Far and Away (1992)

A young man (Cruise) leaves Ireland with his landlord's daughter (Kidman) after some trouble with her father, and they dream of owning land at the big giveaway in Oklahoma ca. 1893. When ... See full summary »

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Bob Dolman (story), Ron Howard (story),

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Joseph Donnelly
Nicole Kidman	...	Shannon Christie
Thomas Gibson	...	Stephen Chase
Robert Prosky	...	Daniel Christie
Barbara Babcock	...	Nora Christie
Cyril Cusack	...	Danty Duff
Eileen Pollock	...	Molly Kay
Colm Meaney	...	Kelly
Douglas Gillison	...	Dermody
Michelle Johnson	...	Grace
Wayne Grace	...	Bourke
Niall Toibin	...	Joe
Barry McGovern	...	McGuire
Gary Lee Davis	...	Gordon
Jared Harris	...	Paddy

Storyline

A young man (Cruise) leaves Ireland with his landlord's daughter (Kidman) after some trouble with her father, and they dream of owning land at the big giveaway in Oklahoma ca. 1893. When they get to the new land, they find jobs and begin saving money. The man becomes a local barehands boxer, and rides in glory until he is beaten, then his employers steal all the couple's money and they must fight off starvation in the winter, and try to keep their dream of owning land alive. Meanwhile, the woman's parents find out where she has gone and have come to America to find her and take her back.

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Plot Keywords:

oklahoma | ireland | train | boxing | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

They needed a country that was big enough for both of their dreams.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drömmarnas horisont

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$58,883,840 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Films Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cyril Cusack's final film role.

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Goofs

The night before the race, as Joseph talks in the tent about how he'll win his land, the tent wall behind him has clearly visible seams that he is supposed to fall through. When he falls and gets up again, the tent isn't ripped, as if someone fell in, it's parted, as if they were sewn that way.

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Quotes

Bourke: Now that's a long-legged piece of strawberry tart!

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Crazy Credits

Near the end of the credits, special thanks are given to, among others, Fungi the Dingle Dolphin.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Roger Corman (1999)

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Soundtracks

"BOOK OF DAYS"
Music Composed and Performed by Enya
Lyrics by Roma Ryan
Produced by Nicky Ryan
Courtesy of Warner Music, UK Ltd.

User Reviews

Not too original, but Tom and Nicole heat up the scenes

While the whole rich girl falls in love with the poor boy routine is a little over done, Far and Away is actually a very romantic and wonderful movie starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. I think because they had such great chemistry, they made this movie into a tear jerker. Not to mention how great the story was, a part of our history that has always been ignored, the Irish immigrants coming over to America to have land and settle down. At a time when America was the new world and very exciting, where anyone could be free, Joesph and Shannon were two very lovable characters and you just keep hoping that their dreams come true.

Shannon is a very upper class lady in Ireland with her controlling mother who wishes her to marry a snobbish land owner, Stephen. Joesph is a farm boy who has just lost his father and his home has been burned by Stephen, Shannon's father owns the land, so Joesph goes to kill him, but fails. His punishment is a duel, but he and Shannon see each other and have an instant connection but won't admit it of course, but Shannon offers for him to come with her to America to claim some land with her. He accepts her offer and goes with her. They claim to be brother and sister to survive, but soon they can no longer resist each other's love, but their family may be too strong to let them be together when Shannon's family comes to get her in America.

Far and Away is a very charming film that I'm sure you will be impressed with. It's just a very romantic film, has fun comedy to it, good drama, and has terrific pictures and sights. Ron Howard is just a fine director, he got the whole feel of the old days and that race for land at the end was just shot so beautifully. Tom and Nicole did a great job, they were so beautiful to watch and made this into a great film. I highly recommend this movie, I think you'll love it.

8/10