Legends of the Fall (1994) is an epic western drama filled with raw emotions and shocking twists. Edward Zwick directs with a fine sense of realism and massive scope in vision. The long wide shots of natural beauty are matched with Zwick's eye for filming medium shots in close quarters. The battles and fights are as exciting as the tender romance moments.

The score from James Horner is lovely, sweeping across the shots of fields and wilderness, cradling each scene carefully. Horner has such an eye for subtle cues that elevate already excellent moments. His composition is stacked with gentle melodies and longing symphonies. I love Horner's score for Legends of the Fall.

The highlight is certainly the acting from the entire cast. A young Brad Pitt leads the charge with intensity and passion. He carries scenes with his more emotive style of acting. Aidan Quinn compels you with his serious display of emotions. I like this role tremendously for Quinn. Julia Ormond portrays such love and passion as well as capturing unhappiness on a profoundly moving level. Finally, Sir Anthony Hopkins kills it as a father figure desperately trying to protect his children. Legends of the Fall contains one of Hopkins' most touching performances.

In all, I first saw Legends of the Fall when I was a young man. I loved it then. Revisiting it is nostalgic, but I also see the love in how it was crafted. I feel much like Brad Pitt coming home after a long journey. Legends of the Fall is dramatic in its impact and influence on me.

Movie is awful. I would give no star if it was possible. Hard to believe that many lives of closest people to the Tristan (Brad Pitt's character) only revolve around him ALL movie long (and movie is god damn LONG). Main character has serious problems with narcissistic personality disorder, which explains most of his disgusting behavior towards the people that care the most about him. Movie is full of cliches and unrealistic plot twists. Big waste of time overall - I wish hollywood stop putting main characters with NPD on the pedestal and promote narcissism as something normal in the movies. It's a disease.

Sooo BIZARRE!! I can BARELY get past the 1 star reviews. Those folks, (the "1 Star" folks), couldn't spell worth a darn. No intellectual comments whatsoever. I'm thinking....perhaps they just didn't comprehend the English language. Could that be so? Also, I believe it to be unfair to add disappointing cartridge/disc problems to the reviews. It becomes very confusing, doesn't it? The actual VISUAL quality of the "film" , shouldn't really be compared to the quality of the film's STORY itself. I feel badly for the folks who received a poor quality disc..I think they should be recompensed.. TRULY.. But folks, REALLY, do you believe those viewing problems should be counted as "Reviews"?
I think this film is BEAUTIFUL. FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, SCENERY...kind of awesome. I found it's rare to watch men emoting love, hate, distrust, anger and fear so OPENLY. So BEAUTIFULLY...so...TRUTHFULLY.
I LOVE this movie, and the men within NEVER fail to give me hope, HOPE that REAL men will take take the hint.... A real woman yearns for a REAL MAN. A man unafraid to share emotions...Hope, Love, Fear, Pain, Adoration......wow.

Great Western scenery. The plot is thoroughly improbable. Three American brothers before American entry into WW1 leave their grand home in the West, their Army veteran father (Anthony Hopkins), and a beautiful woman Susannah engaged to one of them, to enlist in Canada for an England they had never seen. The high ideals of patriotism, God, country, political correctness, long hair, opposition to government & Prohibition, chastity and family are challenged when Brad Pitt beds the good-looking femme fatal linked to all three brothers romantically. The three brothers pass Susannah around throughout the movie. Her sexual attraction for Pitt and her improbable abandonment by two of the brothers are the themes of the movie. Her love of Pitt stokes jealousy and sibling rivalry.

The same grizzly bear we see in all Hollywood productions growls for the camera and makes three appearances in all. The WW1 battle scene, terrain and greenery are wholly unrealistic, and the individual heroism depicted ridiculous compared to the dismal reality of trench warfare. The post-traumatic stress disorder affecting Pitt is seemingly genuine. Anthony Hopkins’ rejection of his son’s candidacy for Congress is a tribute to the political correctness of opposition to political contributions and Congress.

Brad Pitt fights for racial equality in a saloon, to assure Native Americans’ rights to a beer. He descends into the political incorrectness of hunting in Africa, but takes to the sea, travels the world, and smokes opium for consolation in a nod to our opioid crisis.

Years later, Pitt returns with a herd of horses when Anthony Hopkins is incapacitated by stroke and the mutual love interest Susannah had married the third-choice brother. Tristan (Pitt) is able to wed the much younger girl they grew up with, Isabel, who at age 11 or 12 said she would marry Tristan, and his old love interest the married Susannah is shaken emotionally. Pitt fathers a child, which his Congressman brother and abandoned love Susannah never did.

The evil police riding with stronger bootleggers kill Tristan’s wife with a random spray of bullets, and old Dad blames the government and his son the Congressman. Pitt is a victim of government corruption, but his lost love visits him in jail, still hankering for what Pitt has … and after Pitt tells her to return to her husband, she commits suicide. Pitt gets some revenge by murdering one policeman and one outlaw. The evil police and bootleggers return to the ranch to kill Pitt, but old Col. Hopkins kills two with a shotgun and the hidden Congressman kills the third. The family is reunited in bloodshed. Then Pitt nobly abandons his children to wander again, and obtains the Congressman’s agreement to look after them. The grizzly bear returned to kill the anti-hero in his wanderings alone somewhere in the woods in later years.

