Legends of the Fall

Summary

“It was no more her fault than it is the fault of the water when the rock shatters.”

1994 was an incredible year for film. In the same year we had Forrest Gump, Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption. Those films were all critical darlings and nominated for Academy Awards. That same year, Columbia Pictures released an epic period piece named Legends of the Fall. Based on the novella by Jim Harrison of the same name, the film was directed by Edward Zwick whose 1989 film Glory had netted three Academy Awards. The film was critically misunderstood at the time by a jaded group of critics that had grown sick of films that aimed for such emotional responses from audiences. Maybe it was because the critics looked at the film as a vehicle for the incredibly handsome Brad Pitt, or maybe it was because the heart-on-its-sleeves sincerity of the film had become passé in 1994, but for whatever reason they maligned the beautifully shot and acted film. Luckily, audiences shrugged off the critics and supported the film. It was a massive success with over $160 million at the box office worldwide. High school seniors grew their hair long to emulate Brad Pitt’s look. The film continued to find an audience as the years have gone by. Now, twenty years after its release, Sony Pictures has given the film a gorgeous new 4K UHD release.

The story revolves around three brothers and their father in Montana. Albert (Aidan Quinn) is the eldest and the rule-follower of the group. Samuel (Henry Thomas) is young and idealistic. Tristan (Brad Pitt) is more wild. Tristan and Albert live with their father Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) who had served and saw firsthand the hardship faced by the American Indians. Living on their ranch is One Stab (Gordon Tootoosis,) an American Indian who befriended the Colonel years earlier, and Decker, a ranch hand who may have had trouble with the law before he began to work for on the ranch. In the year 1915, Samuel returns from college with Susannah (Julia Ormond) whom he plans to marry. He is a virgin and plans to wait until marriage. Meanwhile, Tristan is older and experienced. Susannah can’t help falling into an infatuation with Tristan while they all stay on the ranch. The plans for Susannah and Samuel’s marriage are interrupted by the news of the war. Against the advice of their father, all three brothers enlist. Before the three men head out for war, Susannah almost acts upon her infatuation with Tristan, but this is interrupted when Alfred stumbles upon them. Susannah stays on at the Ludlow ranch as Samuel heads to the frontlines. In the war, Alfred is injured in a battle. When Tristan goes to visit Alfred in the medical tent, Samuel volunteers for a dangerous recon mission. Samuel is machine gunned down as Tristan runs to the battlefield to save him. Tristan removes his brothers heart to send back to his father with Alfred. Something snaps inside him and Tristan storms the battlefield that night in war paint. He scalps eleven men and is released from his command. Alfred blames Tristan for the death of his younger brother since Tristan was not supposed to leave Samuel’s side. Alfred returns home to his father with Samuel’s heart. Susannah mourns Samuel’s death, and she stays on at the ranch. Alfred falls in love with Susannah, but her heart belongs to Tristan. Tristan meanwhile is essentially untamable. The plot continues from there.

In preparation for writing this review, I went ahead and read the novella by Jim Harrison so that I could make comparisons. Jim Harrison has proven to be one of my favorite discoveries of late, and I have followed up reading this novella with some of his other works. He was considered a master of the form for a reason. He could evoke so many emotions from the reader with short meaningful sentences in the Hemingway fashion. In the same collection that featured Legends of the Fall is another stunning novella called Revenge which was turned into another critically misunderstood film from director Tony Scott. I happen to like both of these adaptations of Harrison’s work and think that both filmmakers understood the intentions of the works themselves. In this case, screenwriters Susan Shilliday and William D. Wittliff bring the very best out of the source material while in some ways improving upon it. The novella is fantastic, but has very little dialogue for the characters, being told much more like a chronicle of a family’s turbulent history than as a fully formed drama. This meant that the screenwriters were tasked with creating much of the dialogue in the film. It’s extremely well done. The result is an extremely emotional journey for the viewer. 

Crying, maybe even crying numerous times, while watching Legends of the Fall is completely normal. Watching the film with my wife, we both allowed ourselves the occasional tear to roll down our faces because of how deeply we allowed ourselves to feel for the characters onscreen. Critics misunderstood the raw emotional power of the film’s beautiful images and its breathtakingly sad story. As I stated earlier, it just seems like they must have been too jaded to allow the film to affect them.

