Iron Will

1994
PG
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

9.6K

YOUR RATING

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A brave young man is thrust into adulthood as he and his courageous team of sled dogs embark on a grueling and treacherous cross-country marathon.A brave young man is thrust into adulthood as he and his courageous team of sled dogs embark on a grueling and treacherous cross-country marathon.A brave young man is thrust into adulthood as he and his courageous team of sled dogs embark on a grueling and treacherous cross-country marathon.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

9.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The movie is a fictionalized account of the 1917 Winnipeg-to-St. Paul dog-sled race, sponsored by the Great Northern Railway. The main character in the movie, Will Stoneman, is based on two real-life participants in the 1917 race: Albert Campbell, the eventual winner, a mixed-blood Cree trapper from Manitoba who endured harassment from his racist competitors throughout the race; Fred Hartman, one of only two U.S participants, touted as a hero during the race by U.S newspapers. His sled dogs fought among themselves and his lead dog was killed. The other U.S racer dropped out two days before the finish but Fred continued, coming in last and then collapsed. J.W. Harper, the president of the St. Paul Winter Carnival in the movie, is based on Louis W. Hill, son of railroad magnate James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railroad.

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

Quotes
Harry Kingsley: Holy Chicago!

Crazy credits
The first name of the reporter Harry Kingsley (played by Kevin Spacey) appears in the end credits as "Kermit".

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Intersection/The Air Up There/Body Snatchers/Iron Will/Hoop Dreams (1994)

User reviews42

Review

Featured review

8/10

so cold, you feel some of it.

We rented this film because Kevin Spacey is in it. When it came on, my daughter (12 yrs old) exclaimed "Oh no, not another cheap Disney film!" My wife also made noises of discontent and I was wondering why Kevin was in it and if I'd made a terrible mistake.

Well, it was good. True it had some bad Disney unrealistic heart-jerking story in it, especially at the end. The bad guys were really Disney evil, but the rest of the film worked.

Kevin Spacey gives his best at whatever role he tackles, and this is no exception. The sledding scenes are very good and it is really cold - you can feel it, and so can the actors judging by the breath.

The film get a few tears out and we decided that, although we never would have rented it if we knew it was a Disney film, we liked it. We give it 8.