The Man from Snowy River II

Pointless sequel.

I don't hate 'The Man from Snowy River II', but there's nothing I truly liked about it either. It spends the first 45 minutes dragging out the love squabble between Jim and Jessica, for no reason as it's blatantly obvious where it's all going - yet they decide to do a will they/wont they for a huge chunk of the film. Once that gets sorted, it does get a tad better. Still, the premise isn't that great at all.

Cast-wise it's OK, even with the sizeable absence of Kirk Douglas; who played a dual role in the original. Despite Douglas not reappearing, the character of Harrison does return - with Brian Dennehy. Should've killed him off instead to be honest, story would've felt more different and fresher in my opinion. Meanwhile, Tom Burlinson (Jim) and Sigrid Thornton (Jessica) are, again, decent.

Quite interesting that Disney decided to pick up the sequel. In the opening scene or two there's a kid involved, which made me fear they were going to fully dumb it down to be family friendly with a bunch of children onscreen. Thankfully, they don't. That, unfortunately, doesn't stop it being an average film.

Three years after the events in "The Man from Snowy River" (1982), wild horse tamer Tom Burlinson (as Jim Craig) returns to his Australian farm. Hair-teasing Sigrid Thornton (as Jessica Harrison) is still in town, but the couple appear to have drifted apart. Understandable. They don't exactly pick up where they left off for a couple of reasons. She has attracted another suitor, handsome Nicholas Eadie (as Alistair Patton), who is preferred by daddy Brian Dennehy (as Harrison). This very predictable story is highlighted by another wild mountain ride by the lead actor, in the beautiful Victoria Alps. Also interesting is how the conveyance of pre-marital sex is satisfying, contextually; this is a "family" movie.

***** The Man from Snowy River II (3/24/88) Geoff Burrowes ~ Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Nicholas Eadie, Brian Dennehy

Such a masterpiece as the first of these two Snowy River films was, the sequel to The Man From Snowy River is everything that a follow-up should be. It does not tread on the toes of its predecessor, preferring to leave the legend that was the first film live on in some unique immortality.

The Man From Snowy River II is based upon the return of Jim Craig to the Snowy River country after a three year absence. The film subtly tells a tale of change in the nineteenth century, of Australian history, legend and horses. The storyline demonstrates a touch of Hollywood in lighter shades, an aspect that was absolutely absent in the first film, yet this blends uniquely with the a distinct sense of Australian patriotism. The plot is far more vibrant than the first film, and much more showy, with particular aspects of the previous incorporated into the film, yet The Man From Snowy River II possesses every essential characteristic of the first film; sensationally beautiful cinematography, a stunning focus of the Australian high country, the second most impressive footage of horses ever filmed, and a fantastic and deeply moving soundtrack by Bruce Rowland which equals the first in every way. Geoff Burrowes has done a superb job with this film, and it is highly worthy of recognition, especially with regard to the quality of the Australian Film Industry. The lead cast, from Tom Burlinson to Sigrid Thornton, and a well-replaced Brian Dennehy, carry off their parts with as much passion and distinction as the first film. As far as sequels can go, The Man From Snowy River II is a masterpiece; a deeply moving and inspirational experience yet again.

An excellent follow up to a great movie. It's not just a sequel riding coat tails. Though Harrison is played by a different actor, Dennehy does a nice job of filling Kirk Douglas' shoes in this role. Full of passion - not just the love type.

The three best things about "Man From Snowy River" were 1) The widescreen vistas 2) Kirk Douglas, especially as Spur 3) The music. Well, one of of three is not so good (though I do understand the Australian release was in Widescreen) The standard 35 (on the US DVD, at least) really detracts from the magnificent vistas that made "The Man From Snowy River" such a joy to watch (and helped disguise its relatively low budget). However, the most disastrous mistake that nearly undoes the movie is eliminating the "Spur" character and recasting "Harrison" with Brian Dennehy instead of Kirk Douglas. My gosh, are you telling me Kirk Douglas was not available SOMETIME during the SIX years between "Man From Snowy River" and "Return to..."? I also heard that Kirk Douglas was uniformly disliked by the original cast. If that is true, why not at least cast an actor with the same type of INTENSITY as Kirk Douglas; right off hand, I can think of three: Richard Widmark, Charlton Heston and James Coburn. Any of these three actors could play BOTH "Harrison" and "Spur". If the writers insisted on "killing off" "Spur," they could then have least had one of these actors play him in flashbacks or dreams, as "Spur" really brought life to the first film. As it is, Dennehy plays "Harrison" so differently than Douglas, it took me nearly an hour to get used to the change.

I really hope to one day see the widescreen version of "Return to Snowy River" to see how much the process improves the pacing of the film, particularly since the plotting itself is tighter than the original. As it is, "Return to Snowy River" comes across as a bad knock-off of the original. I give "Return to Snowy River" a weak "6".