Edward Zwick employed cinematographer John Toll to paint gorgeous landscapes. This is filmmaking on an epic scale. The landscapes of the family’s Montana ranch are beautifully lensed and Toll shows his adaptability in a World War I battle sequence that is shot very well. Watching the picture, it is easy to understand why John Toll won the Academy Award for his achievement in cinematography. Just as important to the film is the score by James Horner. It is extremely romantic and relentlessly gorgeous. Horner passed away in 2015, and his absence continue to be felts. This was one of his very best works.

The film has a number of great performances. I understand why people thought of the film as a Brad Pitt vehicle instead of realizing it as the ensemble piece it is, because Brad Pitt completely owns the screen in the role of Tristan. It is easy to understand why every woman he encounters in the film falls in love with him immediately, and offscreen I believe the same effect occurred. Pitt has always been one of my favorite actors due to his ability to pick excellent roles and deliver strong performances in those roles. He isn’t just a pretty face, he brings a lot of depth to his performances. That said, Anthony Hopkins is just as effective in the picture, especially in the latter half. He is unbelievably good as the paterfamilias of the Ludlow family. He brings a dignity and authority to his performance that is never in doubt. Aidan Quinn has the unenviable task of playing the most responsible (and therefore less interesting) brother. It must have been difficult to play a role where your character is meant to be the least enigmatic, but he does exceptionally well at portraying the inner pain of the character. Julia Ormond is very good in the role of the longing and long-suffering Susannah. Henry Thomas is also well cast in the role of the virginal idealist Samuel.

At the end of the day, Legends of the Fall has always been almost uncomfortable to watch because of how earnest and heartfelt it is. The film is an epic, a romance, a war story, and a great tale of a family’s struggle to survive the hard times in which they lived. Its a great adaptation of a fantastic novella by Jim Harrison. I personally love it, even if I can only watch it when I am willing to allow myself a good cry. Highly recommended.

Video

Legends of the Fall arrives on 4K with a gorgeous new transfer by Sony from the original color negative in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Legends of the Fall was critically misunderstood, but it was unanimously appreciated for its cinematography which went on to win an Academy Award. John Toll’s work is undeniably gorgeous and has a large scale to it that fits the nature of the work. It is truly beautiful to watch. Sony’s 4K presentation is remarkable. Fine detail is excellent and the color timing seems very true to the original film release. Grain is extremely well resolved, but is still apparent. The result is filmic. The HDR brings the best out of the film’s colors, and although the shadows at time can be a somewhat heavy, its essentially perfect. This is a huge leap forward for this film.

Audio

Legends of the Fall has been gifted a brand new Atmos track that blows away all prior presentations of the picture. James Horner’s score is one of his best, and now it can be fully enjoyed. It’s a lush experience. Sony understands how to bring the best out of audio elements, and the result is flawless. LFEs are active and the track is consistently immersive and engaging. There is nothing to improve upon here

Supplements:

Sony has included the archival supplements that were featured on the prior Blu-ray release.

• Audio Commentary: Director Edward Zwick and Actor Brad Pitt 
• Audio Commentary: Cinematographer John Toll and Production Designer Lilly Kilvert 
• Deleted Scenes
• Original Theatrical Featurette 
• Production Featurette 

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Legends of the Fall was too heartfelt and emotional for the critics of its time, but audiences responded to the film then and now. Based on the novella by acclaimed author Jim Harrison, Edward Zwick’s film realizes the full potential of the text and actually improves upon it. The film is as breathtakingly beautiful as it is heartbreaking. I am not opposed to watching a film that leads to tear shed, and Legends of the Fall is sure to cause viewers to weep, possibly even to weep repeatedly. It is beautifully done and has great performances from an exceptional ensemble cast, Academy Award winning cinematography, and one of the best scores to ever be written by the legendary James Horner. Sony’s 4K UHD release is gorgeous. If you have the heart for this type of earnest drama, buy Legends of the Fall and have a nice romantic night with your significant other. Highly recommended!