Legends Of The Fall
(1994)
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Director Edward Zwick's epic romance, set against the backdrop of WWI and the wide sky and rugged terrain of Montana, stars Anthony Hopkins as William Ludlow, an idealistic retired colonel who disapproves of the war and the army's indecent treatment of Native Americans. Abandoned by his blue-blooded wife, Ludlow raises his three sons in the remote foothills of Montana with the help of Native American friends. Before the war, Samuel (Henry Thomas) brings home his fiancee from the East Coast, Susannah (Julia Ormond), a stunning beauty who can ride, rope, and hunt like the Ludlow boys. When the war breaks out, Samuel, the youngest and most idealistic son, enlists in the army. Brothers Alfred (Aidan Quinn) and Tristan (Brad Pitt) follow suit, more as protectors than as cohorts. Despite their best efforts, however, Samuel dies in battle. Upon returning home, Tristan becomes involved with Susannah, who is devastated by her loss but profoundly attracted to the brooding brother. However, tormented by his inability to save his little brother's life, Tristan abandons her and sets out on a long journey of self-discovery. During his absence, Alfred reveals his own passion for Susannah. Although she does not reciprocate his feelings, Susannah--who has despaired of ever seeing Tristan again--agrees to become his wife. Ultimately, Tristan does return, setting off a dangerous conflict between the brothers. |
For someone who made his name on the small screen, Thirtysomething creator Edward Zwick certainly has the eye for the big picture when it comes to cinema. Glory, the moving story of a black regiment during the American Civil War, was suitably rousing, but it was with this fabulous throwback to the epic dramas of old that he really hits his stride. Anthony Hopkins plays stern patriarch William Ludlow, whose disgust at the actions of his own government during the Indian Wars leads him to bring up his three sons (Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn and Henry Thomas) on a remote ranch in the Montana mountains. However, their idyllic life is thrown into turmoil by outside events and by the arrival of the beautiful Julia Ormond. With a sweep that encompasses the passing of the Old West, the First World War, ivory hunting in Africa and Prohibition, this could have easily turned into a sprawling mess, but Zwick handles the various subplots with deceptive ease and fashions a poetic hymn to the values of loyalty and family ties, which only occasionally slips into melodramatic cliché. His skill in marshalling large casts is illustrated by the truly outstanding performances he draws from the talent on display: Hopkins is suitably craggy as the father, Pitt believably intense as the wayward middle son and Ormond delightfully unforced as the beauty who entrances the whole family. The real star, however, is John Toll's Oscar-winning cinematography, which is equally at home with the stunning beauty of the mountainous terrain and the killing fields of war-torn France.