Snowy River (1982)

Snowy River: Directed by George Miller. With Tom Burlinson, Terence Donovan, Kirk Douglas, Tommy Dysart. In 1880s Australia, after young Jim Craig’s father dies, Jim takes a job at the Harrison cattle ranch, where he is forced to become a man.

“We often think of the Western as being a characteristically American film genre, although there have been occasional attempts to adapt its conventions to stories set in other parts of the world. u0026quot;North-West Frontieru0026quot;, for example, is a British film set in British-ruled India, but the plot is essentially that of u0026quot;Stagecoachu0026quot;. u0026quot;Untamedu0026quot; transfers the standard waggon-train plot from the American prairies to the South African veldt, and u0026quot;The Sundownersu0026quot;, about Australian pioneer life, has similarities to many films set in the Old West. These two latter films, despite their ostensible setting, had an American leading man, Tyrone Power in u0026quot;Untamedu0026quot; and Robert Mitchum in u0026quot;The Sundownersu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Man from Snowy Riveru0026quot; is another Australian film with a plot which could be that of a Western. (One could call it a u0026quot;Southernu0026quot;). It also features a major American star, in this case Kirk Douglas, in a leading role. Or perhaps I should say that it features Kirk Douglas in two leading roles, the brothers Harrison, a wealthy cattle farmer, and Spur, a prospector. The action takes place in Victoria during the 1880s. Apart from the two brothers, the main character is Jim Craig, the u0026quot;Man from Snowy Riveru0026quot; himself. Jim is a young man orphaned by the death of his father in an accident, who goes to work on Harrisonu0026#39;s station. The three main strands of the plot concern the relationship between the two brothers, who have been estranged for many years, the growing romance between Jim and Harrisonu0026#39;s daughter Jessica, and the efforts to recapture a valuable stallion belonging to Harrison, which has escaped and is running with a herd of wild horses. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are a number of differences in terminology; the wild horses are referred to as u0026quot;brumbiesu0026quot; rather than u0026quot;mustangsu0026quot;, Harrisonu0026#39;s landholding is described as a u0026quot;stationu0026quot; rather than a u0026quot;ranchu0026quot; and the reward for the recapture of the stallion is expressed in pounds rather than dollars. With those and a few other exceptions, however, the above synopsis could easily be that of a typical Western. And yet in some ways this is a very Australian film. The title and the story of the hunt for the escaped stallion derive from a narrative poem by the u0026quot;bush poetu0026quot; Banjo Paterson, although the other two strands of the plot are the inventions of the scriptwriters. Paterson himself appears as a character, as does Clancy of the Overflow, the hero of another of his poems. Paterson is something of a national icon in Australia, largely because his poetry helped to create the legend of the u0026quot;Australian bushmanu0026quot;, the tough, individualistic inhabitant of the Outback who plays a role in the Australian national imagination similar to that played by the cowboy in the American one. Clancy himself- a real individual, not a fictitious character- has come to be seen as the archetypal bushman. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Man from Snowy Riveru0026quot; was made in 1982 during a decade when very few traditional Westerns were being made in America itself. (Perhaps the attraction of the film for Douglas was that it gave him a chance to star in one last u0026quot;Westernu0026quot;). This was, however, a period when the Australian u0026quot;New Waveu0026quot; was starting to give that country its own cinematic identity with films about Australian history like u0026quot;Picnic at Hanging Rocku0026quot; and u0026quot;Breaker Morantu0026quot;. This film, therefore, can be seen, not as an attempt to imitate Hollywood, but rather as an attempt to celebrate Australiau0026#39;s own history and culture in the way that the Western celebrated American history and culture. That other great celebration of the bushman, u0026quot;Crocodile Dundeeu0026quot;, a comedy with a contemporary setting, was to come shortly afterwards. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are no really great acting performances, although Douglas copes well with the challenge of playing two very different characters, the autocratic, patrician Harrison and the more free-spirited Spur, even if his accent does not always hold up. The film is shot against some attractive mountain scenery, and the action sequences, especially the hunt for the missing stallion, are well done. This is a film which will appeal to anyone with an interest in Australiau0026#39;s past, as well to all horse-lovers. 7/10”