The Man from Snowy River

Jim is eighteen and lives in the mountains with his father. When his father dies he has to come down to the plains for work, and there he learns that mountain men are not respected. He takes a job with a wealthy grazier. The man has a valuable colt, and the colt joins a mob of wild horses and runs. A party of riders gathers to bring them back. The mob heads for the mountains and the steep slopes, and nobody dares to go down after them. George T. Miller directs. Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton and Kirk Douglas, in two parts, are in the cast. The source is Banjo Paterson's poem of the same name, a national text in Australia known to almost everyone. The famous scene is the ride down the steep slope. It was not done without a stunt rider, but it was shot with real horses on a real gradient and is among the most shown moments in Australian cinema. It was an extraordinary commercial success in Australia, breaking the records for a domestic production, and was a turning point in the international recognition of the country's cinema. Kirk Douglas plays two brothers and that choice is the most argued about thing in the film. The narrative is classical: proving oneself, difference of class, love and return. It holds no surprise but works soundly. Who it is for: viewers who like films about horses, family adventure and classical narrative. Who it is not for: the script is predictable, the characters are types, and the narrative carries too much of the poem's emotional weight.