History Film / TheManFromSnowyRiver

* NiceHat: Jim's got a great one.

The film stars Tom Burlinson as Jim Craig, Sigrid Thornton as Jessica Harrison, and Creator/KirkDouglas in the dual roles of Harrison and Harrison's crippled brother Spur; it features a score by Bruce Rowland and a lot of impressive Australian scenery.

A sequel was released in 1988, titled ''The Man from Snowy River II'' in Australia and released as ''Return to Snowy River'' in the US. The sequel picks up Jim's story upon his return to the Snowy River region and deals with his efforts to get his horse-breeding business off the ground and resume his relationship with Jessica, who now has a competing suitor in the person of a banker's son, Alistair Patton. Kirk Douglas did not reprise his role as Spur and Harrison, and was replaced in the latter role by Brian Dennehy.

* BadassGrandpa: An animal version. The wild stallion figures into the story of Harrison, Spur, and Matilda twenty years prior to the first film, putting him at a very advanced age for a wild horse. This doesn't stop him from leading the herd to outrun every rider who tries to catch him up until Jim, who pulls it off mostly by being the only one who dares follow the brumbies down a dangerously steep mountain slope. The stallion's still in fine form several years later in the sequel when Jim rides him to chase down Alistair Patton.

* GreenEyedMonster: Harrison's paranoid jealousy regarding his wife Matilda led him to shot his own brother, costing Spur his leg. This horrified Matilda into a decision to leave Harrison (though she didn't follow through until her DeathByChildbirth), and created a permanent rift between the brothers which is never mended.

* GreenEyedMonster: Harrison is this to his (now late) wife Matilda.

* NoAccountingForTaste: Arguably Matilda to Harrison. [[spoiler: When faced with [[BettyAndVeronica two brothers]] [[LoveTriangle vying for her hand]], she decided to marry [[RichSuitorPoorSuitor the first one to get rich]] instead of choosing based on, you know, personality, compatibility, etc. This came back to bite her when she learned [[GreenEyedMonster just what her new husband was really like]].]]

* CallBack: The second film has multiple call backs to the first one, most memorably the scene where Jim [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome once again rides his horse down the side of a mountain]]. The musical cues are identical as well.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Harrison in spades. Believes that his daughter Jessica being a SpiritedYoungLady is just to get back at him instead of [[IJustWantToBeFree a genuine desire to make her own decisions regarding her life]], is enraged to learn that Jim nearly got killed trying to ride after the mob because it could have cost ''him'' a valuable colt, believes his own visions of grandeur are the only ones anyone can make, and of course believes he alone deserves sympathy for [[spoiler: blowing off Spur's leg]] because it turned [[spoiler: Matilda and Jessica]] against him.

* SpiritedYoungLady: Jessica Harrison.

* NoodleIncident: The first film makes it clear that Harrison's tracker, Frew, has definitely killed a man in the past, but gives no further details about the incident [[MysteriousPast or the man himself]].

* AdaptationExpansion: The original poem is about rounding up the Brumbies and recovering Harrison's lost colt; this takes place at the climax of the first film, with the rest of the screen-time being used to establish the characters and expand the story. A backstory for Harrison (only eluded to in the poem) was created, giving him a daughter ''and'' a brother, as well as a connection to the mysterious stallion who leads the mob of wild horses. Clancy makes an appearance in the poem but his presence was expanded on, making him a close friend of Harrison's, and giving him a connection to Spur and Jim. Most importantly, The Man from Snowy River himself became a real person with a reason and motivation to make the climatic ride.

** After Harrison strikes Matilda, Rosemary calls him out on caring more about the colt's well-being than his own daughter's, and calls him out on [[spoiler: still suspecting (wrongly) that Jessica isn't his]].