Iron Will (1994)

When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it, he decides to join a cross country dogsled race. This race will ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Haid

Writers:

John Michael Hayes, Djordje Milicevic,

Stars:

Mackenzie Astin, Kevin Spacey, David Ogden Stiers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it, he decides to join a cross country dogsled race. This race will require days of racing for long hours, through harsh weather and terrain. This young man will need a lot of courage and a strong will to complete this race.

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Plot Keywords:

racing | train | sled dog | dog sled | dog | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by the incredible true story.

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Genres:

Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for adventure action

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vasakarat

Filming Locations:

Brookston, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$21,006,361 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The trains used in the movie were from the Lake Superior Railroad Museum (LSRM) in Duluth. Due to the fact that they were actual operating trains, actors could not operate as engineers or the conductors. They were all volunteer employees of the museum. Some of them still work there (As of August 2004).

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Goofs

After Will crashes after dodging the "Army" truck. It is revealed that there is a Marine recruiting poster on the side of the truck. The US Marines would never advertise on an army truck.

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Quotes

Will Stoneman: [whistling Jack Stoneman's tune]
Becky: What you whistling?
Will Stoneman: I wasn't whistling anything.
Becky: It was your father's tune.
Will Stoneman: 'Cept I can't do it like he did.
Becky: Maybe you'll find your own way.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1995)

User Reviews

"Iron Will"

Here's a "feel good" movie that I showed to a bunch of 8th graders who are "way too cool" to ever like something with a plot so contrived. I have seen it at least 10 times in the last two years. It has never failed to produce emotional responses, at least as early as when Gus gets savaged by the bad guy's dog, and Will takes out a gun (obviously thinking of putting him down), and most certainly when Will slugs the guy late on that evening. It has the predictable villain, and other events that most people could forecast, but I had kids who otherwise are apathetic standing up and cheering as the events unfolded. My conclusion: kids seem to be cynical and jaded, but when you give them a reason to be optimistic, they have hope and are uplifted. "Iron Will" inspires me; particularly when I see its effect on middle school students. I would rate it even higher if I couldn't predict many events in the movie. This really works well with other Iditerod/dog stories.