Iron Will
Encyclopedia
Iron Will is a 1994 family
adventure film
directed
by Charles Haid
. The film stars Mackenzie Astin
, Kevin Spacey
, David Ogden Stiers
, George Gerdes, Brian Cox, Penelope Windust
, and August Schellenberg
.
) father is killed in a mushing
accident leaving Will to care for his family. Needing money for college and to save the family farm in South Dakota
, Will decides to travel to Winnipeg
, Manitoba
to take part in a dog-sled race
from Winnipeg to Saint Paul
, Minnesota
. With the aid of Ned Dodd (August Schellenberg
), the young man prepares both physically and mentally for the harsh weather and terrain throughout the race. During the race, Will becomes popular with the newspaper media as reporter Harry Kingsley (Kevin Spacey
) tells about Will's strong courage in what he must do.
shoreline as well as Iron Range
cities such as Floodwood
. Although the race takes place between Winnipeg and Saint Paul, none of the film was actually shot in either city. In fact, the Winnipeg starting point for the race was actually filmed in Duluth, Minnesota
near the old historic high school. The Lake Superior Railroad Museum, located in Two Harbors, Minnesota
, portrayed the St. Paul train station's finish line. All scenes in which Will goes through the mountain terrain was filmed in Montana
since, in reality, there are no mountains in Minnesota.
, who won the 1917 race from Winnipeg to Saint Paul, and Fred Hartman
, the American hope in the race. According to Campbell, he won the race to fulfill his father’s dying wish made just two weeks before the race.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Charles Haid
Charles Haid
Charles Maurice Haid III is an American actor and director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in Hill Street Blues....
. The film stars Mackenzie Astin
Mackenzie Astin
-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
, Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
, George Gerdes, Brian Cox, Penelope Windust
Penelope Windust
Penelope Windust is an American actress who starred on television, and in a few movies. She studied drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech just before its merger into Carnegie Mellon University in 1967...
, and August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
.
Plot
In 1917, Will Stoneman's (Mackenzie AstinMackenzie Astin
-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
) father is killed in a mushing
Mushing
Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow or a rig on dry land...
accident leaving Will to care for his family. Needing money for college and to save the family farm in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, Will decides to travel to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
to take part in a dog-sled race
Dogsled racing
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners...
from Winnipeg to Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. With the aid of Ned Dodd (August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg
August Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
), the young man prepares both physically and mentally for the harsh weather and terrain throughout the race. During the race, Will becomes popular with the newspaper media as reporter Harry Kingsley (Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
) tells about Will's strong courage in what he must do.
Cast and characters
- Mackenzie AstinMackenzie Astin-Biography:Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His older half-brother is actor Sean Astin. He attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and University High School in Los Angeles, California...
- Will Stoneman - Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
- Harry Kingsley - David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
- J.W. Harper - August SchellenbergAugust SchellenbergAugust Schellenberg is a Canadian actor. His ethnicity is Mohawk and Swiss-German. He was trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.His first film was Rip-Off in 1971. In 1981, he did voices for the animated film Heavy Metal...
- Ned Dodd - George Gerdes - Borg Guillarson
- Penelope WindustPenelope WindustPenelope Windust is an American actress who starred on television, and in a few movies. She studied drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech just before its merger into Carnegie Mellon University in 1967...
- Maggie Stoneman - Brian Cox - Angus McTeague
- Rex LinnRex LinnRex Maynard Linn is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
- Joe McPherson - John TerryJohn Terry (actor)John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
- Jack Stoneman dupa jasiu karuzela
Production
Much of the film was shot on location in Minnesota mostly along the Lake SuperiorLake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
shoreline as well as Iron Range
Iron Range
The Iron Range is a region that makes up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore...
cities such as Floodwood
Floodwood, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 503 people , 254 households, and 112 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,131.9 people per square mile . There were 290 housing units at an average density of 652.6 per square mile...
. Although the race takes place between Winnipeg and Saint Paul, none of the film was actually shot in either city. In fact, the Winnipeg starting point for the race was actually filmed in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
near the old historic high school. The Lake Superior Railroad Museum, located in Two Harbors, Minnesota
Two Harbors, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,613 people, 1,636 households, and 953 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,120.7 people per square mile . There were 1,631 housing units at an average density of 505.9 per square mile...
, portrayed the St. Paul train station's finish line. All scenes in which Will goes through the mountain terrain was filmed in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
since, in reality, there are no mountains in Minnesota.
Historical accuracy
Although the story of Will Stoneman is completely fictional, the character was loosely based on the exploits of Albert CampbellAlbert Campbell
Albert McTaggart Campbell was a Canadian politician and the Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto from 1969 to 1973.Campbell was born on a family farm in Ridgetown, Ontario in 1910. He attended the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph and the University of Toronto...
, who won the 1917 race from Winnipeg to Saint Paul, and Fred Hartman
Fred Hartman
Frederick Orrin Hartman was a third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1894 to 1902. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns, New York Giants, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals.-External links:...
, the American hope in the race. According to Campbell, he won the race to fulfill his father’s dying wish made just two weeks before the race.
External links
- Iron Will at Box Office MojoBox Office MojoBox Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...
- Historical Account of the 1980 Winnipeg to Saint Paul Race