Legends of the Fall

Legends of the Fall-720P

Legends of the Fall-360P

Legends of the Fall-480P

I'm writing this review as I'm listening to the awesome soundtrack playing between my ears. I saw this movie again after 26 years and yes it still moves me to tears. I cried when The Colonel said goodbye to the boys, I cried when Tristan came back and saw the Colonel for the first time after he had his stroke. Yes it's a melodrama and the way the actors played their part, I could resonate with each and everyone of them. I'm 52 and I've seen felt mostly what they have gone through in the 1920s. Watch this film for the sweeping cinematography and the emotions of it all. One Stab narration and his Red Indian chants added a bit of character. The way Tristan looks up to him is something the youngsters missing now. The lack of respect to the elders. Susanah, the woman caught in between is portrayed brilliantly by Ormond. Horner soundtrack is a masterclass. Brilliant.

A MacGuffin is an object that the characters value and that drives the plot, but the specific nature of the object is not important. In some movies, the nature of the MacGuffin is never explained to the audience. In thrillers, that can work. In human-relationship dramas, not so much. Writers Shilliday and Witliff create Susanna (Ormond) as a human MacGuffin. She is beautiful; end of story. No back story, no motivations, no personality, nothing. The fact that a cardboard cutout could alter the courses of their lives made me lose interest in the characters of the three brothers, and when Susanna was finally removed from the story line, I was still wondering whether the audience was supposed to care. 20% visual delight; 80% irritating script.

The raw passion of this movie is enough to make any serious movie enthusiast weep. I honestly can't believe this movie was not nominated for about 8 or 10 Academy awards. It also baffles me that some people think this was Anthony Hopkins worst portrayal. He was absolutely brilliant in this, as was Brad Pitt. THIS was the movie that made me take a look at Pitt and see that he's more than just a pretty face. After watching this, he became, and is still to this day, my favorite actor. In this movie he was rustic, yet thoughtful. He was strong and vulnerable. He had a great love for family(especially his father) and for a woman he knew should not be his. This film a true epic with history, talent, superior cinematography, and most of all(and what many movies of today lack).. closure. Watch and wonder

Legends of the Fall (1994) This movie looks and feels good, and it goes far. However... It ends up being an overblown, simplistic epic sprawl, redeemed by Brad Pitt. It is filled with scenes of high drama, and some of them are truly moving—mostly sad and tragic. But there is a long string of clichés here, as if real human depth is reached through excess and borrowed ideas. The war scenes (WWI) are so fake it's painful. Yes, there are bombs and terrific lighting, but the acting, and the reactions to fighting and dying, are stripped of any truth and honesty. Likewise, the conflicts between the brothers are oversimplified, and the one young woman in the movie, the siren, is admirable (and the actress is terrific) but so symbolic it's just pure sexism. Anthony Hopkins plays the patriarch of this family with three sons and this newcomer woman. The local Native Americans add a "Dances with Wolves" element that sometimes is a relief from the overdone drama, but often it too fulfills clichés. WWI intervenes. More clichés. Okay, I hated this movie and yet—trying hard—I liked the look of it. The director, relatively inexperienced Edward Zwick, seems to know movies better than life. It reminds me (in this way among others) of "Shawshank Redemption" which I also found filled with simplistic solutions to interesting human problems. (I'm sure this will get some thumbs downs for this review—go for it.) Put it like this—if you like sentiment, if you like to feel more than think (which is not a bad thing), and if you don't really analyze movies but prefer to just experience them uncritically, this might really be a moving and terrific experience. And Brad Pitt is terrific. Final note—the music is overbearing. I suppose this fits the grandiose themes overall, but it was so saccharine and heavy it pushes the emotional aspects very hard. Hey, look, this is an emotional film and filled with heartache and unbelievable tragedy. If you can turn a blind eye to all the contrivances that make it happen, you'll be okay. If not, run fast.

When I first saw the movie poster and the actors that was involved, I was expecting a pretty good story. In that department I was disappointed, it's basically a narrow love story that is cliché and very formulaic. The constant emotional or dramatic music that plays in almost every scene starts to get annoying after a while as well. The main highlight of this film is the young Brad Pitt and the makers of this movie knows this as well, and not because his character stood out or anything. But because it's the type of movie where the handsome man rides in with his horse and gets the female audiences to drool. The movie is basically about three brothers falling for the same girl and all the drama that goes with it. The story is also very slow moving and gets tedious after a while, I enjoy some romance movie but I can't really say I really enjoyed this one all that much. The pacing is awkward like some scenes were cut due to length, so I assume the book to probably be better. Some critics claim this movie is poetic, but I just found it mostly corny. 5.5/10

This movie had so little going for it, and gave even less. It tried in every facet of film making to be a classic and continually fell on its face. It can really only be described in six words. Awful, Woeful, Pathetic, Terrible, Painful, & Depressing. The truth is the entire family were losers. As harsh as this may sound it's true. If I belonged to a family like that I would have been out of there as soon as possible.

Not having read the novella upon which this is based, I don't quite understand the quirky reasons for the characters to behave as they do in 'Legends of the Fall'--nor do I understand just what the title is supposed to imply. It's all a bit grandiose with some of the most breathtaking color photography of a western landscape ever seen in an American movie--richly deserving of an Oscar for its photography. But the story is another matter--a sprawling, epic kind of familial tale of the struggle for a father's affection, the love of two brothers for the same woman, etc., with all of the characters swept up in tumultuous emotional states without preparing the viewer for the reasons. The overall effect is disappointing when, after spending a couple of hours with these characters, you have no better understanding of their nature or what makes them tick. And yet, despite poor motivation, all of the actors do outstanding jobs--from Brad Pitt to Henry Thomas to Aidan Quinn to Anthony Hopkins--hats off for some fine acting. But at the core of the movie is a hollow factor that fails to touch base or explain the events. The jumps in continuity are a bit baffling. On the plus side, the war scenes are especially realistic--and it's nice to see Henry Thomas (the boy from E.T.) developing into a fine actor. The outdoor photography is awesome and the score by James Horner is an impressive one. Too bad the script was such a letdown. Summing up: a picture that can be enjoyed on its own terms--beautiful to look at but hollow inside.