Legends Of The Fall

Legends of the Fall (Deluxe Edition)
$19.94
A good movie to watch when you want to just relax and enjoy a quiet evening.

A River Runs Through It
$14.94
I thoroughly enjoyed both as me and my brother were both raised the same way but not quit as religious.

Legends of the Fall
$6.99
James Horner has written some beautiful scores in his career and I think that this is one of his best ones. "The Ludlows" is a touching theme that produces so much emotion. My 5 year old said, when he heard it, "Daddy, turn this off. It's making me sad!". And what a great value! 75 minutes of music for this price? Thanks, Amazon!

Legends of the Fall
$15.00
This film has an excellent ensemble cast which includes Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond, Aidan Quinn, Anthony Hopkins, Henry Thomas and Karina Lombard. They all have excellent performances.

This is a complicated story, it reminded me of an epic along the lines of Gone With the Wind. The narration by the Old Cree Scout helps us understand "the bear within Tristan" and transitions of the film. It keeps the melodrama in perspective, although there are deep desperate angst scenes to digest.

Legends of the Fall is a romantic story, set just before World War I and spans through prohibition. It centers on one family through the decades. The movie is narrated by the Colonel's Old Cree Scout, "One Stab". A strong father, Colonel William Ludlow, who (Anthony Hopkins) and his three sons - each a strong-willed man with clearly different characteristics. Their mother has left to return to the East Coast. She still corresponds and is interested in her family, but in a somewhat cool and "friendly separation." So the boys and their father take care of their ranch in Montana. Sort of like Bonanza.

The initial scene is when Tristan as a young boy is almost killed by a bear. The bear's claw left something "within Tristan" that is tied up in the ending. So we see the bear at the beginning and the ending.

Spring of 1913 arrives, the youngest son, Samuel (Henry Thomas), returns from an Eastern school with his fiancee, Susannah Finncannon (Julia Ormond). Susannah is the catalyst for all that transpires and ends up with relationships with all the Colonel's sons.

Samuel's older brothers have taken over key areas of the ranch business. Alfred (Aidan Quinn) is a manager of the ranch and Tristan (Brad Pitt) is the wild, strong-willed, free spirited, chief wrangler.
The First World War calls to the young idealistic Samuel to make a difference and stand for his beliefs. His father disagrees and is tired of wars, but Samuel is strong-willed. His brothers are used to taking care of Samuel and accompany him to give support. Samuel dies on the battlefield. Tristan sees the death and cuts out his heart (frees the spirit) and sends Samuel's heart back to be buried in Montana. Reunited in Montana, Tristan and Susannah become lovers.

Tristan's demons and feeling of guilt over Samuel's death cause him to leave the ranch and tour the world. He needs to find himself and heal from the trauma of losing Samuel and the guilt of becoming Susannah's lover. Susannah eventually marries Alfred, who is now a Congressman. When Tristan returns - about the time of Prohibition - he sees Susannah and wishes her well. He then marries a half-breed related to Old Cree and starts a family on the ranch. His father, Colonel Ludlow has had a stroke while he was gone and needs Tristan.

Then the story continues getting complicated with suicides, beatings, revenge and all scenes dramatic. The story ends with Tristan as an old man in the woods and the final tie-in with the bear that first affected Tristan's spirit.