Legends of the Fall is a 1994 American epic Western film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the film is about three brothers and their father living in the wilderness and plains of Montana in the early 20th century and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love. The film s time frame spans from the early 1900s, World War I, through the Prohibition era, ending with a brief scene set in 1963. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won for Best Cinematography (John Toll). Both the film and book contain occasional Cornish language terms, the Ludlows being a Cornish immigrant family.

Plot

Sick of betrayals the United States government perpetrated on Native Americans, Colonel William Ludlow leaves the Army, moving to a remote part of Montana. Along with One Stab, a Cree friend, he builds a ranch and raises his family. Accompanying them are hired hand and former outlaw Decker, Decker s Cree wife Pet, and daughter Isabel Two. William has three sons: Alfred, the eldest; Tristan, the middle son; and Samuel, the youngest.

William s wife Isabel does not adapt to the harsh Montana winters and moves to the East Coast; Tristan vows never to speak of her. At age 12, Tristan touches a sleeping grizzly bear. The bear awakens and injures him, but he cuts off a claw.

Years later, Samuel returns from Harvard University with his fiancée, Susannah. Susannah finds Tristan captivating but loves Samuel. Before they can marry, Samuel announces his intention to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force and aid Britain in the fight against Germany. Much to their father s displeasure, Alfred also joins. Although Tristan does not want to join, he does so after swearing to Susannah to protect Samuel.

The brothers find themselves in the 10th Battalion, CEF. Alfred, commissioned as an officer, leads a charge into no man s land. The attack results in heavy casualties and Alfred is wounded. While visiting Alfred in the field hospital, Tristan learns that Samuel volunteered for a dangerous reconnaissance mission. He rushes off to protect his brother but arrives too late. Tristan holds Samuel until he dies, then cuts out his brother s heart and sends it home to be buried at the ranch. Tristan single-handedly raids the German lines and returns to camp with the scalps of German soldiers hanging around his neck, horrifying his fellow soldiers. He is discharged but does not go home. Alfred returns to Montana and proposes to Susannah, but she declines.

Tristan returns home, where Susannah finds him weeping over Samuel s grave. She comforts him and they become lovers. A jealous Alfred confronts Tristan before leaving to make his name in Helena. Tristan is plagued with guilt over Samuel s death and feels responsible for driving Alfred away; he leaves Montana for several years. Susannah vows to wait for Tristan, but eventually receives a letter from him telling her to marry someone else. Alfred comforts Susannah, and William finds them together, which leads to a falling out between him and Alfred. William later suffers a stroke. He does not speak for years and the ranch deteriorates. Susannah marries Alfred, now a congressman. Alfred s business and politics cause him to get involved with the O Banion brothers, Irish bootleggers and gangsters.

Tristan returns during Prohibition, bringing life back to the ranch and to his father. He falls in love with Isabel Two and they marry and have two children. Tristan becomes involved in small-scale rum-running, finding himself at odds with the O Banion brothers. Isabel Two is accidentally killed by a police officer working for the O Banions. In a fit of grief, Tristan beats the officer nearly to death and is jailed. Susannah visits Tristan, still having feelings for him, but he refuses her advances. After his release, Tristan and Decker kill those responsible for Isabel s death, including one of the O Banion brothers.

Unable to live without Tristan, Susannah commits suicide. The remaining O Banion brother, along with the sheriff and another police officer, come after Tristan. At the ranch, William and Alfred kill the attackers. Alfred reconciles with his father and brother. The family realizes that Tristan will be blamed for the deaths, which prompts Tristan to ask Alfred to take care of his children. One Stab s narration explains that they buried the bodies and dumped the car in the Missouri River. He reflects that rather than dying young as One Stab expected, Tristan lived to watch his children and grandchildren grow. One Stab observes that it was the people Tristan loved and wanted to protect most that died young.

In 1963, Tristan, now an old man living in the North Country, investigates an animal carcass and is confronted by a grizzly bear. He draws his knife and fights it. As they struggle, One Stab narrates, It was a good death.

Cast

• Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow Keegan MacIntosh as Young Tristan Ludlow Eric Johnson as Teen Tristan Ludlow
• Keegan MacIntosh as Young Tristan Ludlow
• Eric Johnson as Teen Tristan Ludlow
• Anthony Hopkins as Colonel William Ludlow
• Aidan Quinn as Alfred Ludlow
• Julia Ormond as Susannah Fincannon-Ludlow
• Henry Thomas as Samuel Ludlow
• Karina Lombard as Isabel Isabel Two Decker-Ludlow Sekwan Auger as Young Isabel Two Decker
• Sekwan Auger as Young Isabel Two Decker
• Gordon Tootoosis as One Stab
• Christina Pickles as Isabel Ludlow
• Paul Desmond as Tom Cullen / Roscoe 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

Production

Filming

Legends of the Fall was primarily filmed on location in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Principal photography began in mid-September 1993. The World War I battlefield scenes took two weeks to film and were shot near Morley, Alberta, with hundreds of locals and a few Canadian Forces soldiers recruited as extras. The Ghost River Wilderness Area in Alberta served as the filming location for the Ludlow ranch; additional outdoor scenes, as well as the funeral and cemetery scenes, were shot at the Bow River near Banff National Park. A historic harbour area in Vancouver called Gastown was augmented with period building facades for the Helena, Montana, street scenes. Hotel scenes were shot at the Hotel Europe at 43 Powell Street in Vancouver. Additional scenes were shot at Maple Tree Square in Gastown, Vancouver, and Ocho Rios in Saint Ann, Jamaica. Filming wrapped up around January 1994.

