LEGENDS OF THE FALL (DVD/SPECIAL EDITION/WS 1.85)A box-office hit when released in 1994, this sprawling, frequently overwrought familial melodrama may get sillier as its plot progresses, but it’s the kind of lusty, character-based epic that Hollywood should attempt more often. It’s also an unabashedly flattering star vehicle for Brad Pitt as Tristan–the rebellious middle son of a fiercely independent Montana rancher and military veteran (Anthony Hopkins)–who is routinely at odds with his more responsible older brother, Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and younger brother, Samuel (Henry Thomas). From the battlefields of World War I to his adventures as an oceangoing sailor, Tristan’s life is full of personal torment, especially when he returns to Montana and finds himself competing with Alfred over Samuel’s beautiful widow (Julia Ormond), whose passion for Tristan disrupts the already turbulent Ludlow clan. Under the wide-open canopy of Big Sky country, this operatic tale unfolds with all the bloodlust, tragedy, and scenery-chewing performances you’d expect to find in a hokey bestselling novel (in fact, it’s based on the acclaimed novella by Jim Harrison), but it’s a potent mix that’s highly entertaining. Not surprisingly, John Toll won an Academy Award for his breathtaking outdoor cinematography. –Jeff Shannon
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March 18, 2008
#1
I hated the plot of this movie. I started watching it and almost immediately hated it. I wanted to see how it ended so I forwarded through to different chapters which only made me hate it more. I watched the end and screamed at the movie (which I never do) took the CD and broke it and threw the cover away. Yuck.
March 18, 2008
#2
The Cinematography is amazing, the story is wholesome, but the acting is hideous.
THE PLOT
The plot is a passionate journey into the darkest secrets of love, betrayal and the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood.
*****SPOILERS AHEAD*****
When I bought this movie I knew I had a jewel in my closet. 48 hours later I realized I’d wasted both my money and my precious two hours on this melodramatic mess of a movie.
I’d wasted my time watching a movie where Everyone dies, where there is annoying narration throughout the film, and where Anthony Hopkins looked indescribably horrid. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Brad Pitt was too beautiful early in his career so people doubted his acting ability. Now Brad is forty years old, his face has more character, and no one doubts his acting ability. Maybe its old age or he’s getting some acting lessons, whatever it is, it works.
The Cinematography is amazing and reminded me of “Lawrence Of Arabia.’ The incomparable artistry and vision of David Lean is present in Edward Zwick’s directing. The Academy Awards made a great choice giving `Legends of The Fall’ an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
In the end though I couldn’t believe that Edward Zwick directed this film.
He directed “Glory”, the Great War epic that earned Denzel Washington an Academy Award. I didn’t want to see “Glory” because the same director of `Legends Of The Fall’ directed it, but when I saw “Glory” on cable I realized I’d made a huge mistake. I had unknowingly bought Zwick’s worst movie when I purchased `Legends Of The Fall.’
Trying not to see my psychiatrist, I wondered whether Zwick had gone Hollywood or was cursed with a horrible screenwriter.
Please don’t make the same mistake.
March 19, 2008
#3
…is when brad pitt gets eaten by the bear.
here’s the reader’s digest version of the movie:
close up on brad pitt’s hair.
julia ormond cries.
someone dies.
julia ormond cries.
close up on brad pitt’s hair.
someone dies.
julia ormond cries.
anthony hopkins suffers a stroke.
someone dies.
close up on brad pitt.
julia ormond cries yet AGAIN.
more people die.
more people cry.
brad gets eaten by the bear (yahoo!)
it’s *not* an epic. it’s not a masterpiece. it’s silly, inane, and melodramatic–that’s why only 13 year old girls love it and want to name their boys ‘tristan.’ please, little girls, don’t name your boys ‘tristan.’ they’ll hate you. they’ll get beaten up at school.
March 19, 2008
#4
I love Brad Pitt & he looks hot in this movie, but it
SUCKS! It is so drawn out & the girl in this movie
is an idiot!
If you want to be bored to tears, then rent this
movie!
Zero stars!
March 19, 2008
#5
Thank God for Anthony Hopkins, who somehow always delivers an impeccable performance no matter what he is in. He represents the one faintly shimmering star that I have given this movie. That said, the rest of the film is exhausting.
Of course, Brad Pitt is extremely hot. But how long can that distract you from the utter banality of this movie? The plot drags on for hours, interspersed with long, drawn out landscape shots of rolling pastures and mountains until you start asking yourself, “What is this movie about, again?”
It’s basically about Julia Ormond falling in love with 3 brothers (alternately, not simultaneously) in the wild, untamed western wilderness during WWI. Mix in a few sympathetic, if stereotypical, Native Americans, a lot of unrequited love, and some convoluted storytelling, and you’ve got Legends of the Fall. Almost everyone dies (at least once), and those who don’t are left behind to woefully mourn their losses and realise, just a few seconds too late, “what could have been”.
We’re forced to watch the tragic affairs of Julia’s love for each of the brothers in succession, as she loses them in various ways (tragically, of course, and not always permanently), and all the time longing for Anthony Hopkins to come back on the screen.
When Brad Pitt finally shows up again after a supposed 10-year-long absence, he falls in love with his almost-sister: a gorgeous, statuesque Native American girl who was a scrawny 10 years old last time we saw her (she dies later, of course). However, (OOOPS!) Brad Pitt (and EVERYBODY ELSE) looks EXACTLY THE SAME as they did 10 YEAR AGO! Well, except for Anthony Hopkins, who tragically has a stroke before Pitt returns and looks much older. But still. Come on, people. Lets keep some semblance of reality here.
Of course, this is an epic in the truest sense of the word. But unlike “Gone With The Wind”, for example, it truly fails to deliver. Just when you begin to care about the characters, something so melodramatic, horrible, and implausable happens to them that you start writing them off, one by one, as hopeless causes. Sort of like this film.