''The Silver Brumby'' (also known as ''The Silver Stallion'' or ''The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies'' in overseas markets such as the United States) is a 1993 Australian
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
-
family film
A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are ...
, directed by
John Tatoulis
John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director.
Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', '' Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The S ...
, and starring actors
Caroline Goodall
Caroline Cruice Goodall (born 13 November 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries ''Cassidy'', and the 1995 film ''Hotel Sorrento''. Her other film appearances include ' ...
,
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
and
Amiel Daemion
Amiel Muki Daemion (born 13 August 1979), also known as just Amiel, is an American-Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress. She moved to Australia with her family at the age of two and starred in films in the 1990s, including '' The Silver ...
. It was based on the ''
Silver Brumby
The ''Silver Brumby'' series is a collection of fiction children's books by Australian author Elyne Mitchell. They recount the life and adventures of Thowra, a magnificent palomino brumby (Australian wild horse) stallion, and his descendants, ...
'' series of novels by
Elyne Mitchell
Elyne Mitchell, Order of Australia, OAM (née Chauvel, 30 December 1913 – 4 March 2002) was an Australian author noted for the ''Silver Brumby'' series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture.
Biography
S ...
.
Plot
A mother tells her daughter a fable about the prince of the brumbies- brumby being a term for the feral horses of Australia- who must find his place amongst his kind, while avoiding The Man who always seems to be hunting him.
The plot shifts to the birth of the titular character. Bel Bel, a wild palomino mare, gives birth to a blonde colt during a nighttime thunderstorm. She names the newborn foal Thowra, after the strong winds that blew that night. His sire, a chestnut stallion named Yarraman, is the leader of their herd.
The herd is under constant threat from being captured by men. One man becomes particularly obsessed with capturing Thowra, who is now a young stallion.
Cast
*
Caroline Goodall
Caroline Cruice Goodall (born 13 November 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries ''Cassidy'', and the 1995 film ''Hotel Sorrento''. Her other film appearances include ' ...
as Elyne Mitchell
*
Amiel Daemion
Amiel Muki Daemion (born 13 August 1979), also known as just Amiel, is an American-Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress. She moved to Australia with her family at the age of two and starred in films in the 1990s, including '' The Silver ...
as Indi Mitchell
*
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
as The Man / Egan
* Johnny Raaen as Jock
* Buddy Tyson as Darcy
* Graeme Fullgrabe as Auctioneer
* Gary Amos as Rider #1
* Murray Chesson as Rider #2
* John Coles as Rider #3
* Danny Cook as Rider #4
* Peter Faithfull as Rider #5
* Richard Faithfull as Rider #6
* Cody Harris as Rider #7
* Ken Mitchell as Rider #8
* Charles A. Harris as Rider #9
Production
John Tatoulis says he was attracted to the project because of the spirituality of the ''
Silver Brumby
The ''Silver Brumby'' series is a collection of fiction children's books by Australian author Elyne Mitchell. They recount the life and adventures of Thowra, a magnificent palomino brumby (Australian wild horse) stallion, and his descendants, ...
'' books. The film was shot in the
high country of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
around
Dinner Plain
Dinner Plain is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, 13 kilometres from Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and 375 kilometres from Melbourne. At the , Dinner Plain had a population of 230, yet has over 200 lodges and chalets ...
,
Mount Hotham
Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest m ...
, Swindler's Creek and the
Blue Ribbon ski area. A hut now known as the Silver Brumby Hut was built as a set prop at Mount Hotham and is now a tourist attraction.
Home media
The film was released in the United States on VHS in 1994 by
Paramount Home Video
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
and on DVD in 2004 by
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...
.
Awards
Won
*
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
1994:
**APRA Music Award - Best Film Score:
Tassos Ioannides
*
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fil ...
1994:
**Children's Jury Award - Feature Film
*
Cinekid
The Cinekid Festival is the largest international film, television and new media festival for children aged 4 to 14 held at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It started as a small children's film festival and has now grown into a lar ...
1994:
**Audience Award -
John Tatoulis
John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director.
Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', '' Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The S ...
Nominations
*
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...
1993:
**AFI Award - Best Screenplay:
John Tatoulis
John Tatoulis is an Australian film and television producer and director.
Tatoulis was the producer of such movies as ''Take Away'', '' Let's Get Skase'' and '' Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns''. Tatoulis produced and directed the film '' The S ...
References
External links
*
*
''The Silver Brumby''at Oz Movies
1993 drama films
1993 films
Films about horses
Films about dogs
Films set in Victoria (Australia)
Films based on children's books
Films set in the 1950s
Films directed by John Tatoulis
Films produced by Colin South
Australian drama films
Roadshow Entertainment films
1990s English-language films
1990s Australian films
{{1990s-Australia-film-stub