RETURN TO SNOWY RIVER. Directed by Geoff Burrowes, written by John Dixon, produced by Geoff Burrowes for Walt Disney. Starriny Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, and Brian Dennehy. Rated PG (some violence)
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Technically, you can't really call this movie a "western." Its locale, after all, is southern Australia, about as far away from the American West as you can get. Maybe it should be a "southern," or a "down-under-en?"
Ah, well, a western by any other name would still be as entertaining. And as refreshing. For Return to Snowy River is as true-blue a western as has been seen in these or any other parts in quite a spell.
It has stalwart good guys, creepy bad guys, a few guys who seem be be bad but turn out to be OK, plenty of action, and, last but not least, the kind of chaste but true romance one finds only in westerns.
For the most part, fans of The Man from Snowy River will be well-pleased with this sequel. An important warning, however— Jessica's (Thornton) father, a major character in both movies, is Brian Dennehy here, where he used to be Kirk Douglas. After an initial disorientation (on the part of the audience, not Dennehy) the new guy works out fine.
The main stars of Return to Snowy River, like the earlier movie, are the horses and the scenery. Plot hokiness is irrelevant when such gorgeous images delight the eye, accompanied by the same lush music heard in the original.
May 4, 1988