Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Dan1863Sickles I've always loved this movie and wanted to post a review, yet the power of the story always seemed too big and grand to put into words. Oddly enough, it was seeing a truly awful movie, AMERICAN PASTORAL with Ewan McGregor and Dakota Fanning, that helped me understand why LEGENDS OF THE FALL is a classic.An All-American patriarch tries to protect his children from the evils of the modern world, only to see the safe haven he's built utterly destroyed by the tragic choices they make. That is the plot of both LEGENDS OF THE FALL and AMERICAN PASTORAL. The difference is in the richness of the acting, the passions of the characters, and the truthfulness of the drama. Ewan McGregor is pitiably miscast and inauthentic as Swede Levov. You never, ever believe this guy used to be a great football hero and that everyone in Newark, New Jersey admires him. Whereas Anthony Hopkins, even though he's English, is totally believable as Colonel Ludlow, a tough veteran of the Indian Wars who's become disillusioned by the crimes of the government and wants a new start. When he says he wants to "lose the madness over the mountains" he could be speaking for Swede Levov, who moves from Newark to Old Rimrock! Just the way Swede puts all his hopes in his daughter Merry, so tough old Colonel Ludlow puts all his hopes in his three sons, Alfred, Samuel, and Tristan. It's a father's love that makes the Colonel call his sons "damned fools" for wanting to get mixed up in World War One, just as Swede Levov desperately wants his daughter to keep clear of the anti-war radicals during Vietnam. The difference is that the wildness of Tristan, the innocence of Samuel, and the ambition of Alfred, are all believably human and touching. In time love and war will shatter all three of them in different ways, just as Merry is shattered by the radical actions she undertakes during Vietnam. Except Merry's passion is never believable, nor is her anger, nor are her father Swede's pathetic attempts to stop her. Colonel Ludlow and his sons are a real family and they clash in realistic ways, before, during, and after the war. It is interesting that Tristan's postwar breakdown parallels Merry's in a lot of ways, right down to the long disappearances and the lapses in personal hygiene. But Tristan acts out of a real sense of loss and it's possible to believe in his redemption. Colonel Ludlow never stops believing in his boys, and when he tells Tristan at the very end "you are not damned, Tristan . . . I won't allow it!" It's unbelievably touching. Oddly enough, Swede Levov has exactly the same attitude towards Merry, except her crimes are disgusting and the Swede himself is ridiculously ineffectual all throughout the drama. These two American stories are so similar, yet different. As Mark Twain once said, it's the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

mbapradyumna One of the movies which is not so famous, however is one of the most beautiful portrayal of the old America, the politics, nepotism, hatred towards lesser(as called) races-you'll see all of these. Also the story's take on war and politics is novel to any American movie-it tries to uncover truth using beauty and plainness

bkoganbing I have to say that the Oscar winning cinematography just blew me away in Legends Of The Fall. With British Columbia standing in for Montana of the early 20th century it's not called The Big Sky country for nothing. My guess though is Montana now is a bit too developed now to get the proper feel for atmosphere in which Anthony Hopkins raised his three boys all of whom turned out quite different. The three sons in Legends Of The Fall are Aidan Quinn, Brad Pitt, and Henry Thomas chronologically. Quinn is the solid and reliable eldest who becomes one of Montana's Representatives in Congress. They usually had and still have only two of them. Henry Thomas can't get out from under being the baby of the family. The other two are constantly looking out for him.It's Brad Pitt as the middle son who is our brooding protagonist and the closest thing Pitt ever did on screen as a romantic idol. Brad's like something out of one of those romance novels. The brothers start showing their differences when Henry Thomas brings home Julia Ormond as his intended bride. She gets all their hormones in overdrive and when Thomas fails to return from World War I the rivalry between Pitt and Quinn drives the rest of the film.Anthony Hopkins who served in the Indian wars in the cavalry was disillusioned by said conflicts and built his own empire where the native Indians share in its bounty. His kids however grew up in the era of Theodore Roosevelt where you answered your country's call no matter what. And like TR all three Ludlow boys are imbued with the idealism of the Allied cause. All three go to Canada and enlist in their army and defy their father. It all becomes a Greek tragedy of sorts in the end.The Oscar winning cinematography is just breathtaking. The vastness of God's earth will dazzle the viewer and you might become an instant conservationist. Legends Of The Fall also won an Oscar for Art&Set Design which is also wonderful and I think that TR's Sagamore Hill might have been a model used.Sad though that Hopkins, Pitt, Quinn, and Ormond got no Oscar recognition for this film. Even watching it on television without the big screen Legends Of The Fall still blows me away.

jdonalds-5 I can understand why Legends of the Fall won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The cinematography was certainly spectacular. Also the sets, and clothing were perfect. I can also understand why it didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture.I don't mind slow videos, but this one was simply way too slow. Not only did it drag on and on, but it exceeded the usual 2 hour limit. Then there was the story.I held out hope all through the movie but it never picks up. I like formula movies, good in the beginning, problems pop up in the middle, problem solved and everyone is happy in the end. But this movie is more like bad in the beginning, worse in the middle, and a disaster in the end.I actually own this movie. I've had it for several years but never watched it until yesterday. Now it will go into the "sell" pile.