The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Some say that the western genre can only take place in the AMERICAN old west, but this movie proves that theory wrong! Set in old Australia, it is a western without a doubt, and a really great one at that. And no one can argue otherwise. I'd like to see you try. That AND it's fun for the whole family. That's right, a good western that the kids can enjoy too.Now, the only question that remains: how the heck did they get Kirk Douglas's leg to do that from every angle? They really had me fooled!

This movie was absolute garbage in almost every regard. And be warned--it's NOT a western, "family" or otherwise. Just because it takes place in the Outback and involves cowboys (or "horsemen" as they call them in the movie) doesn't make this a western (kind of like how the Godfather isn't a war movie, despite the fact that Michael is a war hero. It's hardly the point of the movie, and the same logic applies here. This is a romance movie that happens to take place in a "western" setting.).The only two aspects of this movie that had any redeeming qualities were there were some decent shots of horses running in a herd and there were some good shots of the Australian wilderness. That's it. Now let's look at the two things people typically care about most in a movie--acting and plot:Acting: The acting is pretty awful. There's a small amount of chemistry between the romantic leads, but their relationship is hardly believable. Kirk Douglas' characters aren't convincing and are horribly overacted, especially Spur (and the subplot involving the brothers is pointless and predictable). The only character that wasn't terribly acted was Clancy, but compared to most of this cast, Nic Cage is a stellar actor.Plot: There isn't a strong enough word to describe how predictable this movie is. Within 30 seconds of every new aspect of the story presenting itself on screen, it was abundantly clear how that aspect would play out. This, in itself, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the story came up with some interesting ways for the characters to reach their predictable conclusions, but sadly that's not the case.

When I told people I would be looking for top of the range classics some misinterpreted and just recommended any old movie with the slightest critical or audience praise. The Man From Snowy River is a poem that is probably one of the most Australian stories ever written and there were 2 successful film adaptations and this is the first one and the other being it's sequel. There are many who enjoy this movie but by the end I was trying my best to stay awake.This movie's plot is awful. It's barely a story at all, the way it works is that something happens, then the set-up for something else happens and they follow through with that plot line only to resolve it to jump onto something else. Not only that but the 2 things that remain consistent being Jim's relationship with Sper, his relationship with Jessica and her angry parent father. The plot lines are so soap-opera like I'm seriously wondering if it was a sub-standard 30's romance. By the end I don't care, the thing tying it all together is a group of wild horses that has his father die in the process Jim works at a stable and falls in love with the daughter of the rich guy there, that's almost entirely it.I'm also going to say that these characters are awful. Jim basically starts out as being a male equivalent of a Mary Sue when it comes to horses and that's pretty much all you need for his character and Jessica is a character who goes against the societal norms of the 1880's. Usually when a feminist character in a non-feminist time is in something I watch, usually I like her - This is an exception simply because she says lines about gender equality and all that when it was almost 20 years before giving women the vote happened and they have out-of-nowhere 20th century reactions to the chauvinism of the time.Okay so the story and characters are terrible in my opinion, what do I like? The cinematography at times is outright beautiful. I'll also say as much as I complained about the characters and the plot(s) the actors are doing the best with what they're given. I also do like the sets and Art department that just adds to the cinematography at times. It isn't get this movie entirely for that but they're the good elements about the movie.Maybe it's for a lot of reasons but I don't think I'm really asking for much when it comes to a movie like this. Set up both characters, make them interesting, have them fall in love before the halfway point (yep... it's a romance where they don't romance until halfway through) and by the end finish as much conflict as possible in both their lives... This movie fails at that. I know there are fans of this movie but I personally think if someone attempted to remake this, I personally would like to see what happens as opposed to having this be one of Australia's most popular films amongst Australians.

Kirk Douglas is great in two roles and Jack Thompson is there as he is in just about every other Aussie film these two fine actors get star billing. Jack plays Clancy of the Overflow but its really a cameo. The real star of the film is a young Tom Burlinson and he not only looks great he gives the most heart warming natural performance. It is Tom's film. The producers felt there needed to be a love interest and poor Tom gets Sigrid Thornton who is the only disappointment in the film. Thornton delivers her dialogue quite stiffly almost as though she is reading. There is more romance and chemistry between Tom and the horse than there is with poor old Singrid. The scene of her rescue is however spectacular. But forget all that and feast your eyes on Tom and enjoy the glorious scenery, listen to a magnificent score. Some of the dialogue is rather twee especially when there are direct quotes from Patterson's brilliant poetry. The poem is a great classic and Banjo is one of the greatest writers of all time.