Reception

Box office

The film opened in limited release on December 23, 1994, and expanded to a wide release on January 13, 1995. During its first weekend in wide release, which was a four-day weekend due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the film reached number one at the domestic box office after grossing $14 million. After its initial run, the film brought in a final box office total of $160,638,883. Against its $30 million budget, the film was a financial success.

Critical response

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 58% of 57 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.81/10. The site s consensus states: Featuring a swoon-worthy star turn by Brad Pitt, Legends of the Fall s painterly photography and epic sweep often compensate for its lack of narrative momentum and glut of melodramatic twists. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 45 based on 23 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews .

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times described the film as pretty good … with full-blooded performances and heartfelt melodrama . Peter Travers of Rolling Stone particularly praised Pitt s performance saying, Though the admirable Quinn has the toughest role, Pitt carries the picture. The blue-eyed boy who seemed a bit lost in Interview with the Vampire proves himself a bona fide movie star, stealing every scene he s in. Comparatively, Chris Hicks of Deseret News noted, Pitt is the hunk of the moment, and Legends of the Fall will only further cement his big-screen, romantic leading-man status. And he is satisfying as the internalized, rebellious Tristan (look for that name to be given to more than a few babies over the next few years). Even if the character seems only a slight twist on the similar role he played in A River Runs Through It. (He even becomes a bootlegger!)

On the other hand, Rita Kempley of The Washington Post stated that the film s yarn doesn t so much sweep as sprawl across the screen in all its panoramic idiocy . Janet Maslin of The New York Times commented, Before it turns exhaustingly hollow, this film shows the potential for bringing Mr. Harrison s tough, brooding tale to life. And the actors may have captured the spirit of the story, but that s impossible to know. She concluded, These are performances that lost too much in the editing room, smothered by music and overshadowed by a picture-postcard vision of the American West.

Year-end lists

• Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Bob Ross, The Tampa Tribune
• Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient	Result
Academy Awards	Best Art Direction	Lilly Kilvert, Dorree Cooper	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	John Toll	Won
	Best Sound	Paul Massey, David E. Campbell, Christopher David and Douglas Ganton	Nominated
Golden Globes	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Nominated
	Best Director	Edward Zwick	Nominated
	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Brad Pitt	Nominated
	Best Original Score	James Horner	Nominated

