Iron Will (1994)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Charles Haid

Writers (WGA):

John Michael Hayes (written by) and
Djordje Milicevic (written by) ...

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure

Tagline:

The Uplifting True-Life Story Of Courage, Determination And Triumph!

Plot:

When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it...

Plot Keywords:

Racing | Sled Dog | Snow | Train | Journalist

Cast

Mackenzie Astin	...	Will Stoneman
Kevin Spacey	...	Harry Kingsley
David Ogden Stiers	...	J.W. Harper
August Schellenberg	...	Ned Dodd
Brian Cox	...	Angus McTeague
George Gerdes	...	Borg Guillarson
John Terry	...	Jack Stoneman
Penelope Windust	...	Maggie Stoneman
Jeffrey Alan Chandler	...	DeFontaine
Michael Laskin	...	Simon Lambert
James Cada	...	Peter Swenson
Rex Linn	...	Joe McPherson
Allan R.J. Joseph	...	Albert Carey
Alvin William 'Dutch' Lunak	...	Gabriel Cary
Tony Griffin	...	Mike Riley

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Germany:6 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U (video premiere) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bingham, Maine, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Much of the movie was filmed in northern Minnesota near the town of Duluth. Many of Duluth's citizens were extras in the movie, a large number at the end of the race

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the two remaining competitors coming through the woods, a row of modern telephone poles is visible.

Quotes:

Ned Dodd: Training begins now.
Will Stoneman: Ned? Ned, it's cold! Ned! Ned! Mom! Mom! Mom, please, it's cold! Mom, it's cold! Mom!

Go on, let the tagline decieve you... it's worth it, though it's not exactly true.

Being that I like to wonder about what really happened in historical films, I had been curious about what really happened in that race. I did everything I could to find out about the "real Will" and found out some interesting information. On a history of dog-sledding site it is said that the race made famous was dramatized in the movie Iron Will, was loosely based. That's an understatement. They change the hero's name from Frederick S. Hartman to Will Stoneman. It's not so bad, I love the movie it's excellent, and I suppose if they had kept the ending to what really happened it wouldn't have been so inspiring (nothing melancholy, but Frederick actually lost the race). What I like about Disney films is that they have some theme to it. Writers and English Lit teachers know what I am talking about: An inner meaning that the writers have inside the story. You see this over and over again in movies, and Disney is excellent at it.

The acting is great, the screenplay is all right, history aside it's not too bad. After all, history can be bleak sometimes, and hope springs eternal, we can always dream and imagine right? For film score fans like me, the music, which I always am interested in, is not so bad, the main theme is nice, but it's not as good as the music from Interview With The Vampire or Forrest Gump.

Bottom line, don't be taken too much by the tagline about it being a "true story;" if you do research you will be disappointed. Other than that, see it if you haven't yet. It's excellent. Just because it has hardly anything to do with the truth doesn't mean it's not a great movie.