Snowy River

Shawshank is superb. Roman Holiday is perfect. Raiders is a blast. But The Man from Snowy River has been, is, and always will be my favorite movie. Some movies just match your personality more than others, trumping any technical deficiencies they may have. No, Snowy River doesn't have the best acting, the best screenplay, the best direction. But in all of them it's great, and the combination of the story, the cast, the scenery, and music (Bruce Rowland deserved an Oscar for his score) is much greater than the sum of its parts. For me, it's everything a movie ought to be: uplifting, heartwarming, optimistic, romantic, adventurous. It swept me away when I was 13 and its magic hasn't dimmed at 34. What a wonderful movie.

THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER ***** An Australian western that centers its story on a coming-of-age mountain man (Tom Burlinson) who's father dies and must go to the lowlands to earn enough money to support the family farm. There, he finds work at a cattle ranch owned by Kirk Douglas, who wants to expand his success to something greater: unmined gold in the mountains. As Burlinson comes to grips with his new work setting and first love (Sigrid Thornton), he evolves into the man he needs to be to follow in his father's footsteps back home. It's excellent family entertainment, with a story that is basic enough for everyone to comprehend, yet doesn't hold a corny or simpleton status because of it. Be sure to rent it.

The Man from Snowy River may not be the best acting, the best directing or the most exciting movie around, but it is one of the most magical. I loved it when I first saw it as a child and it is still one of my favourite movies at 31 years of age. I think the thing which makes it so special is that it doesn't have violence, nudity or profanity that so many movies have now in order to make them exciting. It is simply a nice old fashioned family movie that has a timelessness about it, like any of the classics. They simply don't make them like this anymore - unfortunately.

The Man from Snowy River is a family favorite. The cinematography of this film was breath-taking. The love story was convincing and the acting was superb. Kirk Douglas plays both the father and the brother and although the plot is somewhat contrived, it is set up extremely well. All of the elements work to make a good movie and one that I watch over and over. The scenes of the Australian mountains and the horses along with the musical score make this a very picturesque, romantic, and warm film. A romance and an action-adventure movie rolled into one which can charm a woman and still be a manly film. The 2nd movie Return to Snowy River was a worthy sequel and Tom Burlinson as Jim Craig does an excellent job in both films. If you are a horse lover, I would definitely recommend this film.

This movie is both perfect and imperfect. Perfect because it has amazing horse riding scenes, beautiful cinematography and music, wonderful acting from Jack Thompson who captures the quintessential Clancy of the Overflow of Australian legend, and a great performance from Tom Burlinson, and showcases the skills of the 'real deal' cattlemen of the high country who acted as extras in the horse chase scenes, and finally because it can bring a tear to the eye the way Banjo Paterson's poem has for 120 years. This film was clearly a work of love and that is wonderfully conveyed.

However it's also imperfect because Kirk Douglas simply doesn't work in this context, and his two roles seem at times ridiculous. The storyline also meanders around at times, mostly in relation to one of Douglas's two characters, and it just seems a pity that an otherwise wonderful film has these flaws.

This is a movie to stir the heart, and well worth watching, and the horse chase scenes in the movie are now as much a part of Australia's culture as the original poem.