The Man from Snowy River

"The story of a boy suddenly alone in the world. The men who challenge him. And the girl who helps him become a man."

1982 1h 44m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 172🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●63Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 10,917

DramaRomanceAdventureWesternFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jim Craig has lived his first 18 years in the mountains of Australia on his father's farm. The death of his father forces him to go to the lowlands to earn enough money to get the farm back on its feet.

“The story of a boy suddenly alone in the world. The men who challenge him. And the girl who helps him become a man.”

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Cast

Tom Burlinson
Jim Craig
Sigrid Thornton
Jessica Harrison
Terence Donovan
Henry Craig
Kirk Douglas
Harrison / Spur
Jack Thompson
Clancy
Tommy Dysart
Mountain Man
Tony Bonner
Kane
Chris Haywood
Curly

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George T. Miller
Writers: John Dixon
Languages: English
Countries: Australia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Man From Snowy River Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George T. Miller, shot by Keith Wagstaff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bruce Rowland. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Adrian Carr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton and Terence Donovan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George T. Miller directs. Keith Wagstaff behind the camera. Bruce Rowland scores. Adrian Carr cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.
344 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "The Man From Snowy River Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by George T. Miller, shot by Keith Wagstaff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bruce Rowland. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Adrian Carr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton and Terence Donovan carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The story of a boy suddenly alone in the world. The men who challenge him. And the girl who helps him become a man.".
10IMDB entry: tt0084296 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 17 themes, including "australia", "regret", "horseback riding", "river".

The technical file

Cinematography: Keith Wagstaff
Original score: Bruce Rowland
Editing: Adrian Carr
Costume design: Robin Hall
Makeup / hair: Rochelle Ford
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $20,659,423
Return: 590% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Man from Snowy River (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 63/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 10,917 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 wins & 3 nominations total

AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Man From Snowy River Collection

The Man from Snowy River is a 1982 Australian drama film based on the Banjo Paterson poem The Man from Snowy River. The film had a cast including Kirk Douglas in a dual role as the brothers Harrison (a character who appeared frequently in Patterson's poems) and Spur, a prospector, Jack Thompson as Clancy, Tom Burlinson as "Jim Craig" (The Man), Sigrid Thornton as Harrison's daughter Jessica, Terence Donovan as Jim's father Henry Craig, and Chris Haywood as Curly. Both Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton later reprised their roles in the 1988 sequel, The Man from Snowy River II, which was released by Walt Disney Pictures.

Also by

George T. Miller

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-09-18
★ 7/10
The plot isn't massively interesting to me, but some fine acting alongside terrific cinematography and editing keeps <em>'The Man from Snowy River'</em> going at a positive level. Tom Burlinson is good as Jim, while Kirk Douglas does a top job in a dual role as Harrison & Spur. The rest of the cast are solid. The storyline is watchable and I did enjoy it, but it just wasn't anything I could sink my teeth into; it's a little plain. However, as noted at the top, I do love how the film is put together; particularly with the horses, across the running shots especially. Australia looks nice, too! Interested to see where the sequel goes, I assume it'll follow-up directly on the final scene of this one but we'll see. As for this 1982 production, I rate it.

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