Home media

Legends of the Fall was first released on DVD on April 29, 1997, and once again on October 17, 2000. The film was later released on Blu-ray on February 8, 2011, with bonus content that includes two audio commentaries, deleted scenes with optional commentary and two behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Year	1994
ReleaseDate	1995-01-13
RuntimeMins	133
RuntimeStr	2h 13min
Plot	In the early 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war.
Awards	Won 1 Oscar, 3 wins & 12 nominations total
Directors	Edward Zwick
Writers	Susan Shilliday, William D. Wittliff, Jim Harrison
Stars	Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
Produced by	Jane Bartelme,Sarah Caplan,Patrick Crowley,Marshall Herskovitz,William D. Wittliff,Edward Zwick
Music by	James Horner
Cinematography by	John Toll
Film Editing by	Steven Rosenblum
Casting By	Mary Colquhoun
Production Design by	Lilly Kilvert
Art Direction by	Andrew Precht,Rick Roberts
Set Decoration by	Dorree Cooper
Costume Design by	Deborah Lynn Scott
Makeup Department	Christine Beveridge,Jean Ann Black,Bryon Callaghan,Laura Demoissac,Iloe Flewelling,Gail Kennedy,Echo Noyes,Gordon J. Smith,Suzanne Stokes-Munton,Tom Czarnopys,Raymond Mackintosh
Production Management	Matthew Binns,John M. Eckert,Jane Raab,Chantal Feghali,Ron Lynch
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Ani Baravyan,Bonnie Benwick,John Lind,Peter D. Marshall,Franz Marzouca,Nilo Otero,Matt Palmer,David Wagreich,Lewin Webb,Andrew Price
Art Department	Carl Aldana,Stuart Auld,Sean Blackie,Dave Grizz Borley,Doug Carnegie,James H. Chow,Mark Francis,Dean Goodine,Jim Green,George Griffiths,Bart Habermiller,Sheila Haley,Paul Arthur Hartman,Susan Henzell,Douglas Jang,Peter J. Kelly,Jan Kobylka,Ken Laderoute,Matthew Lammerich,Theron Layne,Catherine Leighton,Sigrid Mekkinosson,Paul Mulder,Greg Papalia,Bryce Perrin,Stephen Andrew Schwartz,Wendi Stewart,Ron von Blomberg,Maxine Walters,Ken Wills,Gina B. Cranham,Jann K. Engel,Shelly Goldsack,Paul Healy,Michael Love,Dale Menzies,Ken Wells
Sound Department	Willy Allen,Christopher Assells,Karen Baker Landers,Lon Bender,David E. Campbell,Harry Cheney,John T. Cucci,Chris David,Valerie Davidson,Dino Dimuro,Richard Dwan Jr.,Patrick J. Foley,Douglas Ganton,Jeff Gomillion,Mark Gordon,Mary Esther Griffith,Per Hallberg,Gary A. Hecker,Randy Kelley,Mark R. La Pointe,Chris Large,Mark Larry,Catt LeBaigue,Paul Massey,Joseph A. Mayer,Chris Ott,Fred Peck III,Jay B. Richardson,Randy Singer,Reynald Trudel,Scott Martin Gershin,Larry Hopkins,John Rice,Bill Rojas,Steve Schwalbe
Special Effects by	Bruno Van Zeebroeck,Mike Vézina,Nick Lawson,Reg Milne,Terry Sonderhoff
Visual Effects by	Alan Munro,Brian Jochum
Stunts	Guy Bews,Gary Combs,Gilbert B. Combs,Joe Dodds,John Dodds,Jim Dunn,Tom Eirikson,Jim Finkbeiner,Jason Glass,Tom Glass,J.J. Makaro,Mike Mitchell,Tony Morelli,Fred Perron,Greg Schlosser,John Scott,Doug Seus,Melissa R. Stubbs,Brent Woolsey,Melissa R. Stubbs
Camera and Electrical Department	Rob Brown,Kirk Chiswell,John Clothier,Ciaran Copelin,Gavin B. Craig,Les Erskine,Tony Guerin,Kerry Hayes,Bobby Huber,Ciaran Kavanagh,Mick Lipohar,Richard G. Mason,Armin Matter,Andrew Mulkani,Marty Naucler,Ron Orieux,Jim Plannette,Paul Taylor,Carey Toner,Roger Vernon,Thaddeus Wadleigh,David Wagreich,Allan Belyea,Jeffery Cools,Chris Helcermanas-Benge,Tyler Mandrusiak,Gordon Schmidt
Animation Department	Jim Boulden
Casting Department	Stuart Aikins,Joseph Cerami,Bette Chadwick,William Haines,Lorelei Kuchera
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Carol Case,Ed Fincher,Joanne Hansen,Robert Jezsik,Rose Johnson,David Le Vey,Dawn Y. Line,B.J. McClean,Kate Pierpoint,James W. Tyson,Carolyn Devins,Nancy Duggan,Mari Grimaud,Zoya Niechoda,Gail L. Smith,Frances Sweeney
Editorial Department	Robert Frazen,Baylis Glascock,Caroline Hardon,David Holden,Ariel Nachmann,Roberto Santucci,Cynthia E. Thornton,Donah Bassett,David Orr,Marcy Stoeven,Laura Yanovich
Location Management	Layne Guise,Patrick O Connor,Murray Ord,Rino Pace,Craig Phang Sang,Geoffrey Smither,Mark Ambury,Abraham Fraser,Matthew Kershaw,John Mavrogeorge,Matt Palmer,Martin Pedersen,Darryl Solly
Music Department	Nigel Gomm,Malcolm Hall,Jim Henrikson,Maurice Murphy,Shawn Murphy,Bill Abbott,Brent Brooks,Don Davis,James Horner,London Symphony Orchestra,Shawn Murphy,Thomas Pasatieri,Jay B. Richardson
Script and Continuity Department	Lara Fox,Denise Rackett
Transportation Department	Brian Aebly,Harold Dubland,Frank Mejerski,Nigel Arscott,Alane Smith,Robert J. Young
Additional Crew	Monica Blades,Jed Blaugrund,Toni Blay,Kathie Broyles,Harley Cohen,Joe Dodds,John Dodds,Norman Edge,Bruce Epke,Jennifer Feurer,Jim Finkbeiner,Carmen Franczyk,Anne Gordon,Lori Greenberg,Wendi Laski,Lauren Fluff Lindsay,Debra Lovatelli,Sara MacDonald,Tim McLean,Neil McLeod,Brad Moerke,Lillian Montalvo,Jeffrey A. Okun,Matt Palmer,Alison Parraco,Jamie Payton,Kathy Petty,Gail Rose,John Scott,Doug Seus,Lynne Seus,Simon Sherwood,Karen Anne Smith,Scott J. Smith,Cathy Sutherland,Connie Todd,Bruce Toy,Deborah Yates,Clint Youngreen,John Charles,Tanis Darling,Joëlle François,Daighn Jones,Anne Lara,C.J. Robertson,Trevor Seitz,Jeff Smith,Lorraine Yawney,Ian Zweig
Genres	Drama, Romance, War
Companies	TriStar Pictures, The Bedford Falls Company, Pangaea
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Cornish
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	7.5
ImDbRatingVotes	165649
MetacriticRating	45
Keywords	soldier,guilt,dog,racism,bear