A tale of a family and the American West: "Legends of the Fall."
If you’re in the mood for a saga of an American family, "Legends of the Fall" DVD at the Carson Library is waiting for you. This 1994 film stars Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas and Anthony Hopkins as the father as well as Julia Ormand as Susannah.
It’s the tale of three brothers all of whom fall in love with the same woman, Susannah. Samuel (Thomas) is the bookish idealist who brings her to the family ranch in Montana. Alfred (Quinn) is the oldest and he takes to her as well, but she loves Samuel but is taken by Tristan (Pitt) when she meets him as the ranch.
The brothers go off to World War I, Samuel is killed, Alfred is wounded and Tristan feels guilty over the death of Samuel. Post-war Susannah weds Alfred after a torrid affair with Tristan; Tristan wanders the world but comes home to marry Isabel (Karina Lombard) and father two children.
Alfred goes on to become a Congressman, Tristan gets into small-time alcohol sales during Prohibition, runs afoul of other bootleggers, loses his wife to the bad guys.
This is a family that glories in the beauties of the west, and if the plot seems a bit steamy, it is. Pitt appears as a ticking bomb, always ready to explode. The rest of the cast is excellent, including Gordon Tootoosis as the narrator and family mentor.
Ormand comes through quite well, although she isn’t really asked to do too much, but she certainly is attractive. Pitt is properly wild and Hopkins patriarchal, switch from some of his meatier roles.
The film title is a bit arty but offers a nice fantasy.
The film runs 133 minutes in superb photograph by John Toll won an Academy Award. It’s rated R for violence and perhaps because of a very modest nude scene with Pitt and Ormand.
Cast
Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow
Anthony Hopkins as Col. William Ludlow
Aidan Quinn as Alfred Ludlow
Julia Ormond as Susannah Fincannon Ludlow
Henry Thomas as Samuel Ludlow
Karina Lombard as Isabel "Isabel II" Decker/Isabel Decker Ludlow
Gordon Tootoosis as One Stab
Christina Pickles as Isabel Ludlow
Paul Desmond as Decker
Tantoo Cardinal as Pet Decker
Robert Wisden as John T. O'Banion
John Novak as James O'Banion
Kenneth Welsh as Sheriff Tynert
Bart the Bear as The Bear