See
Mormon Film: Key Films of the Fourth Wave
This film was created by John Linton with largely amateur help and virtually no budget. The production process was full of devotion, with daily prayers, etc. (Linton was serving as a bishop at the time) from his virtually 100% LDS cast and crew, most of whom donated their time. The film premiered in a theater then was distributed on television and video, resulting in conflicting release dates of 1983 and 1984.
Despite the nonprofessional status of most of the principals,
Perilous Journey maintains production values--in the acting as well as with the crew--that rank equal to the theatrical film
Brigham (1977) and many higher-budget projects released in theaters since 2000. It is virtually unknown in LDS film history, receiving two single releases on VHS and then DVD, both of a mediocre transfer quality. Though technically flawed and occasionally corny, it deserves to be better known than it has been as an important production of the 1980s.