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 Carey
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 | dog movie | family relationships | father son relationship | mother son relationship | 

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Taglines:

It's not a question of age. Or strength. Or ability. It's a matter of will.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for adventure action

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Voluntad de hierro

Filming Locations:

Bingham, Maine, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$21,006,361

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

The "x-back" style of harness that Will's dogs wear was not invented until the 1970s.

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Quotes

Ward: Will, that was incredible!
Becky: Incredibly foolish! You could have been killed Will Stoneman.
Will Stoneman: Well how many times is there an army truck in the middle of the street? I've been coming around this corner my whole life and has there ever been an army truck in the middle of the street?
Soldier: Nice piece of runnin' there. So, how old are you pal?
Will Stoneman: Seventeen
Soldier: Think you'll be ready to fight a war in a year?
Will Stoneman: I'm ready now, uh, war with who?
[Soldier laughs]
Soldier: Stay alive buddy, your country might need you.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

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.