Sometimes the whole of the movie adds up to less than the sum of its parts; at least, that’s the way I feel about Legends of the Fall. There are a number of aspects that I love about this epic film, yet I remain unimpressed with the totality of the project. It’s like director Edward Zwick decided to make an epic but doesn’t really have enough subject matter to warrant that type of treatment.
Plot basics
Essentially we have a love story partially set against World War I and set during the transition of the Old West to the Industrial Age. There are three love stories, all involving Susannah (Julia Ormond) and each of the three Ludlow brothers – her initial fiancé Samuel (Henry Thomas), the independent spirit Tristan (Brad Pitt), and the dutiful oldest son Alfred (Aidon Quinn). Susannah proves to be the “water” that causes the cracks to break up the stones, especially between Tristan and Alfred. While she passionately loves Tristan, he represents a wild spirit that can never be tamed.
As the old Indian One Stab says of Tristan, “Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, but they become legends.” After seeing the film a few times, I’m still not sure why Tristan is considered a real “legend,” other than a small time family legend.
The beauty of the movie is deceiving, so be prepared for a series of tragedies throughout since this film nearly covers an entire lifespan and seems to last nearly that long even though its running time is just over two hours. The director could have tightened the movie more, and expanded the deleted scenes for us on the special features of the DVD release, but Legends of the Fall does have some positive qualities that make for some enjoyment.
Cinematography and art direction
Just the look and feel of the film is beautiful – enough to have convinced the Academy to award cinematographer John Toll with the top award in 1995. The mountain vistas with their wooded areas and streams make me long to visit Montana and Canada until images of their brutal winters brings me back to reality. The lighting certain enhances Julia Ormond's natural beauty as well, as she’s never looked better.
The art direction for the film’s sets was also deservedly nominated for an Academy Award. The crew does an outstanding job transforming a modern street into 1920’s Montana, showing the transition the area makes from the Old West to modern industrialization by combining horses and Model-Ts on the street. The locations chosen are especially beautiful, and the large Ludlow log home makes me really envious of the independent Western living that it represents.
Acting
Anthony Hopkins’ acting always brings joy, and he’s in fine form here as the independent patriarch of the Ludlow family, attempting to maintain his European lifestyle in the heart of Montana at the turn of the century. I love how he mostly underplays his part, only raising his voice when his youngest son decides that he must go off to fight in The Great War. But this is a nice touch since Ludlow has already experienced the futility of the “War of Secession” and the Indian Wars on the Great Plains. Outside of Max von Sydow appearing as anything, what can be finer than an aged Hopkins suffering from a stroke that paralyzes his left side shouting out “Screw the government!”
By limiting the dialogue Zwick does a good job making Brad Pitt look like he can act in this film, one of Pitt’s better efforts. Most of his acting here is physical, sometimes requiring a roll of the eyes. His one big emotive scene to grab the attention of Academy viewers comes at the gravesite of his youngest brother where Susanna finds him crying openly, which is different from his generally stoic and repressed character. This lands them in the sack for a semblance of passionate lovemaking.
Zwick effectively goes to War
Even though the elder Ludlow is very much against war, the World War I scenes are some of the best in the entire movie. Zwick may be more comfortable filming war scenes than anything else, coming off Glory and later filming Courage Under Fire. When I was teaching, I used the World War I section from this film to illustrate the nature of the fighting for my students. I haven’t seen any other film that rapidly communicates the horrors of trench warfare, the stupidity of the suicidal charges, and the use of barbed wire and mustard gas. I like the nice touch of kicking a soccer ball sky high to signal the upcoming attack, and there are some spectacular close-ups of falling horses as Pitt performs hand to hand combat. Any film producer planning to do a war film should consider Zwick’s track record when looking for a director – he’s more effective with the physicality required in this setting than he is with character development.
Finale
I’m not sure why I continue to re-visit Legends of the Fall other than I admire certain scenes and love the scenery. I don’t find the themes especially thought provoking, nor do I find the characters all that intriguing. For some reason it has an epic feel to it and seems to play much longer than it does in actuality, and that must be due to the vast David Lean style landscapes and the historical references behind the story. Essentially, the only story that really remains significant with me rests with the oldest brother’s redemption at the end, and this all could have been accomplished in under two hours.
I know some people who rank this film very highly and return for repeated viewings. If you haven't seen it, it's worth renting for its good qualities and visual beauty. I'd rather visit Montana and the Canadian Rockies sometime when it's relatively warm and watch other films that provide more depth, but I may return one evening to check out the scenery.
The epic story of three brothers bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, Legends of the Fall is enormously entertaining (Roger Ebert)...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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