Smoky Mountains begin in Georgia. Besides similar sounding names (Snowy-Smoky) this highest part of Australia contains its highest peak with an altitude very nearly the same as the Smokys' highest one in Tennessee, and a landscape that could pass for the southern part of the Appalachian chain as mentioned. Despite recent droughts and wildfires Down Under, the Snowy Mountains have changed little since Banjo Paterson wrote the poem on which this film is based and the equally memorable "Waltzing Matilda," unofficial national anthem of that nation, in the 1890s. Paterson, by the way, is such a famous person even today, that his face appears on the Aussie 10-dollar bill. In contrast, the American sawbuck only has a guy whose greatest fame was getting shot in a duel. Sad to say, this film never did as well at the U.S. box office as other Aussie films like the Mad Max trilogy, which launched Mel Gibson to super stardom, and the even bigger moneymaking franchise of the Crocodile Dundee films. TMFSR never rated a single Oscar nomination (not surprising for a non-Hollywood film), but amazingly enough only won a single AFI award (the Australian Oscar) for its musical score. The Golden Globes, however, gave it a Best Foreign Film nomination, won that year by GANDHI. Since its release, though, audiences worldwide have fallen in love with this gem of a movie, as did the folks at the Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church where we saw it last weekend. While not a true Western per se, it contains the same Judeo-Christian values that the best classic Hollywood westerns espouse. These values were embodied in the Code of the West, a liberal interpretation of the Ten Commandments: Always fight fair, protect women and children, respect others' property, and honor God and country. If you've never seen this movie, you're in for a treat when you do. If you've seen it before, it's worth watching again. Movies as good as this are a rare find. Dale Roloff
