| | | |"After the Fall from Innocence, the Legend Begins."
Features: DVD, Deluxe Edition, Widescreen, Dolby Digital (5.1); Dolby Surround Sound, Audio Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailers, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai Subtitled
1994 Oscar winner: Best Cinematography. Based on the novella by Jim Harrison, this sweeping romantic epic is about the Ludlow brothers--two men (Brad Pitt, Aidan Quinn) in love with the same woman (Julia Ormond). Also starring Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Edward Zwick (The Siege). Screenplay by Susan Shilliday and Bill Wittliff.
"...a fine cast..." James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"...enormously entertaining..." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...a sweeping, panoramic film that is visually as well as emotionally satisfying." Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
"...Zwick orchestrates everything with welcome gusto...[the film is] undeniably pleasant..." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"While emotionally intense, it's neither hurried nor charged with false drama." Leonard Klady, Variety
"There's a lot of beauty and excitement in Legends of the Fall - not least from the actors." Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"Though the admirable Quinn has the toughest role, Pitt carries the picture." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
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 fiancée 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.
Plot Summary
Three sons of a retired U.S. cavalry colonel, raised in the remote foothills of the Rockies, are turned against each other when a beautiful woman enters their lives, while modernization and World War I loom in the background.
| Features | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English Dolby Digital (5.1), French, Spanish, Portuguese Dolby Surround Sound | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai | | Edward Zwick and Brad Pitt Audio Commentary | | Cinematographer John Toll and Production Designer Lilly Kilvert Audio Commentary | | Production Design Featurette | | Original Making-of-Featurette | | 3 Deleted Scenes with Director's Commentary | | Isolated Music Score with Highlights | | Theatrical Trailers | | Talent Files | | nteractive Menus | | Production Notes | | Scene Selections with Motion Images |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 11/29/2005 |
| Running Time: 133 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1994 | | Catalog ID: 11516 | | UPC: 00043396115163 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Portuguese Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Chinese | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1995) |  | John Toll, Winner, Best Cinematography | | | Lilly Kilvert, Dorree Cooper, Nominee, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration | |
Golden Globe (1995) | | | Edward Zwick, Nominee, Best Director-Motion Picture | | | James Horner, Nominee, Best Original Score-Motion Picture | | | Brad Pitt, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama | | | Edward Zwick, Nominee, Best Director - Motion Picture | | | James Horner, Nominee, Best Original Score - Motion Picture | | | Legends of the Fall, Nominee, Best Motion Picture - Drama | |
Oscar (1995) | | | Paul Massey, et. al., Nominee, Best Sound |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...Stunning cinematography and a star-making turn from [Ormond]..." 06/01/1995 p.116Rolling Stone
"...Gorgeous....[Pitt] proves himself a bona fide movie star, stealing every scene he's in..." 01/26/1995 p.65-6 New York Times
"...Pitt's diffident mix of acting and attitude works to such heartthrob perfection....Gripping material and good actors..." 12/23/1994 p.C10 Sight and Sound
"....[Featuring] an epic performance from Brad Pitt..." 05/01/1995 p.48-9 Los Angeles Times
"...Pitt is perfectly casts in a traditional heartthrob way....Zwick orchestrates everything with welcome gusto..." 12/23/1994 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is a showcase for acting, and in addition to Ormond and Hopkins, it also shows how strong Aidan Quinn and Brad Pitt are..." 01/13/1995 p.33 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
Legends of the Fall is the sort of epic melodrama that only Hollywood can do this well. It's a spectacle more than a show, with soaring moments of triumph and tragedy... Supporting Pitt is a fine cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, and newcomer Julia Ormond, whose role here offers a taste of things to come... the entertainment offered far outweighs any momentary recognition that the director is tweaking our emotions. A filmmaker who can pull this off once--not to mention twice (here, as in Glory)--deserves both respect and admiration. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
"Legends of the Fall" is the kind of movie where you have to make a conscious effort to keep the words "Big Sky Country" out of the first paragraph of the review...It's an epic Western saga about a beautiful woman from back East, and the three sons of a Montana rancher who loved her and fought for her, told against the backdrop of World War I. This is the kind of story that usually appears in an interminable series of paperback novels with the titles embossed in silver, but in fact this material is based on a slim novella by Jim Harrison, who must be mighty surprised how much his stuff adapts to the screen just like Margaret Mitchell and John Jakes...It's not that the movie is bad. It's pretty good, in fact, with full-blooded performances and heartfelt melodrama. It's that the material is so cheerfully old-fashioned it makes "Giant" look subtle...The movie is a showcase for acting, and in addition to Ormond and Hopkins, it also shows how strong Aidan Quinn and Brad Pitt are, in roles that have inescapable parallels to the Rock Hudson and James Dean characters in "Giant." There is even a time when Pitt goes away "forever," just as Dean's character threatened to do, although in an act of sensational one-upmanship this movie sends Pitt all the way to New Guinea for some practical anthropology. - Roger Ebert
ReelViews 9 of 10
Legends of the Fall is the sort of epic melodrama that only Hollywood can do this well. It's a spectacle more than a show, with soaring moments of triumph and tragedy. Words like "restraint" and "subtle" are meaningless in this context. The latest offering from Edward Zwick, the director of Glory, is the kind of movie that doesn't require much effort to surrender to and enjoy...Supporting Pitt is a fine cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, and newcomer Julia Ormond...Manipulation is a part of any melodrama, and Legends of the Fall is no exception. In this case, however, the entertainment offered far outweighs any momentary recognition that the director is tweaking our emotions. A film maker who can pull this off once -- not to mention twice (here, as in Glory) -- deserves both respect and admiration...It seems that there are perennial attempts at this sort of grand-scale motion picture, each with ambitions as big as the mountains that form the backdrop. Because it's so easy to overdo melodrama, successes are rare. Thankfully, there are few missteps in Legends of the Fall. You don't have to be a critic, or even have a critical perspective, to be entertained by this film. - James Berardinelli
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