The Man from Snowy River II

it is not easy to say why this film seems real special. all is well known, many Hallmark films are the same mix of romance and drama, the characters are well known from so many films of genre, the heroism and the Manichean confrontation are not original. maybe, the performance of Brian Dennehy and the next-door-boy of Tom Burlison are the pillars of interest. and, sure, the memories about classic westerns, doing to ignore than it is an Australian film. short, a softy entertainment. with the expected love story - impossible, off course, and the moral lesson.

i didn't think this this sequel to The Man From Snowy River was that great.i thought it was too drawn out.plus,it was fairly heavy on the romance angle,which isn't my cup of tea.Tom Burlinson returns as Jim Craig,the title character in the first movie.Sigrid Thornton returns as his love interest.Kurt Douglas played her father,Harrison,in the original.Brian Denehey plays that role in this movie.this is not the worst movie i have seen,but it wasn't as good as i'd hoped.still,just like the first one,there is some very beautiful scenery,and a great musical score.Burlinson and Thornton are both decent actors,at least in this movie.Dennehy is also good.for me,Return to Snowy River is a 5/10

As a horse lover one can only appreciate this movie. There are few movies that show horsemanship as this one does. I would love to know if Brian does his own riding in the film. Would also like to know if he enjoys horses. Brian has been in a lot of movies where he has ridden. Where did he learn to ride? The only part that is hard for me to take is that the riding scenes are always full tilt, like a horse can run forever at full steam. The camera-work is first rate and captures the horses in a way that shows how dangerous things can be on top of a horse. It would be very interesting to know how they went about casting this movie to find all of the very good horseback riders.

Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton return in their roles from The Man From Snowy River based on the A.B. Patterson epic poem about the Australian outback. Burlinson has proved himself to be a master of catching and taming the wild mustang known to us Yanks as Brumbies. Now he's back but her father is just as opposed to Burlinson marrying his daughter as he was in the first film.

Brian Dennehy takes over the role of the American migrant who came to Australia and made his fortune that Kirk Douglas played in The Man From Snowy River. But it was a dual part that Kirk played, he was also the ne'er do well brother who spent his life in the high country prospecting.

Some folks have all the luck, the twin brother died and on his property only feet from where he dug was a mother lode of a gold vein. His fellow prospectors inherited his land and truly share in his potential wealth. That's something resented by Dennehy and the landed gentry he's part of.

Dennehy has some respect for what Burlinson has done, but he sees Thornton as marrying up into society and maybe as a part of a merger of families. Like royalty so to speak.

The one he has in mind is the son of the local banker Nicholas Eadie who for our purposes is one Snidely Whiplash like villain.

Like The Man From Snowy River, Return From Snowy River captures well the flavor of the Australian frontier. Sad that Kirk Douglas couldn't return, but Brian Dennehy is a more than adequate substitute in the patriarchal role.

Just brush up a little on your Australian idioms and this is a well done story with a plot you'll recognize from a ton of American westerns.

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