Review: The Man From Snowy River (Film)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 9:32PM Do you like horses? You do? What about PRETTY horses? Even better, right!?
Imagine a bunch of drop-dead-gorgeous horses galloping across a picturesque Australian Mountain Outback. These horses are always running and never tire. (That’s the joy of putting together a long galloping scene by only running the horses for 30 seconds a day over the course of several weeks…)
Mountain Man Jim Craig (played by Tom Burlinson) with his horse Danny and his trusty bull whip.Now add a handsome, clever, charming, strong, silent, hard-working young Mountain Man with a bull whip to the mix. I think you know where I’m going with this! ;)
No, we’re not dreaming up a steamy fantasy about the Aussie equivalent of a cowboy. I’m telling you about one of my personal favourites, the 1981 Australian movie, The Man From Snowy River.
To get the jist of the movie, minus the romance between the Man From Snowy River and the antagonist’s poofy-haired slightly feminist daughter, check out this exciting video:
Beautiful galloping horses, good-looking Aussie Cowboy, bunch of rednecks with beards on horses… yep, it’s a classic in my mind! Directed by George T. Miller, the movie was based on the poem The Man From Snowy River by the Australian journalist, lawyer, farmer, jockey and poet Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson (1864-1941). His The Man From Snowy River collections were written and published between 1890 and 1895, and the movie clearly reflects this time period. Paterson became infamous for his Nationalist attitude and his highly romantic portrayal of the bushrangers of the Australian Bush.
Tom Burlinson (Jim Craig) with co-star Sigrid Thornton (Jessica Harrison). Apparently Jessica falls for Jim because he can tie a slip-knot, and she can't. True love!Tom Burlinson plays the lead role as Jim Craig in The Man From Snowy River, which we discover is not a river at all, but a locale in the mountains that can be loosely be referred to as a “town.” Tom is surprisingly Canadian-Born, a 1956 model from Toronto, Ontario. His parents were British immigrants, and later immigrated into New Jersey, U.S.A., back to England, and eventually down to Australia.
Tom Burlinson (right) with David Bradshaw as Banjo Paterson (left). Paterson was portrayed as an upper-class, intelligent and decent man.Tom’s acting career took off with the 1981 production of The Man From Snowy River, which grossed $17 million (that’s about $50 million in 2009 USD) and won the 1982 Montreal World Film Festival “Most Popular Film” award. Tom was also cast in two other famous “horse” movies: Phar Lap (1983), and the sequel Return To Snowy River (1988).
Jack Thompson as Clancy, the famous horseman of the mountains. Clancy is a clever and charming guy with a really fantastic horse.Other main characters in The Man From Snowy River were Kirk Douglas as the antagonist, Harrison (and as Spur, a rough-necked Ole Prospector); Sigrid Thornton as Harrison’s feminist, horse-training daughter; Jack Thompson as Clancy, a famous and hilarious horseman; and David Bradshaw as Banjo Paterson, Harrison’s Lawyer.
Kirk Douglas as Harrison, complete with distracting cleft chin and the hat that only the cool crowd wear.Kirk Douglas is perhaps the more well-known star in the movie, with an impressive film resume. Some of his more popular movies are 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954), Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1957), and Spartacus (1960).
Harrison's Thoroughbred Colt-- worth 1000 British pounds. In the 1890's, this colt would've been worth about $500,000 USD. I enjoyed the movie more for the galloping horses than for the wholesome character of Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson), cute as he is. As a typical horse-crazy girl, I was more intrigued by the fact that Harrison's young stallion out of the mare "Old Regret" was a full brother to the "evil" wild black stallion than I was by the fact that Harrison and Spur were brothers. Who needs human drama, anyway?
Kirk Douglas... and Kirk Douglas. I suspect they merged two videos. This was a very powerful scene where Harrison asks Spur "Who's daughter is she, really?" Ouch.If you're into drama, the movie is chock full of it as we discover later in the movie, with a big, messy, 20-year old love triangle between Harrison, Spur, and Jessica's dead mother. Harrison is your typical American Rightwinger with "traditional" ideas about women and an ambitious beef-farming attitude. Spur, Harrison's brother, is your typical Leftwinger rough-around-the-edges gold miner, complete with peg leg. The love triangle tells the story of the "evil" black stallion that roams the mountains, and how he came to be wild.
Jim Craig struggles with his own drama, as he is essentially kicked out of the Mountain Man Clique following the death of his father. The Mountain Men are a bunch of scruffy-looking roughnecks with terrible riding skills, but they're tough as iron and know that it takes more than a beard to survive in one of the harshest landscapes.