Rifles and shotguns do justice, but evil submachine guns are the tools of the devils.

A perfect film. Epic. Tragic. Beautiful. I must have seen it 20 times by now since the 90's, and I never tire of it. The relationship dynamic between the family and the dysfunctional romance with Susannah is highly likely when you live out in the middle of nowhere, and therefore a believable and amazing story. Perhaps I can relate so much because of the brotherly connection, and how it's often horrible but-in-the-end commitment to family wins out. Perfectly acted. Scarily good performance by Julia Ormond - her inner turmoil is very believable. Personally, I love the soundtrack, and it's perfectly fitting for the times. Can't get enough of this movie!

First, lets the talk the negative reviews. Almost half the 1 stars were "DVD didn't work", "I purchased it in another language by accident", and "Not my style". I used Amazon Prime Video and I watched it for free with just a few ads in it. Amazon Prime is $100 a year and I get about $500 worth of free stuff a year and I don't have to worry about shipping or DVD quality. I say only $500 because that's all I have time for. Every time Amazon produces a movie it is free for Amazon Prime - that alone is over $200 a year in worth. Just saying.

So, now it is my turn to write a review.
The greatest men I served in the military with loved this movie. Not love like some of you love the Transformers. It broke their hearts, because they live with broken hearts. The Tristans of the military. The perfect soldiers. One of those veterans PTSD paid him a visit one last time. This is a classic for all bands of brothers who's seen some s*** and who are now the calm and collected men who hunt nightmares. You may not be there yet, but it'll happen or you haven't calmed down yet because your battle is still raging. Or you don't know what I'm talking about and probably never will.

I'm not saying it might be classic, I'm saying it is a classic for combat veterans. Theory vs. fact.

I am not counting the outliers, there are outliers for everything and I never count them because outliers give people an excuse to say stupid stuff - for example: when I served in Korea for two years, not all Koreans used chopsticks and everyone who hasn't been there would say they all do. A small percentage do not, because some had only one arm. Nothing is 100%, but unless it is over 7.1% I don't talk about it. If you want to be the 7.1% have at it you amazing Power Ranger, Space Ninja, and Water Sniper.

No movie has ever moved me in the way that this one has. The music by conducted and composed by James Horner exudes a haunting match to a tale of longing and love so deep; that it cannot truly be put into words. Love between Father and sons, Tristan and Susannah, each Brother to each Brother and of course husbands and wives and lovers too. It asks the viewer to recognize worlds that exist outside of time and space as we know them. Legendary worlds and exemplary souls and a time that was cleaner, more pristine and yet filled life's deepest heartbreak and challenges. Tristan and Susannah and each character in the Ludlow crew. Absolutely one of my all time favorite films. The music literally sweeps us away into this journey of heart and soul back around the time of WW1. The acting is magnificent beyond compare and I think Julia Ormond is brilliant. All of the actors do a superb job in this film. My heart was filled to the brim with a time when Native Americans and though living in a time when the world was not ripped to shreds yet. The cinematography of the land in Montana is breathtaking. The strain of the Heart Breaking open scenes of the brothers and the one woman who was like a special gem whom none of them could really fully appreciate, in the role of Susannah Fincannon. The subtle nuances of her acting is nothing less than stellar. The nuance of all relationships and politics, war and peace are all intertwined into this one movie. The best of the best for me. Brad Pitt was in his glory days here. He was indeed a Legend as Tristan.The message of this movie will reside in my Heart forever.

There's not much to be said about 'LoTF' that hasn't already been said; based off of a Novella by the same name, this movie covers the span of decades and is more than simply a story about a family growing up in Montana - it is an entanglement of nature, war, love, betrayal, and grief.

My favorite thing about this film is the music; nominated for an academy award, James Horner Known for his work on the 'Titanic' score) uses his music to guide the viewer through the emotions of this movie in a way that brings comfort and ease. The theme of the movie is introduced early (it is introduced to us with lyrics, that are sung by one character) and it is repeated throughout the film at moments where emotional depth is expected and at its hight. It's a simple way of grounding the film so as to not escape the audience - and, put simply, it works.

Despite not winning an award for best original score, 'LOTF' did receive an award for best cinematography- and it's quite obvious why. The wilderness of Montana is shown through a variety of colors and seasons, and the set design immerse the audience in to the story in a way that is refreshing and at the very least - endearing. The setting is a constant reminder of the challenges these characters subsequently deal with (as their setting changes, or stays the same), and it lends authenticity to the film that could otherwise be lost or misrepresented.

As this movie is based off a book. it's only natural to include information regarding how close this film is to the novel it is based off of. A pleasant surprise to some - this is one case in particular where the book remains very close to the book although this is not without its flaws; most notably, Susanna's relationship with Tristan and his siblings is very different from that in the book (I suppose, to add a bit of drama and make her character seem more interesting - OOP), but that is understandable in regards to making this movie's story reach and engage with a wider audience. All other characters, including the Native American characters, in this film are presented as authentically as possible, and that's just one more thing that makes this film one simply worth watching at least once.

I would recommend!