Sigrid Thornton and Tom Burlinson reflect on the making of The Man From Snowy River
It is a movie that could never be made today due to the danger involved but The Man From Snowy River has had a lasting impact on Australian cinema and for its stars, Sigrid Thornton and Tom Burlinson, life would never be the same.
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Luckily The Man From Snowy River was shot 42 years ago because there’s no chance the runaway Aussie classic would be shot today – it would have been far too dangerous, laugh its stars Sigrid Thornton and Tom Burlinson.
And in all its cinematic glory all those years ago, there was not a green screen or CGI in sight.
“There were a couple of moments in the film that were stunts, but there are a couple of moments that are real crashes – and Siggy and I were talking about it and you couldn’t make The Man From Snowy River in today’s circumstances, right? Occupational health and safety wouldn’t allow it,” Burlinson says.
“We did crazy things out there in the bush, we really did. And there’s an authenticity about it … if there’s a lot in Snowy that looks fair dinkum – it’s because it was.”
Thornton agrees that authenticity was what gave the film an extra edge, keeping it as firm a part of Australia’s film landscape as it was four decades ago.
“And on the question of safety, most generations growing up today don’t realise that back in the day of our grandparents for example, people were dying, not in road accidents, they were dying in horse accidents … because that was the major mode of transport,” she says.
“There are safer ways of doing it, but we weren’t always doing the safe ways because it had to look very dangerous – and at times, it actually was.”
Anyone who has seen the cult film would know what she means. Horses thunder down cliff edges so rugged they were named “the devil’s staircase”, trampling their riders and shedding terrifying light on life in the bush in the goldrush era. There were a few incidents – one of the most experienced horsemen broke his leg, another severely injured his ankle – and on the first day of shooting, the end of a stock whip got Burlinson on his left cheek – which despite being covered by make-up artists, the keen eye could spot as the film progresses, he says.
Based on AB “Banjo” Paterson’s bush poem of the same name, the story follows proud young Jim Craig (Burlinson) who, after the death of his father, sets out to become his own man. Taking a job with a horse rancher (Kirk Douglas), he is treated poorly by the more experienced cowboys, but wins the heart of the rancher’s daughter, Jessica (Thornton), when he helps her break a high-strung colt and later saves her life.
Both Thornton and Burlinson – friends since their Snowy days and reunited in Sydney’s historic Circular Quay for Sydney Weekend’s recent shoot – did their own riding and most stunts in the films that first connected them.
That was just one of the “happy accidents” of shooting, says Burlinson, a self-confessed city boy who, incredibly, had never ridden a horse before being cast in the film which ended up being the highest-grossing Australian film at the time – and the most successful film ever released in Australia, only eclipsed by Crocodile Dundee.
In another first, it was also Burlinson’s debut movie. And the one that made him a star.
“I recognised pretty quickly that I was given a great opportunity – being a city boy born and bred cast in this movie that was the part of a young horseman – so there was a great series of challenges, not only acting in a feature for the first time, but the series of practical skills that I had to really come to terms with in order to play the character convincingly,” Burlinson admits.
“So it was a great adventure really … and the happy accident that I actually had a natural ability and an affinity with horses, which led to me doing much more of the riding than an actor normally would.”
Thornton adds: “We were blown away by what a natural rider he was.”
So was it as terrifying as it looked?
“Well, you know, there were times when I thought, ‘oh, here comes the tree, the dream is over’,” recalls Burlinson with a laugh.
“My beautiful Denny, my buckskin, would look after himself and look after me and a great bond was formed between he and I. So I don’t think about me doing what I did – I think about us doing it, as a team, as a partnership.
“You’ll remember when Sigrid’s up on the mountain with her horse – and of course you don’t see, but they had these massive wind machines, and rain-making showering heads – and these horses had never seen anything like it. And so they had to come to terms with some of the activities involved around filmmaking as well.”
ONE GREAT ADVENTURE
Thornton continues: “And your description of it being an adventure, Tom, is so apt. I think we all felt that we were having an adventure, every last person – and even the horses, they were being asked to do certain things in ways they weren’t used to.
“We had to place our lives in their hands – or hoofs – at certain times – but there was a great sense of adventure, and it was an exhilarating experience from start to finish.
“I’m nothing like the natural rider that Tom was – I don’t have a ‘natural born seat’, as they say – but when I say we placed our lives in our horses hands, I really meant that.
“We were in pre-production as the major part of our rehearsal phase, we went up into the high country where we did a lot of filming later on, and we had an eight-day trail ride through the alpine region, which was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, but also at times, we were quite trepidatious. There were some tricky paths that we had to navigate, and like Tom, I say our horses had to navigate – so we had to place complete trust in our horses and they were dealings I’d never had before.”
The chemistry between the two stars was another “happy accident”. She says they bonded over the total immersion of the challenging work; he says they had an immediate connection which has seen them remain close more than four decades later.
“The chemistry between Sigrid and I was discovered when I auditioned for the part – Sigrid had already been cast, and we immediately made contact as people,” Burlinson says.
“And that translated onto the screen.
“There was a special energy on that set, and it was partly because a lot of the people in key positions were doing their respective jobs on a feature for the first time.
“And I mean the director, the cinematographer, the master of force, the composer, the producer – key positions.
“Everybody was giving their best energy … and there was a sort of special feeling while we were making the movie that this was going to be good. But none of us had any idea that it would be as successful as it was.”
His co-star and on-screen love interest agrees.
“It was a bonding experience like no other really – we were both young and experiencing a lot of things at the same time for the first time, and Tom and I had an immediate rapport when we first met,” she says.
“From the audition process onwards we just got on like a house on fire, and that does read on the screen.
“There was this total immersion, because most of us were away from home, so we were immersed in that very beautiful environment, and that gave us a special bond.
“It’s really heartening to see new generations of people coming through who appreciate the film, exactly as it is, even though it’s got some age on it now. It’s a film that still strikes a chord with people, and that’s a lovely thing. It’s rare that a film is able to do that continuously.”
Following four sold out Hamer Hall performances in Melbourne in August, the pair will be in conversation for a screening of the film at the Sydney Opera House in February, aptly with the Southern Cross Symphony playing the iconic score live. They will share behind-the-scenes insights, personal experiences, and discuss the lasting impact of the treasured Australian classic directed by George Miller with sounds of the AFI award-winning score by legendary composer Bruce Rowland.
“He seemed to understand instinctively that the film required a majestic score – really sweeping, epic – there’s nothing small about the score,” Thornton says.
“The film steps up to the score and the score steps up to the film – they’re very well matched and I think that’s why it’s a perfect candidate for a concert performance like this – what a beautiful way to see it.”
Burlinson concludes: “As far as I’m concerned, Snowy will always have a very special place in my heart, partly because it was my first movie and it was just hugely successful and it led to loads of other work.
“And it is still, after more than 40 years, the single piece of work for which I’m best known, so there’s something pretty strong about that – and lifelong friendships were forged at that time, so it holds a very special place.”
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