Legends of the Fall (Special Edition) | Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins

Legends of the Fall (Special Edition) | Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins | A brief comment on the book and the movie

DVDs:

Legends of the Fal...

	Legends of the Fall (Special Edition) Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins Sony Pictures, 2000 average customer review:based on 177 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It stays with you.

I can't really fully explain the appeal of this film. It is beautifully filmed, and the score is equally as beautiful. The story is an epic, and epics are always inherently powerful, as time is everyone's enemy eventually. It is the story of three brothers who love each other. All are good men, as is their father, and as are the native americans who are given prominent and important roles. Circumstances, not their failures, draw the brothers apart. That is the tragedy in the film. Anthony Hopkins plays the role of the father, and hits the part perfectly. He is a man haunted by the horrors he has seen as a leader of men in warfare, and it is his failure to protect his sons from these horrors that sets the stage for the rest of the film. Brad Pitt is great as Tristan, his father's favorite, a man whose unbridled enthusiasm for life does not come at the expense of his integrity. Ultimately, his integrity is what both creates the tragedy and the very satisfying resolution for the story. We end up liking and caring for all of the main characters in the film, and that makes for a very fine movie experience.

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A brief comment on the book and the movie

The recent edition of the book is interesting in that two of the three novellas in it have been made into movies, Revenge, and Legends of the Fall.

I'll go on record saying that although I enjoyed the movie, I thought the book was better, although it's not really that long a book. Still, even in a work this short, there are depths that can't really be explored in a 2-hour movie, so if you liked the movie, I would strongly recommend you read the book.

But I did enjoy the movie. I don't know if it's a great movie or not, but I found it oddly engrossing and with a very poignant ending. Of course, any movie with Anthony Hopkins in it is a plus, but I think the other brothers and actors did a fine job with their roles too, including Brad Pitt.

In the book, Harrison has a direct but poetic style, and his male characters are well-drawn and believable. The women don't have much of a role in his books, but I don't mind that really. Harrison is a writer about old-fashioned masculine virtues and ideals of the sort that perhaps don't exist in our society anymore. But if you want equally well-developed women characters, you'll need to look elsewhere.

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Brad Pitt comes into his own

All around great acting from an outstanding cast. The plot, while simple, is tidy enough to be worth watching multiple times over the years. For me, this movie finally convinced me that Pitt was a versatile and extremely talented actor. The other actors did fine, and Anthony Hopkins portrayal as the Colonel dang near stole the movie out from under Pitt. This is one of my definite top 25 movies, if not higher. I highly recommend it.

Moving story with flaws

Set in Montana, the story centers around Tristian, played by Brad Pitt. His wild ways and fierce love for his family have a ripple affect on the whole story. He has two brothers the responsible Alfred, and the awkward and naive Samuel engaged to a lovely, but weak Susannah. Though both Alfred and Samuel are just nuts about her, she truly yearns for Tristian.

When Samuel dies, it changes everything. Alfred confesses his love, but she goes after Tristian. It's hard to pinpoint Tristian's feelings for Susannah. He's clearly attracted to her, but you get the sense that he's not IN love with her the way she is with him. Despite marrying her, he takes off to parts unknown to resolve his grief and restlessness, leaving Susannah abandoned. Though she still loves Tristian, (a point that she doesn't even try to hide) she marries Alfred, and tries to be content with him.

When Tristian comes back, he learns of the changes, and oddly, doesn't seem to mind. He has regrets, sure, but one get's the feeling he's secretly relieved he's rid of Susannah. He's more interested in Isabel, the beautiful half indian girl who grew up loving him. Of course, Susannah still has feelings for our wild Tristian, which will lead to her downfall.

This is not an epic, and it's certainly not legendary. Yet it is a moving tale of love both requited and unrequited, the strength and weaknesses of family, and the senseless tragedies life throws at us. Some things don't measure up, though. Everyone except Isabel and Hopkins are immune from aging, and there are some unanswered questions. Overall though, I reccomend it as a rental or something to borrow from a friend who is on VHS or DVD.

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