Sorry Jim Craig, looks like you're not "in" the "In Crowd" unless you grow a lumberack beard.
The coolest character in the whole movie, Aunt Rosemary (Lorraine Bayly), pictured here with her classic Mona Lisa smile as she indulges in a brandy. Well done, madam, well done.One of my favourite characters in the movie was the highly intelligent and classy lady, Aunt Rosemary, a progressive-thinker and loud Feminist. Played by actress Lorraine Bayly, Rosemary Hume is the elder sister to the Harrison brothers' love interest, Mathilda (deceased). She is full of witty and confident quips and undermines the idea of a "dependant" woman, while still maintaining the traditionally expected etiquette of an upper class woman. Rosemary acts as Jessica's motherly influence and home schools the teenager.
The movie is not without its share of awesome action, ranging from beautiful scenes of hero Jim Craig galloping along vast mountain ridges, to Jim Craig showing off his incredible horse training skills with Harrison's young Colt, to a classic ranch-hand scuffle. The plot also throws in a few twists designed to put the young mountain man on a moral pedestal in the eyes of his fans, such as when two jealous hired hands set the expensive young colt loose and blame it on Jim. This clever twist leads directly into the fabulous "horse chase" climax! What would we do without our "galloping horse fix"!?
Jim Craig is momentarily possessed by Chuck Norris (Because Chuck Norris is awesome like that).
One of the most classic parts of the movie is near the end when Jim and his trusty steed, the buckskin Aussie Stock Horse, Danny, take a leap and gallop straight down the side of a mountain. Not only are they once again placed on the "This Guy Is Fantastic" pedestal as the only team of horse and rider willing to continue the chase of the "evil" black stallion's herd, but they receive extra credit from real-life riders everywhere for being able to pull that run off without breaking any necks. I didn't believe the reality of that amazing ride, and it puzzled me for hours as an 8 year old, until I noticed that the trees were actually growing straight up and the horse was actually galloping head first down a VERY steep and large hill! My first statement was "That is SO dangerous!"
The actor, Tom Burlinson, actually rode this scene! No stunt double. This author gives him the "One Heck of a Rider" Gold Star for awesomeness... and bigger kudos to that horse!
The Man From Snowy River has but one major downfall. Its portrayal of the magnificent Old Stallion is somewhat melodramatic and skewed. This beautiful guy is made out to be "evil" when he's just being a typical horse with behavior I would expect from an untrained stallion running wild for years with a bunch of mares.
One scene in the movie is particularly hilarious, and I hope you'll appreciate the humour in the following video clip:
What's with the mid-century horror film soundtrack there? All that for a horse? It's not like the Old Stallion is Jaws The Shark, Scar From The Lion King or That Dude From Scary Movie. This is why I tend to avoid horse-related movies and TV shows.
Overall, though the horses aren't quite as breathtaking as The Black Stallion or The Silver Stallion, there is more than enough galloping, wholesome PG-humour and sweet fairy-tale romance (kiss once and you're gettin' married!) to make up for that one major filmographic blunder and the horrid riding skills from the other actors.
This movie is a classic for any horse lover, and this one horse is what keeps it in the Top 3 of my favourite horse movie list--- my personal hero, the Old "evil" black stallion!
Who needs a hero when you've got a bad-ass horse?
Reader Comments (2)
Enjoyable review - for non-riders, it's interesting to realize that those viewers who know horses, and riding, would pick up on flaws and weaknesses in the riding abilities of the cast.
I love the phrase "poofy-haired, slightly feminist" - I hope I can borrow it some time...
Editing comments: Some repetitive points made here and there. Don't need to capitalize words like Left/Rightwinger, Feminist.
Not sure about employing text/email marks in reviews, ie. ;) It's worth a class discussion!
Have you seen Into The West? A beautiful horsey film!
Thanks! I had fun writing it. You can absolutely borrow "poofy-haired, slightly feminist" anytime.
I wasn't sure if we had emoticons enabled or not— I try not to use them or smiley faces unless I think it will add to the humour of a more colloquial piece. It was a toss up between ";) " or "*wink*wink*" so I chose the least awkward-looking version.
Class discussion on that one could be interesting.
Into The West is one of my favourites and I recently downloaded it with the intention of watching it this week, but I don't think my cardiovascular system can take anymore tear-jerkers this week!